The first scream split the night like shattering glass.
Armathis had erupted into a battlefield of nightmare. The harvested souls swarmed through the ruined streets, their pale faces twisted into masks of agony, their clawed hands reaching for the living. Every torch sputtered in the mist, every ward of protection dimmed against the weight of the curse.
Kaien's blade carved arcs of violet light through the swarm, each strike severing the threads that bound the husks. But the shadows that poured from the Soulforge only wove them tighter again. For every soul freed, another was chained.
"Fall back to the square!" Commander Varic's voice bellowed above the chaos. "Hold the line around the crystal!"
But the line was breaking.
Shadow golems thundered forward, each step cracking the cobblestones. Their bodies were stitched from bone and mist, their eyes burning like embers in a storm. A single sweep of their claws shattered shields, scattering Slayers like leaves in a gale.
Selene raised her staff, her voice breaking into chants. A circle of fire erupted before the soldiers, halting the nearest golem. But her face was pale, her body trembling from exhaustion. "I can't hold them forever!"
Kaien's eyes narrowed. He could feel it again—the pull of the Abyss, the whispering call that had haunted him since the siege. His blood burned with it, urging him to unleash what he had held back.
The cloaked priests around the Soulforge raised their hands, chanting in a language that bent the air. The crystal pulsed faster, brighter, each heartbeat releasing a wave of mist that drowned the city in darkness.
Kaien's teeth clenched. If that crystal reached its full awakening, Armathis wouldn't just be cursed—it would become a gate.
"Varic!" Kaien shouted. "Cover the soldiers! I'm going for the Soulforge!"
The old commander's face was grim, but he nodded. "Go, boy. And don't come back without shattering it!"
Kaien surged forward, shadows swirling around him. The nearest golem swung its arm like a falling tree, but Kaien ducked under the blow, sliding across the stones before slashing upward. His blade cut through the mist-flesh, releasing a burst of violet sparks. The golem staggered but did not fall.
"Persistent bastard," Kaien growled, then twisted his grip. Shadows erupted from his aura, coiling around the golem's body like chains. He pulled, and with a roar, the creature collapsed into ash.
The priests turned their burning eyes toward him.
"So," one hissed, its voice layered with echoes. "The half-breed comes to dance with shadows."
Kaien froze for a heartbeat. Half-breed?
Before he could question it, the priests raised their arms, and the mist thickened. From it stepped a figure taller than any Kaien had faced yet.
The new demon was clad in blackened armor fused with bone, its helmet shaped like the skull of a beast. In its hands it carried a blade of obsidian, longer than Kaien's body.
The Demon General.
The soldiers faltered, fear rippling through their ranks. The air itself seemed to bend under the weight of its presence.
Kaien's heart pounded, but his grip tightened on his sword. "So you're the one guarding this place."
The General's voice was like grinding stone. "I am Malrik, Warden of the Soulforge. And you… are a child playing with power you do not understand."
It swung its blade in a single, effortless arc. The ground split, cobblestones shattering as the shockwave hurled Slayers backward.
Kaien stood his ground, shadows swirling tighter around him.
"Then I'll make you understand," he growled.
They clashed.
The square erupted in flashes of light and shadow. Kaien's violet aura met Malrik's obsidian blade, sparks scattering like meteors. Each strike shook the ruins, each clash sent shockwaves that rattled the very stones of Armathis.
Kaien's movements blurred, his strikes faster, sharper, each infused with the Abyss' whispering power. But Malrik was stronger—his blade cleaving through wards, his strength unyielding.
"You are nothing," Malrik snarled, pressing him back. "A vessel, nothing more. When your soul breaks, you will join the forge."
Kaien roared and unleashed a burst of power, shadows exploding outward. For a heartbeat, he forced Malrik back, his blade striking across the demon's chest. Black ichor hissed against stone, and the General staggered.
The Slayers cheered—but it died quickly as the wound sealed before their eyes, the ichor hardening into new armor.
Selene's voice cried out over the battle: "Kaien! The Soulforge—it's feeding him! You can't kill him while it stands!"
Kaien's breath came heavy, his chest burning. The whispers grew louder now, promising him strength if he only surrendered more of himself. For a moment, he felt his hands tremble.
No. He would not give in. Not yet.
He met Malrik's burning eyes and growled, "Then I'll break the forge first."
With a surge of speed, he dashed past the General, shadows propelling him forward. The priests screeched, summoning more harvested souls, but Kaien's blade cut through them like paper. His aura flared violet-black, each strike carrying the weight of desperation.
He reached the Soulforge.
Up close, it was even more terrifying—the crystal pulsed like a living heart, each beat echoing in his bones. Faces writhed in its depths, screaming silently, begging for release.
Kaien raised his blade.
But Malrik's voice thundered behind him: "Touch it, and your soul will be the first it devours!"
The obsidian blade came down.
Kaien barely twisted aside, the strike carving a crater where he had stood. The shockwave hurled him forward, crashing into the base of the crystal. He gasped, pain tearing through his body—but his hand still gripped the sword.
He forced himself up, violet energy burning around him like fire. "Then let's see whose soul breaks first."
And with every ounce of strength left, he drove his blade into the Soulforge.
The crystal shrieked.
The mist exploded outward, hurling soldiers, demons, and even Malrik to the ground. For a moment, the entire city trembled, as though the earth itself was screaming.
Then the crystal cracked.
A line of violet light split its surface, spreading like veins of fire. The priests howled, their bodies unraveling into smoke. The harvested souls screeched as the threads binding them snapped, their forms dissolving into sparks of fading light.
Malrik roared, his blade swinging in fury—but the shockwave of the crystal's collapse hurled him back.
Kaien fell to one knee, his sword still buried in the crystal, his aura flickering. His body felt torn apart, but he refused to release his grip.
The Soulforge shattered.
Light consumed the square, a blinding explosion that turned night into day.
When the dust cleared, the ruins were silent. The crystal was gone, nothing but shards scattered across the ground. The priests were ash, their chants silenced forever. The harvested souls had vanished, freed at last.
But Malrik still stood.
Smoke curled from his armor, cracks glowing faintly along his blade. He staggered, his burning eyes fixed on Kaien. "You will pay for this, half-breed. The King knows your name now. And when he comes, your world will burn."
Then, with a roar that shook the ruins, the General vanished into the mist.
Kaien collapsed, his blade falling from his hand.
The last thing he heard before darkness took him was Selene's voice calling his name.