A silence lingered over Layer 14 — the Ashen Barrens.
An endless wasteland of charred bones, blackened skies, and smoldering soil. Winds hissed through skeletal trees like whispers of the dead. The air reeked of old wars and burned gods.
Kael stood at the edge of this cursed realm, his Radiant Core pulsating beneath his skin, a stolen light he had twisted into his own.
Behind him, the Shadowbound marched—silent, disciplined, lethal.
"Is this the Divine Legion's stronghold?" Seris asked, her cloak fluttering in the ash-stained wind. Her eyes burned with conviction.
Kael nodded. "Layer 14 holds the Ember Sanctum… and the one who cast me into the abyss."
The name came out like venom: Seraph Enzariel — a Paragon of Flame, a divine warlord of the Upper Sanctums, and Kael's former executioner.
---
The march began.
Each step scorched the ground, and the deeper they went, the more the world resisted. Lava vents spewed gouts of fire. Flameborn wraiths rose from the earth. The sky cracked with lightning made of molten gold.
"Form defensive rings!" Kael commanded.
His forces moved in perfect sync, the result of harsh training and absolute loyalty.
Kael extended his hand, summoning the Sovereign's Spear — black as night, edged in abyssal silver. He whispered ancient commands, and the shadows obeyed, smothering firestorms and swallowing beasts whole.
Still, the monsters grew fiercer. One emerged, twice as tall as a giant, forged of obsidian and magma — a Hellforge Titan.
With a roar, it charged Kael.
"Stand back," he said, stepping forward alone.
The Titan's flaming fist crashed down, creating a shockwave that leveled entire hills. But Kael did not move.
With a blink, he vanished—reappearing above its skull.
"Burn in my shadow," Kael whispered.
He drove his spear through the Titan's head. Black lightning surged from the tip, shattering divine enchantments. The Titan howled… and then exploded into fire and shards.
The Shadowbound knelt.
---
Hours passed.
Every mile into the Ember Sanctum felt like descending into a furnace made by gods who enjoyed watching mortals suffer. But Kael did not falter.
In his heart, rage boiled.
Each flame that licked his skin reminded him of the pyre he had once been thrown into.
He would not forget the screams. The betrayal. The searing pain as Enzariel laughed from above, proclaiming judgment.
Now Kael would be the judge.
---
They reached the Gates of Ember, a fortress carved into a mountain of fire. Towers of burning brass loomed over them, guarded by the Solar Knights, once divine protectors of light, now zealots bathed in holy flame.
"We're surrounded," Seris murmured.
Kael smiled. "Good. Let them come."
The gates opened, and Enzariel's voice echoed from within.
"Kael. The cursed Pariah. You've come far. Too far."
The sky ignited. Meteors of divine fire rained down as legions poured from the sanctum.
The battle began.
---
Kael was a tempest.
His spear danced, not with elegance but with fury. Each strike tore through enchanted armor. Each scream that followed was a prayer answered — vengeance incarnate.
He weaved shadows like a tapestry of death, wrapping enemies in spectral chains that crushed their bones. He summoned walls of darkness to shield his warriors, then shattered them forward to blast foes apart.
And yet, for every ten they slew, twenty more came.
Kael climbed atop the burning steps of the sanctum, yelling, "Face me, Enzariel! Or is your flame only bright when it burns the weak?"
Thunder cracked. From the heavens descended a pillar of fire.
A golden lance struck the ground in front of Kael.
Then came Enzariel.
---
He descended like a fallen sun.
Wings of molten gold flared behind him. His armor gleamed with holy glyphs, each one older than time. His eyes burned with righteousness… and contempt.
"You still breathe," Enzariel spat, "when you should've been ash."
"I am ash," Kael growled, "reborn in the Abyss. Now I've come to unmake gods like you."
The battlefield stilled. Even monsters paused to watch the clash of titans.
Then they moved.
---
Clash.
Enzariel's lance met Kael's spear with an explosion that split the earth. Shockwaves sent soldiers flying. The sky turned black with their fury.
"You were weak!" Enzariel shouted mid-swing. "You had no place among the divine!"
Kael ducked under a slash, retaliating with a shadow spike from below. "And yet I'm still here. Still growing."
Enzariel bled—barely—but bled nonetheless.
Kael grinned. "And now… I'm stronger than ever."
The battle escalated.
Flames raged. Shadows writhed.
Kael tapped deeper into the Sovereign Core. His body burned from the inside, but he welcomed it. His veins glowed black-violet as forbidden power surged.
Enzariel snarled. "You wield power you don't understand!"
Kael roared. "I am the power you all feared!"
Their weapons collided again—this time, Kael's spear shattered Enzariel's shield.
He launched a flurry of attacks, each one laced with vengeance, each one echoing the screams of his past.
Enzariel faltered.
---
Kael's eyes narrowed. "You're no god. Just another tyrant who thought killing me would be the end."
He raised his spear. Dark wings unfurled behind him — not of feathers, but of abyssal flame and smoke.
With a cry that shook the realm, Kael unleashed the Sovereign's Wrath.
A beam of pure void fire consumed Enzariel.
The sky split open. The gates behind him crumbled. Divine screams echoed through the layers.
Silence.
---
The Ember Sanctum had fallen.
Kael stood amid the ruins, the divine lance of Enzariel impaled in the ground beside him. Blood — red and gold — dripped from his fingers.
The Shadowbound approached, kneeling in reverence.
Kael gazed at the horizon, voice calm but cold.
"One down. Many more to burn."
His path to godhood wasn't just survival. It was conquest.
---