The sanctuary skies darkened briefly before returning to gold. Luke stood motionless inside the hidden chamber, one hand pressed tightly against his chest while the faint pulse from the Heart echoed through him again.
Vaelthoros. Alive but very far away and weak. He's barely alive.
Lucien immediately stepped closer.
"What did you feel?"
Luke looked shaken.
"It was him."
Lucien's expression hardened instantly.
"The Primordial?" The boy nodded slowly. The black cracks along his arm pulsed faintly beneath the bandages while the Heart responded with another soft golden wave throughout the sanctuary.
Lucien's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"How is that possible?"
Luke swallowed hard.
"I think…" The room dimmed slightly around him as fragments of memory surfaced violently in his mind.
The collapsing void.
The Primordials awakening.
Vaelthoros sealing the pathway.
something Luke had almost forgotten completely.
A voice that's very ancient and tired.
Desperate. The memory returned suddenly.
Beyond creation… The void collapsed around them while Nerath-Kul roared in fury from the darkness beyond.
Luke had already begun falling toward the pathway home when Vaelthoros' voice stopped him one final time.
"LITTLE HEIR!"
Luke turned weakly through the collapsing storm of Balance energy.
Vaelthoros stood alone before the endless horrors awakening behind him.
Ancient darkness and fading light spiraled around the Primordial's wounded form while the pathway sealing itself consumed reality piece by piece.
Nerath-Kul's screams echoed endlessly.
"YOU CANNOT HOLD US FOREVER!"
Vaelthoros ignored the roar completely.
Its countless eyes remained fixed only on Luke now.
Then unexpectedly…the Primordial lowered itself. Not in defeat.
In submission.
Luke froze in shock.
"Vaelthoros…?"
The ancient being's voice rumbled painfully through the void.
"I UNDERSTAND NOW."
The collapsing darkness trembled violently around them.
"CHAOS WITHOUT PURPOSE BECOMES HUNGER."
Golden Balance light continued purifying parts of the Primordial slowly.
For the first time, Vaelthoros no longer resembled a monster born solely from destruction.
It looked ancient.
Ancient enough to remember what existed before hatred consumed it.
Luke stared silently while the void collapsed faster around them.
Then Vaelthoros spoke words no Primordial had ever spoken before.
"DO NOT DESTROY THEM."
Luke blinked weakly.
"What?"
Behind Vaelthoros, the awakening horrors screamed against the sealing pathways violently.
Yet the Primordial's voice remained calm now.
"THEY WERE NOT BORN EVIL."
Luke's chest tightened painfully.
Because deep down…
he already knew that.
Vaelthoros looked toward the darkness behind it briefly.
And for one fleeting moment, Luke sensed ancient sorrow from the being.
"THE VOID CHANGED US."
The Primordial slowly looked back toward him.
"IF THE DAY COMES WHEN THEY BREACH CREATION…"
The collapsing pathway trembled harder.
"DO NOT SLAUGHTER THEM."
Luke's glowing eyes widened slightly.
Vaelthoros lowered its massive head fully now.
"BIND THEM."
The void roared around them violently.
"BANISH THEM TO THE BOTTOMLESS PIT OF THE FORGOTTEN."
The ancient words shook the Balance inside Luke instantly.
A prison older than realms themselves.
A place even the Father of All rarely spoke of.
Luke stared at the Primordial in shock.
"You know about the Pit?"
Vaelthoros answered quietly.
"IT IS WHERE CHAOS BELONGS WHEN IT LOSES ITS WAY."
Then the ancient being said something that stunned Luke completely.
"AND I SHALL HELP YOU."
Silence filled the collapsing void.
Even the Balance within Luke reacted with disbelief.
Vaelthoros slowly bowed deeper.
"I, VAELTHOROS…"
Its voice echoed across infinity itself.
"MAKE PACT WITH THE HEIR OF BALANCE."
Golden light erupted between them instantly.
Luke's eyes widened.
The Primordial continued:
"I SHALL PROTECT THE BALANCE."
The void trembled violently.
"I SHALL SERVE ITS HEIR UNTIL ETERNITY FADES."
A massive ancient sigil suddenly formed between Luke and Vaelthoros—half made from primordial darkness, half from golden Balance itself.
The pact sealed.
Luke gasped as the mark burned briefly against his soul.
Then Vaelthoros looked toward him one final time.
And this time…
its voice sounded peaceful.
"GO HOME, LITTLE HEIR."
The pathway collapsed completely.
Luke gasped sharply as the memory ended.
The hidden chamber returned around him instantly.
Lucien stared at him carefully.
"What happened?"
Luke looked overwhelmed.
"He made a pact with me."
Silence.
The King of Hell's expression darkened immediately.
"A Primordial made a pact with you?"
Luke nodded slowly.
"He wants to help stop the others."
Lucien looked deeply unconvinced.
"That creature nearly destroyed creation."
"But it changed."
Lucien opened his mouth immediately—
then stopped.
Because part of him already knew Luke was telling the truth.
After all…
he had changed too once.
Because of Celestia.
Far away from the sanctuary…
deep within the fractured remnants of an abandoned infernal fortress…
Lilith slammed her hand violently against a broken obsidian table.
"You nearly got us killed!"
Azael stood nearby with torn wings and blood still dripping from one arm, his silver eyes burning with fury.
"You charged directly toward the awakened Balance!" he snarled. "What exactly was your plan?"
Lilith glared back coldly.
"I would've succeeded if you had not hesitated."
Azael laughed bitterly.
"Hesitated?"
Dark energy exploded briefly around him.
"Vaelthoros nearly consumed the sanctuary, Lucifer himself intervened, and the Heir of Balance returned from beyond creation alive!"
His expression twisted sharply.
"You call that hesitation?"
Lilith said nothing.
Because deep down…
even she knew the truth.
They had underestimated Luke completely.
Not just his power.
His heart.
And somehow…
that frightened her more than the Balance itself.
Meanwhile, hidden high above the ruined fortress upon a broken infernal spire, Beelzebub watched the argument while eating stolen celestial fruit lazily.
The demon prince smirked endlessly.
"Well," he muttered amusedly, "this has been entertaining."
Lilith and Azael continued blaming each other below without noticing him at all.
Beelzebub chuckled softly before standing.
But unlike the others…
he had seen something far more important during the battle.
The Primordial. The Heart. The Heir.
And now…
a possible shift in the balance of all realms.
"Oh, The King of Hell is going to love this."
With a grin, the Prince of Gluttony vanished into infernal smoke while returning to Hell with dangerous happy news for Lucifer himself.