Ash and smoke blanketed the battlefield as the trembling earth cracked under the weight of chaos. Demon King Lucifer stood in the distance, his obsidian armor reflecting the red sky like a mirror of dread. Behind him, a million underlings stretched across the horizon, snarling and roaring, eager to devour what remained of humanity.
Rael's unconscious body lay discarded in the mud, his robes torn, his skin pale, bruised, lifeless—like a forgotten relic of hope.
"RAEL!" Eris Vaeloria screamed, her voice breaking as tears fell down her soot-streaked face. Her crimson aura flared, and with a furious cry, she hurled a massive inferno toward Lucifer. The flames took the form of a roaring phoenix, blazing with her wrath.
But Lucifer waved his hand. Snap.
The phoenix dissolved.
Lyra Dreamshade clenched her teeth. "I'm not letting him fall here," she muttered. Wind and water surged around her, forming a spiraling lance of elemental fury. She darted forward, streaking like a missile toward Lucifer.
He sighed.
Crack!
A wave of invisible pressure repelled her mid-air, and she crashed into the ground, coughing blood.
Raiden Valenhart roared. "Stand together! We're not done yet!" His sword glowed with celestial energy as he activated his Saint Step—blurring through the battlefield with lightning precision, aiming for Lucifer's neck.
Evelyn, her spirits fully summoned, poured every ounce of mana into protective barriers and support blasts, her sobs hidden behind clenched determination. "Protect Rael! Give him a chance to come back!"
Roric, his eyes burning with vengeance, unleashed a full-force berserker charge, blades slashing through demon after demon just to reach Lucifer.
Silas Shadowwalker flickered in and out of visibility, his daggers seeking the cracks in Lucifer's armor. But even he couldn't break through the oppressive aura.
Seraphina Moonwhisper stood behind them all, hands raised to the sky. Healing light rained down, wrapping her friends in faint hope and keeping them on their feet. "Rael... Please... wake up..."
One by one, they were swatted away like flies.
Lucifer stepped over Rael's unconscious body, chuckling. "Is this your 'Last Hope'?" he sneered. "Disappointing."
Eris, bloodied and barely able to stand, reached out, screaming, "Get away from him!"
But it was too late.
Lucifer raised his obsidian blade, aiming for Rael's chest.
Then the world stopped.
The wind ceased.
The sun dimmed.
A pulse—deep and ancient—shook the sky.
BOOM.
Lightning cracked from the heavens. The sky turned black, yet a single blinding radiance burst from Rael's body.
His eyes snapped open—twin glowing suns.
Third Awakening: Solari Overdrive.
Rael floated up, his feet barely touching the ground. His body was leaner, carved by celestial fire. His hair, once black, now flowed with a haunting rose-gold hue. The very air around him crackled. His aura—no longer just golden, but blinding—spanned miles.
All around him, demons weaker than him burst into ash from sheer proximity. Pop. Pop. Pop. Their bodies exploded without even a scream.
Lucifer staggered, taking a step back. "Impossible... That light... That power..."
Rael raised his hand. The sky bent with it.
"Time..." His voice echoed like divine thunder. "Stop."
Everything froze—birds mid-flight, fire mid-burn, even Lucifer mid-step. Only Rael moved, eyes glowing, chest rising and falling with purpose.
He stepped toward each of his fallen friends, lifting them gently, healing their wounds with radiant touch.
Time resumed.
The battlefield gasped. All eyes turned to him.
Eris fell to her knees, whispering, "Rael... you're back..."
Lyra smirked weakly. "Took you long enough, dummy..."
Evelyn covered her mouth, tears flooding. "It's him... it's really him..."
Raiden, wounded but smiling, nodded. "The leader of heroes has returned."
Silas gave a short laugh. "Didn't think a sun could rise on a battlefield like this."
Seraphina stepped forward, tears in her silver eyes. "Welcome back, Rael."
Rael hovered above them, eyes fixed on Lucifer.
"This time," he said calmly, his voice shaking the heavens, "I end this war."
The battlefield fell silent.
Even the demons—those not instantly vaporized—trembled under his presence, too afraid to breathe. The sun, hidden behind clouds of war, now blazed again from his very eyes.
Eris, Lyra, Evelyn, Raiden, and the others slowly rose to their feet, gazes locked on him—not with fear, but awe. They weren't just looking at their friend or leader anymore.
They were witnessing the rebirth of a legend.
But far beyond the battlefield, far beneath the Eldoria...
A ripple echoed through the world.
In the deepest heart of the Burning Chasm, where light dared not reach, a vast cavern pulsed with living flame. A throne of bones and obsidian loomed like a scar in the abyss.
There, seated with stillness darker than night, Ifrit, the god of fire, opened his molten eyes.
He had felt it.
The power.
The light.
The memory.
A flickering portal of flame hovered before him—its image clear: Rael, glowing like the sun itself, standing defiant on the battlefield.
"…So the ember lived," Ifrit whispered, his voice like lava cracking stone.
He leaned forward, flame-fingers tightening around the throne's armrests.
"The son of Solari... breathing the light I once extinguished."
For a moment, the fire god was silent, watching Rael.
Then, he chuckled—low, cruel, and ancient.
"Wake the Nameless God," he ordered the shadows behind him. "Tell him the final heir dares to rise."
And as the inferno danced in his pupils, he spoke once more—quietly, but with words that seemed to scorch the world:
"Let the second extinction begin."