Back in Arcana...
The ruins of Arcana smoldered beneath a sky bruised with violet clouds and lingering smoke. Dust swirled through the broken streets. People cowered behind shattered walls, their hopes waning with each passing moment. Amid the chaos, Arslan lay motionless, a pool of blood spreading from the wound on his side. Not far from him, Jobul, the corrupted executioner of the Void Court, held his massive obsidian sword to Kar'Thael's neck. The demon lord, bound in glowing chains, stared defiantly at death—but silent.
Then...
A faint voice echoed in the darkness of Arslan's mind.
"You are not born to die... You have to awaken... Go awaken yourself..."
The words pulsed like lightning, rippling through Arslan's fading consciousness. The pain dulled. A storm stirred within him.
His fingers twitched.
His eyes snapped open—
Glowing.
With fury. With rage. With something far deeper.
From the shadows of his mind, another whisper slithered through the cracks.
"Hey Master... it's time to awaken me..."
Arslan's breath grew heavier. He clenched his fists.
"I don't want to lose..." he growled, teeth grinding.
He began to push himself up, stumbling at first, but the pain melted away as his wound started to close rapidly. Skin knit over torn muscle. The blood faded like evaporating mist. Energy surged into him.
The world fell silent for a beat.
He took a step forward.
"Jobul... leave Kar'Thael." His voice echoed unnaturally. "Fight with me."
Jobul turned, sneering, his blade still lingering near Kar'Thael's throat.
"Your vessel needs death first," he spat to Kar'Thael. "So I'll kill him first."
But then he froze.
Crackling sounds filled the air.
Jobul's eyes widened.
Arslan's body began to change—
Horns curled from his scalp like molten stone breaking through his skin.
His eyes darkened, pupils drowned in red-black glow.
Black wings burst from his back, wide and glimmering with faint embers.
His height grew slightly. His aura radiated power—ancient, unchained, untamed.
Jobul whispered in awe, then grinned with delight. "Oh... it will be enjoyable to kill you now."
Another voice whispered again in Arslan's mind:
"Just give me permission to end this joker now."
Arslan didn't blink.
"Okay..."
He raised his arm.
"Then let's start the show."
Jobul lunged, black lightning dancing along his blade, aiming for Arslan's neck.
CLANG! Arslan blocked it with his bare forearm—covered now in obsidian-like scales. Sparks flew.
Then, Arslan vanished—
Only to reappear behind Jobul, spinning with a sweeping kick. CRACK!
Jobul flew back through a wall.
Before the dust could settle, Jobul erupted forward with new Void Chains, whipping them toward Arslan like venomous snakes. Arslan extended his hand—
"Black Aura Shield!" he shouted.
The chains shattered against a swirling, dark energy barrier. The air distorted. Civilians from afar screamed as the shockwaves hit buildings.
Arslan dashed forward again, wings slicing through the wind. He vanished into shadows, reappearing mid-air, diving with his fists glowing with Darkflame Fist. He slammed Jobul into the ground—
BOOM!
A crater spread, light and shadow twisting into a whirlpool.
Jobul, bleeding and furious, erupted upward with a Void Pulse, sending Arslan flying. But Arslan caught himself midair, flipping with grace, then grinned.
"Try harder."
Jobul roared. "VOID BREAKER—DEATH MOON STRIKE!"
The sky turned black. A giant crescent blade formed above him. It crashed toward Arslan with celestial force.
Arslan breathed deeply.
His aura exploded.
A ghostly silhouette of Kar'Thael shimmered behind him.
"Shadow Merge: Hellbind Descent!"
He caught the blade with both hands—his muscles tensed—he absorbed it into himself and redirected it down—
Straight into the earth. The entire battlefield trembled.
Jobul staggered.
"W-Who are you?"
Arslan's eyes flickered.
"I don't know who I am..."
"But I know... I WON'T LOSE."
His wings burst out again.
He flared up—every move now dancing between speed and destruction. Shadow Jabs, Flame Trails, Demonic Strikes—he battered Jobul back again and again. Even Kar'Thael watched, impressed.
In a final moment, Arslan hovered above, dark flame swirling around him.
"FURY SEVERANCE!"
He descended like a meteor, crashing into Jobul's chest—shattering his armor, driving him to the ground.
Silence.
Smoke.
Dust.
Jobul was on his knees. Blood pouring. Eyes wide.
Arslan stood before him, unshaken. Glowing.
"I don't know... but I defeated you," Arslan said softly, almost confused.
Jobul coughed. "Who... who are you really...?"
"I told you... I don't know."
Then he turned to Kar'Thael.
"Let's end this fight together... the trio."
Kar'Thael broke his chains with a flick of power, his wings unfurling.
From the shadows... another presence awakened inside them both.
The third.
They merged.
Three souls. One entity. One strike.
Kar'Thael's fire, Arslan's shadow, and the third essence—pure rage—combined into a blade of light and dark.
"DEMON'S VOW — FINAL ANNIHILATION!"
They slashed—
And Jobul turned to ash.
A gust of peace spread through Arcana. The skies cleared slowly. People stared, frozen.
Then tears.
Smiles.
Cheering.
Freedom.
For the first time in decades.
Arslan, still in his radiant demonic form, stood beside Kar'Thael.
Kar'Thael looked at him.
"I think... this is the entity your father gave to you. The blood... they spoke about in the letter. The one we found in your father's lab."
Arslan took a breath.
"Yes... I think it awakens with rage. But I will learn to control it—with precision. So we can defeat more demons. And reach our goal: to find my family... in the Demon World."
Kar'Thael nodded slowly.
"You're... more powerful than even me."
Arslan smirked and returned to his normal form, body steaming, energy stable now.
"No. We—together—are powerful."
Silence.
Then—
Arcana erupted in cheers.
Children screamed with joy. Elders wept. Lights were lit again.
And all chanted in one voice:
"PRINCE KAR'THAEL! PRINCE KAR'THAEL!"
And beside him, the savior with no known name—
Arslan.
The boy who rose from blood.
The shadow who found fire.
The vessel who chose to become something more.