(Over The Next Few Months, House Skyshard)
Over the next few months, the birth of Caleb and Sophia’s son, turned the atmosphere on Eternal Garden extremely joyful and harmonious.
The child was named Liam Skyshard, and from the very first day of his birth, it became abundantly clear that the boy would never experience a shortage of affection.
Grandma Amanda adored him.
Grandpa Leo gushed over him.
While Uncle Mairon treated him as though he were the greatest treasure in existence, going out of his way to make the baby laugh.
Even individuals like Shadow Number One and Dumpy, who normally showed very little interest in infants, found themselves visiting regularly simply to spend a few minutes beside the child.
As for Liam himself, he appeared pletely unaware of the chaos he had created, spending most of his days sleeping peacefully while unintentionally manding the attention of some of the most powerful individuals in the universe.
Meanwhile, although Sophia remained within the Eternal Garden raising their son, duty still forced Caleb to divide his time between family and responsibility.
Because regardless of how much he wanted to remain beside his wife and child, reality demanded that he leave to fulfill his duty as a Cult mander on the frontier planets.
As every few days, he was forced to leave for two to three weeks, before ing back for a few more days, and repeating the cycle all over again.
Fortunately, the relationship between him and Leo had recovered significantly by this point, as the doubts planted by Mauriss seemed to have lost their influence, while trust slowly re-established itself between father and son.
And for a while, life genuinely felt peaceful, however beneath that peace countless invisible pieces continued moving throughout the universe, as every single one of those pieces was quietly being guided by the same hand.
The Deceiver.
—-----------
(Meanwhile, Caleb’s POV)
Shortly before departing for another routine assignment upon Planet Phoenix Star, Caleb spent one final afternoon within the Eternal Garden.
At the time, nothing about the day felt unusual.
Nothing felt ominous.
Nothing felt important.
Which was perhaps why the memory would later linger within his mind so clearly.
Liam rested quietly within Sophia’s arms while Amanda fussed over the child endlessly, insisting that he needed another blanket despite the Eternal Garden possessing a perfectly controlled climate.
Meanwhile Mairon stood nearby attempting to teach a baby barely capable of focusing his eyes how to throw a punch, while Leo watched the entire scene unfold with visible disappointment.
"You’re going to make the boy stupid before he can even walk."
Leo muttered while shaking his head.
Mairon immediately scoffed hearing that accusation.
"That’s impossible.
I’m living proof that intelligence survives regardless of childhood conditions."
Mairon replied as Amanda immediately smacked him across the back of the head, as laughter followed throughout the garden.
For a while, Caleb simply smiled looking at all this, as for the first time in a very long while, everything felt plete.
Then suddenly, Liam reached outward with his tiny hand and wrapped his fingers around Caleb’s thumb.
The grip was weak.
Barely noticeable.
Yet somehow it pletely froze Caleb in place.
Because despite manding armies and overseeing planetary campaigns regularly, nothing had ever made him feel more responsible than that tiny hand.
"I’ll be back in a few days."
Caleb promised while gently rubbing Liam’s head.
As Sophia smiled warmly hearing those words.
"Three weeks, not a day more.... Okay?"
Sophia warned as Caleb laughed softly before leaning forward and kissing her forehead, as at the time, neither of them realized how much they would e to regret that conversation.
—---------
(A few days later, Planet Phoenix Star)
It seemed like just another normal day on planet Phoenix Star, as military installations operated normally, supply convoys moved according to schedule, administrative departments filed reports, while Caleb spent most of the day buried beneath an ocean of paperwork as he reviewed troop deployments throughout the surrounding sector.
Which was precisely why, when the calamity began, he was caught pletely off guard, as it was not like anyone in the universe could have predicted what was about to unfold.
*TREMBLE*
*ALARMS BLARING*
The first warning came when the entire planet’s land surface began trembling, while every aura warning device activated simultaneously.
"Wh–whats going on?"
Caleb’s assistant muttered, as Caleb instantly jumped out of the window and flew towards the sky, where he spotted the second warning.
*FSHHHHH*
Across the sky, several dimensional portals opened simultaneously, as Caleb momentarily forgot how to breathe.
’One.. two... three... four... five’
Caleb counted nervously, as at that moment, the third and final warning came, as the sky itself split open.
*CRACK*
It seemed like reality itself had fractured, as all color drained from the planet’s atmosphere, while the temperature began to drop rapidly, as Caleb immediately felt his blood run cold.
"It’s a coordinated attack. The whole new age alliance....."
He mumbled, recording a quick message for his father, as before him appeared five Gods.
Mu Shen.
Lu Han.
Du Trask.
Moltherak.
And
Mauriss.
All five surviving gods of the universe appeared on planet Phoenix Prime at once, while behind them stood Clarence and Terrence, to plete the fighting pool.
"Raise every planetary shield immediately.
Activate all emergency evacuation protocols.
Get every civilian underground now."
Caleb ordered over the ms, as below him soldiers and officers scrambled desperately to obey.
However, unfortunately for them, it was already too late.
"Grab the boy.
Destroy everything else."
Mauriss ordered as his voice echoed across the entire planet.
And then hell descended.
*BOOOOOOOOOOM*
Divine attacks rained down from the heavens while entire continents ruptured beneath overwhelming force, as cities vanished within seconds while billions died before they even understood what was happening.
Cult defenders attempted resisting.
Planetary weapons fired.
Emergency formations activated.
Yet against the bined might of five Gods and two Demi Gods, every effort proved meaningless.
As within mere minutes, Phoenix Star transformed into a graveyard, while Caleb, its sole survivor, was taken captive.
*Clink* *Clack*
Chains forged from divine energy wrapped around his body while multiple Gods personally ensured that escape became impossible, as they dragged him to the scorched Earth, and bound him amidst the rubble.
"You’re doomed now, Deceiver.
You shouldn’t have attacked a Cult world so brazenly.
My father and every Cult mander will be here soon."
Caleb growled while struggling against his restraints, as hearing those words, Mauriss began laughing.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Oh, don’t worry about that, Caleb Skyshard.
That’s exactly what we’re counting on."
Mauriss muttered while nearby Gods began carving massive runes directly into the shattered surface of the planet.
"The only reason we chose you instead of Mairon is because I know exactly how your family operates."
Mauriss continued while the formation expanded further.
"Your brother would march into certain death without hesitation if he believed you needed saving.
As for your father?"
Mauriss smiled.
"We both know he’ll e too."
Mauriss explained while Caleb’s expression darkened.
"Today every road in the universe leads to Phoenix Star."
Mauriss continued while the final layers of the formation began taking shape.
"Your father will e.
Your brother will e.
The Cult manders will e.
The Cult Army will e."
Mauriss declared while satisfaction flooded his expression.
"And when they arrive here believing they’re marching toward a rescue mission..."
He muttered while looking toward the heavens.
"They’ll discover that they were actually walking straight into their own funeral."
Mauriss concluded as the final rune ignited beneath Caleb’s feet, bathing the ruined world in a terrifying crimson light.
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