The battlefield lay in ruin. What had once been the proud walls of the Citadel was now reduced to heaps of shattered stone and smoking ash. The banners that once flew proudly over the city now lay tattered, trampled into the mud. The stench of fire and blood still hung heavy in the air, mingling with something else—something unnatural. Though the Demon King had been slain, and though the earth had drunk deep of demon blood, the silence that followed did not carry the weight of peace. It was not relief that lingered in the air but an ominous tension, like the drawing of breath before a scream.
Ethan stood at the crest of the ridge, his boots planted firmly in the dirt, his chest rising and falling with the weight of exhaustion. The Red Stone Blade pulsed faintly in his grip, its crimson glow dim but steady, whispering its hunger for battle. The others gathered slowly behind him—his companions who had endured fire and shadow by his side. Their bodies bore wounds, their clothes were tattered, and their spirits hung heavy, but still, they stood. And still, they breathed.
Liora was the first to speak, her soft voice breaking the silence. Her robes, once white, were now streaked with blood and soot, but the faint glow of golden magic lingered around her hands as she clutched her pendant. "It doesn't feel finished," she whispered, her wide eyes scanning the blackened sky. "The light hasn't settled. It's as if the heavens themselves refuse to rest."
Kael let out a bitter laugh, running a hand through his soot-streaked hair. His twin daggers gleamed faintly in the dim light, already hungry for another fight. "That's because it's not finished," he said, spitting into the dirt. "Demons don't vanish clean. They always leave curses crawling in the air. And I swear this place feels like a corpse that's about to start walking again."
Seraphine's voice was low, but her words cut sharper than any blade. Her staff glowed with a faint violet flame, and her dark hair clung to her face, matted with sweat and blood. She lifted her gaze to the horizon, where storm clouds churned unnaturally, streaked with violet lightning. "This isn't a curse," she said firmly. "This is awakening."
Draven, steady as a mountain despite the soot that blackened his steel armor, pressed one gauntleted hand to the broken earth. His face was grim, his deep voice weighted with certainty. "Something stirs below. The Citadel was not an end—it was a key. We didn't close the gate. We opened it."
Ethan's jaw tightened. His body ached, his ribs screamed from the strain of battle, and yet his grip on the Red Stone Blade never wavered. The weapon pulsed in answer to the unease, its crimson glow reflecting the storm above. His voice was steady when he finally spoke, though the weight of his words pressed heavy on them all. "We didn't end the war," he said. "We started it."
As if his words had summoned it, the earth groaned beneath their feet. A fissure split the ground in the valley below, jagged cracks racing outward like veins of fire. From the wound in the earth poured a thick purple mist, twisting and writhing like living shadows. The storm overhead howled louder, violet lightning tearing the sky apart as whispers carried on the wind—whispers that grew louder, until they became screams.
Then the first hand burst forth from the chasm.
Clawed, blackened, and burning with violet fire, it tore free of the earth with a guttural roar. A hulking figure pulled itself into the open, its body armored in obsidian, its veins glowing with molten purple light. Its face was a skeletal mask of jagged teeth, and its eyes were nothing but voids of darkness. It was taller than any beast they had faced before, its very presence thick with the stench of rot and abyss.
The first of the Abyssal Lords.
Kael's daggers flashed in his hands as he spun them with a nervous grin that masked his fear. "Guess we're not getting a break tonight."
Draven rose to his full height, drawing his greatsword with a sound like steel grinding stone. "Stand fast."
Seraphine's staff ignited with violet flame as she gritted her teeth. "Its presence poisons the air. We must kill it before the corruption spreads."
Ethan stepped forward, the Red Stone Blade humming with anticipation in his grip. The weapon blazed with defiance, crimson light surging against the abyssal shadows. Ethan raised it high, his eyes burning with resolve.
"On me," he commanded.
The Abyssal Lord moved with terrifying speed for its size. Its claw slammed into the earth, sending a shockwave that split the ground. Draven intercepted, his greatsword bracing against the blow with sparks flying, his armored boots grinding deep into the stone. Kael darted forward like a shadow, slashing across its legs, but his blades barely cut deep enough to bleed. Seraphine unleashed a torrent of fire, engulfing its arm in bright flame, but the monster roared and swept its other claw in a wide arc, the shockwave of its strength extinguishing half the fire.
Ethan charged, his blade blazing, and carved across its chest. The creature shrieked as the crimson light bit deep into its armor, searing through the abyssal corruption. The wound glowed, its void-flesh burned away. The Red Stone Blade could hurt it.
"Focus where I cut!" Ethan roared.
The battle turned into a storm of steel and flame. Kael struck with lightning speed, his blades darting into every weak point Ethan opened. Liora channeled golden light, healing burns and cuts before they could cripple her companions, her face pale with exhaustion yet unyielding. Seraphine's flames grew brighter, feeding off Ethan's strikes, igniting the abyssal wounds until the creature's body smoked and cracked. Draven's greatsword rose and fell like a hammer of judgment, blocking claws and shattering armor.
But the Abyssal Lord was relentless. With a roar, it slammed both hands into the ground, sending violet cracks racing outward. The shockwave hurled them all back, stone exploding beneath their feet. Ethan slammed into a broken pillar, the impact rattling his bones. Blood filled his mouth, but he forced himself up, his vision swimming.
The Abyssal Lord raised its arms skyward, pulling energy into its chest. A sphere of swirling void-fire formed, pulsating with enough energy to erase them all. Seraphine's eyes widened in horror. "It's summoning the abyss itself! That blast will level everything for miles!"
The storm above split open, revealing a crack in the sky. Shadows poured downward like rain. The screams on the wind grew deafening.
Ethan staggered forward, gripping his blade tighter. "Liora—everything you've got. Now!"
Her eyes widened with fear. "Ethan, your body can't—"
"Do it!"
She hesitated only a heartbeat before rushing to him, pressing her glowing hands against his back. Her golden magic surged into his veins, flooding his body with warmth that burned like fire. Ethan gasped, his vision flashing white as power ripped through him, threatening to tear him apart. His muscles screamed, his chest ached, but the Red Stone Blade roared to life in his hands, its crimson light blazing brighter than the sun.
The Abyssal Lord hurled the sphere of void-fire toward them.
Ethan ran straight into it.
The others screamed his name, but he did not slow. He raised the Red Stone Blade high and slashed upward with everything he had. The crimson light met the void-fire head-on, splitting the sphere apart with an explosion that ripped the sky in two. The blast hurled him forward, his body nearly breaking under the force, but he drove the blade straight into the Abyssal Lord's chest.
The creature howled as cracks spread across its body, violet fire erupting from its wounds.
"Now!" Ethan roared.
They struck as one. Kael's blades pierced the tendons in its legs, Seraphine's fire engulfed its skull, Draven's greatsword severed its clawed arm, and Liora's light surged into Ethan's blade, amplifying its power until it blazed like a star.
With a final scream, Ethan carved downward, splitting the Abyssal Lord in two.
The monster exploded into shadow and flame, collapsing back into the fissure. The ground sealed shut with a thunderous crack, the storm above flickered, and silence fell.
For a long moment, none of them moved. Only the sound of their ragged breathing filled the air.
Ethan fell to one knee, his blade dimming, his body trembling from the strain. His chest burned, his vision blurred, but he refused to let go of the Red Stone Blade.
Seraphine's voice was soft, but the weight of her words was undeniable. "That was only one. There will be more."
Draven's eyes were fixed on the horizon, where faint glimmers of purple still pulsed beneath the earth. "Then the Shadow War has begun."
Ethan forced himself to his feet, every muscle screaming in protest. He looked at his companions, weary but unbroken, bound together by fire and blood. His voice was steady, unyielding.
"Then we'll fight it," he said. "All of it. Until nothing remains."
The wind shifted, carrying the echo of countless voices rising from the shadows below. The ground trembled, as if the abyss itself stirred hungrily.
The war wasn't coming.
The war was already here.