Prolougue: Mortal Blood
“Great Goddess Aruna... forgive your people!!”
My voice broke against the storm as I descent. The violent winds howled relentlessly, tearing through my ears as I plunged downward.
“Answer me. Please—let me help you.”
But no answer came.
The silence was wrong.
Too heavy. Too final.
She knew.
From the beginning... she knew.
“This was your choice...” I whispered.
The wind howled, tearing at my robes. Fragments scattered like glowing embers, flickering like dying flames.
“You said we would face this together.”
“You said you believed in them.”
My hands clenched.
“And now... you leave me to bear this alone?”
The sky fractured.
Then—
I fell.
The world swallowed me whole.
Winds ripped through my body as I descended.
Below, the land twisted—overgrown, abandoned.
I hit the ground.
Hard.
The breath was torn from my lungs.
The earth clung to me.
Damp.
Pungent.
Alive.
For a moment—
I couldn’t move.
Then—
Pain.
Sharp.
Sudden.
Everywhere.
I forced my arm upward.
And froze.
Red.
Not light.
Not power.
Blood.
“I...”
My voice trembled.
“I’m bleeding...”
My heart pounded.
Loud.
Uneven.
“...No.”
This wasn’t a form.
Not a vessel.
This was real.
“I am...”
My breath hitched.
“...mortal.”
And for the first time—
I felt afraid.
