EXT. WESTERN RIDGE – HELL
The dome of Hell shuddered. Ash fell like snow, rivers of magma burst from cracks, and pillars of fire licked the abyss. Then the cavern above ignited. A crown of flame burned into the ceiling, its light spilling down upon the ridge like judgment.
From the infernal seal descended Ozyth, the 8th Sigil of Halo. His crimson armor dripped molten light. His wings spread wide, each beat scorching the choking air. A living crown of fire circled his head. The ridge split beneath his landing, molten rivers flooding the cracks.
The survivors far below trembled. But Cassian Damaris did not. She stood alone on the ridge, halberd in hand.
Cassian struck true, her halberd drawing molten blood from Ozyth's shoulder and chest. The Sigil recoiled, a low, bored sound rumbling in his throat.
Ozyth: You dare bleed me? Tsk. Annoying. That was perhaps the strongest blow I've felt since the last Crusade. And I only have 10% of my focus dedicated to this little skirmish. You waste my time, human.
Cassian was too slow. Ozyth unleashed a backhand of scorching fire — a casual flick of his wrist. The blow was deafening. Cassian's own skin charred instantly, and she was slammed against a jagged rock spire. She crumpled, coughing, her armor smoking. Thick, dark blood immediately streamed from her mouth. Her vision swam.
I survived the trials. I led them across the void. I am Rank 3. I am the shield.
The thought was a desperate prayer.
I will not fall here. I won't let them die because I broke.
Ozyth loomed, his foot lifting to crush her.
Cassian (voice barely a raw whisper): I didn't come this far to lose.
The quiet declaration was an act of pure, savage refusal. Her life force, amplified by the ambient Hell energy, responded to her core will.
Her left eye snapped open, blazing a furious, demonic yellow. The black steel of her halberd's shaft and blade flared an incandescent, violent crimson. The air around her compressed, cracking the ash.
[THE AWAKENING: CRIMSON RAGE]
Cassian didn't just move — she vanished. She was the fastest thing in Hell, a crimson streak that shattered the sound barrier of the abyss.
Ozyth stopped his crushing motion, his crimson armor shimmering as he threw his head back and laughed — a sound that shook the sulfurous air.
Ozyth: A champion! Finally! This is what I came for! You hold a new rank now, mortal. A temporary one, but real. The 6th Herald of Crimson. Let's see what you can do with it!
His laughter cut off. The fiery halo above his head tripled in size, pulsing with molten power.
Ozyth: Fifty percent. Show me the Crimson.
Cassian appeared instantly before Ozyth, defying the pain in her ribs. Her thrust struck true, powered by her speed and rage. The crimson halberd drove into his torso, buried deep past the hilt.
The Sigil didn't flinch. Instead, he smiled — a terrifying, ecstatic grin — and ignited his Halo.
A golden energy ring slammed outward from his crown, a powerful Halo Shockwave. Cassian was hit mid-thrust. The impact shredded the rock spire behind her and tore the halberd from her hands. She flew backward, hitting the ground and skipping like a stone, the Crimson Rage glow flickering desperately to hold her body together.
Ozyth yanked the halberd free, molten ichor pouring from the wound, which instantly began to seal. He raised his hand toward the collapsing Cassian, and the air filled with blinding white light.
Ozyth: Too slow, Herald.
He unleashed a Light Wave — a bolt of pure, concentrated energy from his fingertips. Cassian scrambled, rolling just as the blast carved a deep, smoking canyon into the ridge where she had been.
With a final, violent wrench of the air, Ozyth tore the mangled halberd free and hurled Cassian across the battlefield. She smashed through a jagged spire, stone bursting apart. Her body was broken, her scorched skin bleeding into the ash, yet her hand never released the mangled halberd shaft.
She rose. Broken, scorched, trembling. The crimson glow faded from her weapon, and the furious yellow light died in her eye. Yet her spirit did not bow. She planted the weapon into the stone and pulled herself to her feet, lifting the halberd once more.
Cassian: You'll remember me, Ozyth. Even if Hell swallows me whole — you'll remember the human who stood against you.
The demon's burning halo flared.
Ozyth (eager, delighted): I will remember, little Herald. Oh, yes. I will remember.
Their silhouettes faced one another — flame and shadow, mortal and Sigil, predator and prey.
And in Hell's pit, where legions bent to the Sigils, Cassian Damaris, the 6th Herald of Crimson, did not.
TO BE CONTINUED...