Chapter Forty-Four– Echoes of War
The gates of David's fortress opened with a creak that echoed through the canyon walls like a sigh of dread. Kael, Lira, and Cristi stood at the threshold, changed from the ones who had departed only weeks ago. Kael's eyes were sharper now, darker. Cristi walked with a quieter step, the Death Flame buried just beneath his skin. Lira, though still bright, held herself differently — like a shield at the ready.
David stood at the center of the great hall, waiting.
"You've returned," he said, rising from his seat, flanked by Alex and Mario.
Cristi bowed his head. "I almost didn't. But Kael… he reached me before I lost myself."
David studied him — not the young man who had left, but the bearer of a power that should have never awakened. He gave a slow nod. "You're lucky. That fire doesn't give many second chances."
But before more could be said, a younger knight burst into the hall, breathless.
"My Lord David — urgent news!"
David turned. "Speak."
"The last continent… Zephyron. They've declared war. Full-scale invasion. They've united under one banner. Their Grand Magus has summoned the Celestial Armada. They struck Ashren's eastern port cities this morning. Naval strikes have already begun on Alex's coastal provinces."
Silence fell.
The words hung like a funeral bell in a cathedral. The last continent. The only one that had remained neutral since the war between Andreas and Andrew. And now…
"We are in a world war," David muttered. "The final one."
Mario clenched his fist. "Zephyron held back for years. They watched us burn, and now… now they pounce like vultures."
Alex turned away, pacing. "Their armada is unmatched. If they gain a foothold in my territory, we're finished."
Cristi stepped forward. "How big is their fleet?"
The young knight swallowed. "Hundreds of ships. They've surrounded the eastern shore. Alex's city of Verthas is the target."
Kael turned to Alex. "I want to be there. I'll fight."
Lira grabbed his arm. "We just got back."
He looked into her eyes — not as the boy who once ran from truth, but as someone now forged by fire and battle. "This war won't wait for us. And neither will Andrew."
David nodded gravely. "Go. Take Cristi. If the fire of death awakens again… it may be our only chance at surviving their elite warriors."
Cristi frowned. "You're using me as a weapon?"
"No," David said. "I'm trusting you as a shield."
Later That Day – Zephyron's Armada Approaches
The skies over the coastline of Alex's country turned black with storm clouds — unnatural ones conjured by Zephyron's sky-mages. The Celestial Armada moved through the waves like a tide of steel and thunder. Warships, each powered by elemental cores, bristled with siege cannons and sails of lightning-infused silk.
On the cliffs above Verthas, Kael stood beside Alex, Cristi, and Lira, overlooking the sea of enemies.
Kael narrowed his eyes. "They're not wasting time."
Alex had donned his royal armor — red and silver, with the crest of his lost family carved into the pauldrons. "Zephyron never does. When they strike, it's to end everything."
Lira looked out toward the horizon, her hand drifting to the hilt of her blade. "Andrei might be a tyrant, but even he couldn't provoke this madness alone. Someone pushed Zephyron."
Kael agreed, jaw tight. "It was Andrew."
Cristi flinched. "But why? He just watched… he didn't act."
Kael's voice dropped. "That's what makes it worse. He wanted this chaos. To see who's left standing after the world eats itself."
Far behind them, in the forgotten fortress of shadows, Andrew finally stirred. His cloak whispered across the marble floor like a wind before the storm.
"So," he said to Mihai, standing at the edge of the window, "they've begun."
"They declared war on the world, Andrew," Mihai replied. "But the world declared war on you."
Andrew gave a half-smile. "They always do."
Outside, lightning cracked. In the distance, the sky pulsed with unnatural color as spells rained from Zephyron's warships onto Verthas's defenses.
Back on the Front
Kael raced down the hillside with Cristi beside him, swords drawn. Zephyron soldiers had made landfall, cloaked in armor of light and wielding spells that bent the very air.
The clash was immediate.
Cristi let out a roar as the Death Flame flared in his palm. He fought like a burning wind — silent, unstoppable. Kael danced through the battlefield, parrying spear thrusts and cutting down spellcasters, protecting Lira as she called upon enchantments of wind to drive back the invaders.
Above them, Alex soared through the air, riding a magic-enhanced leap, hurling explosive runes into the ranks of Zephyron's elites.
But for every one they struck down… five more followed.
The World Burns
The war was no longer between Dream Land's remnants and Andrei's tyranny. It was no longer just the consequence of old wounds left unhealed.
Now it was a firestorm engulfing all.
And in the shadows behind it all — Andrew stood watching.
His next move still hidden.