TaiKhan ran like the world itself was collapsing behind him.
He sprinted through the shattered streets of Crimson Reach, one arm wrapped tightly around Miko while the other dragged Renn and Lir forward through the debris. Every breath burned his lungs. Explosions bloomed across the city like dying suns, sending waves of heat rolling through the ruined streets. Holy slashes screamed across the skyline, carving molten scars through towers that had stood for centuries. Buildings collapsed one after another beneath the endless bombardment while the heavens rained fire and divine light upon the city.
It felt less like war…and more like the end of the world.
Miko cried out beside him, clutching his broken arm tightly against his chest. "T-Tai… it hurts… I can't feel my fingers…"
"Don't talk, just keep moving!" TaiKhan shouted back, though fear cracked through every word.
His legs felt heavy. Exhaustion clawed at his body with every step, but he forced himself forward anyway. Behind them, another district collapsed in a deafening roar, dust and flames erupting high into the sky. A stray divine beam slammed into a nearby tower, instantly turning stone and metal into molten ruin that rained down across the streets.
Renn stumbled hard beside him, blood streaming from the cuts across his face. "We're gonna die…" he whimpered weakly. "We're all gonna die here…"
"Shut up!" TaiKhan snapped instinctively.
Then his voice faltered.
Because part of him believed it too.
His red eyes shook with terror as he dragged his friends through the ruins. Right now, he wasn't acting like the loudmouthed leader of their little group. He was just a terrified kid trying desperately to keep everyone alive while the world burned around him.
A thunderous explosion erupted somewhere directly overhead.
TaiKhan barely had time to look up before the shockwave hit.
The force crashed into them like the fist of a furious god. The four boys were ripped off their feet and hurled violently through the air before smashing through the remains of a collapsed tavern. Wood splintered. Stone shattered. Dust swallowed everything.
TaiKhan hit the ground hard enough to knock the breath from his lungs.
For a few seconds, all he could hear was ringing.
Then pain came rushing back.
He coughed violently and shoved a broken support beam off his back before scrambling upright in panic.
"Everyone—!" His voice cracked. "Everyone okay?!"
Miko lay curled against the floor, sobbing uncontrollably while clutching his arm. Renn remained motionless for one horrifying second before letting out a weak groan. Nearby, Lir sat frozen beneath the broken roof, staring blankly upward through a crack in the ceiling where firelit clouds churned overhead.
"I'm here…" Renn rasped painfully, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. "But my leg… I think it's broken…"
Lir still said nothing.
His entire body trembled violently while silent tears carved clean streaks through the dust coating his face.
TaiKhan's chest tightened painfully.
No no no no—
He crawled toward Miko on shaking hands and grabbed his shoulders carefully. "Hey… hey, look at me." His voice trembled badly now. "We're gonna make it out, alright? I got you guys. I always got you. Just breathe… please…"
His own breathing was becoming uneven.
His hands wouldn't stop shaking as he ripped a strip from his torn shirt and wrapped it around Miko's arm as tightly as he could.
Another mana shockwave ripped across the city.
Electrical screams echoed through the streets as massive clashes erupted overhead. The broken tavern shook violently around them. Dust drifted constantly from the ceiling while the entire city groaned like something alive dying slowly beneath unimaginable pressure.
Then something crashed directly outside.
BOOM.
The impact shook the ruined tavern so hard that parts of the ceiling collapsed instantly.
Dust and debris exploded outward as a massive crater formed in the street beyond the broken wall.
A Sky warrior slowly rose from the center of it.
Four damaged wings spread behind its back, several feathers burned away, but still glowing with divine light. Cracks ran across its golden armor while holy energy leaked from the gaps like flowing fire. Even injured, its presence crushed the air itself.
Then its glowing eyes locked onto the boys.
TaiKhan froze.
Every instinct in his body screamed at him to run.
Move...MOVE.
But his legs refused to obey.
The pressure pouring from the warrior felt unbearable, like invisible chains wrapping around his body and crushing his lungs. Even breathing became difficult.
We have to run… We have to—
The Sky Warrior slowly raised its sword.
Radiant energy spiraled along the blade, growing brighter and brighter until the ruined street itself began melting beneath the heat.
Then a blazing slash tore across the battlefield from the side.
The attack slammed into the warrior's shoulder in an eruption of flames, forcing it several steps sideways.
Jin landed heavily nearby.
His boots skidded across the broken ground while the weapon in his hands shifted violently, ancient mechanisms clicking and rotating until the staff reshaped itself into a long spear. His silver eyes remained sharp despite the blood running down his side, but his breathing was rough and uneven.
This is as much as I can do, he thought grimly. I can't beat it… But I can distract it. At least let the kids live.
The Sky warrior turned fully toward him, sword raised.
Jin gripped his spear tighter, his heartbeat hammering against his ribs.
Come on… think. You've done this before. Use the environment. Use its arrogance.
Flames burst from beneath his feet as he dashed sideways through the ruins.
The warrior pursued instantly. Its speed was monstrous.
The first slash barely missed him, slicing through the air close enough for the heat to scorch his side. The second attack caught him across the ribs, carving through cloth and flesh in a spray of blood before he managed to twist away.
Pain exploded through his body.
Jin nearly stumbled.
But he forced himself forward through gritted teeth as fear clawed violently at his chest.
Not yet. Not like this.
He led the warrior deeper into the ruined streets, weaving between collapsing buildings while using debris and shattered walls to break its line of sight. Divine slashes tore apart everything behind him as the chase ripped through the city.
Finally, Jin skidded to a stop beside the remains of a half-collapsed mana tower.
His spear slammed into the ground beside him as he turned to face the approaching warrior, breathing hard while sparks of unstable energy flickered through the ruined structure overhead.
Jin's breath came in ragged bursts beneath the cracked remains of his mask.
He stood facing the Sky warrior, silver eyes narrowed as sparks of holy energy crackled across the ruined street between them. Something about the battle felt deeply wrong.
It's odd… Sky warriors aren't supposed to be this weak.
The angel before him moved with flawless precision, every motion sharp and disciplined, yet there was something empty behind it. Hollow. Its attacks flowed perfectly, but without instinct. Without hesitation. Like a corpse following commands carved into its bones.
Jin's eyes shifted across the battlefield.
Other Sky warriors were still fighting despite catastrophic injuries. One had half its torso missing, golden blood pouring endlessly from the wound, while it continued swinging its blade without pause. Another fought with a shattered skull, divine light leaking from the cracks in its head. One warrior dragged itself across broken stone with only a single arm remaining, still trying to stab at survivors hiding beneath rubble.
None of them screamed. None of them retreated. They didn't even react to pain.
Jin's grip tightened around his shifting staff.
They aren't protecting themselves at all.
His stomach twisted uneasily.
They fight like they don't even realize they're dying.
Frustration rose inside him, sharp and bitter.
"The Sky Palace…" he muttered quietly, voice edged with disbelief and anger. "They were once feared and looked up to, across entire realms. Every warrior was capable of standing against armies alone. Their discipline was absolute. Their instincts were monstrous. Their power…" His eyes darkened. "Unmatched."
His gaze locked onto the angel before him.
"And now…"
The warrior tilted its head unnaturally.
"…they fight like empty shells."
The Sky Warrior slowly raised its sword.
Holy energy spiraled along the blade in violent coils, growing brighter and brighter until the surrounding rubble began melting beneath the heat.
Jin's eyes widened slightly behind the fractured mask.
"What the hell happened to you…?"
The warrior vanished.
A streak of blinding white light shot forward.
Too fast.
Jin barely managed to react before the sword thrust reached his chest.
BOOM.
The impact detonated against his weapon with tremendous force.
Pain exploded through Jin's arms as the strike launched him backward like a discarded corpse. His body smashed through broken walls and spinning debris before being hurled violently across the ruined street.
The Sky Warrior appeared above him instantly.
Its sword was already descending.
No hesitation. No emotion. Only execution.
Then orange lightning erupted across the battlefield.
CRACK.
Titan appeared beside Jin in a violent flash of electricity, catching him mid-air before slamming both feet into the ground hard enough to crater the street beneath them. Lightning surged wildly around his massive frame while shattered stone exploded outward from the impact.
The descending blade struck a split second later.
Titan caught it with one hand.
The collision sent a thunderous shockwave roaring through the ruins.
"What the hell are you thinking, kid?!" Titan growled, muscles straining as divine energy screamed against his palm. "You're too weak to fight one of these bastards head-on!"
With a violent twist, Titan hurled the Sky warrior away. The angel crashed through three ruined buildings before disappearing into smoke and collapsing debris.
Jin staggered upright, coughing hard as blood dripped from beneath his mask.
"…Thanks," he muttered roughly.
Titan glanced sideways at him while orange lightning crackled across his scarred body.
Jin steadied himself and looked back toward the battlefield, silver eyes scanning the chaos unfolding across Crimson Reach.
"There's something I need to confirm," he said quietly.
Titan narrowed his eyes immediately.
The kid's strange.
His gaze sharpened.
He knows my name. He knows forbidden techniques he shouldn't even know exist. And he looks at these forces like he's seen them before.
Suspicion crept deeper into Titan's expression.
Just who the hell are you…?
Jin tightened his grip around the shifting staff before finally turning toward the destruction.
High above the battlefield, the Asura hovered at the highest point in the sky, six wings spread wide. His glowing white eyes watched the carnage below with cold detachment. Explosions bloomed. Warriors clashed.
Yet a faint irritation began to stir within him.
Something was interfering with the natural flow of judgment. Something that should not be here.
Stormcrag had once been a city of stone, thunder, and pride.
Now it resembled the aftermath of divine punishment.
The earlier lightning strike had torn through the city like the wrath of a god, carving burning scars across entire districts and reducing massive sections of Stormcrag to molten ruin. Towering spires had collapsed into jagged heaps of blackened stone. Streets no longer existed — only shattered trenches filled with ash, fire, and corpses.
Yet unlike Crimson Reach, more survivors remained here.
They hid wherever they could.
Some crouched beneath collapsed buildings, clutching each other while the sky burned overhead. Others sat motionless beside the dead, too numb to cry anymore. A mother wandered through the ruins screaming her child's name until her voice broke into raw, bleeding sobs.
Above them, injured Sky warriors still hovered silently.
Some were missing entire limbs. Some had holes burned straight through their torsos. Golden blood dripped endlessly from their ruined bodies, falling like glowing rain onto the broken city below.
Yet none of them fell. None of them screamed.
Their eyes glowed with the same cold, light as they slowly raised their weapons once more.
And standing alone in the center of the shattered main square…
…was Shadow.
He remained perfectly still amidst the destruction, black cloak drifting softly in the ash-filled wind.
At first glance, there was nothing grand about him.
No roaring aura. No overwhelming explosion of power.
Yet the moment someone looked directly at him, instinct screamed at them to look away.
The darkness surrounding him felt unnatural, deeper than ordinary shadow, as though light itself bent unwillingly around his existence. The ruined square had become eerily silent in his presence. Even the distant screams and explosions seemed quieter near him.
To the surviving citizens who glimpsed him through the smoke, he no longer resembled a man.
He looked like death wearing human skin.
Shadow's silver eyes moved calmly across the hovering warriors above.
Strange. Each of them possesses power that once inspired fear across entire realms.
His gaze narrowed slightly.
Yet they fight without instinct. Without hesitation. Without even the desire to survive.
One warrior hovered with half its face missing, holy light leaking from exposed bone and shattered flesh.
Still moving. Still obeying. Like corpses refusing to acknowledge death.
Shadow tilted his head slightly.
Something corrupted them. Or perhaps… Something replaced them.
His expression remained unreadable.
I need to understand what happened to the Sky Palace before I fully involve myself.
Without speaking, Shadow slowly raised one hand.
The battlefield darkened instantly.
Shadows stretched unnaturally across the ruins, swallowing flickering firelight as if the city itself were sinking into night. The temperature dropped sharply. Survivors felt their skin crawl as darkness pooled around broken buildings and shattered streets.
Then the shadows moved.
Dozens of figures rose silently from Shadow's own silhouette.
Perfect copies.
Each clone carried a blade formed from condensed darkness, their bodies flickering like unstable reflections. They spread across the battlefield without sound, slipping through every crack of darkness like silent hunters entering familiar territory.
And Shadow himself…
…vanished.
No burst of speed. No dramatic motion.
One moment, he stood in the square.
Next, he existed behind a Sky warrior.
His blade passed cleanly across the angel's neck in one smooth, surgical motion.
Not to kill. To test.
The warrior reacted instantly, radiant sword flashing backward in a violent counterattack. The blade passed harmlessly through Shadow's body.
Like smoke. Like a shadow pretending to be flesh.
Physical attacks are meaningless against me.
Another warrior unleashed a beam of holy energy.
This one struck.
Divine light burned across Shadow's shoulder, tearing away part of his darkness and revealing thin strands of black essence beneath.
Shadow glanced briefly at the wound.
Energy-infused attacks… Those can harm me.
He disappeared again.
The battlefield became a nightmare.
His clones emerged from impossible angles, striking from blind spots before melting back into darkness. Sky warriors turned too slowly. Black blades slipped through gaps in armor while living shadows coiled around wings, limbs, and throats.
Several warriors froze mid-attack as darkness invaded their bodies, fighting violently for control over their ruined minds.
Shadow moved through it all with terrifying calm.
No wasted movement. No arrogance. No emotion.
Every strike flowed into the next with elegant precision, his twin blades carving silent paths through the battlefield while his body slipped effortlessly between shadows like something no longer bound by physical law.
The war itself began to feel distorted around him.
Like the battlefield belonged to him now.
For a brief moment, Shadow allowed himself to descend deeper into his true nature.
Darkness erupted around his body in slow, flowing waves before condensing into sleek obsidian armor. The design mirrored Indura's crimson scales — elegant, predatory, and regal in a way that inspired instinctive fear.
Sharp black plating wrapped across his body like living night, while tendrils of shadow leaked constantly from the gaps. Two long ethereal blades formed in his hands, their edges humming softly with void energy.
His presence changed completely.
The survivors watching from afar stopped breathing.
Shadow no longer resembled an assassin hidden in darkness.
He looked like the ruler of it.
A silent lord of darkness standing calmly amidst the end of a city.
And for the first time since the battle began… Shadow allowed himself the faintest smile.
He liked this form. It reminded him of his lord.
The Sky warriors pressed harder.
Their numbers swelled across the battlefield like an endless tide of holy light, and even Shadow's flawless movements could no longer avoid every strike forever. Coordinated attacks rained down from every direction — divine beams, radiant slashes, exploding sigils of judgment.
Then one finally landed.
A massive holy detonation erupted beside him without warning, swallowing half the ruined street in blinding white fire. The explosion tore across Shadow's side and sent him skidding violently through shattered stone before he caught himself against a collapsed wall.
Dark essence hissed from the wound like smoke.
Shadow exhaled slowly. Unbothered.
"One."
His voice was calm, almost thoughtful.
He vanished again.
Darkness folded around him as he slipped back into the battlefield, weaving through the Sky warriors with silent precision. Clones multiplied across the ruins, striking from impossible angles before dissolving into shadow once more. The Warriors fell. Others staggered as darkness invaded their bodies and disrupted their movements.
Minutes passed.
Then another strike found him.
A Hammer of the World descended through the chaos and unleashed a massive energy-infused slash directly across Shadow's back. The impact split apart buildings behind him and carved a glowing trench through the city.
Dark essence scattered violently into the air.
Shadow landed on one knee atop a ruined structure.
"Two."
His silver eyes remained completely calm. The wounds meant little. He was nowhere near his limit.
Shadow rose slowly and stepped onto the remains of a half-collapsed bell tower overlooking the battlefield.
Below him, the war continued endlessly.
His clones moved like silent phantoms through the city, slaughtering and disrupting wherever darkness touched. Yet the enemy numbers barely changed. The Sky warriors continued advancing without fear, without hesitation, without even acknowledging their own destruction.
Broken. Bleeding. Still moving.
Shadow watched them quietly.
They possess no sense of self-preservation anymore.
His gaze narrowed slightly.
Either their wills were destroyed… Or something already consumed them from within.
A faint silence settled over him.
Either way… It is time to try something new.
His twin blades dissolved into streams of shadow that coiled around his arms before fading entirely.
Shadow slowly spread his hands. The battlefield darkened again.
Not naturally.
The shadows beneath ruined buildings stretched farther than they should have. Firelight dimmed unnaturally. Entire sections of the city sank into heavy darkness despite the blazing war overhead.
Then his clones changed. Dozens of shadow figures suddenly abandoned direct combat and melted into liquid darkness.
They surged forward. Not attacking. Invading.
The shadows slipped through cracks in armor, poured into open wounds, and crawled beneath shattered plates like living parasites. Sky warriors immediately convulsed as darkness flooded into their bodies.
For the first time since the invasion began… Some of them screamed.
The sound echoed horribly across Stormcrag.
Shadow moved.
His body flowed through a slow, deliberate martial dance atop the bell tower, every movement smooth and impossibly controlled. His arms swept through the air in elegant arcs while his fingers traced ancient patterns that bent the surrounding darkness to his will.
He looked less like a warrior… And more like a conductor guiding an orchestra of death. Every motion forced the shadows deeper.
Further. Closer to their cores.
"Thirteen…" Shadow calculated silently.
The strain pulsed sharply through his mind.
"Any more than that may fracture my consciousness."
Below him, the possessed warriors began to break apart mentally.
One angel clawed at its own helmet as darkness poured from the gaps in its armor. Another violently slammed itself against ruined walls in a desperate attempt to expel the invading shadow. A Sword of the World drove its own blade through its shoulder repeatedly while screaming in a language long forgotten.
Their bodies twisted unnaturally. Limbs jerked at impossible angles. Wings spasmed violently as black veins spread across once-radiant armor.
Holy light flickered erratically beneath their skin like dying stars. Some resisted with terrifying force.
A Hammer of the World roared and shattered his own chest plate with repeated blows, trying to crush the darkness infecting him. Another severed one of his own wings to stop the spreading corruption.
Even broken… Their instincts still fought to survive.
But Shadow pressed harder.
Black blood began running from the corners of his silver eyes. His breathing deepened slightly. Still calm. Still controlled.
"Do not resist."
His voice was quiet. Yet it carried across the battlefield with chilling clarity.
Not a command. A verdict.
Shadow slowly brought both hands downward.
The darkness answered instantly.
A massive shockwave of void energy erupted from the bell tower and swept across the battlefield like a silent tsunami. The thirteen infected warriors convulsed violently all at once.
Then… Stillness.
The battlefield paused.
Even the remaining Sky warriors hesitated.
The possessed angels slowly rose into the air again.
Changed.
Their once-golden armor had darkened into deep obsidian streaked with faint violet veins of energy pulsing beneath the surface. Their white wings now bled streams of living darkness from every feather. Helmets fused tightly against their faces as hollow eyes burned with cold abyssal light.
No divine presence remained within them.
Only silence. Cold. Empty. Absolute.
Shadow stared at them for a moment before a faint chuckle escaped his lips.
"…I didn't expect that to succeed."
Darkness still leaked from his fingertips and the corners of his eyes as he straightened fully atop the tower. The mental strain weighed heavily against his mind, but it remained manageable.
For now.
He raised one hand toward the newly corrupted warriors.
"Your wills no longer belong to you."
His silver eyes glowed faintly within the darkness.
"Your blades."
The thirteen warriors turned in perfect synchronization.
"Your power."
The surrounding shadows trembled.
"Your existence."
A cold smile slowly formed beneath Shadow's veil of darkness.
"They are mine now."
The corrupted warriors exploded forward simultaneously, rocketing toward the main Sky Army formation like thirteen spears forged from living night.
And as the heavens lit up with holy alarm… Shadow watched calmly from the tower above.
Smiling.
Back in what remained of Crimson Reach, the war had become pure madness.
Violkhan rode atop a fallen Sky warrior like a living board, one foot planted on its broken chest as she shot through the air. Her wild grin never faded, red sigils blazing across her powerful frame. She leaped off at the peak of her momentum, rocketing higher into the swarm of angels that descended like locusts.
"Hundreds of you…" she laughed, spinning mid-air. "Too many. I wish that loud little brat TaiKhan could see this!"
She twisted her body with explosive force and unleashed a devastating kick through empty space. The shockwave alone ripped forward like a horizontal tornado, parting the charging swarm and sending dozens of warriors tumbling through the sky.
Her red sigils burned brighter. Power compressed throughout her entire body like a coiling spring. She spread her arms wide in a majestic arc, muscles flexing as she prepared to unleash something truly catastrophic.
"This is my thunder—!"
"Fall."
The Asura's single word cut through the heavens like divine law.
One finger pointed downward.
A pillar of blinding white lightning, thick as a mountain, tore through the sky with apocalyptic force. It screamed downward at terrifying speed, aimed directly at Violkhan. The air ignited. The ground far below already cracked in anticipation.
Violkhan's eyes widened for a split second. "Tch—!"
The lightning struck.
BOOM—!!!
The impact was cataclysmic.
A blinding sphere of holy devastation erupted where she had been, swallowing her completely. The explosion expanded violently, shockwaves ripping outward in concentric rings that flattened entire blocks of ruins. Buildings that had barely survived the first blast were reduced to dust. The ground itself split open in a massive crater, molten glass forming at its center. A pillar of light and smoke rose into the sky like a new mountain of destruction.
From a distance, Jin planted his staff deep into the ground, holding on for dear life as the shockwave slammed into him like a tidal wave. Titan appeared beside him instantly, one massive hand clamping down on his shoulder to steady him.
TaiKhan was swept off his feet again.
He held his three friends tighter than ever, screaming as they were lifted into the air by the force. "Hold on! Don't let go!!"
They crashed down hard, tumbling across the ruins. TaiKhan slid to a stop, coughing violently, arms still wrapped protectively around Miko, Renn, and Lir. His body trembled. Tears of fear and exhaustion stung his eyes.
"W-what… what is happening…?" he whispered, voice breaking. "Is this… the end of the world…?"
A rough but determined voice shouted from behind them.
"Hey! Kids!"
TaiKhan turned sharply.
Hanz landed heavily before them, bruised, bloodied, but carrying a fierce, unbroken expression. His armor was cracked, yet his eyes burned with resolve.
"You boys still able to move?" Hanz asked quickly. "I'll take you to the shelter. We have to hurry — another wave is coming!"
TaiKhan looked at his terrified friends, then back at Hanz. A shaky, relieved smile broke across his dusty face.
"We're… we're gonna be safe," he told the boys, voice cracking. "Come on. Hold onto me."
Hanz chuckled roughly as he scooped up Renn and Miko. "You look familiar, kid. Weren't you the one who beat that big brute in the arena?"
TaiKhan nodded, lifting Lir onto his shoulders despite his own exhaustion.
"Yeah… well."
Hanz grinned. "Hell of a fight. But right now — keep up if you want to live."
The two older boys broke into a desperate sprint through the ruins, dodging falling debris and distant explosions, carrying the younger ones toward whatever safety remained.