The eastern horizon burned red as Xander Blackthorn descended from the Forgotten Mountains, shadows trailing behind him like a living mantle as dawn crept closer.
The infernal presence he had sensed earlier grew stronger with every step, a steady pulse that tugged at the darkness inside him. This was no common demonic residue. It carried defiance. Rage. A will that refused to kneel.
In a world ruled by gods, tyrants, and rigid hierarchies, that kind of spirit was rare. Dangerous, too. It could topple empires or be crushed beneath them.
Xander welcomed either outcome.
He moved swiftly, his body blurring into drifting shadow before reforming again, untouched by exhaustion or terrain. Jagged stone gave way to a scorched valley where the land itself looked wounded.
The earth split in long, jagged cracks that hissed with sulfurous steam, as if the ground were breathing its last. Faded runes were etched into the stone, the scars of ancient rituals and long-abandoned gateways.
Most were dead.
One was not.
Ahead, the air shimmered and twisted, heat rolling outward in visible waves. A rift churned at the valley's heart, its edges aflame with hellfire. From within came distant cries and warped echoes, voices stretched thin by pain and fury.
The Demonic Underrealms pressed close here, straining against the fragile skin of the world.
Xander slowed, eyes fixed on the rift.
Whatever waited beyond it was the source of the call.
And it was about to meet him.
As Xander drew closer, the air thickened with the weight of ritual. Voices echoed through the valley in harsh, measured chants, each syllable heavy with intent. Ahead, a circle of demons stood around a raised altar.
They were massive brutes with obsidian horns and scaled flesh, their armour marked with the sigils of the Infernal Court. Enforcers. Loyal hounds of the demonic hierarchy.
At the centre of the circle knelt the source of the power he had sensed.
She was bound in chains of living flame that burned without consuming, forcing her to her knees no matter how fiercely she resisted. Infernal energy rolled off her in waves, raw and defiant, even as the ritual drained her strength.
She was striking in a way that demanded attention. Skin glowing like smouldering embers. Hair cascading down her back in flowing sheets of fire.
Elegant horns curved from her brow, framing eyes that burned with molten gold. Fury twisted her expression as she strained against her bonds, lips pulled back in a snarl.
Xander did not know her name yet.
But he knew power when he saw it.
"By decree of Lord Asmodeus," boomed the lead demon, his voice shaking the ground, "you are declared a traitor to the Infernal Throne."
The speaker was colossal, his wings stretched wide and blackened like scorched leather. He lifted a jagged staff and drove it into the ground. Energy surged outward, feeding the rift yawning beneath the altar.
The portal widened, its depths writhing with hungry void and distorted echoes.
Lilith spat a curse in the ancient tongue of demons, her voice sharp with fire and venom. "You'll regret this, you gutless curs. My father will—"
"Your father ordered it," the demon cut in, baring his fangs in a cruel smile. "Your defiance shamed the throne. Your ambition threatened it. For that, you are cast out."
The chains constricted, pulling her closer to the edge. The heat of the abyss licked at her skin.
"Into the void with you."
Laughter rippled through the circle as the chanting rose higher, louder, drowning out the crackle of flame and the distant scream of the rift.
From the shadows beyond the ritual, Xander watched.
And for the first time since his awakening, the hunger inside him found something worth claiming.
Xander observed from the edge of the ritual, his interest slowly sharpening. This was no simple execution. It was theater, a brutal demonstration meant to remind every demon watching what defiance earned.
Yet the kneeling princess refused to dim. Her aura flared again and again, fire pressing outward against the suppressive magic that bound her.
She was powerful.
Powerful enough to matter.
With an idle gesture, Xander stepped from concealment. His presence rolled across the valley like an approaching storm. The air turned cold. Shadows gathered at his feet, spreading outward in slow, deliberate waves.
"What a pitiful display," he said, his voice calm and cutting. It sliced cleanly through the chanting.
The ritual shattered into panic.
Demons spun toward him, eyes flaring with shock and fury.
"An intruder!" one roared. "Kill him!"
They charged as a single mass, claws bared, mouths blazing with hellfire. The winged leader thrust his staff forward, hurling a searing bolt that scorched the stone where Xander had stood.
But Xander was already gone.
He dissolved into shadow and reformed behind one of the brutes. His hand drove clean through its back, emerging from its chest, clutching a pulsing infernal core.
The demon screamed once before Xander closed his fist. Essence poured into him as black fire consumed the corpse, leaving nothing but drifting ash.
The valley erupted into chaos.
Demons roared and unleashed torrents of flame that slammed against walls of living shadow. Xander moved through it all like a phantom, never where the attacks landed, always where they were weakest.
A hulking enforcer swung a massive axe in a wide arc. Xander caught the haft mid-swing, twisted it free with casual strength, and drove the blade straight through its owner.
Another demon turned to flee. Shadows snapped around its legs, yanking it back across the stone and into Xander's grasp.
Its soul did not last long.
Above the altar, the chants had fallen silent.
Only screams remained.
The leader saw the battle slipping beyond control and roared over the chaos. "Ignore him. Complete the ritual. Banish her now!"
The chains snapped tight, dragging Lilith toward the widening rift. She fought harder, fire surging violently against the restraints. With the demons distracted, the suppression faltered.
Flames exploded outward from her body, raw and uncontrolled. One of the burning chains shattered, then another.
With a defiant cry, she tore free.
Inferno wrapped around her like a crown as she rose to her feet, wings flaring wide. Her eyes snapped to Xander, sharp with suspicion rather than gratitude.
"Who are you?" she demanded. "Another assassin my father sent to finish the job?"
Without waiting for an answer, she thrust her palm forward and hurled a blazing fireball straight at him.
Xander raised a hand. Shadows folded together, forming a barrier that swallowed the flames in a shower of sparks. He did not even flinch.
"Not an enemy," he said calmly, amusement flickering in his dark gaze. "Only curious."
Lilith bristled, pride stinging at the implication that she needed saving, even by accident. "I don't need your help, shadow-walker," she snapped. "Stay out of my way."
She surged forward, tearing into the remaining demons. Fire engulfed two of them in seconds, their screams cut short by the roar of the blaze.
The leader reacted instantly, slamming his staff into the ground. Runes flared to life, spreading outward in a binding wave.
Lilith twisted aside, but one glyph clipped her wing, searing through flame and scale. She hissed in pain and staggered.
That was enough.
Shadows tore through the ritual circle, shredding wards and silencing the runes. Xander appeared before the leader in a blur of darkness and seized him by the throat, lifting the massive demon effortlessly from the ground.
His grip tightened.
"Your court," Xander said softly, "fails to impress me."
The demon choked as the shadows closed in.
"Begone."
With a final tightening of his grip, Xander crushed the leader's soul. Dark energy poured into him as the staff slipped from lifeless fingers and struck the stone below. The remaining demons did not last long.
One by one, their essences were torn free, feeding the growing presence that now dominated the valley.
When it was over, silence returned.
Lilith stood a short distance away, chest rising and falling, flames coiling around her hands as she faced him. She did not lower her guard. Her eyes remained sharp, wary, yet undeniably curious.
This stranger had dismantled her executioners with unsettling ease. His power eclipsed even the elites of the Infernal Court.
And yet, he had not turned it on her.
"Why did you interfere?" she demanded. "What do you want from me?"
Xander stepped closer. The shadows around him withdrew just enough to reveal his full form. Pale, composed, and utterly unafraid.
"Your power called out," he replied. "In a world drowning in tyrants and cowards, you burn brighter than most." His gaze held hers. "Stand with me, and we can aim that fire at those who tried to chain you."
Lilith hesitated. Heat rose to her cheeks, not from flame, but from something she refused to name. She scoffed, lifting her chin. "Stand with you? I bow to no one.
Especially not some shadow-draped stranger who thinks he's a saviour."
A faint smirk curved Xander's lips. "Then do not bow. Fight beside me." His tone hardened slightly. "Or fight me, if you wish. But alone, the court will hunt you until they succeed."
Her gaze flicked to the fading rift, then back to him. The defiance in her posture remained, but something softer slipped through the cracks.
"Fine," she said at last. "For now. But betray me, and I will turn you to ash."
Xander inclined his head and extended a hand wrapped in gentle shadow.
Lilith took it, cautious but resolute.
Fire met darkness, and a spark leapt between them, sharp and unmistakable.
Something had begun.
They had barely turned to leave when the ground shuddered beneath their feet.
The rift flared violently, its edges tearing wider as fresh power surged through it. The air grew heavier, thick with malice and authority.
Shapes began to stir within the fire and void, larger and more disciplined than the ones Xander had just destroyed.
Lilith stiffened, her flames flaring instinctively. Her eyes widened as recognition set in.
"They felt the rupture," she said sharply. "My father's hunters. They won't stop until I'm dragged back in chains." She looked at Xander, urgency cutting through her pride. "We need to move. Now."
Xander did not argue.
Shadows surged around them as Lilith's fire wrapped close, the two forces weaving together without resistance.
They moved as one, vanishing from the valley in a blur of darkness and flame just as new figures began to claw their way through the rift.
Behind them, the scorched ground cracked open and the hunt was unleashed.
Ahead lay an unstable world, filled with enemies, ambition, and war.
And somewhere within it, the first steps of a partnership neither of them had planned, but neither could now escape.