The Veil screamed.
What was once a fractured battlefield had become a graveyard of collapsing realms. The Ashen Godform loomed above it all, its throne fused into its body—a colossal husk of obsidian ash wrapped in chains of burning void. Its eyes bled fire, its voice thundered like a thousand collapsing suns.
> "Kneel. Burn. Become nothing."
The command rippled through existence. Entire armies—both friend and foe—fell to their knees, their bodies crumbling into ash. Only three figures stood defiant amidst the ruin.
Anna.
Kael.
Elena.
Each one battered, bleeding, yet blazing with defiance.
The First Clash
The Godform's massive arm, forged from living flame and ash, descended like a mountain.
"MOVE!" Anna roared. Twilight wings erupted from her back, whipping Kael and Elena clear as the colossal strike cratered the Veil. Reality itself splintered—shards of stars rained like glass.
Kael hit the ground running, his cursed flames spiraling around his body like a raging inferno. His eyes burned gold and crimson. "No more chains—let's tear this thing down!"
He leapt, his body dissolving into a streak of shadowfire. His blade ignited.
> "Eclipse Fang!"
The slash carved a crescent arc of devouring fire, ripping straight into the Godform's arm. For a moment, the colossus faltered—but then ash re-knit, sealing the wound like it had never been.
"Damn it," Kael hissed. His curse flared, eating at his skin.
Elena's voice rang out, desperate yet unwavering. "Then let me open the path!"
She raised both hands, light gathering between them until her entire form blazed like a second sun. Her voice shook with the strain:
> "Sanctum Radiance: Dawnburst!"
A flood of golden spears rained upward, tearing through the ash-storm. The Godform reeled, its chest cracking under the bombardment. Anna didn't hesitate. She dove, sword in hand, eyes gleaming with fury.
Anna's Awakening
Anna's blade shimmered, wrapped in both light and shadow. She could feel Kael's cursed fire echoing through her pulse, Elena's desperate light woven into her soul.
Her power wasn't hers alone anymore.
"Twilight—" she whispered, wings spreading wide.
Her sword ignited with both flame and radiance.
> "Nova!"
She cleaved downward. A spiral of shadow and brilliance detonated, spearing into the Godform's chest. The impact rocked the abyss itself—space cracked, the battlefield split in two.
For the first time—the Ashen Godform staggered.
A roar shook the ruins, shaking even Anna's grip. The colossus steadied itself and bellowed, chains snapping loose from its body.
> "Insolent sparks!"
Its throne-arm split open, transforming into a blade of ash long enough to carve continents. It swung, the strike so vast that the Veil screamed and bled stars.
Anna blocked—barely. Twilight Nova crashed against the blade, her arms shuddering, bones splintering under the force. Blood streamed down her lips.
"Anna!" Kael's roar cut through.
He surged forward, flame erupting from his back in the form of blackened wings. His sword burned brighter than ever, his curse eating deeper than ever before.
Kael's Counter
He leapt beside Anna, pressing his blade against hers. "We do this—together!"
Anna's eyes widened. "Kael, your curse—"
"Let it take me!" His grin was half-mad, half-savage. "If it burns me away, then so be it—at least it'll burn HIM too!"
He thrust forward.
> "Abyss-Devouring Fang!"
Shadow and flame fused with Anna's Twilight Nova. Their swords clashed together, forcing the Godform's blade to halt mid-swing.
For a heartbeat—just a single heartbeat—they held it back.
Then the throne-body shuddered. More arms erupted, each one grasping blades, spears, and axes forged from collapsing stars.
The Godform unleashed them all.
Elena's Stand
"Not while I breathe!" Elena screamed.
Her entire body shone like a collapsing sun. Her feet left the ground—her form more light than flesh now. She spread her arms and cast a barrier, golden wings flaring behind her.
> "Sacred Veil – Eternal Bastion!
Blades of ash slammed into the barrier. Each one cracked it, shattered it, tore at her soul. Blood streamed from Elena's eyes, but she didn't falter. "Strike now! Before I'm gone!"
Anna's wings flared. Kael's flames raged.
Together, they surged forward.
The Ashen Godform's Fury
The Godform lifted its massive head, its mouth splitting into a chasm of endless fire.
It inhaled.
The battlefield warped as if all existence was being sucked into its maw. Stars, debris, even screams spiraled inward.
Anna's eyes widened. "It's going to erase everything—"
And then it roared.
> "Annihilation Breath."
A beam of pure void-fire erupted, obliterating the battlefield in a straight line, erasing everything it touched.
Anna grabbed Kael's arm. "Together—NOW!"
Kael nodded, his curse flaring brighter than ever. Elena's voice echoed faintly behind them, her wings shattering into motes of light.
Anna and Kael fused their blades, their powers entwining—light, shadow, flame.
Their voices roared as one:
> "Eternal Eclipse!"
They hurled themselves into the oncoming beam. Twilight Nova and Abyss Fang united into a single strike, clashing against the Godform's annihilation breath.
The Veil split apart. Ash, flame, and brilliance flooded everything.
For a moment—it was impossible to tell who was winning.
The clash tore the Veil apart.
Anna and Kael's Eternal Eclipse slammed into the Ashen Godform's Annihilation Breath, and for a heartbeat, the universe itself held its breath.
Shadow-fire and radiant brilliance spiraled into one another, pushing against the endless torrent of voidflame. The pressure cracked their bones, tore their skin, and yet they held.
"More… we need more!" Anna gasped, wings burning as feathers of light scattered like meteors.
Kael's laughter was wild, defiant. "Then take it all from me!" His cursed flames surged, consuming him. His body split with cracks of black fire, but his will blazed unbroken.
The Final Push
Elena, collapsing behind them, heard their voices. She had nothing left. Her body was dust, her light almost gone. But she smiled faintly, tears glowing golden.
"Then take… what remains of me too…"
She pressed her trembling hands together, whispered her last prayer, and unleashed it:
> "Sanctum Radiance – Soulflare!"
Her entire being ignited into pure golden energy. A beam of sanctified light poured into Anna and Kael, flooding their fusion strike with holy brilliance.
Anna screamed as the power ripped through her veins. Kael howled, his curse roaring with it. Their swords became one, their flames and light bound by Elena's last gift.
> "Eternal Eclipse: Dawnbringer!"
Their strike expanded, a spiral of destruction and salvation, crashing against the Annihilation Breathing
Breaking the Godform
The impact shook eternity.
The Godform roared as cracks spread across its body, its throne splitting into fragments. Chains snapped, its colossal arms shattering under the force.
Still it pushed, its maw belching more voidfire.
Anna's body began to break. Her vision blurred, blood ran from her eyes. Kael's arm dissolved into ash as his curse devoured him alive.
But they did not falter.
"Fall—DAMN YOU!" Kael bellowed, hurling the last of himself into the strike.
Anna's wings blazed, her voice rising above the storm. "We! Will! Not! Break!"
The Dawnbringer strike split through the Annihilation Breath, cutting it apart, then cleaved straight into the Godform's chest.
With a sound like the shattering of a thousand worlds, the Ashen Godform screamed.
Its body exploded into fragments of burning ash, scattering across the broken Veil.
The Price
Silence.
Ash rained. The battlefield was nothing but ruin, an endless graveyard of shattered realms.
Anna collapsed to her knees, sword falling from her trembling hands. Her wings were gone, burned away. Her body bled from a hundred wounds.
Kael knelt beside her, what was left of him trembling with fire. His right arm was nothing but shadow and ash, eaten away by his curse. Yet he still smiled through the blood.
"We… did it…"
Anna reached for him, her hand brushing his cheek. "We… we won…"
Behind them, a soft golden glow lingered. Elena's form—translucent now—stood with a gentle smile. "No… you won. My light… just helped you shine."
Her body dissolved into golden dust, scattering into the wind.
"ELENA!" Anna cried, reaching out—but the light faded, gone beyond reach.
The Last Echo
The Veil trembled.
From the fragments of the Ashen Godform, a voice whispered. Cold. Amused.
> "Foolish sparks… you cannot kill ash. You only scatter it…"
The fragments burned brighter, scattering across the Veil like embers. Each one sank into the broken realms, vanishing into the abyss.
Anna's blood ran cold. "No… it's not over."
Kael's eyes narrowed, his flame flickering. "Then we'll hunt every ember… until nothing's left."
But before they could move, the ground split beneath them. The Veil itself collapsed, swallowing them into a storm of light and shadow.
Anna reached for Kael as they fell, her scream lost in the roar.
The Ashen Godform's laughter echoed, faint yet eternal.
> "Ashes… are eternal.
And then the abyss consumed them whole.