The Sovereign's molten chest split open, and the world itself seemed to recoil. From within the fissures burned a white core—no longer fire, no longer heat, but something primal, something older than kingdoms or gods. The flame of creation itself.
The battlefield quaked as the Sovereign shed his husk of armor and molten flesh. His body became a towering inferno, wings of fire erupting behind him, each beat scattering rivers of magma across the ruins. His voice no longer carried words—it carried command.
"BOW."
The command rippled through the world. Stone cracked. Trees in the far horizon burst into flame. Lyra's knees buckled, Darric gritted his teeth hard enough to draw blood. Even the sky dimmed, the sun itself seemed to retreat.
But Kael did not bow.
He stepped forward, one boot against the scorched earth, his cloak torn to ribbons, his aura blazing. Ashrend pulsed in his hand like a living star, its voice echoing faintly in the Mark upon his chest.
"Your throne burns empty," Kael said, his voice sharp as steel. "I don't kneel to ashes."
The Sovereign's wings flared. A single beat launched him forward, fire trailing like a comet. His molten claw descended, enough to crush Kael and half the battlefield.
Kael surged upward to meet it.
"Ashrend—Crimson Severance!"
His blade ignited, cutting through the Sovereign's molten strike. The impact split the ground for miles, a shockwave flattening what remained of the ruins. Crimson lightning tore through the Sovereign's inferno, carving a path of light against fire.
But the Sovereign only laughed, voice like a furnace consuming air.
"Good. Show me your defiance. Show me why the Brand chose you."
He spread his wings wide, then clapped them together. The firestorm that erupted swallowed the battlefield whole, red and gold flame cascading downward in a flood.
Kael vanished into it, engulfed.
"Kael!" Lyra screamed, shielding her face as the heat blistered the air.
For a heartbeat, there was silence.
Then—
The flames split apart.
Kael emerged from the inferno, aura raging like a storm. His body was half-scorched, his armor cracked, but his eyes burned brighter than ever—two embers defying a sun. Lightning laced through his crimson aura, sharp and violent, fusing with his flame.
His voice thundered through the blaze.
"No Sovereign. No tyrant. Not you. Not ever."
Ashrend blazed, its edge dripping with fire and lightning. Kael raised it skyward.
"Crimson Spark—AWAKEN!"
The world itself answered. Crimson lightning arced across the sky, striking down into his blade. The Mark on his chest erupted, glowing so bright it seemed to tear the air apart.
The Sovereign paused, eyes narrowing. "So… it begins."
Kael vanished—faster than flame, faster than lightning.
His strike came from above, a downward arc splitting the Sovereign's chest. The explosion that followed was deafening—a clash of pure creation flame against crimson lightning, erupting into a storm that shook the heavens.
And when the light dimmed, both still stood—locked, straining, neither giving ground.
The Sovereign's smile was gone. His eyes burned only with wrath.
Kael's teeth grit, sweat and blood mixing on his face, but his blade pressed forward, inch by inch.