Chapter 7: The Eyes Above
The morning was gray and quiet. The sky was dull and full of clouds. Fog covered the windows and streets. Everything felt distant and quiet. It was the kind of day where something strange could happen and no one would notice.
Inside Kaela's small store, the heater hummed softly. Ryz stood behind the counter, quietly arranging jars on the shelves. Each one was placed carefully. The TV in the background was playing the news.
Ryz stood behind the counter, calm and quiet. He moved smoothly, always looking serious, like someone who didn't care much about anything around him.
Kaela came in through the side door. She had shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes. Her skin was lightly tanned, and she wore a gray coat over her nurse uniform. Her boots were wet from the cold outside.
"Still no customers this morning?" she asked.
Ryz didn't look up. "It's just quiet."
Kaela went behind the counter and poured herself some coffee. She looked tired.
The TV news got louder.
> "Breaking: Four licensed hunters have disappeared in Berlin's southern district. Their last signals were recorded after 2:00 a.m. and then went silent."
Kaela stopped drinking her coffee.
> "Officials believe it might be the work of Crimson Moon a group known for attacking hunters. People are advised to stay indoors at night…"
Kaela looked at Ryz. "You heard that? Crimson Moon again."
"I heard."
She sat on the stool next to the counter. "People said Crimson Moon was just a rumor. But now even the news is talking about them."
Ryz moved one of the jars slightly. "Maybe it's real."
Kaela raised an eyebrow. "You're always so vague."
"I'm just listening."
She sighed and drank her coffee. The fog outside slowly started to clear.
---
Above Earth — The Divine Hall
Far above the world, in a place beyond time, the Divine Hall glowed with golden light. Twelve thrones floated in a circle among stars. Their voices echoed like thunder.
"He's gone," said a cold voice.
"He left the prison," another said sharply. "He was not meant to move freely again."
"He disappeared," a third voice growled. "Just like before."
A taller figure leaned forward in the shadows. "The last time he escaped... we lost cities. Stars. Thrones. And now, he returns."
A fourth voice shook with dread. "We still bear the scars from the war. The angels still speak his name in whispers."
"He was sealed by all of us," said the lead voice. "And yet he broke free."
Silence filled the Divine Hall.
Then another voice spoke. Calm. Icy.
"Send me."
It was not just any goddess.
It was Velmira, the Pale Flame once the goddess of fate and judgment, and one of the few beings who fought Ryz directly during the War Above. Her skin glowed like white fire, and her eyes were like burning moons. A scar still ran down her left hand from when the mist had touched her.
"You fought him once," a god said. "And barely survived."
"I survived," Velmira replied. "I remember what he is..
"And if he strikes again?"
Velmira stared into the void beyond the stars.
"Then I will burn with him."
A gate of silver light opened, and she stepped into it.
Afternoon, Berlin
The bell above the store door rang.
A woman walked in. She was tall and graceful. Her long white-blonde hair was tied back. Her skin looked like it glowed faintly, but not enough for others to notice. Her golden eyes scanned the room.
"I'm looking for calendris root tea," she said softly.
Kaela blinked. "That's rare. You know about that?"
"I do."
Kaela walked to the shelf. Ryz stepped from the back room. When he saw the woman, he stopped. For a moment, he said nothing.
The woman smiled calmly. "So this is where you hide."
Kaela looked between them. "You two know each other?"
"No," Velmira said, still smiling.
Kaela looked puzzled but didn't ask.
Ryz approached her slowly. "So they sent you."
"They needed someone who remembers what you did," Velmira said.
"You're not here to fight."
"No," she replied. "I'm here to watch. But if you become what you were again… I won't run this time."
Ryz leaned in slightly. "I've killed beings greater than you. Don't make the mistake of thinking I've forgotten."
"I know exactly what you are," Velmira whispered. "And I'm not afraid of you."
Kaela returned with the tea. "Here it is. €3.50."
Velmira handed the money without looking away from Ryz. "Thank you. I also just bought the house next door."
"Really? That place has been empty forever," Kaela said.
"Not anymore."
The bell chimed as Velmira left.
Kaela looked at Ryz. "She's intense. Do I need to be worried?"
"No," Ryz said quietly.
---
Night — Kaela's House
Kaela had gone to sleep early, tired from her shifts. The house was quiet now, the lights dimmed. Ryz stood by the window, staring at the faint glow across the street.
In the house opposite, Velmira stood by her window too.
They didn't speak.
They only watched.
Velmira's eyes narrowed slightly as her gaze locked onto him. Her mind was not in the present. It drifted back to the War Above where Ryz, wrapped in black mist, tore through legions of light. His hands dripped with divine blood. A Being that have no mercy. His presence, even then, made stars shiver.
He had no allies. No followers. Just destruction.
She had fought him once. She had survived.
Barely.
Now, she watched as he stood there calmly, silent, distant.
The same man.
Or something worse.
Suddenly, Ryz's gaze turned upward. His expression changed, cold and sharp. He raised a single finger. The air around him twisted for a moment.
Above them, in the high divine realms, gods watched through their mirrors fragments of omniscient glass reflecting the mortal world. One such mirror was locked onto Ryz.
And then it shattered.
Cracks ran like lightning across its surface. With a soundless pulse, the mirror imploded, scattering divine light into nothing. The gods around it stood frozen.
"He saw us," one whispered.
"He destroyed it… with just a look."
Back on Earth, Velmira felt the tremor. Her eyes widened.
"You just broke the divine mirror," she said slowly, her hand instinctively glowing with silver fire.
Ryz didn't turn away from the window. "They can't get to watch me."
Velmira's voice grew firmer. "Why? What are you hiding?"
Ryz finally looked at her through the glass. "Nothing. I just don't like being watched. Let them wonder."
"They can make another mirror," she warned.
"I know," Ryz said calmly. "That was just a warning."
Velmira's breath caught. She clenched her fists, divine energy pooling in her palms.
"You haven't changed," she whispered. "Not at all."
Ryz's voice was quiet, but it reached her clearly through the glass.
"No," he said. "And I don't plan to."
And so they stood there two beings from a war long buried, surrounded by silence, beneath a sky that once knew fire.
And above them, the gods waited in fear.