The air trembled, as if the world itself had taken a shuddering breath. Silvanus's burning sigil faded, leaving a hollow silence behind him. The Nine Guardians stood, battered and bloodied, weapons raised, hearts pounding. For a moment, it seemed the battle was over. Victory — however tenuous — was theirs.
But the fissures beneath the Hall were far from quiet. They roared, splitting the marble like the earth itself was screaming. Shadows wriggled up from the cracks, stretching and solidifying into forms taller than men. Shapes emerged, humanoid, muscular, each bearing a sigil glowing like molten metal. The first to rise carried the number 1: Elith, The God Slayer. His armor was blackened steel, etched with runes of annihilation. Four arms swung massive swords effortlessly, each movement a promise of death.
"Bow," he said, voice a rumble that shook the floor. The Guardians flinched, though none lowered their weapons.
From another chasm stepped Syvrin, The Weapon Master, two swords spinning in his hands while daggers and spears hovered around him, suspended in the air by his will. His red eyes glittered with anticipation. "All of you," he said, "fall to your knees, and your deaths will be swift."
The earth cracked further. Gorgoroth, The Destroyer, appeared next, massive and hulking. Even humanoid in shape, his presence seemed to warp the ground, fissures racing outward with each step. His fists were encased in jagged obsidian, and with a single punch he shattered the floor, sending shards flying. "I am the end," he declared, his deep voice a tolling bell of doom.
The Guardians tried to stand united. Xu Ling Tau struck first, weaving through the fissures, fists striking like lightning. Talion unleashed shards of ice, Nyara conjured rivers of water, and Zhenlong split the air with storms of lightning. Yet every strike met resistance, and the Black Fangs adapted — moving as though each Guardian's thoughts were already known.
Then came Mafirin, The Beast Tamer. From the depths of the abyss he climbed, his body lean and sinewy, humanoid but elongated in proportions that hinted at predator grace. Chains draped across his shoulders, and from them emerged monstrous beasts — lions with molten eyes, serpents with scales that reflected crimson light, and wolves the size of horses. Each obeyed Mafirin's silent command, circling the Guardians with teeth bared and claws ready.
Severos, The Shapeshifter, rose last. His form flickered between human and beast, sometimes even appearing as a shadow of each Guardian. For a moment, he mirrored Nexon himself, mimicking his stance, movements, and expression, taunting the god of realms with uncanny precision. The Guardians faltered, seeing themselves reflected in a deadly mockery.
The battlefield had changed. It was no longer nine against one. It was nine against seven — and the last, greatest of them all, had yet to appear.
The ground quaked violently. From the widening fissure, a shadow rose taller than the rest. Scales glinted like molten obsidian as massive wings unfolded, blotting the crimson moonlight. From atop the beast stepped Asus — The God. Fifteen feet of muscle and fury, his four eyes glowing crimson, two arms wielding a sparking thunder-axe and a colossal hammer, the other two ending in claws sharper than any sword. Even humanoid in form, he radiated divinity and terror in equal measure.
His gaze swept the battlefield, crimson light cutting across the Guardians' faces. Then it fixed on one figure: Nexon Xenopheron.
For a heartbeat, time stilled. Brother and brother. Guardian and destroyer.
Asus spoke, his voice low and heavy as a storm:
"Burn their armies. Break their Guardians. Take the king alive."
His words were command, and the Black Fangs moved as one. Elith's swords slashed through marble and air, Syvrin's weapons danced in deadly orbit, Gorgoroth's fists pounded the ground, opening new fissures. Mafirin's beasts leapt forward, claws and teeth rending armor. Severos shifted, appearing behind every Guardian at once, striking with precision.
The Nine responded with everything they had. Xu Ling Tau struck with fists faster than sight, Talion's ice blades shattered obsidian armor, Zhenlong's lightning arcs split fissures, and Nyara's water surged against molten beasts. Zephora's frost slowed Mafirin's creatures, Thior swung his hammer like a moving mountain, and Nexon danced between them all, Eden Sword glowing, cutting a path of light through shadow.
Yet every strike they made was countered. The Black Fangs moved with the grace of a storm, each anticipating, each adapting, each alive with cunning intellect.
The battle raged across the battlefield, fissures expanding, blood and water mixing, ash raining from above. The soldiers of Nexon were crushed beneath the tide of demons, screaming, fleeing, falling. Even the Guardians were forced back, inch by inch.
Asus himself did not immediately join the melee. He loomed atop his dragon, observing, waiting for the right moment. Then, with a roar that shook mountains, the beast unleashed fire and shadow. Lava and smoke twisted into a hurricane of death, and the Guardians were driven to their knees.
Yet Nexon stood. Eden Sword held high, wind and light weaving around him like a shield. He looked at his brother, sorrow and determination burning in his eyes. "This ends today," he said quietly, though the words carried over the roar of battle.
Asus's eyes flared crimson. "No, brother," he replied. "This begins anew. Today, the world will burn, and you will watch it."
And with that, he leapt from the dragon's back, landing in the center of the battlefield. Four eyes blazing, weapons sparking, his humanoid frame towering yet perfectly proportioned, he moved with the speed of a hurricane. The Guardians braced, knowing the fight that would decide the fate of realms had finally come.