The world would one day remember this night as the night when the final light trembled — nearly extinguished — yet still struggled to shine one last time.
The sky, which once held its stars gently, had shattered into jagged black cracks stretching like the hands of a butcher. The air was thick with the scent of metal, scorched dust, and the whispers of beings without true form. On the fractured, blackened earth, two figures stood — or rather, faced each other, with the fate of the world hanging between them.
Aurelia Crimsonheart stood gasping for breath, the edges of her cloak torn like the wings of a burning angel. The golden-red magic that usually surrounded her body was now dim, choked by the dark atmosphere that devoured anything alive it touched. Blood trickled from her temple, down her cheek, mixing with the soil that had turned into blackened mud.
Before her, at the center of a vortex of darkness that pulsed like the slow-beating heart of the world, floated the Dark King Morvath — without wings, without steps. His entire form was shrouded in thick black fog with a texture like living smoke — shifting, writhing, like countless tiny creatures trapped inside. His eyes were not eyes at all, but two blood-red holes of light that reflected nothing except eternal suffering.
"Look at yourself, Aurelia Crimsonheart," Morvath whispered. His voice echoed in many layers, as though every shadow around them spoke with him. "The last hero of the world… nothing but a candle about to go out."
Aurelia lifted her staff, though her hands trembled fiercely. The crystal at its tip glowed faintly, cracked like glass no longer able to contain its own power. "If I burn out… I burn out fighting you. That alone is enough."
A thin smile formed on what resembled Morvath's face — a mask of mist shaped vaguely like a human expression. "You cling to words with no meaning. I have split this world apart. I have devoured the hope of every living thing. Only you remain."
Aurelia tried to speak, but the air refused to enter her lungs. Morvath's darkness consumed both light and oxygen. Even a small flame burning nearby died simply from his presence.
Yet she stood.
Because if she fell, the entire world would fall with her.
She tightened her grip on her staff. "As long as I stand, you will never win."
Morvath laughed. It was not a laugh of joy — it was the sound of bones breaking, metal clashing, and the slow wails of creatures being crushed. "Then allow me to make you kneel."
---
Without warning, Morvath flicked his hand — and from the depths of the black fog, hundreds of shadow blades shot forward like arrows released from a colossal bow. Aurelia raised her staff, forming layer upon layer of light shields. When the blades struck, the impact boomed like a storm of thunder exploding beside her ears. She was thrown backward several steps, the ground beneath her feet cracking.
Pain stabbed through her ribs. The tip of her boot dragged along the broken earth. But she did not fall.
She could not fall.
With the last of her strength, she swung her staff. Golden-red light burst outward, forming a curved arc like a scythe slicing through the air. The energy carved through Morvath's dark fog, making the small creatures inside shriek before dissolving.
Morvath looked at the gash with an expressionless face. "Still trying to fight back?" he said coldly.
Aurelia did not answer. She held her bleeding arm, feeling her magic tearing at her from within — for she had always wielded a light never meant for human bodies.
"If you keep pushing yourself, your heart will stop under the weight of your own magic," Morvath said. "Even from here, I can hear it trembling."
Aurelia knew he was right.
She had exceeded human limits since the war began.
But what worth was a body if the soul of the world was doomed?
She stared at Morvath. "I don't need a heart to defeat you."
For the first time, Morvath's gaze shifted.
There was anger in it.
---
Behind Morvath, the abyss of darkness — the field of death he had opened months ago — widened. Liquid shadow poured out like living ink. From within emerged skinless hands, eyeless faces, and beings that should not exist. They crawled out, hissing, howling, calling Aurelia's name with mouths that were not truly mouths.
Dozens. Hundreds. Maybe thousands.
Aurelia raised her staff high.
A massive circle of light formed beneath her. Ancient runes spun, locking into each other, forming patterns of old magic that only the bloodline of Crimsonheart could wield.
Light rose from the ground to the sky, splitting the dark fog apart. A sound like the wings of a giant being filled the air.
Aurelia clasped both hands and focused every ounce of energy into a single point.
And the light exploded.
A golden wave swept across the battlefield, tearing through the creatures of darkness. They screamed, melting, evaporating, vanishing before they touched the earth. Thousands erased in an instant. The abyss recoiled several meters under the force of the blast.
But the victory came with a price.
Aurelia fell to her knees.
Her magic drained most of her remaining energy, tearing the magical pathways within her. Warm blood seeped from her chest. Her ears rang. Her vision blurred.
Morvath appeared before her, walking like a king approaching a defeated enemy. "A beautiful attack, Aurelia. Truly remarkable… for a mortal."
Aurelia tried to stand.
Her knees shook.
But she rose.
Barely.
Her body screamed, but she commanded it anyway.
Morvath raised his hand, shaping his dark magic into a massive spear of concentrated shadow. It throbbed like something alive. Whispers of death echoed from its surface.
"This is the end of your little story," Morvath whispered.
The spear shot forward.
Aurelia blocked it at the last second — though the force flung her tens of meters away. Her staff trembled, nearly snapping. She crashed onto the ground, rolling, ribs cracking inward, blood filling her mouth.
But she rose again.
Morvath watched.
For the first time… he seemed displeased.
---
"What makes you so stubborn?" Morvath asked. "This world isn't even worth saving."
Aurelia struggled for breath, each inhale shuddering. "I… heard this world cry. I saw children praying even after their parents were gone. I watched soldiers die not knowing whether their efforts mattered. I felt the terror of people who no longer dared to hope."
She bit her cracked lip. "That is why I remain standing."
Morvath stared at her as though she were something incomprehensible. "Hope. You always speak of hope… and that is your weakness, Aurelia."
"No," Aurelia met his gaze, her ruby eyes glowing once more. "It is a strength you will never possess."
Morvath roared.
Dark fog surged, becoming a colossal storm. The abyss reacted like a furious beast, hurling shards of shadow that stabbed into the ground, making the earth ripple like a raging sea.
Aurelia knew.
Their time was almost gone.
If the abyss was not sealed now… the world would not survive another hour.
But she also knew something far more painful:
To close the abyss, one requirement must be met — she had to sacrifice her soul.
She looked at her staff.
The crystal was almost shattered.
If she forced it further, it would break — and her remaining power would explode with it.
But…
It might be the only way.
---
"Morvath!" Aurelia screamed, her voice echoing across the torn sky. "If this world must be redeemed with a soul… let it be mine!"
Morvath froze.
The shadows around him twitched.
"What… did you say?" His voice rumbled with dark thunder.
Aurelia lifted her staff to the heavens.
Golden-red light erupted from her body. This time it did not come from her staff or any external spell — but from her very soul. Light wrapped around her, making her appear like a being forged from starfire.
"AURELIA!" Morvath roared. "Do not dare!"
Aurelia smiled faintly. A painful smile… yet filled with resolve.
"I do not die today… I simply return to where I belong."
She drove her staff into the ground.
The earth shook.
Ancient runes burst from the soil, encircling the abyss. Light and darkness collided, spiraling, as though two cosmic forces fought for dominance.
Morvath charged, desperate to stop her.
"STOP!" he roared, his dark fog blown back by her radiance. "If you do this, you will vanish! No rebirth, no spirit, no trace — YOU WILL CEASE FOREVER!"
Aurelia closed her eyes.
Tears fell.
Not because she feared death.
But because she never had the chance to say goodbye.
"I… know."
Aurelia inhaled one final time.
"For the world I love…"
She released everything.
In one second—
Everything turned white.
Morvath screamed — a scream that fractured the air, that made the shadows writhe in terror. Aurelia's light pierced his body, shattering him like cracked glass, destroying every fragment of darkness that composed him.
The abyss shrank, shriveling, screeching like the doorway to hell being forced shut.
Darkness burst upward—
Then faded.
Instead, the earth glowed softly, spreading through its roots, its air, and its wounded sky.
When the light finally dimmed…
Aurelia was gone.
No body.
No ashes.
No trace.
Only tiny fragments of light drifting down like falling stars — disappearing one by one.
The wind carried her final whisper…
Soft, almost dreamlike.
"I will return… someday."
And that night, the world wept in silence — for the last light had extinguished itself to save them.