The duel consumed the sky.
Kaelen and the Echo-Lord clashed in arcs of fire and shadow, every strike birthing shockwaves that shattered mountains and cracked the heavens above. For every step Kaelen held, the Echo-Lord grew heavier, faster, more unrelenting—as though the Black Sun itself fought beside him.
But then—others came.
The rippling storm of their battle tore open the skies like a beacon. From beyond the wormholes, fleets surged forward, factions drawn like carrion to blood.
The Iron Dominion arrived first, their armadas thundering into orbit, releasing swarms of war-machines that descended like burning meteors. Admiral Veyric's voice echoed across the comms:
"Contain the Sun. Whatever it takes—strike them all."
Moments later, the Seer Azhira's disciples emerged through fractal gates, their ships shaped like cathedral spires, chanting as they unleashed spirals of crystalline energy that bent the battlefield into a labyrinth. Their prophecy bound them to this moment: the Seedbearer must either rise—or be destroyed.
And then the Warlord legions came. Massive carriers split open, dropping engines of war so vast they blotted out the stars. The Harbinger's armies roared as they landed, fire and fury in every step.
The battlefield was no longer just Kaelen against the Echo-Lord. It was everyone against everyone.
Kaelen staggered, his blade locked against the Echo-Lord's, sweat burning in his eyes. Over the roar of war, he could hear only one voice—Lyra's. She was kneeling amid the chaos, golden light surging, her body trembling as she forced the Seed's resonance outward.
She was no longer just shielding herself.
She was stabilizing the battlefield, preventing the Black Sun's corruption from swallowing everything whole.
But it was killing her.
Her voice reached Kaelen, raw and breaking:
"Don't… stop… fighting."
The Echo-Lord turned his many-faced visage toward the fleets above, a grin of fractured infinity splitting across his form.
"Good. Let them come. Let them all kneel before the Sun."
And with a roar, he slammed his blade into the earth. The Black Sun surged, tearing the sky apart, unleashing a wave of annihilation that struck friend and foe alike.
For a heartbeat—every faction hesitated.
Then the war truly began.