Kael awoke to silence.
Not the kind born of peace, but the hollow quiet that follows destruction. Dust hung in the air like mist, catching in his throat. The cavern was gone—at least the one he remembered. In its place was a crater of cracked obsidian and scorched stone, glowing faintly with molten veins.
He lay at the center, Void Fang stabbed into the earth beside him. The blade's hum was faint, like a heartbeat slowed almost to death. His body ached in ways words couldn't explain—like his blood had been replaced by fire, his bones ground under a mountain's weight.
But he was alive.
Barely.
He pushed himself upright. Every movement felt like dragging a corpse. He blinked sweat and soot from his eyes and looked around.
The god was gone.
Or rather, changed.
At the edge of the crater stood a figure cloaked in smoke, its form vaguely human, but shifting—too fluid, too unstable. Eyes like twin furnaces burned beneath the cowl of ash it wore.
Kael rose to his feet, swaying.
"You survived," the figure said. Its voice was quieter now—no longer thunder, but coals hissing in the dark.
Kael's grip tightened around Void Fang. "So did you."
The figure tilted its head. "You severed the chains. Burned the seal. Fed me flame and shadow. I should have devoured you… but the blade refused."
Kael didn't respond. He wasn't sure he could.
The figure stepped closer, not walking—drifting. Its form wavered between solid and spirit, ancient and newborn.
"You've become my tether," it said. "Not vessel. Not prisoner. Something... else."
Kael steadied himself. "What do you want?"
The being paused, considering.
"To burn. To rise. To walk this world again—but not as I was. My time has passed. This age is not for gods. It is for blades and shadows."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "So what are you saying?"
The being extended a hand. "A pact. You killed the mountain's guardian. You broke the chains. I offer you the fire that remains. Power ancient as the First Flame, tempered by shadow. Together, we will burn the heavens... one soul at a time."
Void Fang pulsed.
The blade liked this.
Kael didn't trust it—but something deeper than thought, older than doubt, stirred in his blood. He had felt it since the moment he took up the sword.
He reached out.
Their hands met.
The world ignited.
Fire and shadow coiled through Kael's veins, not just as energy—but memory. He saw glimpses of a world before this one—where dragons scorched cities from the skies, where mortals bowed to flames and shadows alike. He saw the god's rise... and fall. The betrayal by his kind. The prison of Hollowpeak.
And then, he saw himself.
Not as he was—but as he would become.
The new Godslayer.
The last Warden of Flame.
He gasped as the vision ended. His knees buckled, but he caught himself.
The figure was gone. Not vanished—but merged. With him.
Void Fang burned brighter than ever.
A whisper echoed in his mind, no longer alien. It was his voice. And another's.
"Rise. There is more to kill. More to claim."
Kael turned, stepping out of the crater. His wounds were closing. His shadow was longer now—deeper. Fire flickered at his fingertips.
Hollowpeak had changed him.
But the world wouldn