The Tales of Celestia

Book 1, Chapter 5: The Comet

After receiving the Shadow Bow of Eternity and the Elder Horn of Valor from Versaya, Azura cherished them as extensions of her very being. These relics, crafted from Versaya's own essence, held unimaginable power. Azura could summon and dismiss them through the power of darkness, calling upon their strength only when needed. In the early days of peace, when discord and enemies were but distant thoughts, the bow and horn remained largely unused—unlike Arthaz's ever-active spear.

But relics born of divine essence were not meant to lie dormant. Their immense energy, though contained for a time, could not lie idle forever. The Bow of Eternity, in particular, began to change. Over time, the Bow began to absorb faint traces of energy around it, as if it had a will of its own. Being a relic of eternal existence, the bow sought to sustain itself, refusing to fade or perish. The Elder Horn of Valor, ever its companion, amplified this behavior, silently feeding the bow's hunger for power. Together, they became insatiable scavengers, drawing energy from the cosmos to sustain their divine purpose.

Azura, unaware of this silent evolution, wielded the bow sparingly. It wasn't until her encounter with Taros as a boy that the bow truly awoke.

When Azura absorbed Taros's immense power during his youth, she imbued his power into the bow, unknowingly feeding the Bow of Eternity. For the first time, the bow unleashed the stored energy it had quietly amassed. In its place, it devoured Taros's essence, a power so immense and enigmatic that even Azura did not fully understand it. The bow, now brimming with Taros's energy, lay dormant once more, silently studying the potential it carried. Years passed without its use, the immense power within slumbering, yet restless.

It was not until Taros's transformation into a fire demon that the Bow of Eternity awakened. When Celestine hurled a crystalline spear toward Taros, Azura acted on instinct. She summoned the bow, drew its string, and fired an arrow of pure, shadow-forged energy. The arrow collided with the spear, shattering it and sparing Taros.

But in that fateful moment, Taros caught the arrow in his hand. As his fiery grip closed around it, the bow experienced what it had long awaited—a connection to its true master. The Bow of Eternity surged with life, resonating with the chaos it had stored from Taros. When Taros absorbed his stolen power back from the bow, it left the relic drained, its essence hollow. In desperation, the bow made an unthinkable choice: it absorbed Taros's chaos—his rage, anger, revenge, and full measure of his demonic transformation.

The surge of chaotic energy left Taros unconscious, and Azura, weakened but determined, used her remaining strength to carry him through a dimensional door to safety, sealing it behind her. The Bow of Eternity and the Elder Horn of Valor, however, were left adrift in the void. Without their masters, the relics became lifeless, drifting aimlessly through the cosmos. Their light dimmed, their purpose extinguished—at least for a time.

For seven long years, the bow and horn floated aimlessly in the cosmos. Yet, even in this slumber, they were not idle. Slowly, they absorbed fragments of energy from passing celestial bodies—ethereal remnants of creation itself. Over time, these energies coalesced into a colossal sphere around the relics, encasing them in a cocoon of dormant power.

Within this sphere, chaos simmered. The energy of Taros's rage and corruption brewed into something more potent, more destructive. When the chaos reached its breaking point, the sphere ignited, erupting into flames that engulfed the void. At its heart, the Shadow Bow of Eternity and Elder Horn of Valor pulsed with life once more, their essence reborn.

Now a blazing orb of fire and chaos, the relics sought their origin. The sphere began to move, at first slowly, then with purpose, as if drawn by an unseen force. It hurtled through the cosmos, tearing through the fabric of creation itself.

Its path was unwavering, drawn to Celestia like a predator to its prey. The ball of chaotic fire surged forward, its flames intensifying with each passing moment, burning brighter and hotter, a beacon of chaos that pierced the heavens. It seemed alive, driven by an unrelenting will, its purpose singular: to seek Taros, the source of its power.

The skies of Celestia, once serene and filled with light, were now overshadowed by the impending presence. The air thickened with tension as the fiery orb drew closer, its chaotic energy rippling across the cosmos. The gods atop the Light Tower—Lucian, Sienna, Kaius, and Aurelia—watched in silence, their expressions ranging from awe to unease.

"What... is that?" Lucian finally asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Sienna's golden eyes narrowed as she tried to discern the orb's nature. "It's not natural," she said, her voice laced with concern. "That energy... it's overwhelming."

Kaius stepped forward, his trident glinting in the dimming light. "Whatever it is, it's heading straight for us. We need to prepare."

Aurelia, her emerald hair billowing in the wind, closed her eyes and extended her senses outward. The winds whispered their warning, carrying with them the unmistakable signature of chaos. Her amber-dawn eyes opened, filled with alarm.

"It's not just chaos," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "It's searching. And it's found what it's looking for."

The fiery orb accelerated, its flames consuming the very air around it. Celestia's heavens trembled under the weight of its approach, and for the first time in centuries, a sense of dread settled over the divine realm.

In the dark realm of Tataros, the two gods Kaelthaz and Zarisa stirred from their slumber. As the fiery sphere blazed across the cosmos towards Celestia, they witnessed its approach through a shared vision that ignited a terror within them.

"No!" they screamed in unison, their cries shaking the shadows around them.

Their anguish rippled across dimensions, their cries moving the clouds that shrouded the Western Wastelands. As the orb descended upon Celestia, the heavens trembled, and chaos prepared to claim its dominion.