The skies above the Aether Citadel cracked with thunder—not from storms, but from old names being spoken again.
Steven stood before the Circle of Reclamation, a coliseum carved into the bones of a dead star. Before him hovered seven thrones, each pulsing with dormant power—thrones that once belonged to the Primordial Keepers.
Aetheron walked beside him, tense. "No one's summoned them since the First War. Some are banished. Others... barely remember who they were."
"I don't need their loyalty," Steven replied. "Just their strength."
He placed his hand upon the central rune. Light surged outward like a pulse of creation.
"By the Codex and the blood of origin, I summon the Forgotten."
The thrones trembled. One by one, figures began to emerge:
Vael'Torah, the God of Silence, wrapped in shadows that whispered truths never meant to be spoken.
Elymara, the Weaver of Time, her form shifting like a river of glass and memory.
Karnyx the Bound, chained in molten gravity, eyes burning with ancient rage.
And then—three more came, all less god than myth:
Neruun, the Unborn Star
Hollow March, the Composer of Ends
Zethion the Final Flame, once the left hand of Pain himself, now lost in exile.
They stood in silence, measuring Steven. Then Vael'Torah spoke, his voice barely more than a thought.
"Why summon us, Codex Child? The Cycle cannot be broken."
Steven took a step forward. "I didn't come to break it. I came to end it."
Karnyx laughed. "Bold. You carry the Codex like a sword, but do you carry its curse too?"
"I carry its truth," Steven said. "Pain was the first. I'm the last. If he takes me—if he finishes what he started—we all vanish."
Elymara blinked slowly, her eyes like hourglasses. "So you offer war?"
Steven nodded. "No more hiding. No more resets. This time... we fight."
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then Zethion stepped forward, flames licking his shoulders. "I fought beside him once. I know what he's become. If you stand against the Omega Flame—then I stand with you."
One by one, the others stepped forward.
The Forgotten had been summoned.
Now, they would rise again.
---
Meanwhile, in the void beyond all stars...
Pain gazed into the heart of a devoured realm. His generals—Calyx, Barrick, Neyzifa—stood ready behind him. The Choir sang in low, apocalyptic tones.
He extended his hand. A pulse of black fire spread across the multiverse.
"Let the Codex child come," he murmured. "I will finish what I began as Jeradus. And when I consume his flame... there will be no more stories. Only me."
---
To be continued