Chains of Divinity

Kael remembered what sunrise used to mean. Before the gods, before the "blessing," it had been simple - warmth on his face, the start of another ordinary day. Now, watching dawn paint the mountaintop in shades of crimson and gold, he felt only the weight of countless identical mornings stretching back through centuries.

Below, mortal cities sparkled like fallen stars. He could see people moving through the streets, living their brief, precious lives. Merchants opening shops. Children racing to school. Guards changing shifts at the city gates. All of them beautifully, perfectly mortal. All of them free to live and age and die as nature intended.

His fingers traced the ancient runes carved into his skin - marks of divine "favor" that had cursed him with eternal life. Each one held a memory of pain, of transformation, of watching everyone he'd ever loved wither and die while he remained unchanging. The crisp mountain air carried whispers of autumn, but after countless seasons, even the changing of the world meant nothing to him anymore.

"Still watching them?" The voice rolled across the peaks like distant thunder. Oris, the Warbringer, materialized beside him. The god's armor, crafted from condensed starlight, sang battle hymns with every movement. But beneath his divine majesty, Kael caught hints of uncertainty - quick glances, subtle shifts of posture. The god was worried.

"Come to check on your weapon?" Kael didn't turn to face him. There had been a time when Oris's presence would have filled him with awe. Now he felt only tired anger.

"Come to offer you one last chance." Oris's voice softened, becoming almost paternal. It was the tone he'd used in the early days, when Kael had still believed in divine benevolence. "You were meant to be our champion, Kael. Our sword against the darkness. Instead, you've become..." He gestured at Kael's form, scarred by countless battles against divine warriors.

"A disappointment?" Kael's laugh was sharp as broken glass. "I became exactly what you made me. Immortal. Unbreakable." His eyes finally met Oris's, and the god actually flinched at what he saw there. "Did you think I wouldn't learn? Wouldn't grow stronger with each passing century?"

"We gave you a gift—" Oris began, but there was doubt in his voice now. The certainty of divine authority wavered.

"You gave me a cage!" Kael's roar echoed across the mountains, sending avalanches of snow cascading down distant peaks. The force of his rage made reality itself shudder. "Did you think I wouldn't notice? The way you used me, sent me against your enemies, expected me to be grateful for the privilege of being your weapon?"

A memory flashed through his mind - his first "mission" for the gods. A small village that had dared to worship differently. He'd been so proud to serve divine will, so certain of his righteousness. The screams still haunted him.

Oris's expression hardened, divine light blazing around him. "So be it."

The sky split apart with a sound like reality tearing. A gateway of swirling energies - purple and gold - materialized above them. Kael had expected this, but not so soon. He reached for his sword, but divine chains of light had already wrapped around his limbs.

Vestra, the Goddess of Wisdom, stepped through the portal, her form shifting between young maiden and ancient crone. Her eyes held genuine sadness as she looked at him. "The council has reached its decision, Kael. You are too dangerous to remain."

"Too powerful, you mean," Kael spat, struggling against the chains. Each link burned with divine energy, trying to suppress the strength he'd gained over centuries.

"Too rebellious," Xenith, the Keeper of Balance, emerged from shadows that hadn't existed a moment before. Unlike the others, she showed no emotion at all. "Power can be contained. Will cannot."

The chains pulled tighter, drawing him toward the portal. Through its shifting energies, he could see another world - a realm of primal magic and ancient forests. His new prison.

"Your punishment is exile," Vestra declared, real regret coloring her voice. "Not death - we are not so cruel. But you will be stripped of much of your power, cast into a realm where you can no longer threaten the divine order."

Kael felt the chains burning away at his strength, but he forced himself to smile. The expression made even Oris step back. "You fear me that much?"

"We fear what you represent," Xenith said softly. For the first time, real emotion touched her voice. "Hope is a dangerous thing when given to slaves."

The portal swallowed him whole, but as he fell between worlds, his laughter echoed across the divine realm. In their rush to be rid of him, they had made a crucial mistake.

They had given him something new to conquer.

And in doing so, they had proven what he'd suspected for centuries - the gods themselves could feel fear.

The divine chains dissolved as he tumbled through dimensions, but Kael didn't stop laughing. Let them think they'd won. Let them believe their "punishment" would break him. He had eternity to prove them wrong.

After all, he thought as reality bent around him, what was one more prison to someone who had already broken divine law itself?

The last thing he saw before the portal closed was Oris's face - not angry or triumphant, but afraid. The god had finally realized what Kael had known for centuries:

Their perfect weapon had evolved beyond their control.

And this was only the beginning.