Location: Arctic Circle – Ruins of Norilsk Station
Snow fell in crystalline silence.
Isaiah stood on the frostbitten ground facing Velkyr, her violet wings folded behind her like the curtains of a mythic stage. She looked every bit the goddess the world feared—untouched by the cold, her silver armor shimmering like starlight. Her eyes held galaxies. Her posture: both regal and wild.
But Isaiah didn't bow.
He didn't tremble.
He simply met her gaze, steady as the storm beneath his skin.
"You came faster than I expected," Velkyr said, voice low, melodic.
"I don't have the luxury of time," Isaiah replied. "Neither do you."
Velkyr stepped down from the platform of shattered concrete, her boots not disturbing a single flake of snow.
"You speak like a man burdened by prophecy."
Isaiah's jaw tightened. "I speak like someone who's already seen what's coming."
"And yet," she said, "you still believe in stopping it."
"Shouldn't I?"
Velkyr's expression softened, almost nostalgic. "There was a time when I thought as you do. Before the myths turned on each other. Before gods chose sides. Before humanity—your kind—began forgetting."
---
Velkyr's Memory
She closed her eyes briefly, and her voice turned distant.
> "There was a kingdom in the clouds.
We guided seasons. Breathed lightning into the mountains.
Then war.
Myth against myth.
We called it the Sundering.
And I... was left alone.
The skies fell quiet for a thousand years.
Until this world—your world—cracked open enough for me to return."
She opened her eyes again. "And now I see it all happening again."
Isaiah's storm stirred. "That's why you grounded Norilsk?"
Velkyr nodded slowly. "A demonstration. Not destruction."
"You could have warned them."
"I did," she said quietly. "In their dreams. Their winds. Their bones. They didn't listen."
---
Isaiah's Challenge
He took a step closer. The wind flared around him in response, swirling his coat, teasing sparks across the snow.
"People forget, yes," Isaiah said. "But we remember again too. We're not all blind. We can evolve."
Velkyr tilted her head. "And what if you don't evolve fast enough? What if the Maw reaches them before their awakening?"
"Then we fight it together," he said.
A pause.
She studied him, eyes narrowing. "You want an alliance."
"I want a chance."
Velkyr was silent for a long moment, then extended her hand. "Prove to me you can carry the storm without letting it consume you."
Isaiah hesitated, then stepped forward and placed his hand in hers.
And in that moment—
---
Vision Shared
He was pulled into her memory.
Flashes of the ancient world.
Cloud cities shattered.
Wings torn from comrades mid-flight.
Gods falling like meteorites.
Children screaming as leylines cracked.
The day she chose exile.
The day she became Velkyr, the Sky Sovereign.
He staggered as the vision ended, chest heaving.
Velkyr watched him. "Still want to stand beside me?"
Isaiah didn't waver. "Now more than ever."
---
Elsewhere: The Maw Corrupts Further
In the ruins of an underground NATO base in Germany, black mist leaked from broken chambers. An entire response unit stood frozen—eyes glowing with fractured mythic energy.
At the center stood Clara, her body levitating, her voice echoing.
> "I dreamed of angels.
I woke with fangs."
The Maw had chosen a harbinger.
And it whispered one name.
> "Velkyr."
---
Back at Norilsk
Ayar and Suri arrived moments later, descending from the Tempest Dawn. Their steps were cautious, but they didn't draw weapons.
Velkyr turned to them and nodded once.
"Companions of the Stormborn. You are welcome."
Suri stepped forward. "Then you accept an alliance?"
"I accept a trial," Velkyr corrected. "Your storm will be tested. The world will offer no mercy."
Isaiah grinned. "Neither will we."
Velkyr gave the barest hint of a smile.
"Then let the awakening begin."