Babylon – 2:39 A.M.
The sky continued to crack apart like shattered glass, exposing something beyond—a void of shifting light and darkness. It wasn't heaven, nor was it hell. It was something else.
Nathaniel clutched his head as the echoes of the Seven Thunders still reverberated through his mind. Their words were burned into him, but he still couldn't speak them—the prophecy had sealed his lips.
Leah kept her gun trained on Rahim, but she knew a bullet wouldn't do anything against him. Lucien was muttering a prayer under his breath, though even he didn't seem sure which god would listen now.
Then, from the fractures in the sky, something descended.
A figure, draped in a robe of silver and black, stepping onto the ruins as if gravity did not apply to him. His presence carried weight—a suffocating authority.
Nathaniel knew immediately who this was.
Ezra.
---
Ezra's Arrival
Ezra surveyed the scene with calm amusement, his dark eyes scanning over Nathaniel, Leah, and Lucien before settling on Rahim. He smiled. "It seems I'm too late."
Rahim nodded slightly, his expression unreadable. "It's begun."
Ezra turned his gaze to Nathaniel, tilting his head. "Ah. You were chosen."
Nathaniel clenched his fists. "Chosen for what?"
Ezra stepped closer, his presence radiating something unnatural. "To speak the Thunders." His smile widened. "But you can't, can you?"
Nathaniel's jaw tightened.
Ezra's voice was almost soothing. "That's because they reveal what should not be known. And yet—" he reached out a hand toward Nathaniel, though he did not touch him, "—you now hold the key to rewriting everything."
Leah moved between them, her stance firm. "Stay away from him."
Ezra barely glanced at her. "Ah, the faithful soldier." He smiled in a way that wasn't quite human. "Still clinging to the old ways, still fighting a battle that was lost before it began."
Nathaniel's breath was shallow. "We hoped you'd put an end to this, or at least try," Raising his head. "You saw everything take place didn't you... yet you made no attempt. You're the False Prophet."
Ezra's expression didn't change. "A title given by those who feared the truth." He looked up at the cracked sky. "The end came, and no one noticed. The seals broke, the Horsemen rode, and the world—" he spread his hands, "—moved forward, blind and ignorant. Even the faithful continue to act as if Revelation is still to come."
Nathaniel's pulse pounded in his ears. "And what are you trying to do?"
Ezra's eyes darkened. "Finish it."
---
A Choice Between Two Paths
Nathaniel took a slow breath. "You mean destroy everything."
Ezra chuckled. "I mean set it right." He took another step, now standing directly before Nathaniel. "Tell me, do you feel it? The unraveling of prophecy? The shifting of fate?"
Nathaniel did feel it. Ever since the Seven Thunders spoke, the world felt—unstable.
Rahim finally spoke. "The Seventh Trumpet has already sounded."
Ezra nodded. "And yet, we remain. Why?"
Silence.
Ezra's voice softened, almost like a whisper. "Because there is one last choice to be made." His gaze bore into Nathaniel's. "You can speak what the Thunders have revealed—or you can remain silent and let the world drift into its false peace."
Nathaniel's breath caught. "If I speak—"
Ezra's smile grew. "Then everything changes."
Leah's grip tightened on her weapon. "You mean you win."
Ezra tilted his head. "Winning and losing are human concepts. I merely seek to correct what has already been broken."
Nathaniel looked to Rahim, who had been silent all this time. "And what do you want?"
Rahim met his gaze. "To break the cycle."
Nathaniel's heart pounded. He was caught between two forces—one claiming to rewrite prophecy, the other seeking to end it all. And somehow, he was in the middle of it.
His mind raced. If he spoke the words of the Seven Thunders, what would happen?
Would it be the end of the world—or the start of something new?
---
The Sky Burns – 2:55 A.M.
Suddenly, the fractures in the sky erupted in flames.
Golden fire cascaded downward, igniting the ruins of Babylon. Reality itself was beginning to unravel.
Ezra looked up, unfazed. "Ah. The Seraphim have arrived."
Leah shielded her face from the searing heat. "What the hell does that mean?"
Rahim's expression was grim. "It means we're running out of time."
Lucien swore under his breath. "Great. Just great."
Nathaniel's breath was shallow. The choice was coming. He could feel it.
And whatever he decided—
There would be no turning back.