The black stone gates of Dreadspire Hollow loomed like the broken teeth of a god. Faint, violet mist slithered between their cracks. Beyond them lay the Warden—a forgotten tyrant, left to guard a realm that had been dead for centuries.
Vale approached, Legion at his back, their footsteps silent against the glassy obsidian ground. His shadow pulsed with their souls.
> [Entering Conquest Zone – Warden Core Detected]
[Warning: Elite-class Entity – Threat Level: Red]
Vale unsheathed the shadow-forged blade he'd pulled from the Soulforge the night before—Nightpiercer. It drank the light around it like a starved beast.
"Form up. Serah—vanguard. Whisper, veil us. Twins on flank. Korran—hunt."
They moved before he finished.
The gates screamed open.
And out walked Tharax, Warden of Dreadspire.
Twelve feet tall, armored in black stone and bone, with a molten brand where his face should be. His voice was a storm of broken voices:
"YOU BEAR THE SIGIL. YOU SEEK THE CORE. YOU SHALL BE UNMADE."
Vale smiled, letting the Eclipse Brand burn across his palm.
"No," he said. "I'm here to reclaim what you were never worthy to guard."
> [Eclipse Brand – Activated]
[All Legion damage x2 for marked enemy]
The battle ignited like a storm.
Shadow blades flashed. Phantom arrows screamed. Wraiths lunged and vanished midair. Tharax swung his massive cleaver and leveled half the ruined courtyard—but Vale's Legion flowed around him like smoke, cutting and carving with surgical coordination.
Vale's gauntlet flared.
> [Devour Essence: Eligible]
Target: Tharax
Consume on kill: Yes
He blinked behind the Warden with Umbral Step, drove Nightpiercer into the base of its spine—and whispered the word:
"Fall."
The Warden screamed as shadows ripped his soul apart.
> [Core Claimed: Dreadspire Hollow]
[Realm Level: 1 → 2]
[New Structure Unlocked: Abyssal Spire – Base of Operations]
[Devour Complete – Trait Acquired: Boneplate Shell (Passive Defense Boost)]
Vale looked down at the burning brand now etched on his palm—the mark of the conquered realm.
His army bowed.
Another piece of the world had been claimed.
And he was just getting started.