Kael stood silently over the mound of twitching corpses their faces frozen in screams their limbs snapped like dry twigs the blood soaked soil beneath his boots sizzled with demonic energy his blackened aura growing darker with each heartbeat
The sky above remained sealed in crimson clouds shadowing the cursed battlefield a twisted fog snaked through the broken spires of stone that now marked the entrance to the Realm of Hollow Wails a place where only the dead dared whisper
Beside him limped Varak his right arm nearly severed bones visible beneath charred skin the mutated blade embedded in his spine still pulsing with cursed magic he refused to fall refusing to show weakness before Kael
Kael turned slowly eyes void of mercy You are not ready to die yet Varak crawl if you must
Varak said nothing instead dragging himself forward his breathing shallow his teeth clenched his loyalty unspoken but absolute
Behind them the rest of the black legion moved without sound their bodies barely human anymore demon blood fused into their veins their eyes glowing like lost stars in a world swallowed by shadows
Kael lifted his hand the cursed mark on his palm gleaming once more with that twisted blue flame the Demon Lords seal slowly completing as more souls were consumed beneath his will
The ground ahead trembled again not from natural force but from the arrival of a new enemy
The fog parted revealing a colossal beast chained to a throne of skulls its body covered in thick black iron plates fused with rotting flesh horns that twisted endlessly and six eyes that bled shadows with every blink
It was the Maw Tyrant an ancient guardian cast out from the Abyssal Depths feeding only on despair and pain its roar cracked the stone ground its chained fists dragging behind it like comets ready to strike
Kael moved without hesitation his body bursting forward leaving scorched earth in his wake his blade ignited in demonic frost clashing against the Tyrant with a thunderous explosion
The Tyrant swung its iron fist Kael twisted through the air slicing its arm at the joint dark blood sprayed and melted the ground but the beast felt no pain it simply slammed its head forward crushing two of its own dead underfoot
Kael landed low sliding beneath the second blow his shadow magic erupting from the earth like spears impaling the Tyrant through the knees bones shattered the beast screamed yet remained standing its hate anchoring it to the realm
A twisted smile formed across Kael face as he leapt upward cleaving through the armor at the Tyrant neck a stream of cursed blood splashed across the battlefield melting Varak hood and causing a shriek from the shadows beyond
The Tyrant collapsed but refused to die instead it opened its jaws wide revealing not teeth but the trapped souls of a thousand fallen warriors still screaming still chained within
Kael eyes flared his voice thundered You are not worthy to carry the dead in your mouth beast
He reached into his chest pulling the seal further from his heart the souls around them began to twist in agony as the ritual ignited shadows bleeding into the realm
From the fog four new figures emerged each cloaked in crimson each carrying weapons formed from raw sorrow these were the Crimson Choir assassins sent by the Covenant of Silence to end Kael legacy before it began
The first danced with twin sickles her body moving like wind her attacks invisible until the blood followed her blades struck Kael again and again but his wounds healed faster than her cuts could reach him
He caught her midair slamming her into the Tyrant corpse her skull cracking against black iron she struggled but Kael already ripped her soul from her chest feeding it into his mark
The second bore a spear longer than his body marked with runes glowing with holy fire he charged faster than light impaling Kael through the stomach with a scream of divine judgment
Kael eyes rolled back before locking onto the assassin with pure hate his hand gripped the spear as he pulled it deeper blood pouring from his mouth as the demon seal flared stronger instead of weakening
The spear turned black its runes screaming as Kael shattered its will and broke it in two stabbing the assassin in the throat with his own weapon
The third assassin never moved but hundreds of spikes erupted from the ground wherever Kael stepped curses etched into the stone that drained life and memory with each breath
Kael roared unleashing the fire from his spine a cursed inferno that devoured the entire battlefield burning memories from the world the third assassin melted into dust her magic forgotten forever
The last of the Choir did not attack he simply watched whispering to the shadows his presence unraveling reality trees withering sky bending time twitching unnaturally around him
Kael stepped forward his skin cracking his veins pulsing with black lightning as he stared into the face of this final assassin
You are the conductor he growled the one who sings death to kings
The assassin nodded raising a single finger but before he could speak Kael was already inside his defense tearing his arm off at the shoulder with bare hands then crushing his throat until the air itself stopped moving
The silence that followed was suffocating
Varak coughed behind him choking on blood but alive the black legion stood victorious but barely bones cracked armor dented spirits almost broken
Kael turned his gaze toward the massive gate that pulsed ahead formed from screaming stone and screaming souls it marked the entrance to the domain of the First Demon Lord the one who had betrayed Kael in life the one who must die
Kael voice echoed like thunder through the ravaged battlefield
Prepare the ritual carve the blood path light the pyres and let the souls scream
This world will burn until my vengeance is complete
Varak knelt before him blade resting at his side the legion dropped to their knees as well offering not prayer but blood each slicing open their hands letting the ground drink their loyalty
The sky cracked open lightning struck the altar and the path to the Demon Lords gate began to bleed shadow and flame
Kael lifted his arms wide the ritual sigils exploding across his skin his soul breaking further as power surged into him from every fallen enemy every broken ally every curse screamed into the night
Behind him a new figure stepped through the mist a girl no older than sixteen cloaked in chains with eyes stitched shut her body covered in the runes of forgotten gods
She spoke without speaking and Kael understood her purpose
She was the Gatekeeper the last survivor of the fallen races the one who would lead him to the final gate or bury him in its ash
Kael nodded and the march began
Each step forward crushed bones of angels each breath filled with ash from forgotten worlds the realm around them twisting into something not born from magic or death but from pure hatred
This was no longer a war
This was retribution
And the world would remember Kael name long after it had forgotten its own