The snow melted faster than it fell. Not because the season was changing, but because something else was breathing heat into the world again—something powerful, malevolent, and hungry.
Cain could feel it in his bones.
As they descended the mountain, silence trailed behind them like a haunting. The fire from the pyre still pulsed faintly in his chest, a remnant of the flame Varos had given him. It was like carrying a part of the sun—beautiful, but blistering if he lost control.
Ayden walked a few paces ahead, his coat flapping in the wind, jaw clenched. He hadn't said much since the vision in the temple, but Cain could sense the storm raging inside him. Ayden had always worn his pain like armor. Now it was becoming a weapon.
Lucien was quieter too. For once, he didn't crack a joke or flash a smirk. He walked with his hands stuffed into his pockets, glancing every now and then toward the sky—as if expecting it to fall.
Corin was gone again. Typical. The man was smoke, appearing only when convenient or infuriating.
Rei, however, was the same. Calm. Sharp. Distant. Her eyes, like blades of silver, were constantly scanning the horizon. When she did speak, it was only to warn them of incoming energy spikes or subtle shifts in the realm's veil.
They reached the village of Kishiro by dusk. A quiet, hidden place nestled between dead woods and winding rivers. Once a sanctuary for vampires who had turned their backs on violence, now it was... wrong.
Dead wrong.
The streets were empty. The air smelled metallic—faint like blood left to dry too long. The lanterns didn't flicker. No footsteps echoed. The silence felt staged.
"Something's off," Lucien said, drawing his twin daggers. "No way an entire village just goes quiet unless it's hiding something. Or... something's hiding in it."
Cain nodded. "Stay alert. And if anyone sees red eyes—run."
But the warning came too late.
A scream tore through the village center. High-pitched. Desperate. Then silence.
Rei turned sharply. "That was a soul scream. Someone's essence is being fed on—violently."
They ran.
The scene they found was worse than any of them had imagined.
A child, no older than nine, floated midair—eyes rolled back, mouth open in a silent scream as crimson energy drained from his chest into the claws of a tall, pale figure cloaked in tattered monk robes. Its face was hidden by a mask, cracked down the middle, revealing shark-like teeth beneath.
Ayden didn't hesitate. He threw his blade. It sliced through the mask, cracking it further, but the creature barely flinched.
Instead, it smiled.
"Ah," it said in a voice that slithered like oil. "The devil's sons return to the lands they once bled dry."
Cain's blood turned to ice.
"You know who we are?"
"I remember your father," the thing rasped. "He built kingdoms on rivers of blood. One of his favorite rivers ran through here."
Rei stepped forward, her hand glowing with spellfire. "Let the child go."
The creature sighed, almost disappointed, and dropped the child. Lucien rushed to catch him, cradling the boy protectively as Ayden and Cain advanced.
"I'm not here to fight," the masked figure said. "I'm here to watch. To see what kind of monsters the devil bred."
Cain gritted his teeth. "We're not him."
"Not yet."
That was the only warning they got.
The creature vanished in a flash of black mist. Seconds later, the entire village lit up in flames.
Buildings exploded. The sky turned a sickening shade of violet. Shadowy figures began pouring out of alleyways—once-humans twisted into horrors with skeletal wings and eyes that bled light.
"Run!" Rei shouted, forming a shield of blazing light as she pushed Lucien and the child toward the riverbank.
Cain turned to Ayden. "We need to split up. You flank. I draw them."
"You'll get ripped apart."
"I'll be fine," Cain said, not entirely believing it himself.
Ayden hesitated, then nodded. "Don't die, Cain. Not until I get to punch you one more time."
Cain smirked faintly. "Promise."
Then he dove into the fray.
The battle was chaos.
Flames raged. Screams echoed. Cain fought with the fury of something ancient—his blade moving like lightning, his eyes glowing with that ember-fire Varos had left in him. The monsters were fast, but he was faster. Each slash of his blade was backed by memory—of pain, of loss, of every soul his father had ever shattered.
He wasn't just fighting to live.
He was fighting to prove he wasn't his father's son.
Ayden moved like a ghost through the chaos, blades slicing, body twisting with a dancer's precision. Every strike was a kill. Every movement a blur. Blood painted the snow crimson.
Rei stood at the river's edge, keeping the child safe with layers of spellcraft. Her face was calm, but her eyes were glowing now—like she'd tapped into something far beyond mortal magic.
Lucien returned with villagers he'd found hiding underground. "We need an exit—fast!"
Cain, panting, eyes wide, scanned the skies. "Something's coming."
He was right.
A roar split the heavens. A dragon—no, a wyvern—black as obsidian and stitched with chains, descended from the clouds. On its back stood a new figure. A woman in white armor, eyes stitched shut, hair flowing like ribbons of starlight.
She pointed toward Cain.
"Found you."
Cain's heart dropped.
The Warden of Chains.
A divine executioner. One of the last remaining holy assassins from the War of Crowns. She was said to appear only when the balance of the world shifted. Her mission was singular:
Kill the bloodline of the Devil King.
Cain swallowed hard.
The flame in his chest flickered violently. Not from fear—but from something worse.
Recognition.
He'd seen her once before—when he was only four—standing at the edge of a cliff while his mother bled out beneath the moonlight.
"You were there," he whispered.
The Warden didn't answer. She simply raised her blade.
Rei stepped beside him. "You don't have to fight alone."
Cain nodded once. "No… but I think this fight might change everything."
As the wyvern screamed and descended, the battle began again.
And this time, the devil's sons wouldn't just survive—they would rise.