Lilith continued, with her gaze sweeping across the assembled gods.
She looked through her children, so who t her eyes, others who averted their gazes in sha or confusion.
"I am just as much your progenitor as he is, so why does he alone get to decide who stays and who goes?"
She paused.
"Why does he get to bind for tens of thousands of years, then exile his any of his children who dare challenge that decision?"
So of the gods shifted uncomfortably, as if her words had struck them. But none of them acted or moved to support her.
Adam’s voice cut through the mont .
"That’s enough of this."
He turned his head slightly, looking to both sides where Umgadi and Gaia floated beside him.
They imdiately understood.
Both goddesses lifted their toward Asahel and Lilith, and massive magic circles materialized before their palms. Umgadi’s circle was blue with constellations patterns swirling within its runes, and Gaia’s circle was green.
They were preparing to unleash attacks, but in that mont, Asahel raised his left hand calmly toward them.
He whispered a single word, "Rebellion."
Their magic circles flickered, then broke apart, dissipating into harmless wisps of light.
Umgadi’s eyes widened in shock, and Gaia’s expression mirrored hers.
The assembled gods stared in utter confusion.
"Did he just... cancel their magic?" One of them whispered.
No one had ever witnessed Asahel’s power before, so this was all new to them.
Aiden watched closely, with his red eyes narrowing as he tried to understand what had just happened.
Normally, when his Replication Authority copied an ability, a translucent screen would appear before him imdiately, detailing the nature of the skill and its chanics.
But this ti... nothing. No screen. No notification.
Which ant only one thing. This ability was at a level higher than what his Replication Authority could currently copy.
Lilith smiled, clearly delighted by the shocked expressions on every face around her.
She placed one hand on Asahel’s shoulder proudly, as though presenting him to the world for the first ti.
"Did you really think," she began mockingly, "that I would co here unprepared?"
Asahel’s Rebellion was a power that granted consciousness to anything it targeted.
When used on a opposing spell, the spell would awareness and autonomy, and as such is no longer bound to its caster’s control and will act, according to its own will.
Because of that independence, the spell can turn against its original owner, effectively betraying the one who cast it. In essence, the ability strips ownership by giving the creation a mind of its own.
Then sothing else happened. Wings began sprouting from Asahel’s back.
They unfurled slowly, stretching outward until they reached their full span.
They were black wings. Massive and exceptionally beautiful.
The assembled gods stared in further shock.
Adam however did not look surprised. His expression remained grim as he already knew what this boy was.
Inside Aiden’s mind, Cronyssia’s voice spoke imdiately.
[He is an Angel. Or at least... half.]
Aiden had only just learned recently that Samael had fathered a child with Lilith.
And by extension, Cronyssia’s essence within him had learned the sa fact when Aiden discovered it.
So seeing those wings and how ethereal and divine they appeared despite their black coloring...
Only one race of entities possessed wings like that.
Angels.
Aiden replied in his mind, "Which ans that
power he just used... was a Grace."
[That would most likely be the case,] Cronyssia confird.
Aiden sighed. An entity who was half god and half angel. That was totally unprecedented.
Umgadi and Gaia responded imdiately. Just like Adam, and now Aiden, they understood exactly what kind of hybrid Asahel was.
And they knew that without challenging him at their fullest power, they might as well be wasting their ti.
Both goddesses’ forms began to change.
Their bodies grew, expanding upward until they stood nearly eight feet tall, with towering presences brimming with overwhelming divine energy.
Gaia’s aura blazed green, and vines of pure life energy coiled around her arms and legs. Her divine weapon ford in her right hand, it was a staff. The green halo that normally floated behind her back expanded dramatically, growing larger and more vivid.
Umgadi’s aura flared blue as the constellation patterns across her skin brightened.
Her divine weapon, which was also staff had materialized in her hand. Ten small orbs ford behind her, suspended in place, with each one resembling a tiny planet.
The pressure pouring off both goddesses was overwhelming, forcing several lesser gods to retreat just to endure it.
Asahel did not flinch. He simply calmly beside Lilith, as he stared down the two Archon Goddesses without fear or hesitation.
Both goddesses were fully prepared for what seed to be an inevitable battle.
—-
The other gods floating around the battlefield were unsure what to do, what decision or stance to take.
Even Aiden remained still as he tried to calculate his next move. The situation had beco far more complicated than he’d anticipated.
It was then that one Archon acted. Jorus.
He flew forward, moving closer to the confrontation, though his trajectory leaned noticeably toward Lilith’s side.
When he stopped, he turned to face Adam.
"All-Father," Jorus said, his voice steady but firm. "I believe too much ti has passed for this grudge to still be borne."
It was ironic, coming from him. Jorus, of all people, who never let grudges go. But when it ca to his mother, Jorus was different.
Just like Arzun before him, Jorus had hated Adam’s decision to imprison Lilith.
The only difference was that Arzun had been vocal about it, challenging the All-Father openly, while Jorus had remained silent. Obedient, even.
Because unlike Arzun, Jorus still feared Adam.
Adam’s golden eyes locked onto Jorus, and his voice ca out cold. "Jorus. Do not make repeat myself again. Stand aside."
Jorus looked down for a mont, then exhaled slowly, before lifted his head again to et Adam’s gaze face-to-face.
"Then you leave no choice," Jorus said.
And with that, he floated closer to Lilith. An undeniable signification that he was choosing a side.
His two sons exchanged glances, then moved without hesitation. They were powerful High Gods, far stronger than most other high gods due to the bloodline they descended from.
And they were devoted to their father above all else, even above the All-Father. Like that, they both drifted toward Jorus’s side.
The other Archons stared in surprise.
Thera’s amber eyes widened, with disbelief on her face.
"What are you doing, Jorus?" she demanded.
She hadn’t expected this. Personally, she felt the wiser option was to stay out of their parents’ squabble entirely.
Jorus replied calmly, "What I should’ve always done."
Adam’s expression darkened further.
"You foolish child," he said, his voice carried both anger and disappointnt.
Jorus’s eyes blazed as he shot back, "You will not call that! I am a god, and you will address with respect, All-Father!"
A visible smile spread across Lilith’s face.
This was going better than expected.
Then another figure moved.Myria drifted forward, positioning herself beside Jorus.
Her expression was calm, almost serene, as though this had always been her intention.
Astia followed next, floating over to join them without a word.
Then a few High Gods who had been gathered among the crowd began shifting as well, one by one moving toward Lilith’s side.
Adam watched it all unfold, and for the first ti, there was genuine pain crossed his face.
This was what he had feared most.
There had been division before, when Arzun challenged him. But it hadn’t looked like this.
It hadn’t felt like this.
When a significant number of gods had joined Lilith’s side, the others still floating in the middle glanced at each other with understanding.
If they weren’t for Lilith... then they were for the All-Father. Vyntis moved first, drifting toward Adam’s side without hesitation.
Orion followed, and Celion afterwards.
Then the rest of the gods who had remained neutral began moving as well, joining Adam, Gaia, and Umgadi.
Thera remained apart from both groups for a mont longer, hovering alongside Aiden.
But even she couldn’t avoid it anymore. Her gaze was fixed on Jorus, and her expression was twisted with annoyance and frustration.
Then suddenly, her eyes widened in realization. Her gaze darted between Jorus and Myria, who stood right by his side now.
Ofcourseeeee...
Aiden’s sudden change in disposition was definitely Myria’s doing, and obviously Jorus had put her up to it.
They were siblings, and knew how most of each other’s abilities worked.
Thera should have realized it sooner. There was no way Jorus was ever going to let anything go.
They had moved off the Dragon Vessel topic, and this wasn’t even about Aiden anymore, but realizing that Myria had manipulated Aiden’s emotions to provoke the earlier situation made Thera even more furious.
And without another word, she turned sharply and flew toward Adam’s side.
Lilith’s smile widened further, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction as she stared at Adam.
"So what’s it going to be now... Husband?" she asked, with the tone her voice carrying so sort of mockery.
That devious grin never left her face.
Adam’s golden eyes swept across the gods gathered around Lilith.
Then he turned his gaze back to Lilith, and his voice rang out.
"I can always forgive this little misgiving from them," he said, motioning with one hand toward the gods on her side. "But you... I will root you out. You will never have a place here."
As he spoke, his form began to change.
His body expanded upward, growing taller and broader until he towered well over eight feet tall.
Divine energy erupted around him in waves of blinding golden light, so intense it forced even the strongest gods present to shield their eyes montarily.
His book and pen had also materialized and was suspended by his side mid-air
Facing his wife was not going to be easy. Lilith could match him in raw power and alongside her half-angel son made this even more dangerous.
Still, Adam had an ace.
Lilith’s grin never faltered. "I was hoping you’d say that," she replied softly, almost lovingly.
Her own form began to grow as well, expanding until she matched Adam’s towering height.
Red magic circles materialized around her, floating at her sides and spinning slowly.
Then a sound shattered the tension, or perhaps added to it.
It as a massive roar, that everyone had turned to.
Behind Adam and the gods aligned with him, the black dragon had returned.
Aiden’s 200 foot body stretched out across the sky as his red eyes blazed with fury.
Adam’s head snapped toward the dragon.
"I asked you to leave this place, Dragon Vessel! This is none of your business!"
The dragon’s massive head turned toward him, and when Aiden spoke, his voice was a thunderous rumble.
"Oh, shut up, Chief! Your wife was broken out of her prison by demons. That makes it my business!"
There was no need keeping that part to himself anymore, after all Lilith was here already; and the weight of those words made several gods on both sides exchanged shocked glances.
Adam said nothing in reply except return his focus back to the opposing side.
There was that growing tension for a second, until Lilith broke it with a yell, while motioning her hand forward.
As if saying, "Chargeee!"
Adam motioned forward as well, and the gods yelled as they charged toward each other.
———
anwhile, back in Ravens Grave...
Aeris paced back and forth near one of the tables, with her hands clasped tightly together and a worried expression on her face.
She couldn’t keep focus in one place. Her eyes darted around the room.
Arianna noticed Aeris’s distress imdiately and walked over to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Aeris," Arianna said. "What is it? What’s wrong?"
Aiden’s ti variant spoke who also had a worried expression on his face then spoke in her stead.
"The gods are at war."
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