The Dominion had begun its march.
From the mountain ridges of the Ash Expanse to the blackened coasts of Vael'Rhûn, the sound of war drums rolled across the world like thunder. Towers once thought eternal burned. Cities fell silent, swallowed by storm clouds and metal legions.
And in the shadows beneath that chaos, Kael Ardent walked.
He moved through the ruins of the lower districts with Lira at his side, both cloaked and silent. They'd been walking for hours—through narrow alleys where mechanical ravens watched from perches, and under bridges echoing with the rhythmic march of Dominion footmen.
The world had changed faster than anyone could breathe.
"Three days," Lira said quietly, keeping her eyes on the path ahead. "That's how long it took them to reclaim the capital. Three days."
Kael nodded. "They've learned to move faster. Adapt."
"Like you?"
He gave a faint smile. "No. I'm slower than I used to be. The world's just catching up."
They reached the outskirts—an abandoned industrial field filled with collapsed forges and rusted skyships. The air smelled of oil and mana rot.
From the shadow of a broken furnace, a group of figures emerged—armed, scarred, and wary.
"Drop the hood," one said, holding a crossbow steady.
Kael obeyed slowly. His eyes met the man's, and something in that silver glow made him hesitate.
"Gods above," another whispered. "It's true. You're the Iron-Star commander."
Kael's voice was quiet. "Not anymore."
From the back of the group, a woman stepped forward—her face hidden behind a half-mask, cloak lined with faded red insignia.
"Let him through," she said.
Lira blinked. "You know him?"
The woman's eyes softened. "Everyone who's ever held a blade knows Kael Ardent. He's the reason the last war even lasted as long as it did."
Kael studied her. "And you are?"
"Commander Serin Vale," she said. "Leader of the Ember Rebellion."
Inside the ruins of an old skyship hangar, the rebellion's camp pulsed with quiet life.
Refugees huddled near makeshift fires. Blacksmiths worked on scavenged weapons—swords, rifles, and old Dominion armor stripped of its markings. Every face wore the same expression: exhaustion buried beneath resolve.
Kael walked through it all, silent, until Serin led him to a table spread with maps and glowing shards.
"This is all that's left of the free world," she said, gesturing to the map. "Five enclaves. Maybe twenty thousand people total. And the Dominion's fleet is already crossing the Iron Plains."
Lira frowned. "Then why are we sitting here?"
Serin gave a humorless laugh. "Because the last time someone stood against them, they lost everything."
Kael looked at the map, eyes narrowing. "You're planning to strike their relay fortress."
Serin's gaze sharpened. "How do you—"
"I built those relays," Kael interrupted. "Back when I still believed in what they stood for."
Silence fell.
Finally, Serin said, "Then you know we can't win this war without destroying them."
Kael traced a finger across the map, stopping over a mark shaped like an eye—the Dominion's Heart Nexus.
"Not destroy," he said softly. "Reclaim."
Serin frowned. "You can't just reclaim the Dominion. They're gods in armor."
"Then I'll break their armor."
That night, Kael stood alone on the hangar roof. The stars above flickered faintly, half-swallowed by the Dominion's smog clouds.
"You feel it too," Ardentia's voice whispered. "The storm is coming. The rhythm of war."
He nodded. "It's familiar."
"The last time we marched, you carried me into the heart of the Dominion's first city. Do you remember?"
Kael closed his eyes. Images flashed—streets filled with fire, soldiers chanting his name, and a sky ripped open by divine engines.
"I remember," he said quietly. "And I remember losing everything after."
"You didn't lose, Kael. You stopped."
He frowned. "Stopped?"
"Because you saw what we were becoming. Weapons without will. And you feared you'd lose yourself entirely."
He looked down at his glowing hand. "Seems that happened anyway."
"Perhaps. But you can still choose what kind of monster you become."
The next day, the rebellion moved.
Caravans of hovercraft and armored trucks rolled across the wastelands, kicking up trails of ash. Lira sat in the passenger seat beside Kael, tightening her gloves.
"You think we'll survive this?" she asked.
"No."
She shot him a look.
"But we'll make them bleed," he added with a faint smirk.
Ahead, the ruins of the Dominion relay fortress came into view—a sprawling citadel of black steel and floating monoliths, guarded by sentinels that glowed like dying stars.
Serin's voice came through the comms. "All units in position. On your mark, Kael."
He took a deep breath. The shard within him pulsed, answering the rhythm of the war drums that began to echo in the distance.
"Mark," he said.
The ground erupted.
Missiles streaked through the air, lighting up the sky in arcs of fire. The first wave of rebellion troops charged the gates, clashing with Dominion automatons that moved like nightmares—four-armed, faceless, relentless.
Kael leapt from the vehicle, landing hard on the steel ramp. His sword flared to life in his hand, silver and blue merging into a single radiant edge.
"Resonance—sixty percent."
"Confirmed."
He charged. The first automaton swung; Kael parried, spun, and sliced through its chest in a single motion. The second lunged from behind—Lira intercepted, daggers piercing through its glowing core.
Explosions painted the battlefield in chaos.
Then a shadow fell across the fortress.
A massive Dominion warform descended—twenty meters tall, humanoid but grotesque, its armor etched with living runes. Its voice boomed through the storm:
"Kael Ardent. Designation: Traitor of the Divine Legion."
Kael froze. That voice… he knew it.
He looked up. Beneath the warform's helm, faint traces of a human face glowed—a face he'd once trusted.
"Gareth."
The warform's eyes flared. "You shouldn't have come back, Commander."
Lira's eyes widened. "You know him?"
Kael nodded slowly, voice heavy. "He was my second-in-command. The Dominion rebuilt him after the war."
"They rebuilt me," Gareth's voice thundered, "because you abandoned us."
Kael lifted his blade. "Then let me finish what I started."
The world exploded in light.
Their clash split the sky. Kael's sword met Gareth's molten halberd, sparks erupting with every impact. Each strike sent shockwaves rippling across the battlefield, scattering soldiers and debris.
"Resonance—seventy percent. Warning: core instability detected."
Kael ignored it, teeth gritted. "Come on, old friend. Show me what they turned you into."
Gareth roared and swung, his halberd carving through the ground like liquid fire. Kael rolled aside, countered with a vertical slash that sent a burst of starlight through the storm.
For a moment, the light tore through Gareth's armor, revealing glimpses of the man beneath—the scars, the eyes, the fragments of humanity still buried within.
"Gareth!" Kael shouted. "Fight it! You're still—"
"No," Gareth growled. "You're the one who forgot what we were."
Their weapons met again, and this time, the collision birthed a blinding pulse that consumed the entire field.
When the light faded, Kael stood over Gareth's fallen form. His sword was cracked, bleeding silver mist. Gareth's body flickered—half-machine, half-human, all broken.
Kael knelt beside him.
"Forgive me," he whispered.
Gareth smiled faintly, blood and light mingling on his lips. "You never could stop fighting, could you?"
Then he was gone.
Silence returned to the battlefield.
The fortress lay in ruins. The rebellion's survivors gathered amid the smoke, their eyes fixed on Kael—on the man who had just slain one of the Dominion's generals.
Serin approached, her armor scorched, her voice steady. "The relay's down. The Dominion fleet's blind for now."
Kael sheathed his sword. "Then we move before they rebuild."
Lira placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did what you had to."
He looked at her, but his eyes were distant—haunted.
"The Dominion will come again," Ardentia whispered. "And next time, they'll bring the gods themselves."
Kael stared into the horizon, where the smog clouds glowed faintly red.
"Then let them," he said quietly. "If the gods want a war, I'll give them one."