The outer city burned, but the palace stood cold and silent.
Kael, Arien, Valrik, Maev, and a dozen Forsaken warriors breached the great hall at sunrise. The throne room doors—tall obsidian arches etched with gold—swung open with a groan.
But the king was not there.
Only his throne remained, black and jagged, wrapped in chains of shadow.
"Where is he?" Joss muttered, blades drawn.
Arien stepped forward. Her fire pulsed—strange, uncertain. Something old stirred beneath their feet.
Kael's hand tightened on his sword. "I don't like this."
Then the floor cracked.
A ripple moved through the marble. The air thickened with dark magic. One of the Forsaken screamed as the ground swallowed him whole.
Arien shouted, "Back! It's not a trap—it's a door!"
The throne shattered, revealing a spiral staircase descending into shadow.
Without hesitation, Arien led the way.
Beneath the palace was a forgotten realm. A vault carved before the kingdom's founding. The walls pulsed with red runes. Fire and shadow warred in the air itself.
At the bottom, they found a crystal altar—and the king.
But he was no longer entirely human.
His skin was etched with shadow-veins. His eyes were mirrors. Around him hovered a presence—a massive figure of smoke and horn, the ancient spirit he had bound.
"You made it," the king said, voice echoing with inhuman depth.
Kael stepped forward, blade drawn. "End this, Edric. Step down."
Edric laughed. "Step down? I've transcended. I am no longer just king—I am vessel. Immortal. Divine."
Valrik growled, "You sold your soul."
"I traded it for eternity."
Arien faced him, fire rising in her hands.
"You chained the goddess," she said. "Twisted her flame. But I carry what you can't corrupt."
The king's face cracked—smiling.
"Then let's see whose god burns brighter."
The spirit behind him shrieked—and attacked.
The chamber exploded into battle.
Kael fought shadows that bled screams. Valrik shielded Arien with cursed magic. Maev and Joss unleashed spell and steel.
But Arien's focus was only on the king.
Their magic collided in midair—shadow and flame, locked in a spiral of power. The vault trembled. The ceiling cracked.
"You're not strong enough," the king hissed.
"I don't need to be," Arien whispered.
She let go.
And the goddess inside her roared to life.
Flame flooded the vault, pure and golden. It burned the corruption. The spirit shrieked as it unraveled. The king screamed—
And the fire swallowed him.
When the light faded, only ashes remained.
Arien collapsed.
Kael caught her, heart racing. "Arien—Arien!"
Her eyes opened slowly. Glowing. Calm.
"It's done," she said softly. "But it's not over."