RAIWAN AGAINST THE DIVINE

Chapter 6: Veil of Ashes

Lisa and Rahiq stood in silence, neither uttering a word. It felt as though they were paying final respects at a gravesite. They remained motionless for several minutes until a knock sounded at the door.

With a sigh, they walked together, and Rahiq opened it. Outside stood two soldiers clad in the kingdom's armor. One held a bone tablet in his left hand and a white feather tipped with blood in the right.

They stood on a windborne mat, hovering fifty centimeters above the ground.

The mat was woven from enchanted threads that shimmered silver and blue, with wind-like patterns etched into its surface. Fifteen feet long and eight feet wide, it was a craft of magical beauty.

Behind the soldiers, eight children—all under seventeen, three boys and five girls—sat, their faces alight with joy. They seemed oblivious to the looming threat beyond the kingdom's walls, smiling as if they were on a thrilling adventure.

Well, it wasn't every day that children like them got to ride a windborne mat.

Even the soldiers, seemingly indifferent to the danger, took liberties in openly scrutinizing Lisa with their gazes. Only when Rahiq cleared his throat sharply—his barely contained rage shimmering beneath the surface—did they snap back to attention. Lisa placed a calming hand on his shoulder, steadying him.

The soldiers pretended not to notice his disgust. Finally, the one holding the bone tablet spoke.

"Mister Rahiq, where is your son?"

Rahiq remained silent, glaring at them.

Lisa stepped in, her voice calm. "My sister took him when she visited months ago."

The soldier jotted something down on the bone tablet, using the blood flowing from the feather's tip to inscribe words without staining the surface. Finished, he lifted his gaze.

"Don't stand there like statues! Hurry to the Grim Grou—"

Rahiq slammed the door in his face, leaving them speechless.

"Move on, Kays," the soldier grumbled to his partner. "Drive us to the next location."

Kays nodded, willing the mat to rise. It glowed and shot into the air, making a tight circle before diving forward. Though the mat flipped upside down in its maneuver, no one fell, nor did the children even notice the shift. The ride remained smooth and enchanting.

It was like a fantasy!

The children, thrilled by the experience, secretly hoped the trip would never end. Meanwhile, Kays' thoughts drifted elsewhere.

I hope he dies in battle. Someone like him doesn't deserve a girl like her. I'll marry her and give her wonders he can't imagine.

The other guard, catching the thought, scoffed aloud. "And what makes you think you deserve her?"

Kays blinked in shock, realizing he had been thinking out loud.

The guard smirked. "You'll never have her, even if he dies. Haven't you heard the rumors? Even the king offered her great wealth to leave him and marry into royalty, but she turned him down."

Kays gaped. "But… but that's impossible. Do you think she has a screw loose?"

"I'd say she just loves her husband." The guard chuckled. "After all, he's as beautiful as hell."

"Yes. That's one of the things I don't understand. How could a lowly, mundane bastard be this handsome? He's even more beautiful than the king—a Paragon!"

"One of the biggest mysteries in this kingdom."

Their voices continued to fade in the distance as they vanished behind the buildings.

Meanwhile, Lisa and Rahiq returned to their house. They moved swiftly, gathering every item of value or sentiment, carefully placing them into a storage ring.

Lisa then pulled out a small golden box adorned with red diamonds from her storage.

Rahiq frowned, startled. "What's that?"

Lisa smiled softly. "I saw this day in a dream long ago. Not the details—just you and me, storing things in this box. I went to Mihasa and described it. She made it exactly as I envisioned. It can store other storage items and vanish into the void, where only a specialized Siecox can retrieve it."

"You're giving everything to Raiwan?"

"Yes."

"Well… he might find some of my things useful, too." Rahiq sighed, adding his own items to the ring.

Once everything was inside, Lisa opened the box, placed the ring inside, and shut it. The box disintegrated into ash instantly, the wind carrying its remains away.

Lisa exhaled. "Now that's done, let's go and die."

Her voice was steady as she infused Energox into one of her rings.

Rahiq glanced at her, shaking his head with a faint smile. So all that somberness was just for Raiwan. You weren't even worried about dying, huh? I knew it.

He watched as her clothes transformed into a magnificent set of battle armor.

The air thickened, the sheer power exuding from the armor stretching for miles.

The silver armor complemented her grey hair perfectly. The chest piece and shoulder plates gleamed white, while six magical bangles adorned her left arm. Arm guards covered both hands, and a white, knee-length skirt of otherworldly material completed the battle-ready form. Silver leather boots grounded her stance.

As the armor finished manifesting, it glowed, releasing a pulse of power that shook the house.

The earth trembled. The sky quaked. Even the air vibrated in response.

Lisa's eyes flashed, a volt of lightning surging through her gaze. Every hair on her skin stood on end, sparking and repelling whenever they met.

Everything was beyond magic.

Even the mundane people of San Raza—those without magic, those still within the kingdom—felt the shift in the atmosphere.

They felt the air growing thick, heavy with an unseen force.

Walking became difficult.

Their hairs stood on edge, instinctively bowing to the Sovereign Aura.

It was vast, Enormous and Intense.

Majestic and Sublime. Yet… terrifying.

A new sensation gripped them, something beyond their comprehension.

For the first time in their lives, they felt as though—

—a god was about to descend.

A hushed fear spread through the streets.

Was it really a god?

They turned to the source of the power, their minds urging them to move forward, to witness divinity with their own eyes.

But something stopped them.

They weren't listening to their own thoughts anymore.

All they heard—all they felt in their bones—was an inaudible command.

A summons.

A call to the Grim Ground.

They shut their ears, their bodies already moving, obeying a will not their own.

Back in the house, as the intensity of the armor's magic spread, nearby artifacts crumbled, their enchantments unraveling.

Potions shattered.

Hidden spells dissolved.

And beneath it all, something else was revealed—

Lisa's true, sacred beauty.

Rahiq gulped hard, and then... looked away!