The wind howled across the spires of Lirael's Divide, but the usual chill was gone. Replaced by something heavier.
Anticipation.
From the cliffside observatory, Kael stood silently, eyes locked toward Zenith's Reach. Though the mountain loomed beyond sight, he could feel her—the Hollow Crown—her aura brushing against his own like cold iron scraping bone.
Below, preparations had begun.
The Sunspire Vanguard mobilized in secret. Lyra had called in what remained of her old unit, despite her doubts in the system they once swore to uphold. Drayke roamed the outskirts with his Infernal Gauntlets glowing crimson, his flames unnaturally calm—controlled, ready.
And Zera... vanished again.
Because of course he did.
Location: Sunspire Vanguard Encampment
Within the command tent, a rough map of Aurenya was spread across the table. Three crimson pins marked confirmed Scion appearances.
Drayke slammed his fist next to the third. "That one nearly tore through an entire rank of Vanguard. If Kael hadn't intervened—"
"I didn't stop it," Kael interrupted. "I delayed it."
Lyra's hand hovered over the central mark. "And what if all three converge at Zenith's Reach? What if they're meant to be sacrifices… for something larger?"
"Like awakening the Hollow Crown fully," Kael said grimly.
She nodded. "That eclipse in my dream—it wasn't just a metaphor. I think it's part of a ritual."
Drayke cracked his neck. "Then we interrupt the damn ritual."
Lyra smiled faintly. "You make it sound so simple."
"Because complicated plans get people killed."
Kael looked at both of them.
"We move tomorrow. First light."
Later That Night — On the Ridge
Kael sat alone. The stars above flickered like candle flames—unsteady, as though the sky itself felt the unease stirring.
Zera appeared beside him, soundless as always.
"You'll lose something in this battle," Zera said softly.
"I've already lost too much."
"Not death, Kael. Something worse. Something… quieter."
Kael didn't respond. The fire in his eyes flickered.
"You're not afraid," Zera noted.
Kael glanced at him. "Not of dying."
"Then what?"
"Of winning. And still feeling empty."
Zera stared at him, face unreadable behind his half-mask.
"The Eternals… they feel nothing. Because they've won too many times."
And with that, he faded once more into mist.
Dawn — Vanguard Forward March
The march began with no war cries, no fanfare. Just steady boots on soil.
Kael led the vanguard down toward Zenith's Reach, cloaked in ash and silence. He wore no armor. Only the sigil etched across his chest, pulsing with the Ashen Dominion.
Beside him, Drayke cracked his gauntlets. Each step he took left scorch marks on the stone.
Lyra floated above them briefly, wings of radiant solar light unfolding. Her aura shimmered with Celestial resolve, even as fear curled inside her gut.
In the distance, thunder rumbled—not from a storm, but from something rising.
Scions. Three of them.
Each one marked with the symbol of Veltheris.
And one wore Kael's face.
The First Clash — Twin Ash
The imposter stepped forward.
It looked like Kael. Same height. Same expression. But wrong.
Its aura was twisted. Not Ashen—but Hollow Ash.
Kael summoned his blade.
The Revenant King versus the Mock King.
They clashed with a sound like time cracking—Kael's blade carving through false memories and counterfeit aura.
"You think you are me," Kael growled.
"I am what you left behind," the doppelgänger hissed. "Your mercy. Your doubt. Your humanity."
"I didn't leave it behind. I buried it where you couldn't reach."
He struck with Soul Scorch—his aura flaring into a spiral of flame and ash, burning through illusions.
The fake Kael screamed—and vanished into smoke.
Second Front — Celestial Burn
Meanwhile, Lyra faced a Scion cloaked in starless light—a Nullcaster, immune to healing, feeding on faith.
The Scion raised a hand and unraveled the light around them.
Lyra winced, holding her relic tight. "Sunveil Feather," she whispered, "don't let me fall."
Then she cast Solar Aegis—a barrier that pulsed in time with her heartbeat, deflecting the aura-null field just long enough for her to retaliate.
She pointed her staff skyward and cried:
"Radiant Descent!"
A beam of solar flame shot down like judgment itself, slicing through the field of void.
The Nullcaster crumbled, light burning from the inside out.
Third Front — Beast Inferno
Drayke didn't bother with flair.
He charged.
The Scion before him was a bestial hulk of obsidian and shadow—a monster that moved like a predator and fought like a storm.
Drayke grinned.
"Finally."
They collided like tectonic plates. Flame versus shadow. Muscle versus monstrosity.
Each blow from Drayke melted the stone beneath them. He bellowed his line with a manic grin:
"If I can't burn it, I'll break it. If I can't break it—well, I'll still try!"
His Infernal Gauntlets flared white-hot as he activated Beastheart Ascendancy, his final tier sync with the flame beast sealed within.
He didn't just burn the Scion. He erased it.
Eclipsed Spire — Final Descent
The trio regrouped at the shattered gates of the Spire.
Above them, the eclipse began.
Veltheris stood at the highest balcony, wings of dusk unfurled. Her crown glowed with pale silver fire.
She raised one hand.
Chains of void descended from the sky.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"She's binding the sun itself."
Lyra gasped as her aura flickered.
Kael gripped his blade. "Then we unbind it."
And together, they ascended the spiral of dusk toward the Hollow Crown.