Ashbreaker was not a lieutenant in the way mortals understood command. He was born from Vorlath's first breath after waking. A creature of pure will, shaped from a shard of the corrupted Lumina that lay at Kar-Halgrun's heart. He was destruction embodied.
Ronan charged.
His ax found Ashbreaker's thigh — and bounced off. The creature backhanded him into a tree, shattering bark and ribs alike.
Lysar tried to freeze the air around the monster, but the water evaporated mid-form. She screamed as the backlash scorched her arms.
Tahlia's blade met Ashbreaker's chest — and for a moment, it sank in. The star-metal glowed red, resisting the creature's body. Ashbreaker hissed, staggered.
Then he grabbed Tahlia's shoulder and flung her into a boulder.
Kael hovered above, eyes wide. He was the only one left standing. The only one uninjured. He could run.
But something deep in his soul whispered:
No. Stand.
He closed his eyes. Opened himself to the wind. Called it, not with power, but with need.
And it answered.
The sky darkened. Thunder rolled. A bolt of lightning arced down from the clouds and struck Kael directly. He screamed — not in pain, but in transformation. The air around him shimmered with lightning.
He dove.