Beyond Worlds, Beneath the Star God

The ground convulsed.

From the jagged crevice where the cultists' ritual had ruptured the forest floor, a second eye opened—then a third. Each gleamed with molten gold and infinite weight. A pulse of deep, bass-like thunder rippled outward, bending trees and splintering boulders. The Wyrm of Ael'tharion—an ancient being older than any known kingdom—was waking.

Kun, bruised but standing, stared into the darkness below. It was no longer just a crack. It was a mouth—the maw of something that should never breathe again.

Orlan gritted his teeth. "This isn't just a creature. It's a memory that never died."

Elira helped Kun up, her hand trembling but firm. "If this thing gets out... it won't stop at the forest."

Kun looked at them both and nodded. "Then we make our stand here."

From the abyss, the Wyrm began to rise.

Not like a serpent—but like a continent. Its body was formed of roots fused with obsidian scales, its spine a mountain of coiled nature and stone. Wings once made of leaves now burned with green flame. Its breath was not fire—but corruption—turning everything it touched into lifeless wood.

A roar burst from its throat. The sound shattered trees for miles.

"It's binding itself to the forest's life-force!" Orlan yelled, his eyes glowing as he scanned the arcane field. "If it finishes the bond, the entire western continent will fall under its will!"

Kun stepped forward. "Then we cut the bond."

He leapt into the air, Starfire flaring beneath his boots in a comet-like burst. At the same moment, Orlan raised a dome-shaped shield around the battlefield to slow the spread of the Wyrm's aura. Elira dashed through the twisting roots, severing tentacle-like vines that lashed at her with growing speed.

Above, Kun soared. For a heartbeat, he saw the world below—Elira's blade shining like a silver ribbon, Orlan's runes glowing blue in a vast spiral, and the Wyrm, rising like a god of the old world.

Then, the sky turned dark green.

The Wyrm opened its mouth and screamed.

From the scream emerged magic—living magic—a storm of screaming wood spirits, cursed birds, and corrupted elemental fragments. Kun was struck mid-air, slammed into the earth like a falling star. Dirt exploded around him.

"Kun!" Elira yelled, but a branch caught her leg mid-run, pulling her to the ground.

The Wyrm lunged.

Kun forced himself to rise. His body ached. The Starfire within him pulsed irregularly. Kael's attack had shaken his bond to it. For a moment, he doubted.

What if I'm not enough?

Then—

A hand gripped his wrist.

Elira.

Bloody, panting, but alive.

"You're not alone," she said, voice like steel.

Orlan joined them, placing both hands on Kun's back. "Focus. Don't control the flame. Let it choose."

Kun closed his eyes. The noise faded. He reached inward.

Deeper.

Past the fire. Past the pain. Past even his own identity.

And there, buried beneath the fear, was a calm center.

A presence.

The true Starfire—the origin flame.

It was waiting.

He opened his eyes, now completely golden.

The flame responded.

Not with a roar—but with a hum. A quiet, ancient sound that resonated with the heartbeat of the world.

Kun rose into the air, surrounded by a sphere of golden-white energy. The Wyrm turned its many eyes to him—and hesitated.

"Orlan," Kun said calmly, "break the leyline at the core. Elira—cut through the Wyrm's underjaw. I'll draw its attention."

Both nodded.

What followed was chaos—

Elira sprinted along the Wyrm's back like lightning, dodging whipping roots and lashing branches. She leapt high and drove her sword deep into the exposed green vein beneath the beast's jaw. Sap-like blood burst from the wound.

The Wyrm screeched.

Orlan descended into the rift, where the leyline shimmered like a crystal root. With a shouted incantation, he plunged his staff into it—detonating the entire subterranean bond in a blinding blue pulse.

And Kun—

Kun flew directly into the Wyrm's face, arms outstretched, flame bursting from his entire body like a miniature sun.

> "Starfire Art: Celestial Collapse!"

A beam of condensed light erupted from him, striking the Wyrm's forehead with force enough to silence the world. The beam pushed the monster back into the rift, inch by inch.

With Elira's cut, Orlan's disruption, and Kun's power—

The Wyrm fell.

Its cry was not of pain, but of relief. The green fire extinguished. The roots loosened. And then, the beast collapsed inward, pulled into the broken leyline like water into cracked earth.

Silence returned.

Only ash and glowing embers remained.

Kun landed beside his friends, his cloak now fully gone, replaced by a mantle of starfire flickers. His eyes dimmed. His hands trembled.

Orlan sat down hard. "That… was insane."

Elira looked at Kun. "You almost died."

"I know," he replied.

She slapped him in the shoulder. "Warn me next time."

He smiled, and for the first time in days, they laughed.

But the sky was still dark. The wind still tense.

Because Kael was still out there.

And now… he knew what Kun was capable of.