IMMORTALS

C H A P T E R 10

The sky above the Lower Bastion burned in blinding, unnatural gold.

At the base of the Great Wall, the colossal Seraphim Beacon rose like an obsidian obelisk crowned by a spinning sphere of condensed solar plasma. The device thrummed with catastrophic power, siphoning the raw energy of the celestial sphere. Arcs of white lightning lanced across the ground, turning the surrounding mud into boiling slag.

Standing on the central observation dais, Jude oversaw the final alignment. Her blistered hand was wrapped in glowing silver runes, her eyes manic with fanatical fervor. "Pour the core to maximum output! When the light touches the zenith, erase this entire wretched valley from the memory of the cosmos!"

BOOM!

The reinforced gates of the outer trench violently blew inward in a shower of splintered bronze and stone. Thalia’s mortal cavalry charged through the smoke, their crimson-forged weapons glinting under the searing glare. Celestial guardians scrambled to form ranks, but the mortal warriors struck with the ferocity of survivors who had already stared into the abyss of the flood.

Through the breach rode Ethan and Lili, dismounting in synchronized motion with weapons drawn.

"Traitorous vermin!" Jude shrieked from the upper platform, her voice carrying over the din of battle. She raised a dual-bladed staff of celestial lightning, pointing it straight at Lili. "You dare return to the foot of the sacred wall? You will burn where you stand!"

Jude unleashed a sweeping wave of celestial plasma. Lili brought up her arms, the crimson heart in her chest surging with incandescent heat. A wall of roaring mortal fire exploded from her palms, meeting the divine beam in a blinding clash of red and gold. The shockwave tore through the courtyard, shattering marble tiles and knocking guards from their feet.

"Ethan! The core anchors!" Lili shouted through gritted teeth, her boots sliding backward in the stone as she strained against Jude’s overwhelming output.

Ethan didn't hesitate. He charged the left pylon, swinging his crimson broadsword with all the strength in his mortal limbs. c***k! The blade cleaved through the conductive sapphire conduit, severing the divine power flow. The spinning sun-sphere above wobbled violently, emitting a shrill, deafening screech of unstable pressure.

Seeing her weapon destabilize, Jude abandoned the beam and threw herself from the dais like a bird of prey. She landed before Ethan, her dual-bladed staff spinning in a deadly vortex. Ethan parried the first strike, sparks blinding him, but Jude's speed was monstrous. She drove the butt of the staff into his fractured ribs, following with a sweeping kick that sent him crashing against the central pylon.

Jude raised the blade to impale his neck. "Die in your dust, boy!"

A flash of silver blinded the platform.

Arthuria appeared at the perimeter, angling the stolen Temple Mirror directly into Jude's eyes, deflecting a rogue lightning arc straight into her vision. Jude screamed, momentarily disoriented by her own stolen light.

That single heartbeat was all Lili needed.

Lili sprinted across the platform, leaping into the air with the momentum of their five centuries of stolen longing and defiance. She crashed into Jude, driving both of them to the edge of the overloaded sun-core. Jude snarled, her claws digging into Lili’s throat, but Lili didn't pull back. She grabbed Jude’s wrist with one hand and slammed her bare palm directly over the exposed solar conduit behind them.

"We chose the fire, Jude," Lili whispered, her amber eyes blazing with absolute, unyielding conviction. "Now choke on it."

Lili channeled the full, unrestricted resonance of her beating heart directly into the celestial conduit. The clash of pure carnal passion and sterile divine energy caused the sun-core to invert. A cataclysmic crimson explosion ripped through the beacon’s apex.

Jude let out a horrifying, desperate wail as the unstable feedback tore her divine armor to fragments, hurling her burning form over the outer precipice and into the churning rapids below.

Ethan dragged himself across the shattering platform, throwing his arms around Lili just as the colossal obelisk collapsed inward. He shielded her body with his own as the shockwave washed over them, blowing the remaining celestial sentinels into full retreat back up the Great Wall.

When the blinding smoke cleared, silence fell over the scorched basin.

The Seraphim Beacon was reduced to slag. The sky above was no longer locked in sterile golden stasis; for the first time, real rain fell gently over the valley, washing away the soot and cooling the scorched earth. Around them, mortal warriors raised their weapons in a roaring victory chant that echoed off the Great Wall.

Ethan collapsed against the broken stone, his chest heaving, blood mixing with the raindrops on his face. He looked at Lili, who was trembling in his arms, her dark skin glowing softly with the steady, beautiful pulse of life.

Ethan smiled through his bruises, his hand reaching up to tenderly cup her cheek. "We broke their sun."

Lili leaned down, her lips capturing his in a deep, victorious, and breathless kiss that carried the warmth of an unquenchable fire. "And we built our own."

High above on the battlements of Eden, the golden gates shut tight in fear—while below in the mud and the rain, a new world began.