The citadel swallowed them whole.
Inside, the air was thick with dust and the hum of energy. The walls, half stone and half something else — circuitry, alive — pulsed faintly as if the place had a heartbeat of its own. Light bled from cracks between stones, flickering blue like veins of fire.
Seraphine landed on the rubble floor, boots crunching over broken stone. The chamber stretched out wide, dimly lit, its ceiling lost in shadow. Torn banners hung in tatters, symbols of Realms she didn't recognize.
She raised her sword, voice low. "Stay sharp."
Valeria nodded, shield already raised. Noctis simply smirked, slipping into the darkness.
The chamber wasn't empty.
They had barely crossed ten paces when steel clashed from deeper within. Shouts echoed, a chorus of guild calls and war cries. The citadel's heart was already contested.
Seraphine felt her pulse quicken. Too late to turn back now.
They pushed deeper.
Through fractured archways, Seraphine glimpsed the battlefield inside: two rival guilds locked in brutal combat. One wore gleaming plate and carried halberds, their crest a white dragon on a crimson field. The other moved like predators, leather-clad and masked, wielding curved blades. Blood sprayed across the floor — digital, but vivid enough to stain stone.
At the center of it all stood the citadel's core.
A pedestal, tall and black, etched with glowing runes. Energy spiraled upward from it, a column of light reaching into the shadows above. The core pulsed, alive, a beacon of power.
Seraphine's chest tightened. So that's the prize.
Whoever claimed it would control the citadel.
And every guild in the chamber wanted it.
Valeria drew a sharp breath. "If we wait, they'll kill each other and leave it for us."
Noctis grinned. "Or we cut their throats while they're busy."
Seraphine's eyes stayed fixed on the core. The light of it burned against her vision, searing itself into her thoughts. She knew what Valeria wanted — strategy, patience — and what Noctis wanted — blood, momentum.
But the core hummed louder, calling. Waiting.
"We can't wait." The words left her before she realized. "The longer we hesitate, the more guilds arrive. We strike now."
Valeria frowned but didn't argue. She shifted her shield and fell into line. Noctis grinned wider, daggers flashing.
Together, they moved.
The battle exploded around them.
Seraphine cut through the first crimson knight before he even noticed, blade sliding under his helm. Noctis appeared behind another, plunging steel into his spine. Valeria crashed into the fray like a wall, shield slamming one raider back before her sword cleaved down.
The rival guilds turned in surprise, shouts rising as they realized a third party had joined.
"Another faction—!"
"Kill them!"
Seraphine pressed forward. Each swing of her sword felt heavier than the last, the weight of survival bearing down. She clashed with a halberd, sparks leaping as steel met steel. Her arms ached, but she shoved hard, broke the guard, and split the knight open.
To her left, Noctis danced between blades, cutting throats and slipping through shadows. To her right, Valeria held firm, her shield bracing against three at once, refusing to yield an inch.
They carved a path toward the core.
Minutes blurred into chaos.
Bodies dissolved into light, respawned miles away stripped of loot. Shouts turned to screams, screams to silence. Blood smeared across the citadel's stone, glowing faintly as if the walls themselves drank it in.
At last, the floor before the pedestal cleared.
Only one enemy remained — the crimson guild's leader, a knight clad in full plate, taller than Seraphine by half a head. His helm gleamed under the core's light, visor etched with a dragon's snarl. His halberd burned with red energy, pulsing with every step.
He lowered it at her. "You don't belong here."
Seraphine's throat tightened. She raised her sword. "Neither do you."
The knight roared, charging.
The duel was brutal.
His halberd swung wide, heavy enough to break stone with every strike. Seraphine dodged, rolled, countered with quick cuts, but each clash rattled her arms to the bone. Her health bar bled down faster than she liked, glowing red at the edges of her vision.
He pressed hard, relentless. "You're weak," he growled, blade sparking as it scraped her armor.
Seraphine gritted her teeth, sweat stinging her eyes. If I fall now, everything ends.
Noctis moved to flank, but the knight swung wide, forcing her back. Valeria tried to shield-bash, but he drove her aside with brute force.
It was her fight.
Steel rang out again, sparks scattering. Seraphine's legs buckled, arms screaming. The knight raised his halberd high, ready to finish it—
—and in that instant, the core pulsed.
Light burst outward, searing her vision. The hum became a roar, filling the chamber, filling her bones. The sword in her hands flared, runes igniting across the steel. Power surged through her arms, her chest, her very breath.
Her eyes widened.
The knight swung down.
Seraphine roared back, swinging upward. Her blade burned with light, cleaving through steel, through helm, through flesh. The knight's body split apart, dissolving into shards of red light. His weapon clattered to the floor, broken.
Silence followed.
Only the hum of the core remained.
Breathing hard, Seraphine lowered her sword. The glow across it faded, but faint runes lingered, etched now permanently into the steel. Her chest heaved, sweat dripping. Her health bar flickered dangerously low, but she was alive.
Valeria approached, shield still raised. "What was that?"
Noctis smirked, crouching by the broken halberd. "Looked like our Seraphine just got a little gift."
Seraphine didn't answer. Her gaze stayed locked on the core. It pulsed brighter now, responding to her, as if it had chosen.
She stepped forward.
Valeria's hand shot out. "Wait."
Seraphine froze, turning to her.
Valeria's eyes were sharp. "If you claim it, you become the target. Every guild here will come for you. Every one of them."
Noctis shrugged. "They'll come anyway. Better us than them."
Seraphine's throat tightened. She looked back at the core, light spilling across her face. Every instinct screamed that this was it. That this was the choice that would define the war.
Slowly, she raised her sword.
The runes along its edge glowed brighter, answering the core's hum.
She set the blade against the pedestal.
Light erupted.
The citadel roared. The floor shook, walls shuddering, runes blazing like fire. A column of brilliance tore upward, piercing the ceiling, the sky, the very Realms above.
Seraphine staggered, the light burning through her chest, her veins, her soul. Her vision blurred, her ears rang, but one truth etched itself into her bones:
She was bound to the citadel now.
Its master.
Its keeper.
The light dimmed. Silence fell.
Valeria lowered her shield, staring in awe. Noctis let out a low whistle.
Seraphine's knees nearly buckled. She forced herself upright, sword trembling in her grip. Her voice came rough, broken.
"It's ours."