The cold, putrid wind blew across the blackened plateau as demonic chants echoed through the broken spires of the Obsidian Citadel. The ritual had begun. Shackled to an obsidian altar carved with eldritch runes, Eris Vaeloria struggled against enchanted chains that seared her skin with every twitch. Shadows danced around her as a crimson sigil glowed beneath the stone.
"Just a little longer," the highest demon hissed—ten feet tall, draped in molten obsidian armor, four wings of smoke spiraling behind him. His eyes were twin pits of hellfire. "When your soul breaks, the Nameless God shall stir."
Eris sobbed, clutching the tattered uniform Rael had once lent her. Her lips trembled.
"Rael... please... where are you...?"
A gust of wind suddenly surged through the citadel. The sigils dimmed.
And then—a brilliant slash of golden flame tore through the eastern wall.
Rael stood there, sword blazing in hand, golden-orange embers roaring from his form. His robes were scorched, hair windswept, and eyes filled with fury.
"Step away from her."
The highest demon's grin widened. "You came."
Rael charged, blade trailing arcs of golden flame. The ground shook beneath his feet as he exploded forward, clashing with the demon in a cacophony of light and shadow. The sheer force cracked the stone pillars. Their blades struck like thunder, Rael's sword dancing against the scythe of the hellspawn.
The demon matched his speed and strength, blocking, countering. A tail swept toward Rael—he dodged, barely, but the demon followed with a brutal backhand that sent Rael flying into a wall.
Rael coughed blood.
His Ember Ascension flared again as he rose, flames rekindling.
He launched back into the fray—parrying the scythe's sweeping arcs, striking low, twisting in midair. The battle became a blur of flame and darkness. Every blow Rael landed left searing burns; every hit he took rattled his bones.
But the demon was unrelenting.
Minutes became an hour.
Rael's stamina dwindled. His limbs ached. The air tasted of blood and sulfur.
A brutal slash sent Rael skidding across the floor, his sword sliding from his grasp. He crashed against the ritual altar, barely conscious.
"This is the end," the demon growled, stepping forward. "Your flame has dimmed."
Eris screamed, "No! Don't you dare!"
The demon raised his scythe.
Rael's vision blurred.
He saw Eris.
Crying.
Terrified.
Calling his name.
...And something shattered.
A pulse. A beat. A whisper from the deepest core of his soul.
You are not done.
Light erupted.
The sky above the citadel darkened—every star blotted out—but from the center of the night came a piercing white-blue radiance. Rael's body rose, limp, then rigid. His hair grew long, glowing with divine luminescence. The flames around him were no longer orange—they were solar rays, searing and pure.
The demon stumbled back.
"Impossible... That light...!"
Rael opened his eyes.
Radiant Ascension: Second Awakening.
Power multiplied. Aura sharpened. Time itself slowed.
In a flash, he vanished.
The demon turned—Rael had appeared behind him.
A single strike.
Time stopped.
The world fell silent. The scythe froze mid-swing. The shadows halted.
In those five seconds, Rael struck twelve times—blows infused with pure light, carving sigils of burning truth across the demon's body.
Time resumed.
The demon howled—his body erupting in beams of golden energy. Limbs cracked, wings shredded.
"YOU—!"
But Rael wasn't done.
Their battle escalated to the sky—clashing among black clouds and roaring stars. Each blow ruptured space, sent shockwaves across the dead land. Rael moved like lightning, blade singing through the air. The demon fought back with abyssal fury, calling storms of hellfire, but Rael deflected each with radiant precision.
"For Eris," Rael whispered, slashing with every ounce of his soul.
The final clash echoed like the birth of a sun.
The demon was pierced through the heart, light erupting from his form.
He let out a final scream—and then disintegrated.
Rael fell.
His aura flickered.
He dropped to his knees beside Eris.
Chains cracked and broke around her as the altar crumbled.
She caught him just as he collapsed.
"Rael—?! No, stay awake!"
He smiled faintly, eyes barely open.
"Told you... I'd come."
Then, darkness took him.
Eris held him tightly, tears streaming down her face.
"You idiot... you really came for me."
Above them, the sky slowly brightened.
And in the distance, the light of dawn began to rise over Eldoria.