The air was thick with tension, the sky a dark mosaic of swirling violet clouds and lightning veins. The ground trembled beneath Arslan's feet as he raced toward the edge of the battlefield, his black hoodie flaring like the wings of a fallen angel caught in a storm. The faint hum of energy echoed around him, the sound of distant screams and explosions merging into an orchestra of chaos.
Far ahead, the demonic portals pulsed with malicious energy—gaping maws in space, glowing crimson and exhaling waves of infernal wind. Demons poured from them like a river of nightmares, their eyes bloodshot with hunger, their twisted forms glistening under the unnatural light.
Arslan gritted his teeth. There was no time to wait. The world stood on the edge of collapse, and every second counted.
"Time to show them what darkness really is," he muttered under his breath, his right hand curling around the hilt of Volthren —the blade of scorching lightning and eternal shadow.
With a surge of power, Wings of Shadows burst from his back, unfurling in a magnificent arc of pitch-black feathers crackling with dark energy. He took to the skies, flying straight toward the demonic breach. Several demons spotted him and launched skyward, snarling.
"Tch... pests," Arslan whispered.
In a blur, he unsheathed Shadow Blades, twin obsidian daggers that shimmered with spectral mist. With each swing, he cleaved through the air and demons alike.
One beast roared, claws outstretched, but Arslan activated Phantom Rift. A blink, a distortion—he vanished, only to reappear behind the demon.
"Behind you," he whispered coldly.
He drove both blades into its skull and twisted. The demon collapsed mid-air.
Arslan landed on the ground beside the portal, sliding in a shower of dust and embers. More demons charged.
"Spiral Recoil!"
He spun like a storm, slicing through a dozen enemies, their screams lost in the sound of tearing flesh and erupting void.
A brute of a demon launched forward, triple-headed, armored in infernal bone. Arslan smirked and called forth Void Chains. Dark tendrils shot from his palm, wrapping around the beast and anchoring it to the ground.
"No mercy," Arslan said. With a raised hand, he summoned the Requiem Shard, hurling it like a meteor into the restrained demon. An explosion of black and red energy shook the earth.
He didn't stop.
With Dark Bow in hand, he conjured arrows of condensed shadow. He fired into the heart of the portal, the arrows sinking deep into its glowing core.
"Veilbreak Annihilation."
The moment the command left his lips, his aura erupted. Arslan shot upward, the sky cracking with his presence. All ten of his weapons shimmered into view, forming a circle of dark energy around him. His hands moved instinctively, and with a final cry, he unleashed the ultimate shot.
The bolt pierced the portal's core. The surrounding earth buckled, time slowed—and then the entire portal imploded with a deafening shriek, leaving only silence and smoke in its place.
On the other side of the battlefield, the air twisted with raw power.
Kar'Thael stood surrounded by both demonic beasts and treacherous humans—followers of his uncle, the traitor of the bloodline.
His aura was demonic fire incarnate, blazing bright red with streaks of gold and infernal black. Flames licked the sky as his horns pulsed with energy. His eyes, twin suns of hatred and focus, locked onto every enemy with surgical precision.
One attacker lunged. Kar'Thael met him with a flaming punch that shattered both body and soul.
"You think your uncle can stop me?" Kar'Thael roared. "Then you don't know what real betrayal looks like."
He raised his hand, fire swirling. With a gesture, he created a demonic sigil mid-air.
"Infernis Pyros: Hellwake Surge!"
A tsunami of flame swept across the battlefield, incinerating enemies and barriers alike. Screams echoed, but Kar'Thael kept moving. Swords clashed, magic flared, but nothing stopped him. He fought with purpose, with rage, with the weight of a fallen legacy.
And then—Arslan saw him.
Hovering above the wreckage of the destroyed portal, wings still extended, Arslan's eyes widened as they fell upon the flaming warrior below.
Kar'Thael fought like a god of war. Arslan had always known the devil prince had power—but this… this was complete. A harmony of chaos and control. Every strike calculated. Every motion divine.
His heartbeat echoed.
"So... this is your true form," Arslan whispered. "You weren't even trying before."
Emotion swelled in his chest. A strange mix of awe, suspicion, and... longing.
"You held back in the last fight. But why?"
Kar'Thael, sensing the stare, turned his head. For a split moment, their eyes met across the flames.
"You're late," Kar'Thael growled with a wicked smile.
Arslan landed beside him. "You didn't need my help, it seems."
"Doesn't mean I didn't want you here."
Their backs met, flames surrounding them, enemies closing in.
"Then let's end this," Arslan whispered.
As if summoned by fate, more portals began opening. The battlefield roared alive again. Arslan and Kar'Thael stood side by side, facing impossible odds.
"I'll cover the sky. You burn the ground," Arslan said.
"Don't die," Kar'Thael muttered.
Together, they surged forward.
Arslan took to the air, using Shadow Stride to teleport from spot to spot, raining void arrows and Dark Lightning Strikes. He activated Eclipture Surge, slicing through space itself and tearing demons apart with ruptures in the fabric of reality.
Kar'Thael charged ahead, his body engulfed in divine fire. Every blow he struck left flaming trails in the air. He unleashed Infernal Barrage, hurling meteoric fireballs that exploded in waves.
Back to back, they moved like legends. Synced.
Then came the real threat—a colossus demon, rising from the largest portal yet. Taller than towers, its wings blotted out the sky, its voice a roar of death.
"Together?" Arslan asked.
"Together," Kar'Thael said.
TRINEX Surge. Hellwake Surge.
Both unleashed at once.
Shadow and flame collided into the beast, forming a vortex of destruction. The colossus howled, but their power consumed it.
When the smoke cleared, the field was silent.
The portals closed.
And the two warriors stood alone amidst the ruins.
Breathing heavily, Arslan fell to one knee.
"You okay?" Kar'Thael asked, walking over.
"Tired," Arslan replied. "But alive."
Kar'Thael offered a hand. "You did good, human."
Arslan took it.
"And you, devil... you're not so heartless after all."
Kar'Thael didn't reply immediately. The fire around him flickered gently.
"I wasn't always like this," he finally said. "There was a time... I was just a boy who believed in heroes."
Arslan stared at him.
"Maybe," he said softly, "we still are."
As the sun began to rise over the ashes of war, the land glowed faintly with hope. The scent of burned soil mixed with the scent of something... new.
Peace, maybe. Or the beginning of it.
Arslan and Kar'Thael sat atop a ridge, overlooking the battlefield.
"Do you think we can change things?" Arslan asked.
Kar'Thael didn't answer immediately. Then: "Only if we stop pretending we're monsters."
Arslan smiled faintly. "Then let's not pretend anymore."
A moment passed.
Kar'Thael reached into his coat and tossed Arslan something small.
A pendant.
"What's this?"
"A fragment from my mother's necklace. She said it would protect me. Maybe now... it should protect you."
Arslan gripped it tightly, eyes softening.
The wind blew gently. Somewhere in the distance, a flower bloomed.
The world wasn't healed. Not yet. But the two warriors had carved a path for it.
Together.