Kael's storm screamed upward, lightning lashing the fire-rivers that the Sovereign's Mandate had birthed. The battlefield could no longer contain them. The earth cracked, collapsed, and was swallowed into molten seas, leaving only a jagged platform of stone that floated in a maelstrom of destruction.
The Sovereign's cloak of flame billowed behind him, his presence vast, absolute. He extended his hand, and the stars above flared.
"Mandate of Dominion."
The sky bent. Constellations warped into spirals, dragged down into the Sovereign's palm as if he commanded the cosmos themselves. Every star was a weapon, every streak of light a burning spear aimed at Kael.
Kael stood in the ruin, eyes blazing crimson through the storm. His breath came ragged, but his voice was steel.
"You're not the sky's keeper… you're its jailer."
He raised Ashrend. The storm around him darkened, thunder rolling not in the sky but from within his chest. Black arcs danced down his blade, cracking reality with each pulse.
"Stormrend: Heaven-Splitter!"
Kael swung.
The strike was not a slash, but a rift. A black-crimson arc tore through the heavens, splitting the star-spear storm in two. Lightning howled like a beast unchained, devouring fire and flame, cutting through the Sovereign's decree as if the law itself could bleed.
The Sovereign braced, flames tightening around him. The slash struck, detonating against his mantle, and the shockwave ripped the sky open. For a heartbeat, day and night collided—half the sky burned with fire, the other half drowned in storm.
When the smoke cleared, the Sovereign still stood, but his mantle flickered, scorched and tattered. His hand bled from the deflection, glowing molten instead of red.
"Rivenhart…" His voice was edged with something new. Not calm. Not command. Strain. "You court the wrath of gods with that blade."
Kael smirked, blood running down his chin, lightning sparking along his arms.
"Good. Let them come. I'll split them too."
For the first time, the Sovereign moved with speed. He vanished in fire, reappearing above Kael in a burst of molten wings. His hand struck down, not with words this time—but pure fury.
Kael raised Ashrend. Sparks met flame. Lightning met ruin.
The heavens shattered as their duel surged higher, dragging both man and Sovereign into the open wound of the sky itself.