The Forests of Sands faded behind the Great Tyrants, their shimmering black dunes giving way to a cracked plain where glowing red fissures exhaled wisps of sulfurous vapor. Ten years in the Black Eden had transformed Gills, Soehpt, Kira, Tyrnat, Yulius, Nera, Bhaadon, Solom, Orak, and Razhïel into living weapons, their heavy steps pounding the scorched earth as they advanced toward their next challenge. Satan's call pulsed in their Rings of Tyranny, a guttural throb guiding them to his infernal throne, but the mirage of Gota in the sands—that fleeting vision of an Abyssal Lady—still lingered in their minds, a silent enigma in the searing air.
The horizon rose suddenly into a titanic barrier—the Wall of Bones, a colossal rampart of bleached bones stacked for miles, its jagged contours piercing a crimson sky streaked with swirling clouds. Skulls of all sizes—human, demonic, inhuman—formed a macabre mosaic, their empty sockets seeming to scrutinize the intruders with silent malevolence. Howling winds swept the plain, carrying sharp bone shards that whistled like flying blades, and a low, almost living murmur emanated from the wall, a chorus of dead voices carried on the infernal breeze.
Gills halted at the structure's base, his scarlet flames crackling faintly around his gauntlets. "Here we are," he said, his hoarse voice laced with a wariness honed by their recent battle in the sands. He looked up at the summit, lost in low clouds, and frowned. "How do we get to the other side?" The wall stretched endlessly in both directions, an impassable barrier with no visible gate or crack.
Soehpt stepped forward, his blue flames streaked with black dancing around his fingers like curious specters. "Climbing's out of the question," he observed, his analytical tone studying the stacked bones. "Too unstable… and those murmurs… They're hiding something." He extended a hand, a cyan flame brushing a skull that hissed in response, a shrill sound that made the group shudder.
Kira clashed her Astrugg Cestuses together, an orange glow awakening in the metal. "We could blast a way through," she suggested, her wild voice tinged with impatience. "Ten years under Lilith, and what? We just stand here?"
Tyrnat sneered, his cloak of shadows billowing behind him like a broken wing. "Ever so refined," he mocked, his scythe glinting in his hand. "But there's got to be a flaw to exploit." His gaze slid to Bhaadon with subtle contempt. "Or perhaps our Nephalem wants to fly over?"
Bhaadon, hovering inches above the ground, clenched his fists, a stone levitating beside him in a tremor of rage. "Open your mouth again, Styx Reaper," he threatened, his low voice vibrating with anger, "and I'll make you choke on those bones." Solom, at his side, summoned a golden spark that crackled in his palm, his protective gaze seeking to calm his companion. "We don't have time for this," he whispered, his eyes scanning the wall.
Yulius drove Massacre into the ground, a trickle of congealed blood dripping from the blade. "I say we move forward, period," he growled, his savagery dancing in his eyes. Nera wove her shadow threads in the air, a sly smile on her lips. "What if it's a test?" she suggested, her cursed dolls twitching in the shadow of her cloak. "Satan might be having as much fun as Lilith."
Orak drove his spear into the ground, a frosty mist rising around him. "Test or not, I'll cross alone if I have to," he declared, his gray eyes glinting with defiance. Razhïel, silent, adjusted his cracked mask, Tenebris Lux faintly glowing at his side, his shadow-forged prosthesis quivering like a living extension.
The wall's murmur suddenly intensified, a deep rumble shaking the plain. The skulls animated, their jaws clacking in a discordant chorus, and a colossal fissure tore through the barrier's center, opening into a gaping maw lined with bone shards sharp as fangs. A fetid breath escaped, heavy with the stench of carrion and sulfur, and massive forms surged forth in a crash of shattered bones—Bone Devourers, giant skeletal creatures with yellowed bones animated by black energy. Their ivory claws, long as spears, raked the ground, and their oversized skulls, adorned with twisted horns, pivoted with unnatural agility, their sockets glowing with scarlet light.
"A mouth," Gills observed, his scarlet flames rising in a blazing arc. "We clear them without forms." He charged, a wall of fire repelling the first Bone Devourer in a crackle, its bones blackening under the heat. "Quick and clean!"
Kira leaped at a second, her cestuses igniting with an orange glow as she shattered its skull with a single blow, bones flying in shards. "Too soft for us," she scoffed, her regeneration erasing the scratches from the debris. Soehpt slashed the air with a wavering Soul Blade, burning the essence of a third monster, its bones collapsing into a cyan mist. "No need to overexert," he noted, a faint smile on his lips.
Tyrnat extended a hand, a Clawed Specter tearing the legs of a Bone Devourer, toppling it with a sinister crack. "Trash," he spat, his scythe slicing a claw mid-flight. Yulius dove at another, Massacre cleaving its torso in a spray of fossilized black blood. "Not even a warm-up," he growled, his eyes sparkling with satisfaction.
Nera wove her shadow threads with cold precision, binding a Bone Devourer before a cursed doll reduced its skull to dust. "Why bother getting tired?" she murmured, a satisfied smirk on her lips. Bhaadon levitated a massive slab of broken bones, crushing a monster with a low rumble. "For Gota," he whispered, a second stone pulverizing another. Solom unleashed a golden storm, electrocuting a Bone Devourer in a blinding crackle, its smoking bones collapsing in a heap. "Let's wrap this up," he said, his tone steady.
Orak summoned a wave of frost, freezing a Bone Devourer mid-charge before shattering it with a spear strike. "Pointless," he muttered, his frozen breath lingering in the air. Razhïel drove Tenebris Lux into the torso of a final monster, a dark rune flaring to reduce it to scattered bone shards, his silence sharper than any cry.
In minutes, the plain before the wall was littered with smoking bone husks, the Bone Devourers annihilated without the Tyrants resorting to their Chaos Forms. Gills took a deep breath, his flames fading in a crackle. "We didn't even break a sweat," he said, a satisfied smile on his lips. "Lilith's training paid off."
Tyrnat wiped his scythe with a theatrical flourish. "These things weren't worth our Chaos," he said, his provocative gaze meeting Bhaadon's. "But you, Nephalem, seem distracted. Still obsessed with Gota?" Bhaadon stepped forward, a stone levitating beside him, but Solom placed a hand on his shoulder, a golden spark dancing in his palm. "Let it go," he murmured, defusing the tension.
Soehpt approached the open maw of the wall, his blue flames illuminating the dark interior. "It opened for us," he observed, his voice tinged with curiosity. "But why?" The skulls' murmurs grew louder, a discordant chorus seeming to whisper warnings. Nera extended a shadow thread toward a skull, which snapped its jaws in response. "A welcome… or an ambush," she suggested, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
Gills turned to the group, his gaze sweeping their faces, marked by a decade of trials. "Whatever it is," he said, his voice firm, "we cross. Satan awaits… and Natass will answer for Gota." Bhaadon nodded, his silent rage fueling his resolve, while the others exchanged glances mixed with defiance and mistrust.
The maw of the Wall of Bones yawned before them, a dark tunnel lined with jagged bone shards, promising more dangers on their path to the infernal throne. The Tyrants advanced, their steps echoing in the darkness, their shadows dancing on the walls like omens of impending chaos.