Chapter 94 – Thunder and Radiance
The clash of Emissaries split the heavens.
Lightning danced across the sky as Kaelis, Emissary of the Skyfather, hurled bolts of divine storm. Each strike carved through the earth, turning stone to ash. Her trident spun with impossible speed—crackling with the fury of hurricanes.
Jean met her head-on.
Luxclade, infused with Celeste's light, shimmered with divine aura. She parried a bolt mid-air, splitting it in two. The sheer pressure from their battle forced Silvia and the Envoy Knights to retreat down the cliffs.
Whitney stayed at Jean's side, howling in synchronization with each of her movements. Their bond glowed with divine resonance.
Kaelis moved like wind itself—fast, erratic, unpredictable.
"You're strong," she admitted, circling Jean. "Too strong for someone who only just ascended."
Jean exhaled. "Celeste doesn't give power. She awakens it."
They clashed again—light against lightning, two divine forces spiraling into chaos. Energy blasts lit the sky for miles. Creatures in the forest fled. The very cliffside groaned from the strain.
But as the battle dragged on, Jean's aura began to shift—evolve.
In that moment, her aura condensed. Sharpened. Her blade no longer shimmered like sunlight. It burned like a newborn star.
Kaelis blinked.
"That's—impossible. You're resonating with… the Tear already?"
Jean surged forward.
"I don't need to find it. I can feel it."
Her strike shattered Kaelis's barrier and knocked the trident from her hands. Kaelis hit the earth hard, her breath gone.
Jean stood over her, not with her blade raised—but extended in peace.
"Don't make me your enemy," Jean said. "We're fighting the same war."
Kaelis looked up, dazed. "You… would spare me?"
Jean nodded. "Because the dragons won't."
For a moment, Kaelis said nothing.
Then, slowly, she took Jean's hand.
---
That night, Jean, Kaelis, and the others descended into Valemorra's ruins. The city, dead for centuries, pulsed faintly beneath their feet.
And at the heart of a broken cathedral buried in time—they found it.
The Tear of the Sky.
A floating shard of crystal, encased in runes, glowing with stormlight and sunlight at once.
Jean stepped forward, and the Tear reacted—pulsing with radiant heat.
Whitney bowed his head.
Celeste's voice echoed faintly in her mind.
> "You have taken the first of seven. The sky bows to your light. But now, the flame awakens…"
Jean turned her eyes eastward.
Toward the lands of the Iron Empire.
---