The battlefield boiled with chaos.
Screams echoed against the canyon walls. Blood-Splinter monstrosities, fueled by Ashren's cursed pact, lashed out in frenzy. Their bodies twisted with every blow, regenerating stronger, deadlier.
Kraevok fought like a storm, blades spinning, cutting down creature after creature. Seris danced between shadows, her daggers flashing, but even she gritted her teeth at how endless the swarm seemed.
Alan knew they couldn't hold the line forever.
Their enemy was no longer simply Ashren. It was corruption itself.
Ashren stood atop the bloodied altar, watching with maddened glee, arms stretched wide like a deranged prophet.
"Break, brother! Break and become like me!" he howled.
Alan's heart pounded, not from fear—but from a dangerous realization.
A choice.
He could keep fighting like a mortal.
Or…
Unleash the true Sovereign's power buried inside him.
*****
The Thirteenth Seal pulsed on his chest, unseen but burning hotter than ever.
Alan closed his eyes.
He reached inward.
Deeper than magic.
Deeper than memory.
He touched the source—the forgotten legacy of the Thirteenth Sovereign.
"You are not a king," a voice whispered in his mind, the same voice that once spoke to Kael.
"You are the end of kings."
*****
Alan's eyes snapped open.
The world around him seemed to slow.
He could see every heartbeat, every breath of the twisted creatures, every crackle of Ashren's black flames.
And above all—he could see the chain.
The invisible chain binding Ashren to the Blood-Splinter beasts.
That was the key.
Not killing them.
Breaking the bond.
Alan gripped his katana tighter.
The blade responded, igniting in swirling silver and violet arcs, ancient runes flickering along its edge.
It wasn't just a weapon anymore.
It was a seal-breaker.
*****
Alan moved.
Faster than thought.
He surged toward the altar, slicing through the illusions and fire meant to slow him. His blade cleaved through reality itself, cutting the magic link between Ashren and his monsters.
Each strike sent shockwaves across the canyon.
The Blood-Splinters shrieked, staggering, their bodies spasming violently.
Ashren screamed, clutching his chest.
"NO! THEY ARE MINE!"
Alan didn't slow.
With a final, devastating blow, he drove his katana through the heart of the altar.
The runes exploded in a brilliant storm of light.
The Blood-Splinter creatures collapsed, their bodies turning to ash and bone.
The pact was broken.
*****
Ashren fell to his knees, coughing black blood.
Alan stood over him, katana humming.
But he didn't strike the final blow.
Not yet.
Ashren looked up, tears of rage burning his cheeks.
"You think you've won? Others are coming. Stronger. Worse. You should have joined me."
Alan's voice was low, steady.
"I don't join monsters. I slay them."
With a flick of his blade, he struck—not to kill, but to seal Ashren's power, binding it deep within him.
Ashren collapsed, unconscious.
Broken.
Defeated.
For now.
*****
The canyon fell silent.
Seris and Kraevok approached, both bloodied but alive.
Seris whistled low. "Remind me never to make you angry."
Kraevok chuckled. "Too late for that."
Alan didn't smile.
He looked at the distant horizon.
Because he knew Ashren's words were true.
This was only the beginning.
The real threats—the ones Kael had feared most—were still rising.
And they wouldn't just bring armies.
They would bring world-ending power.