Celine Klein stared up to the rotted crimson sky. Her chest was tight and her breath bated as her mind went to work. This sight didn’t make sense based on anything she knew. First of all, her mother’s visions were never this literal, and second of all, God controlled the sky. It was a wish granted for the people, giving them a world little different from what they knew. Her father played a part, but it would have been impossible without prayer to the Arbiter's light. If that crimson decay could shine down, then the danger of the Crimson Prophet was worse than her expectations. The spectral form of Prey came for her head while she was distracted, and she shoved a rapier through its chest. As she flicked it up to god, she turned it into a focus, letting it carry her mind through the castle.

Visions flashed quickly. She saw the hordes of monsters with red arrows jutting out of their chest. She saw the wounded and the crying; saw the desperate looks on soldiers' faces. She saw people huddle as loose batteries hunted; saw some saved as Jacque and Luca found them. Worst of all she felt the sudden spawn of Prey. It came with a prayer hot in her ears as a room full of children transformed.

“O’ God who dwells on the edge of court…”

Where had they ever heard a prayer like that?

The Prey snaked toward her and she caught it in the face, making another focus as she checked the edge of Sector One. Spotting something, she shot toward it, letting the vision tune her in. A female researcher was talking to herself, writing something into the wall of power between the Sectors.

“Don’t worry Micaela, sure, we’re sending you to the border of Sector One but you got this. It’s all just math after all. 1+1=2. 3×3=9. Me plus getting caught equals Death! Simple math!” She exclaimed, throwing her hands up.

Celine dropped in front of her and kicked her to the ground, putting the sword at her neck. Micaela couldn’t even dare to gulp, the point was sharp and all too close.

“You’re going to answer my questions honestly.” The Princess demanded. Micaela smiled, slowly bringing her hands up.

“I kinda hoped something like this would happen but not in this way! I mean, sort of! We were in the grass but…”

“What?”

“What?”

“This isn’t a game, researcher. Anymore unnecessary comments and it’s your life.”

“Yes ma’am!”

“Good. Now, tell me what you think you’re doing here.”

“I can’t just say math, right?” She chuckled. Celine pricked her neck. “Right, well… King says one halo won’t be enough for him because of what he is. Khalaf suggested sending me to the border of Sector One to make a kind. Using his weird marks, I just write in a circle and then something should happen. He says King will need one, and I will too. King seemed to have already known this was the plan.”

“Who are these two?”

“Well, one’s been here for a while and the other is…” The word dragged on. “An intruder.” She squeaked and shrieked as Celine stabbed her in the arm.

“Why are you working with an intruder!”

“It’s a really long story…” Micaela said through gritted teeth. “People are dead and I almost died and I wanted to live, plus our religion is kind of shady!” She shrieked again as Celine made a new hole. “Come on!” She cried. “I’m literally just telling the truth.”

“And this is your punishment for the crimes you committed.”

“God! That was the dream too but not like this!”

“Where are those two now?”

“Heading to the Cathedral.”

Celine’s eyes widened. She reached out for her mother and got her grief back.

“Celine, come quick! I can’t reach your brothers, and I can’t feel Brigid’s light!”

“What have you done!”

“I really don’t even know.” Micaela whined.

Celine stepped back. “Stand up.” The researcher did, and the Princess shoved the sword through her heart. “May you freeze swiftly in court.” Light pulled out as she drew back, flicking it toward the Arbiter like Prey. Micaela’s body turned gray, and as familiar words came to her lips, Celine swung for her neck.

Something suddenly shot past her, striking the researcher, knocking her back. The rapier swung out as another shot at her, catching an arrow against its blade. Its color was nearing purple, and it almost provoked a different reaction until Celine saw its origin. Rage was still on the table, but confusion struck her first. A woman with long dark hair came forward, holding a composite bow at her side as if she didn't take the shots. She stood in dark clothes—an indigo cape draped over her free arm, with a long skirt slit on the other side. A piercing set at the corner of her left eyebrow, its whirlpool shape unearthing old memories. But Celine couldn't identify them. These memories were distant and felt like they didn't belong.

“Identify yourself.”

The woman curtsied. “Are you saying I don’t give it away? Maybe you were a little young at the time. I guess mommy and daddy didn’t brag.”

“You don’t look like your name would be King or Khalaf, so, are you another ally of that woman.”

“I haven’t met her a day in my life.”

“Then who are you!”

There came a rustle behind Celine and a sudden shout. “Holy crap!” Micaela rose to her feet. Celine couldn’t resist turning toward her. “I was just dead. I definitely just felt myself die. Was that what it was like before I became a Radiant Acolyte? Oh my god, that was horrible. It felt like time stopped!”

“How?” Celine hissed.

The woman whistled. “It wasn’t difficult. Castle Cerulean might be new to Refraction, but I learned the basics of what you teach when I was twelve. Going this far wasn’t a problem.” She nocked a green arrow.

Celine took a long look at her face, placing the woman in her mid-thirties. Twelve was a long time ago...before Castle Cerulean stood. All of a sudden she knew everything she needed to know. She knew the reason the memory was so distant, yet that whirlpool piercing looked familiar. It came from a time when she was six; when her family was still searching for prey for the Arbiter. She didn't know the place's name, but she knew where this woman's origin.

“Impossible. People born within domains die when they fall!”

“Most of the time, yeah. It’s a product of being created by the Gods, except… My brother and I are different. Our father stumbled into the domain, and became a part of it. When your family attacked, we lost everything but our lives. He felt what it was like to have his light taken from him, and I felt what it was like to lose our God. Then the world ended, and we blended in with the other monsters out there.” She placed a hand on her chest. “Except, there was always something pulling me forward, like a reminder, I guess. And then we found Castle Cerulean, and felt what it was like to live again.”

Micaela tried to be a spectator and failed. “Wait, are you telling me that the Castle destroyed your home?”

“I am. We called it the Azure Coast. It was beautiful. I wish I could show it to you.”

“Wow!” Micaela barked at Celine. “I was feeling real bad about the whole, betraying God thing, but you guys are the worst!”

“Be silent! We did what we had to and you profited for it.”

“You did do what you had to, right? And now I’m doing the same.” The woman raised her bow and loosed the arrow at the Arbiter’s Luster, widening Celine’s eyes as it sank in.

“That will do nothing to the Arbiter. You cannot poison him!”

“I can’t but…” She looked to the sky. “The Crimson Prophet might have other plans though.”

“Who are you!” Celine hissed.

“Right. I haven’t told you. My name is Fiona, God’s Indigo Specter.”

⁘⁛⁘

Corrosion stepped into Sector Two with a soldier still in his grasp. The man whimpered and stammered, begging for his life, and it brought him up to its eyes as it tilted its head. The plea was real and desperate, the man would do anything. Just a drop of its Luminance touched the man's head, and he let out a shriek as he was freed. He turned fast on his heels, running back to Central Hall. Rashawn watched the man jump over the side down to Sector One, and his words reached Corrosion's ear.

“Not that I’m judging, but what that guy do?”

“Stand back.” It was not an answer, but an order, as Corrosion stepped out to the three-way road.

A broad man loomed in the sky above it, looking down as if all of this was his kingdom. Fiona was right, this man was hard to miss, floating there like the familiar form of a superhero. Otto Ludvig Klein V judged Corrosion with glowing blue eyes, deciding long before a trial that it earned an execution. Corrosion moved closer, and the King’s voice boomed like thunder.

“You will go no further, Crimson Prophet. You have made a mess of my kingdom, and I will not allow another step.”

It pressed its teeth together, giving the impression of a sneer. “Your kingdom was easy to infect! It awaited sick and dying.”

“My kingdom prospered!”

“And yet it needed amputation?”

“The Rejects were long meant to be sacrifices. Do you cry for the slaughtered pig? Do you weep for every vegetable plucked from the ground? Do you presume to say we have sinned for giving this kingdom what it needs?”

“A kingdom propped on the backs of others will crumble when they fall.”

“Then you are what? Our Penance?”

“No. I am Corrosion, The Crimson Prophet.”

“And I am Otto Ludvig Klein V. The Cerulean Priest King!”

Six Seraphim surrounded Otto, each one taking the point of a hexagram. They shone like stars, blue light radiating, forming a circle as threads of it connected. In the throne room, Francis watched with a remote in his hand. As the lines completed their shape around the King, he pressed the button down.

“Glory to the King.” He said.

“Glory to the King.” The seraphim repeated.

The light ripped Otto apart, discarding flesh to leave a phosphorous being in the sky. As if a chisel was taken to him, pieces broke away, shifting him to a shirtless form with a bear pelt on his back. Long white hair fell like frost from his head as a crown rose around it. Crystalline hammers grew from his palms, and he dropped to the ground as if they pulled him down. As his cerulean body rose, he gave Corrosion one last look.

“It is frigid, Crimson Prophet. Your sins shall leave you brittle.”

He came at Corrosion like a torpedo, a hammer high above his head. The Crimson Prophet pulled a spear together and stabbed, but could only watch as the hammer broke it apart. It pulled aside, dodging the arc as it spawned more. Before they could fly, Otto tossed a hammer, blasting it back as he hit its chest. His torpedo charge was faster on the ice trail left in its wake, his blow landing with explosive impact. Shards sprayed everywhere, but Corrosion slipped away. A serpent-like body restored its arms and legs, swinging claws as Otto came again. Half its arm shattered as it swiped the hammer, forcing a retreat as the other went for its jaw. But retreat was slow as if it was pushing against a rushing wind. Meanwhile, Otto came faster, swinging the hammer like he could flatten the world.

Harpoons swarmed out from Central Hall, running Corrosion through as they pushed it out of the way. More came for Otto as he turned to follow, breaking against his Luminance as he turned the other way. He tossed his hammer, forewarning his approach, soaring toward them as it caved in a face. With easy arcs he shattered bodies, tossing frozen chunks as the Vengeful fought in vain. Corrosion picked itself up, pulling the harpoons into its body. Its mind called for more Vengeful, still in the throes of their endless rage. It wasn't so foolish as to think they could stop the King, and that wasn't its plan. As the ice left its body, Fiona's words filled its mind.

“There’s something you need to know about Castle Cerulean if we’re going to work together. They have a limited idea of what Lightbearers can do, but they have access to the power of a God. I’m not talking about a demon they’re worshiping either. The Cerulean Arbiter is a God, and if the Almighty Want is accurate, its power will freeze you based on sin. You’ll be at a disadvantage—your very sin is the color of your light.”

“Then what can be done?”

“Well, Lightbearers aren’t all the same. You’re like Peter, for example. You don’t just bear light, you eat it, feeding your own. If the King becomes a God Incarnate you’ll be in danger, however, if you eat enough light it won’t matter.”

The last of the attacking Vengeful crumbled, and Otto glared through a frosted mist at the Crimson Prophet. He turned his hammers in his hand, and Corrosion hissed as he came back.

Winter followed on Otto tail’s as he torpedo charged and made his strike. To his surprise, Corrosion caught it, opening his guard as its hands began to crack. Its jaw snapped forward, teeth sinking into his Luminance, pulling a piece away as Otto stepped back. He spun into a wrecking smash, hitting the side of Corrosion's body, tearing a portion of it off. The other two-thirds flew aside, its body healing as it chewed. Otto leaped, freezing the ground on landing as Corrosion scuttled away. The King charged again and it opened its mouth. A dagger flew out, bouncing off a hammer as he lifted it to his face. Corrosion slipped around him before the weapon dropped, tearing the Luminance at his calf. The King spun and kick, knocking his foe to its feet. He lengthened a hammer and swung an underhand, launching it into the sky. That same hammer became a missile that lifted it even higher. The King went after it from surface to air, grabbing the falling hammer to slam it into Corrosion again. Where it flew he rose faster, batting into another way. He kept this up with brutal efficiency, juggling the body in a one-man game of tennis. All over Castle Cerulean people could see the blue light bouncing the red, and each hit drove the freezing deeper. As Corrosion's body dulled with the telltale signs of frostbite, Otto pushed his hammer into one, dropping like a meteor. Corrosion tore its head off, tossing it up as Otto smashed.

Pieces rained and the head dropped, growing out a body as it landed on Otto’s back. Its teeth dove toward his neck, moving so close they could almost sink in. The Luminance it snatch back was bigger than its body and it chewed it gluttonously as Otto entered a rapid spin. A wing grew from the bear pelt, peeling the Crimson Prophet from his body to launch it like a meteor toward the ground. The impact forged a crater and the King sent the hammer to make it deeper. He dive-bombed next with a new one in hand but stopped as a crimson cloud filled the air. No! It was a rain of harpoons! Otto shot out from under it and toward the attacking line, finding thousands of Vengeful throwing more. With one fell swoop in slew them all. Meanwhile, Corrosion rose, breathing the harpoons in. It swallowed each one and its body congealed, becoming something slick and liquid. But Otto didn't seem to care as he came back.

His hammer swung and stopped as Corrosion caught it. There was no freezing, no explosive shattering of the limb. Instead, the hammer melted against its palm, and Otto's eyes went wide. He balled his fist, punching instead, as Corrosion stabbed claws into his chest. Both of them touched the root of the other's Luminance and saw a vision of the past.

Otto saw a young dark-skinned man, following another through the wreckage of a building. He vigilantly looked around, as if there was a thing to save, stopping suddenly as something caught his eye. He ran over, brushing debris and dust off of a tome. As he picked it up, he called out to the other.

“Hold on, Slasher! I found something over here. It might be a clue what happened!”

The other man stopped and this one turned to the first page. The letters were eligible at first but rapidly changed to English.

“If you can read this line it is evident of the truth. The world has grown old and sickly, and some would rather it die than ever let it be something new. If you can read this line, you are chosen. I demand you kill this old and dying world.”

Otto's heart felt like it stopped, and Corrosion saw a teenage boy, standing with a similarly-looking older man. They stood in front of a wall, decorated with four vaguely similar faces in floor-to-ceiling portraits. The older man put a hand on the boy's shoulder and nodded proudly at the display.

“There have only been five men named Otto Ludvig Klein, my son. Know that your inheritance of the name means it is time for you fulfill a time honored role. Every so often the world reaches a certain point, and when it comes, it is the duty of Otto Ludvig Klein to lead the right people into the next era. You will rule like all those named before you. In this old world, my son, there is no greater honor than that!”

Corrosion's skeletal face moved back into a sneer. It pulled close to Otto's ear, making sure he heard the words.

“Those who rule in old worlds are destined to decay." It corroded his Luminance, making the man seize as his body fell back. His godly form peeled away, and before he hit the ground a green arrow shot out of him. Corrosion caught it.

Above them, the night sky turned completely red and peeled away like the power of the King. The Overcast fell over Castle Cerulean, casting it into its darkest day…