The wind slashed across the field like blades of ice.
The snow had stopped only hours earlier, and the horizon was nothing but white and gray—except for the torches.
Thousands of them, flickering like stars in the northern gloom.
From atop the ramparts, Celestine d'Arnoir watched her army assemble.
Humans, renegade mages, exiled knights… and something else.
In the shadows of the field, indistinct shapes moved—warriors of mist, empty-eyed, born from the Void.
She tightened her hand over the stone parapet.
The cold no longer bothered her.
Since awakening the Void, warmth and cold had ceased to matter.
At her side, Leonhardt wore a dark armor, his eyes fixed on the horizon.
"They've already crossed the border," he said. "The Empire is coming in full force. Four complete legions."
Celestine turned her face slowly, her silver hair trembling in the wind.
"Then it's time to welcome them."
Leonhardt hesitated.
"Celle… are you sure? Using the Void in open battle is risky. We still don't know if it obeys you completely."
She drew a deep breath.
"The Void isn't my servant, Leon. It is the echo of everything that's been denied. And today, the Empire will hear that echo."
---
⚔️ The Army of Arvendale
The main courtyard roared with activity.
Raoul and Damien coordinated the human ranks, while Selene, the Void mage, chanted spells that made the ground pulse with dark energy.
Celestine descended from the walls and walked through the troops.
As she passed, soldiers kneeled—not in fear, but in silent reverence.
She stopped before them and raised Eclipsa.
The blade vibrated—a streak of shadow split the sky, parting the clouds and tinting the sun red.
"Men and women of the North!" her voice echoed, amplified by magic.
"The Empire calls you traitors. Monsters. Heretics. But who are they to decide the fate of those who survived the ashes they created?"
A murmur swept through the ranks.
"Today, we do not fight for land alone. We fight for truth. We fight for the right to exist without kneeling. We fight… for the North!"
The roar that erupted shook the mountains.
Celestine lowered the sword—and the Void responded, tearing open a black rift behind her.
From within, shadowy figures emerged—warriors of mist and iron, with eyes of glowing violet.
They marched silently, side by side with the humans.
Leonhardt watched in awe and fear.
"They actually obey you…"
Celestine glanced at him.
"They listen to me. That's enough."
---
🌫️ The Mountains of Verden
Three days later, the imperial army reached the base of the mountains.
At its command stood General Rufus Kael, veteran of twenty campaigns.
His eyes narrowed at the dense fog covering the valley.
"Damn it… I can't see ten steps ahead."
His lieutenant approached.
"Sir, the scouts haven't returned."
Rufus frowned.
"Keep advancing. The Emperor's order is clear: eradicate the North."
They marched on—
and the fog moved.
What seemed like ordinary mist gained shape.
Arms. Blades. Whispers.
Then the shadows attacked.
The first impact was brutal: imperial soldiers were dragged into the haze, screams echoing as the dark shapes tore apart and reformed like living smoke.
Rufus raised his sword, conjuring a barrier of light.
But a silhouette emerged at the top of a hill—
a woman in a dark cloak, eyes shining like twin silver moons.
Celestine.
She descended the hill on a black warhorse shrouded in smoke, Eclipsa raised high.
The sound of a thousand blades echoed behind her.
"Advance! Show the Empire what the North learned from pain!"
The field erupted into chaos.
The ground split under the Void's energy, and from the fissure rose pillars of shadow that swallowed entire catapults.
Imperial mages attempted counterspells, but their magic dissolved upon touching the blackened air around Celestine.
Rufus roared:
"Heretic! Witch! I condemn you in the Emperor's name!"
He hurled a spear of light—
but Celestine dodged, spinning her sword in a perfect arc.
Her strike split the ground and shattered the attack in two.
When the glow faded, she was standing before him.
Rufus's eyes widened—
and he saw his own reflection in hers:
a man afraid.
Celestine spoke softly:
"The Empire condemns everything it cannot understand. So I will teach it… what the Void truly is."
She touched the ground with her blade.
The field trembled.
From the soil, black roots erupted, wrapping around the general and his troops.
In seconds, the battlefield became a living forest of pulsing shadows.
And at its center, Celestine raised her sword toward the sky as thunder roared and the snow turned crimson.
---
🌹 After the Battle
When silence finally returned, Leonhardt approached, his face covered in ash and sweat.
"We won… but at what cost?"
Celestine looked over the devastated field.
The wind carried human ashes, and the Void whispered within her, satisfied.
> "Another step, bearer. Closer to the truth."
She closed her eyes.
For an instant, she felt fear—
not of her enemies, but of herself.
"The war is only beginning," she murmured.
"And the Void… is hungry."