Morpheus tightened his grip on the dagger, his breath slow and steady despite the pounding of his heart. He could hear the demons closing in, their guttural war cries echoing through the canyon, their claws scraping against stone as they scrambled toward the breaking point of the ward. Every second they drew closer, the line between victory and disaster grew thinner.
Azrathos could hear them too. Even in his weakened state, his lips curled into a triumphant snarl. "They come for me," he rasped, blood dripping from the gashes Morpheus had inflicted. "You cannot stop them all."
Morpheus didn't answer. He lunged his dagger a flicker of silver in the dim light. Azrathos met him with a wild swing, his fist cutting through the air like a hammer meant to crush stone. Morpheus twisted at the last second, the wind of the attack whipping through his cloak as he ducked beneath it.
He slashed upward, aiming for Azrathos' ribs. The blade cut deep, and the demon bellowed in fury, staggering back. Morpheus pressed forward, his footwork light, fluid—never staying in one place for too long. Every movement was calculated, precise, designed to wear Azrathos down while his strength drained away.
But Morpheus was painfully aware of the shifting battle around them. The enemy reinforcements were closing in—he could hear the sharp crack of the ward being tested, the shifting energies signaling its impending collapse. The humans still fought, desperately trying to hold their ground, but the demons and angels were relentless.
Morpheus had to finish this. Now.
Azrathos lunged, his fists aiming to break Morpheus in half. Morpheus sidestepped, but the demon anticipated the move. A sudden twist of his body sent his massive elbow crashing into Morpheus' ribs. Pain exploded through him as he was flung backward, skidding across the rock-strewn ground.
He barely had time to roll before Azrathos was on him again, his strength fueled by desperation. The demon's massive foot came down, aiming to crush his skull. Morpheus rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding death, before slashing out with his dagger.
The blade found flesh—Azrathos let out a guttural growl as blood poured from another wound, but he refused to falter. He swung his fist again, and this time, Morpheus barely managed to duck. The demon was still weakening, but he was holding on.
A distant boom split the air.
Morpheus' eyes flickered to the ridge. The runes on the ward flickered violently. Damn it.
The demons were nearly through.
Azrathos saw the momentary distraction and capitalized on it. He lunged with savage speed, ramming into Morpheus with his full weight. The force sent the wizard flying back, slamming into a jagged rock formation. Stars exploded in his vision as sharp pain shot through his spine.
Azrathos advanced, a twisted grin on his face. "You feel it, don't you?" he sneered. "Your time is running out."
Morpheus forced himself to his feet, his body protesting in agony. He wiped the blood from his mouth, his silver eyes still sharp. "If I were you, I wouldn't be celebrating just yet."
He charged.
Azrathos roared and met him head-on. Their battle was no longer a careful game of precision—it was a brutal exchange of blows, Morpheus weaving and slicing with inhuman speed, and Azrathos throwing devastating attacks that could level stone. Morpheus ducked under a haymaker, his dagger plunging into Azrathos' side, twisting deep before he ripped it free.
Azrathos howled, staggering.
The runes on the ward flickered again.
Morpheus stepped forward, ready to end it—
A deafening crack split the battlefield.
The runes shattered in an explosion of light.
Azrathos' body stiffened as raw, unchecked power flooded back into him. His wounds closed instantly, his muscles tensed, and the sheer weight of his presence grew suffocating. He grinned, triumph shining in his crimson eyes.
Morpheus barely had time to react.
Azrathos' fist shot forward, faster than before.
A sickening crunch.
Morpheus' form shattered into a thousand shards of glass.
Azrathos' victorious laughter echoed through the canyon—until he realized the pieces of Morpheus scattered on the ground weren't flesh and blood.
An illusion.
Far away, deep within the canyon, the real Morpheus reappeared, stumbling but alive. His hands clenched into fists as he looked back toward the battlefield. He had failed to kill Azrathos, "Morpheus?" A voice reached his ears and he turned, "Is Azrathos dead?"
Morpheus grunted at the commander, "Not quite but he is injured, how did our plan fair?" Morpheus asked his breathing rapidly returning to normal
The commander cringed, "At first we succeeded but they managed to retreat and hole up a defense formation off to the south."
Morpheus thought for a moment before nodding, "Very well, gather your best ward masters. They will come stronger than ever." his face was pensive
The commander nodded and then left to go gather his companions and the ward masters.
Morpheus shook his head, "Negary, go to Herpo we might need him this is turning out worse than I foresaw." a black shadow sprung from the canyon and took off
***
Herpo enjoyed his tea as he looked at the two men before him, "Nicolas, it has been many years how are you?"
Nicolas grunted, "Fine you know how your brother is, I didn't realize what he was doing to free you."
Herpo saw the irritation and knew the feeling quite well, "Would you have tried to stop him?"
The old alchemist shook his head, "An impossible task. Herpo I must say you are the more level headed of the two but when together you brothers create far too much chaos for my liking."
Albus chose this time to speak up, "Tell me, how is it that Morpheus's name isn't in any literature but yours is?"
A chuckle escaped Herpo's lips, "My brother has always been a secretive person, he has done many things to make others wary of writing his name down. For starters, Tom made use of a locating spell attached to his name, and Morpheus did something similar. I never understood the secrecy myself."
"… But I can't say I understand everything he does." the most infamous dark wizard pondered silently as he sipped his tea
"Yes, I don't think I can even scratch the surface of that man." Albus chuckled his eyes shining brightly, "I must ask, how? How is it possible to inflict something like an anchor to the whole population? I would think we could feel the pull on our magic."
"How can you notice the difference when it has always been there?" Herpo commented lightly, "It is easier than you would think, with all of the inbreeding around the wizarding world."
"Bloodlines". Nicolas muttered, "You tied it to bloodlines how clever."
Herpo smirked, "In part. Now I'm sure you didn't ask me to be here just to speculate on my brother's motives."
Albus nodded slowly, "Your right." he sighed, "I realize to have a chance of winning this war. A chance to keep the children safe," he took a sip of his tea, "Dark and light wizards will need to work together, I realize this is a necessity but, I cannot see how it is possible. The wounds, they are too fresh. The hurt to raw, tell me how you propose we can work together."
Herpo frowned, "I must admit something to you, when I was around there was hardly a concept of light and dark. Yes, there were people others considered dark, but that was exclusive to the truly horrible. All wizards were proficient in curses and rituals were the lifeblood of family. Nicolas knows it was different, so very different."
Nicolas raised his glass, "I miss those times, I miss them Albus I truly do. Things are so black and grey now wizards and witches are purposefully restricting themselves."
Nicolas hummed in thought before a smile broke out on his face, "I see, let's hold an event, I remember Morpheus did so when he sought to unite the goblins and centaurs against the demons. I read about it some years ago would that work?"
Herpo cringed, "Ah, you see Morpheus planned that event so he could create distrust inside the goblin factions."
Albus hummed in thought, "Yes, but the idea of an event doesn't sound bad. Do you have a grip on the dark?"
Herpo grinned, "The toughest."
"If we could get them in a room and have them act friendly maybe we could influence the children to drop the barrier between themselves," Albus suggested
Herpo thought about it as he went for some more tea Negary charged through the window, "I must apologize, it seems my brother needs me at the canyon." Herpo stood, "Nicolas is was a pleasure seeing you again. Albus, it was a pleasure to officially meet you. I like your idea send me a letter so we can meet again and hash out the details."
"The canyon is the anchor in danger?" Nicolas asked in alarm
Herpo shrugged, "Arent all of the anchors in danger?"
____
A/N longer chapter, please let me know if any of the fight scenes are confusing. There is one coming up with herpo that might be weird to read lmao.
Also, I might post another fanfic soon, it's something I've been making chapters for to clear writing block for this story. Lmk if your interested to hear more about it