The skies above the burning wasteland turned crimson as the screams of the dying echoed across the blackened fields
Kael stood among shattered bodies his white hair drenched in blood his eyes glowing with voidlight
Around him corpses twisted in impossible shapes limbs torn from sockets heads ripped in half insides steaming with fresh death
He walked forward barefoot through the river of blood ignoring the crunch of bones beneath his feet
Demons once mighty crawled away from him whispering prayers to dead gods
One reached toward him with a melted hand its voice broken and low
Master spare me
Kael looked down the hatred in his gaze pure and endless
He grabbed the demon by the jaw and with a single pull tore the head clean from the spine
The spinal cord ripped free like a rope of wet flesh
Beside him Aethra the witch of thorns followed silently
Her body was stitched from the souls of priestesses murdered in her youth
Her black robe slithered around her like snakes formed from shadow
She whispered
You grow darker with each kill Kael
The abyss inside you is awake now
Kael spoke his voice cold and dead
Let it eat
Let it drown the world
From the hill below came a new force
Hundreds of crimson knights clad in soulsteel armor
Their swords radiated holy fire
Their leader stepped forward a massive man with golden tattoos etched into his flesh
He spoke in the voice of thunder
Kael the Reborn abomination of magic and hate surrender your existence to the flame of purity
Kael lifted his right hand and the ground exploded as dark roots tore through the earth spearing the first line of knights
Blood erupted into the sky in a red mist
The witch beside him raised her staff and summoned a rain of skinless birds whose wings cut like blades
They dived upon the army slicing faces from skulls peeling armor from flesh
Kael moved like a shadow of death
Each step erased life
His new spell Bone Storm surged from his chest
Dozens of bone fragments sharpened like razors circled around him
He spun once
The bones screamed as they tore through bodies like paper
Limbs flew
Heads rolled
Organs spilled
The commander roared in fury
Your evil ends now
He leapt with divine speed
His blade struck Kael but stopped inches away
Kael smiled slowly
Then he whispered the soul shatter incantation
The commander froze
His eyes bled
His sword dropped
Kael reached in and pulled the man's still beating heart from his chest
He crushed it
The commander dropped dead
More enemies charged
Kael's skin peeled back revealing ancient runes etched beneath his flesh
He activated Demon Spine
Thorns and bones erupted from his back
They lashed out
Ten soldiers were impaled at once
Behind him the witch opened a rift to the forest of screams
Tortured ghosts spilled forth wailing
They swarmed the battlefield
Every scream twisted the air
Knights clawed at their own faces
Some stabbed themselves to escape the noise
Others tried to run but their legs turned into rotting roots
Kael laughed
It was no longer human
Just hunger
Hatred
Power
Suddenly a beam of searing blue light split the field
It burned through ghosts
Through soldiers
Through Kael
He staggered
A new figure floated above the battlefield
A woman clad in robes of starlight
Her eyes were galaxies
She spoke
Kael you walk a path of annihilation
I am Seravell guardian of order
You must be destroyed
Kael did not flinch
He raised his arms and unleashed all his remaining magic
The sky cracked
Lightning without sound ripped downward
The two clashed
Light and dark
Fire and frost
The battlefield became a storm
Kael's skin burned
His bones cracked
But he pushed forward
He summoned every name of every soul he had ever destroyed
They answered
Thousands
They formed a shield of vengeance around him
Seravell cast down a meteor of stars
Kael caught it with his bare hands
His fingers broke but he smiled through the agony
He hurled it back
It struck her chest
She screamed
The stars in her eyes dimmed
Kael dashed forward and stabbed his hand into her throat
He whispered a final curse
May your light rot from the inside
Seravell exploded into particles of fading magic
Kael collapsed to his knees his body broken but alive
The battlefield was silent now
Only the witch remained watching him with empty eyes
You could have spared them Kael she said
But you chose to erase them all
He looked up at the sky
There is no mercy in this world
Only power
Then the ground shook
From the cracks rose a new creature
A demon king the size of a cathedral
Its body was made of stitched corpses
Its mouth opened across its stomach revealing rows of infant skulls with glowing eyes
Kael stood slowly
His breath was ragged
He smiled
Then let the next war begin
The witch nodded
Beside her shadows twisted into blades
The demon king roared and charged
Kael ran forward
His spell Runebreak ignited
Symbols of forgotten gods burned into his fists
He leapt and punched the demon's face
Its jaw exploded
Kael was flung backward but he landed on his feet
Blood streamed from his arms
He ran again
This time with Bone Storm activated and Death Lash in both hands
He carved through the beast's leg
It howled and kicked
Kael smashed into a tree
The tree splintered
He stood up again
A hundred smaller demons poured from the larger body
Kael tore through them
His spells faster now
No mercy
Only kills
The demon king struck again
Kael used Blink Step
He appeared above the monster
Then dove straight into its chest
He began tearing it apart from the inside
Blood sprayed
Acid flesh melted
Kael reached its heart and cast Void Collapse
The demon king imploded
The land shook for miles
Silence returned
The battlefield was a grave
Kael emerged from the remains breathing heavily
He looked at the witch
And he whispered
This is only the beginning