Through the flames and chaos of Dante's assault on the Ruined Realm, through the screaming of dying architecture and the desperate whispers of the dead citizens, the revenants came. They moved through the destruction with purpose, their bone-marrow forms resistant to the storm-flame that was consuming everything else, protected perhaps by their nature as beings who had already been rendered down once and could not be easily unmade a second time.
They surrounded Selena in a circle, creating a wall of corrupted flesh between her and the burning realm, between her and Dante's destructive fury, between her and the choice he was trying to force upon her by eliminating all alternatives except the one he deemed acceptable.
"Blood Queen," they said in unison, their voices carrying through the roar of storm and flame. "You must stop him. You must decree the destruction's end. You must protect your realm, your subjects, your throne. You must be what we need you to be."
