The ethereal horn echoed across the hills, its sharp call tearing through the quiet night.
Xander's shadows reacted at once, spreading outward and wrapping around him and Lilith. Above them, the divine scout hovered in the open sky, its glowing form shifting like heat in the air.
Wings of light flared as it released a beam that scorched the ground where they had stood moments earlier.
"Persistent pests," Xander said, his voice low and heavy.
He answered with darkness.
Shadows struck upward, snapping toward the scout. The creature moved aside with speed, but one strand caught its wing. Light dimmed where shadow touched, drawing a sharp cry from the being above.
Lilith stepped forward as fire rose around her. "Lapdogs of the gods," she snarled. "I will burn you out of the sky."
She hurled fireballs upward. Each one struck shimmering barriers and burst apart in flashes of flame. Heat and holy light collided, shaking the air.
The scout reeled back and raised its arms.
The sky split open.
Bright cracks tore through the clouds as portals formed overhead. Celestial warriors poured out, descending in tight formation.
Their armour shone with divine symbols, and halos of energy hovered above their heads. Spears thrummed as they landed, voices rising together in chant.
The sound pressed down on the land, heavy and suffocating.
Lilith glanced at the growing force and grinned. "Looks like your legend still frightens them."
Xander's shadows spread across the ground. His eyes stayed on the descending host.
"Good," he said. "Fear makes them easier to read."
Above them, heaven's forces closed in.
Below, fire and darkness prepared to answer.
Xander and Lilith moved together without hesitation. He shaped the battlefield with shadow, raising walls that swallowed divine attacks and weakened their force. When light faltered, Lilith struck.
Her flames poured through the openings, melting armour and tearing through celestial forms.
One warrior broke through and lunged at Xander with a spear. Xander stepped aside and caught the weapon. Darkness flowed into the metal, spreading through it until the spear shattered.
Xander followed with a single strike, tearing the soul free. The body broke apart into drifting light.
But the sky kept opening.
More portals appeared, spilling fresh warriors into the night. The pressure grew with each moment.
"We cannot win a drawn-out fight," Xander said. "We fall back. Deeper into the wilds."
Lilith burned another attacker from the air before glancing at him. "This is not fear," she snapped. "It is strategy."
She rushed ahead, fire clearing a path through thick brush and twisted growth.
They ran.
The wilderness closed around them as they fled, celestial forces close behind. Beams of holy light shattered trees and scorched the ground. Arrows of radiant energy sliced through earth and stone. Xander bent shadows around them, hiding their trail and breaking sight, sending false paths in every direction.
The chase dragged on as time blurred.
The land grew hostile. Ravines opened beneath their feet. Marshes swallowed the ground in thick fog. Cold air pressed in as mist rolled across their path.
At last, the forest ended.
They reached the edge of a canyon wrapped in drifting fog. Below them lay ancient ruins, half-buried and forgotten. Broken walls and fallen towers formed a twisting maze carved into the canyon floor.
Xander slowed, his shadows shifting.
"This place," he said, "has seen war."
Lilith glanced back toward the sky, where faint light still flickered through the fog. Then she looked down at the ruins and smiled.
"Good," she said. "Let's see how well gods hunt among the dead."
Together, they descended into the mist, disappearing into stone and shadow as the pursuit closed in above.
As they moved deeper into the ruins, the pressure behind them grew stronger. Light flared at intervals in the distance, still far, but closing in. For the first time since the chase began, Xander slowed.
Something brushed against his senses.
It was faint and almost hidden, a steady pulse of light buried beneath layers of restraint.
"There is something here," he said quietly. "A sanctuary. Or a prison."
Lilith wiped sweat from her brow as embers flickered weakly along her skin. "Either way, it is better than getting stabbed by those glowing idiots. Lead."
They advanced with care. Broken arches rose overhead, their stone carved with symbols worn smooth by time. Pale vines clung to cracked walls, giving off a soft glow touched by old magic.
The air felt heavy, filled with a mix of divine restraint and ancient power.
At the heart of the canyon, Xander stopped before a stretch of blank stone.
Illusion.
His shadows pressed forward and tore the false surface apart.
Beyond it lay a chamber untouched by decay.
Soft light filled the space as the sanctuary revealed itself. Its walls seemed to hum with quiet energy. At the center stood a crystal pedestal. Bound to it by chains of radiant force hung a woman, suspended between sleep and awareness.
Elara Moonshadow.
Her hair fell like silver strands around her calm face. Torn robes clung to her form, dulled where the bindings drained her strength. The chains pulsed with light, feeding on her power and holding her in place.
Her eyes opened.
They were a deep shade of blue, worn with age, yet sharp with awareness.
"Who dares," she asked softly, "enter a place long abandoned by mercy?"
The sanctuary shook before anyone could answer.
Light burst at the entrance as divine forces poured in. Their leader stepped forward, tall and radiant, wings spreading wide as his presence crushed the air.
An archangel.
"The fugitives," he thundered. "And the heretic goddess. Take them all."
Xander moved at once, stepping between Elara and the advancing host. Shadows surged outward, filling the chamber and pushing back against the holy light.
He met the archangel's gaze.
"No," he said calmly. "This ends now."
Lilith moved to his side, flames rising again despite her fatigue. Elara watched from her chains, something long buried stirring behind her eyes.
In that hidden sanctuary, fire, shadow, and fallen divinity stood against heaven.
And the gods were about to learn what desperation looked like.
The sanctuary exploded into chaos.
At the archangel's command, celestial guardians advanced. Towering constructs of glowing crystal and divine markings moved forward without pause. Lilith struck first, hurling bursts of infernal fire that cracked their shells. Fractures spread, then closed again as the chains binding Elara flared brighter.
"Of course," Lilith growled. "They are feeding on her."
Xander was already in motion.
He slipped between the guardians, his form blurring as he struck. A blow shattered one construct's core, divine fragments scattering through the air.
He pulled the remains into himself as stolen light burned and fused with his darkness. Power surged through him, sharp and unstable.
"Lilith," he called. "Cover me."
She answered at once, flames driving back two advancing guardians. "Do not die," she snapped. "I have not decided if I like you yet."
The archangel descended, wings flaring as a blade of condensed light formed in his grasp. Xander met the strike head-on, shaping shadow into a weapon of equal force.
The clash sent shockwaves through the chamber as stone cracked around them.
"You defend the fallen one," the archangel sneered. "The one who defied heaven?"
Xander's gaze darkened. "Defiance earns respect."
Shadows surged around him as he pressed the attack. The archangel staggered, its light flickering under the pressure.
With a final strike, Xander tore the soul free, devouring it as darkness swelled, tempered by stolen divinity.
The remaining guardians staggered as their glow began to fade. Whatever powered them was failing.
Xander turned toward Elara.
The chains resisted him. Radiant wards pushed back his shadows as if they were harmful. He clenched his jaw. "They are bound to light. I cannot break them alone."
Elara lifted her head. Weakness weighed on her, but clarity still burned in her eyes. "Your darkness is vast," she said softly. "And damaged. Let it meet my light. Together, they can balance what neither can break."
Lilith, holding back the last guardian, shot them a sharp look. "Merge with her?" she snapped. "We just met her. I do not trust glowing strangers."
Xander did not pause.
He placed his hand against the pedestal as shadows flowed outward. Elara responded at once, her fading light weaving into his darkness.
The contact sent a jolt through them both, steady and deep, like two forces falling into place.
The wards failed.
The chains shattered in a burst of shifting light, breaking apart and fading into the air.
Elara fell forward.
Xander caught her before she hit the ground, holding her steady. For a moment, the battle noise faded. She looked up at him, a soft smile forming, though something possessive flickered behind her gaze.
"Thank you," she whispered. "I am Elara Moonshadow. Once a goddess of healing and prophecy. I was cast down for questioning heaven's will."
Xander helped her stand, feeling a calm spread through him that eased the storm within. "Xander Blackthorn. This is Lilith Flameheart. It seems banishment favours strong opinions."
Lilith stepped closer, flames low but ready. "So," she said, "what got you thrown out, glow-girl?"
Elara's expression softened as her hand rested briefly on Xander's arm. "The gods feared my visions," she said. "I saw a dark lord rise beyond their control. One who bows to no throne, yet gains strength through bonds they cannot command."
Xander's focus sharpened. "You saw me."
She nodded. "And those who would stand beside you. Women of power who steady your darkness by choice, not force. A bond that brings strength, but also risk."
Lilith's eyes widened. "Wait," she said. "Are you talking about a harem?"
Before Elara could answer, the ruins shook.
Divine energy surged as broken portals rumbled. Something far stronger gathered beyond the veil.
Elara's face lost its colour. "They are calling reinforcements. The Divine Coalition will not let us leave."
Xander stepped forward as shadows rose around him again. Lilith moved to his side. Elara stood between them, her light growing steadier.
"Then they have made their choice," Xander said calmly. "So have we."
Fire, shadow, and fallen divinity stood together as the ruins trembled.
And the gods prepared for war.