The world trembled under the weight of Kael's transformation. His monstrous void-born form loomed over the battlefield, his presence warping reality itself.
Alden's allies—what remained of them—stood frozen in awe and terror. The once-clear skies were now a swirling maelstrom of black and violet, the rift in the heavens vomiting out abominations that screamed with no mouths.
"I'll hold him," Alden said, his voice cold and steady. "Run."
"No!" Serin shouted, stepping forward, her armor cracked and bloody. "You're not doing this alone!"
Alden turned to her, eyes glowing faintly. "This isn't about being a hero. This is survival."
Kael's laugh echoed from the sky. "Touching. But futile."
The creatures descended—like a plague. Winged horrors, serpent-limbed beasts, shadows with too many eyes. Magic lanced through the air as mages attempted to hold the line, but it was barely a scratch.
Alden planted his spear into the earth. The ground responded, glyphs forming around him—ancient, divine.
Serin gasped. "That's the seal of the Celestial Origin…"
"It's a forbidden technique," Alden said, "but it's all I have left."
He wasn't wrong. This technique was supposed to be buried with the gods. It didn't just borrow divine power—it became divine. At a cost.
Kael descended, his form a swirling mass of entropy. "You would burn yourself away just to delay the inevitable?"
"I would," Alden replied, stepping into the center of the glyphs. Light burst from the ground, weaving into his flesh, carving divine runes into his skin.
He screamed—but did not fall.
His hair turned silver, his eyes glowed with searing white fire. Wings of starlight unfurled behind him.
The battlefield froze. Even the monsters hesitated.
The rebirth had begun.
Kael laughed no more.
"You shouldn't have come back," Alden said, raising his transformed spear. "Because now—I'm not the same man who lost."
With a single flap of his radiant wings, he launched himself skyward.
Kael roared and met him halfway.
The skies above split with impact. Void and divinity clashed, shaking the heavens.
And somewhere deep beneath the ruined earth, something ancient… began to awaken.