Kuoh estate Nightfall
The stars burned brighter over Kuoh than anywhere else in the world, or so it seemed.
Under the watchful gaze of the cosmos, power stirred some ancient, some young, and one that was rapidly becoming something more than what the world was prepared for.
And that power had a name.
Riser Phenex.
Mount Olympus Council of the High Gods
Lightning danced furiously above the peak of Mount Olympus, splitting the clouds like angry veins of light in the storm wracked sky. Inside the grand hall of the gods, divinely forged from gleaming marble and veins of shimmering star metal, the air was thick with divine tension. Power hummed in every breath.
Zeus sat upon his throne, massive and crackling with divine electricity, his white beard flowing like a river of cloud. Thunder coiled around his clenched fists as if drawn by his growing fury but respect.
Athena, clad in silver gold armor, stood at his side with her owl perched silently upon her shoulder. Her eyes were focused, sharp as ever, and cast in the pale light of the image she projected before the council Riser Phenex, bathed in white fire, standing with Tiamat, the Chaos Dragon, kneeling before him.
"A devil whose aura mimics that of the sun," she said coolly, her voice echoing through the chamber. "He's begun to radiate divine pressure. Not infernal. Not draconic. Divine."
A hushed silence fell over the pantheon.
"He begins to burn like a star," she continued. "And if he continues he may awaken something the world has no defense for."
Zeus grunted deeply. "A devil mimicking a god is one thing. A devil becoming one? That shouldn't be allowed."
"He walks the line," Poseidon rumbled from his coral carved throne, eyes narrowing. "But he has yet to cross it. And he has not turned that power against the balance. Not yet."
"But will he remain that way?" Athena asked, glancing across the chamber. "We've seen power corrupt even the most noble. And this one this devil is gathering dragons young and old, lost magic, divine artifacts and now rules a leyline fed city at the center of several converging realms."
Hera, lounging beside Zeus with a look of cold disinterest, finally spoke. "If he becomes a god, is that truly our concern? Mortals have ascended before."
"Not a devil," Zeus growled. "Not one who can ignite the heavens with hellfire."
Athena nodded slowly. "We must watch him closely. The next time he shines too brightly we may have no choice."
Zeus for moment taught of his daughter thalia."No" he said let him he courts my daughter and doesn't seem to threaten the rule of Olympus.
No decision was made. But a seed had been planted.
And in the hearts of gods, that seed was fear.
In the Depths of the World Vritra's former Domain
Deep beneath the earth, in a forgotten temple drowned by time and buried beneath the weight of ancient sins, A dragon stayed laying down not moving a inch. The son of Vritra stirred taking the name of his father who soul was separated into sacred gears.
The chamber was vast, its ceiling lost in shadow. Bones some human, some godly littered the ground, shattered and blackened. Cracked jewels dimly pulsed with corrupted light, and molten gold pooled like blood in craters scorched into the stone.
Coiled in the center, his black scaled body as vast as a mountain, was Vritra, the new Black Dragon of Calamity. His eyes, two crimson coals, burned with malice as they stared into a floating vision.
It was Riser. Wreathed in white flames. Laughing. Alive. Powerful.
Tiamat had bowed before him.
"A boy Phenex dares to shine like the sun," Vritra hissed, his voice like shattered glass grinding in magma. "He climbs too high. He tempts the heavens he has no place among gods."
He dug his claws into the stone, carving deep gouges.
"I will break his wings. I will cast his ashes into the void between realms."
The darkness around him stirred, whispering like a thousand slithering snakes.
"But not yet," Vritra said. "Let him think he's safe. Let him believe the world welcomes him. Let him bask in the illusion of divinity"
He grinned, fangs glinting like daggers.
"before I make him fall."
Kuoh Riser's Mansion
The training yard was quiet that night, bathed in moonlight and the subtle hum of magical wards. The sounds of the city below laughter, music, the pulse of life echoed distantly. Up here, Riser stood shirtless in the cool night air, steam rising from his skin as his body glowed faintly with residual power.
Merlin ever present beside him, her hands glowing softly as she massaged along his shoulder. Her sleeves were rolled up, exposing the intricate magical tattoos that pulsed with each whispered incantation.
"You're pushing yourself too far," she murmured, not for the first time.
"I have to," Riser replied, eyes on the stars above. "There's no room for weakness. Not now."
Merlin frowned, her fingers still glowing. "You're not weak, Riser. You never were. But even the sun needs time to rest."
He glanced at her. "I'm not training just for me anymore. Every enemy that watches from the shadows every god that questions my right to rise they make me train harder. So that I can protect what truly matters to me."
From the stone archway, Thalia called softly, "Even gods feel fear when they see something they can't control."
She walked forward, arms crossed, her white cloak fluttering behind her. "You don't need to prove yourself to them, Riser. You've already changed this world."
Artoria joined her, sheathed sword at her back. "You've built more than a legacy here. You've built a home. A haven. You've gathered people, not by command but by belief."
Riser looked at them both Thalia, whose lightning could shatter mountains. Artoria, whose resolve had won hundreds of battles and Merlin, whose chaos born wisdom made her the envy of gods and devils alike.
"You three" he whispered, rising to his feet.
He pulled them into an embrace, arms wrapped around all of them.
"You're not just my lovers," he said, voice rough with emotion. "You're my fire. My will. My reason."
Merlin kissed his cheek. "And you are ours."
Thalia grinned and pressed her lips to his.
Artoria whispered, "We walk beside you. too the end and beyond," before kissing him as well.
In that moment, beneath the stars and the watchful gaze of gods, Riser wasn't a devil, a warrior, or a rising god.
He was home.
Elsewhere A Gathering in the Shadows
A twilight realm, where time did not pass and space did not bend by mortal logic, held a meeting unlike any in millennia. Gods from distant pantheons, dragons of old, and rouge fallen angels stood in a ring of ethereal flame.
"He will not stop," murmured a god cloaked in starlight. "He gathers flame, faith, and followers."
"Let him," Vritra said, appearing in smoky form, his eyes two hateful coals. "Let him rise. I want him to believe the heavens are his."
"Be careful, Vritra," said a voice like wind on still water. "What you see as arrogance may be destiny."
"He is changing the world," whispered a divine spirit, light blooming from her brow. "He could be the bridge between pantheons between races."
Vritra spat. "He is a devil who dreams of divinity. I will show him oblivion."
But silence met his threat.
The war to come had no clear shape yet but its first ember had already been lit.
Back in Kuoh
The next morning was still and golden. The sun rose over Kuoh with unusual warmth, its rays spreading across the bustling city that now thrived under Riser's rule. Life pulsed in the streets devils, humans, yokai, even the occasional valkyrie all walking side by side.
Atop the tallest rooftop a nightclub turned bastion Riser stood alone for a moment, his cloak fluttering in the breeze. Beneath his feet, the leyline pulsed, and white fire coiled lazily around his fingers.
He closed his eyes. He could feel it. Eyes.
Watching.
Judging.
Fearing.
Merlin approached quietly, wrapping her arm around his.
"Do you feel it?" she whispered.
"I do," Riser said, not turning. "The weight. The eyes. Olympus. The underworld. The dragons."
He looked down at his hand, where a sphere of solar flame bloomed pure, white, and divine.
"Let them watch," he said softly. "Let them whisper. Let them fear."
He raised his hand to the sky.
"I'll shine so brightly," he whispered, "they'll have no choice but to look away or burn into oblivion."