The camp was quiet, too quiet for an army on the brink of war. No songs, no laughter, no boasting fireside tales. Only the scrape of whetstones on blades, the creak of worn leather as soldiers shifted uneasily, and the low murmurs of men and women who had seen too much death in too few days. The night itself seemed to hold its breath, the stars veiled behind a blanket of crimson clouds that smothered the moon.Kael walked the rows in silence. His boots pressed into the mud, each step heavy as if the earth itself resisted him. The air was thick with the stench of smoke, sweat, and despair, yet everywhere eyes turned to him eyes filled not with hope, but with a fragile, fearful expectation. He was their commander, their last chance, their reluctant savior. But behind their gaze lingered unease, the kind born of men who had seen him fight with powers no mortal should wield.He stopped near the smoldering remnants of a fire where three young recruits huddled, barely older than boys. One c

The battlefield vanished from Kael’s mind the moment Darius charged. All the chaos, all the blood and screams faded into a blur. There was only the man before him the brother who had betrayed him, the monster who had taken everything, the shadow of what he himself might yet become.Their swords met in a crash that shook the earth. The ground split beneath their feet, shockwaves blasting soldiers backward, tearing banners from poles, extinguishing fires in an instant. Steel screeched against steel, void fire flaring between them in a violent storm. Men nearby were thrown aside, their bodies broken by the sheer force of the impact.Kael’s arms trembled as he held against the crushing weight of Darius’s blow. His brother was stronger, impossibly strong, each strike heavier than mountains. Kael twisted away, void flames sparking as he slashed, his blade carving arcs of shadow through the air. Darius parried effortlessly, his movements precise, almost elegant.“You’ve grown,” Darius said,

The smoke cleared slowly, drifting like torn veils across the battlefield. Silence pressed down, heavy and suffocating, broken only by the groans of wounded soldiers who dared not lift their eyes. All eyes were fixed on the center, where two figures remained one standing, one kneeling.Kael’s body shook violently, blood dripping from a dozen wounds, his blade trembling in his hand. He was the one still on his feet. Barely. His knees threatened to buckle with every heartbeat, but he forced himself upright, his chest rising and falling in shallow, ragged breaths.Darius was on one knee, his sword plunged into the earth to keep himself from collapsing completely. Black blood pooled beneath him, steam rising from his wounds where Kael’s unstable fire had scorched him deeper than the Void had ever allowed. His breath came in sharp, furious hisses, and his eyes once calm pools of arrogance now burned with hatred and disbelief.“You…” Darius rasped, his voice hoarse, almost broken. “You shou