Kael stood alone in the scorched valley
Ash covered his cloak and blood soaked his boots
The last of the corrupted priests were nothing but charred shadows behind him
Their screams had faded into silence
But silence never lasted
From the far ridge the cloaked figure still watched
Its face hidden under layers of rotting cloth
Its eyes not glowing but void
Empty holes that looked into something beyond death
Kael did not ask who it was
He did not speak
He simply walked forward
With each step the earth cracked under his feet
Not from weight
But from power
Power that did not belong to mortals
Power that came from rebirth
From pain
From death
From the pact made beneath the altar of bones
The figure moved
Floating more than walking
It drifted down into the valley with no sound
No breath
No life
Kael stopped only when the figure reached him
Its voice was like knives through wet flesh
It said
You have killed too many
The balance is broken
The doors are opening
Kael said nothing
He did not care for balance
He did not care for warnings
He raised his hand and summoned a blade not made of steel
A blade of red flame and black runes
A blade that screamed with every movement
The figure did not flinch
Instead it reached into its own chest and pulled free a chain of pale bones
Spinning the bones like a whip it charged
They clashed in a burst of raw force
Kael moved like a monster not a man
Every swing of his blade split the air
The figure matched him strike for strike
But Kael did not tire
Kael did not retreat
He pressed forward
Step by step
Until the figure cracked
Its body tore open from shoulder to waist
And something inside screamed
Not a scream of pain
But of awakening
The bones it wielded shattered
And from its broken form spilled a swarm of leeching spirits
Pale things with hollow mouths
They rushed Kael
Hundreds
Thousands
Each one feeding off hatred
Off sorrow
Off vengeance
Kael let them come
He welcomed them
As they latched onto him
As they tried to drain him
He absorbed them instead
Their memories
Their rage
Their curses
He consumed them and grew darker
Stronger
His veins glowed
Not with light
But with hunger
His body twisted
Not with pain
But with rebirth
He was not human now
Not demon
Not god
Something else
Something ancient reborn through suffering
He looked down at his hands
Clawed
Covered in dark crystal
He could feel the tower again
Not a building
But a throne
A monument of blood calling him
Then he heard her voice
It was soft
Cold
Familiar
It came from behind the broken stones
The voice said
You finally look like what you were always meant to be
Kael turned
She stepped into view
Long silver hair
Eyes like shattered glass
She wore the same robes as the priestesses
But hers were soaked in the blood of her own order
Kael knew her
Elira
Once the high priestess who betrayed him
Now something else
She smiled without warmth
I have waited for you Kael
Waited for this
For your transformation
He said nothing
But he remembered
She had fed him to the altar
Had lied to the elders
Had sealed his soul in the demon gate
Now she stood before him unashamed
Not begging
Not weeping
But proud
She raised her hand and the ruins behind her trembled
From the earth rose new beasts
Twisted hounds with no faces
Worms the size of carriages
A giant stitched together from dead sorcerers
All of them stared at Kael
Elira said
I made these for you
For our reunion
Let us see if you are truly worthy of the hatred you carry
Kael felt no fear
He felt no joy
Only hunger
He took one step forward and the earth shattered beneath him
The sky darkened
And a tower began to rise behind him
Its shape forged of shadows and bones
Not built
But summoned
Kael raised both hands
From above fell swords of fire
From the ground erupted chains of frost
Poison fog spilled from his cloak
And lightning danced in his eyes
All ten skills he had mastered awakened
Each star he had earned now burned bright on his soul
The beasts charged
But he was already among them
He tore the hounds apart with blades of wind
He shattered the worms with fists of stone
The stitched giant screamed as Kael pierced its chest with a laser of blood magic
The field became a graveyard within seconds
Elira watched
And laughed
Even as blood ran from her eyes
You are perfect now she said
But perfection is not enough
Come find me
At the summit
Where the gods used to sit
Before we burned them
She vanished in a spiral of runes
Leaving only death and echoes
Kael stood in the aftermath
His cloak torn
His power still growing
And behind him
The tower kept rising
Calling him upward