Beyond Worlds, Beneath the Star God

The forest burned.

Not with fire—but with energy. Ancient, primal, awakened.

From the depths of the torn earth, the golden eye of the Wyrm glared through the roots and stone, its vertical slit contracting as it focused on the world it once ruled. The air vibrated with a low-frequency hum, making Kun's teeth ache. Trees cracked under invisible pressure. The moss wilted. The sky darkened.

Yet all Kun could see… was him.

The figure on the branch hadn't moved. Cloaked in black and violet armor that shimmered with corrupted starlight, he stood with regal stillness, as if the chaos around him was beneath notice.

"You…" Kun said, breathing heavily. "Who are you?"

The figure leapt down, landing softly despite the distance. His mask dissolved in a swirl of ash, revealing a face eerily similar to Kun's. Same bone structure. Same eyes—except his glowed violet, not gold.

"My name is Kael," he said. "And I was the Starborn… before you ever touched the flame."

Kun's heart thudded. "Impossible."

"Oh?" Kael smiled faintly, cruelly. "Do you think you were chosen? That your fall into this world was fate? No, Kun. You were a vessel. An accident the universe refused to correct."

Elira tried to move beside Kun, but Kael snapped his fingers—and roots sprang up like chains, binding her in place. She struggled, cursing, her blade inches from her hand.

"Let her go!" Kun shouted, flames bursting from his shoulders.

Kael tilted his head. "Protective. How quaint. But it's her presence that's clouding your potential. You're still playing hero in a story that was never yours."

Orlan raised his staff, preparing a spell—then stopped. His eyes widened as he looked at Kael.

"I know you," the old mage whispered. "From the Astral Records… you were one of the first subjects in the Starfire Project. You vanished decades ago."

Kael nodded, his expression proud. "I didn't vanish. I ascended. I broke free from the shackles of purpose and became what the flame was always meant to be—a force of will. Not balance. Domination."

Kun stepped forward, fists clenched. "Starfire is meant to protect. I've used it to save lives. You're just twisting it into something it's not."

"Am I?" Kael raised his hand, and the corrupted Starfire shard in his palm flared to life. The forest recoiled at its energy. "Then tell me, brother… why does it respond to me so willingly?"

The shard pulsed. Kun felt a sudden pull in his chest—as if his own flame was being siphoned. He staggered, groaning, clutching his heart. A connection. A bond.

"They're… linked," Orlan muttered. "Two halves of the same core."

Kael smiled. "Exactly."

Before Kun could react, Kael dashed forward with supernatural speed, striking Kun in the stomach with a burning punch of dark flame. Kun flew backward, crashing through a tree. Bark exploded. Pain flared across his ribs.

"Kun!" Elira shouted, still straining against the roots.

Kael walked slowly toward him. "You're weak. You hold back. You still believe in mercy."

Kun coughed, blood on his lip. "Mercy… is strength. Anyone can destroy. Only the strong choose to protect."

He pushed himself to his feet, golden flames spiraling around him. His cloak burned away. The star-mark on his back gleamed like a constellation, brighter than ever before.

"Then let's test that strength," Kael growled.

They clashed—flame against flame. Light against shadow.

The forest lit with their battle. Each strike tore through the air like thunder. Kael's style was brutal, direct, filled with hatred. Kun moved with instinct, guided not by rage—but by purpose.

And for the first time…

Their powers were equal.

But the ground beneath them trembled again. The eye of the Wyrm widened. A roar—not of pain, but of awakening—echoed from the deep.

Kael leapt back and laughed. "Let the beast rise. The old world is crumbling, Kun. When the gods fall and the stars go silent, there will be only one voice left."

He raised the corrupted shard once more—and vanished in a vortex of shadowflame.

The forest fell into eerie silence.

Elira collapsed to her knees as the roots vanished. Orlan ran to Kun's side, casting healing spells, his face pale.

"He's… like you," Elira whispered, still catching her breath.

"No," Kun said, eyes still burning. "He's what I could become… if I lose myself."

He looked at the burning rift, at the slowly stirring Wyrm below, and then at the hand that held the Starfire.

"We're out of time."