Kael hurled himself forward, his storm clawing at the sky like a beast unleashed, every bolt screaming his defiance. Crimson and black lightning wove together, a tempest that split the heavens open. The Sovereign met it not with haste, but with command—his flames did not rush, they did not falter. They spread in serene waves, devouring Kael's chaos, reshaping the battlefield into an endless sea of fire.
When the two forces struck, mountains dissolved. Valleys caved. Entire rivers evaporated to mist, leaving only a wasteland of broken glass and molten stone.
The Sovereign's robes fluttered in silence amidst the cataclysm. His crown of white flame blazed brighter, untouched, eternal.
"You call this rebellion?" His voice resounded across miles, a decree echoing through shattered skies. "This storm is wild, but wildness bends to order. To rule."
Kael spat blood, but he did not fall. His blade pulsed in his grip, veins of black lightning crawling up his arm. His aura swelled again, a storm without horizon.
"I didn't come here to rebel…" His voice carried the weight of ruin. "I came here to end you."
The Sovereign struck first—one motion, one command. His palm extended, and a pillar of fire rose from the earth, a spear of light meant to erase Kael from existence. The heat scorched through Kael's armor, seared his skin raw, yet still he advanced, dragging his blade through the storm as if pulling the wrath of the world itself behind him.
The collision birthed a sound like steel tearing through creation.
Kael's lightning carved through the Sovereign's fire, shattering its perfect shape. The flames faltered, ripped apart by raw defiance. The Sovereign's hand trembled—just slightly—but it was the first fracture in his composure since the battle began.
The king's voice, once calm, now sharpened into a blade.
"You carry more than your own power. I see it in you. The shadow of something older."
Kael's eyes, glowing blood-red in the storm, met his with fury.
"Then you know what's coming."
The storm roared. The flames answered.
Neither gave ground. Neither yielded. The skies above churned into chaos as crimson lightning and white fire clawed for dominance, their clash stretching far beyond the battlefield, threatening to pull the entire realm into their war.
For the first time, the Sovereign's crown flickered.