Lightning tore through the mountainside, illuminating the battlefield in violent flashes of silver and blue. Snow hissed into steam. Rocks split apart. Trees burst into flame. At the center of it all stood Kael, cloak scorched, eyes glowing with crimson heat.
Selene floated above the ground, her feet inches from the frost-covered earth. Her body shimmered with protective wards, and her voice rang with authority. "Kneel, Kael. Even your power will burn out."
Kael did not answer. He raised his hand. The air around him ignited, and fire roared forth in a spiraling vortex that devoured everything in its path. Two of Selene's spell-knights were incinerated before they could scream.
Selene's staff glowed as she countered with a sweeping arc of lightning, dispersing the flames and hurling Kael backward. He struck the ground hard, carving a shallow crater in the frozen soil.
Blood trickled from his lip, but he smiled.
Mira, watching from the cliffs above, gripped her dagger. She had seen Kael wounded before, but never like this. The clash of two Tier 5 mages shook the land itself. Even the most hardened warriors had backed away, fearful they might be caught between titanic forces they could not understand.
Kael stood again, slower this time. The crystal heart on his chest pulsed with each heartbeat, drawing in faith from the soldiers below. Every whispered prayer, every fearful thought, fed him.
Selene narrowed her eyes. "You're leeching belief like a parasite."
Kael laughed, blood staining his teeth. "And yet it works. Tell me, does your Emperor pray for you?"
With a scream of fury, Selene unleashed a storm spear. It streaked through the air like a falling star. Kael caught it in both hands. The explosion that followed shook the cliffs and sent debris flying for miles.
When the smoke cleared, Kael still stood. His armor was scorched, his face bruised, but in his eyes blazed something terrifying.
Determination.
He raised Ashveil. Fire erupted in a wave that surrounded Selene. This was no longer a duel. It was a war of ideologies. Hers was obedience. His was domination.
Selene broke through the flames with a barrier of electric force. She landed hard, panting, magic flickering around her fingers.
"You will burn the continent to the ground," she said.
Kael stepped toward her, unrelenting. "No. I will remake it."
With one final push of magic, Kael channeled every ounce of gathered belief. The crystal heart blazed like a second sun. His fire intensified, reshaping itself into a colossal serpent of flame. It lunged forward.
Selene raised her hands for one last spell.
She was too late.
The serpent struck.
When the light faded, Kael stood alone amid the ashes. Selene's staff lay cracked beside a scorched, unmoving body.
Rogan approached from the rear line, panting. "Is it done?"
Kael nodded. "The storm has passed."
Mira joined him, her eyes on the body. "She was one of the strongest."
Kael looked to the distant towers of Ironridge. "Then it is time to take what was hers."
Ironridge awaited.
And Kael marched forward, unstoppable.