The first Shadowborn stepped out of the smoke.
Then five more.
Then ten.
They didn't walk.
They slid, like they were made of mist and knives.
No eyes—just glowing green slits. No mouths. No sound.
Elira dropped into a stance instantly. "Don't let them circle."
Coker backed up to Naia's side, mark glowing red.
"What are these things?" he asked.
"Demon King's pets," Elira said, spinning her blade. "They feed on soul energy. If one touches you, you'll feel it for days."
Naia's blue lightning crackled between her fingers.
"I won't let them touch anything."
The Shadowborn didn't wait.
They attacked.
ZSHHH!
The first one darted forward, faster than thought.
Naia spun, arm glowing with wind—
BOOM!
She sent it flying into a broken wall. It hissed and melted on impact, dissolving into green mist.
But five more replaced it instantly.
Coker dodged low, hands glowing with unstable energy.
One leapt for him from behind.
He turned too late—
"Coker—down!"
Elira flipped over him and sliced clean through the demon mid-air. She landed beside him, panting.
"They don't stop. You can't outlast them. You either burn them out—"
"Or die trying," Coker finished.
He stood, both fists glowing bright now.
"Then let's burn."
He charged, swinging wild and raw. His punches didn't just land—they exploded. Every hit sent shockwaves through the battlefield, crushing stone and demon alike.
He wasn't skilled.
But he was furious.
And whatever slept inside him… wanted out.
Naia floated now, lifted by the wind around her.
Her body glowed faint blue, and lightning arced from her arms to the air.
She moved like a storm—not fast, but inevitable.
Wherever she looked, the wind answered.
CRACK.
ZAP.
BOOM.
Dozens of Shadowborn fell in seconds.
But then—something strange happened.
As Coker and Naia moved closer, their auras clashed.
His flame. Her storm.
The air twisted. Time shuddered.
Even Elira stumbled back.
"What the hell—?"
FLASH.
Their marks reacted.
Coker's red glow twisted upward. Naia's blue lightning reached down.
And where they touched—just for a second—the world tore.
A black crack opened in mid-air.
Naia screamed.
Coker froze, eyes wide.
Inside the crack…
He saw a city on fire.
A god in chains.
A figure wearing his face, laughing in the dark.
"That's not me," he whispered.
"Not yet," something answered.
Then the crack sealed shut.
Naia fell to her knees, gasping.
Coker rushed over.
"You okay?"
She looked at him, eyes wild with panic.
"That wasn't just power. That was a memory."
Coker felt it too.
Like the world itself had blinked.
Like they'd almost merged.
Elira ran up to them, sword drawn, bleeding from her arm.
"They're pulling back. They're afraid of something."
Coker looked around.
The Shadowborn were gone—vanished into smoke.
But the damage remained.
The trees were burned. The rocks cracked. The sky still glowed with leftover energy.
Naia clutched her head.
"I saw… him. I saw Kael."
"Elira said he died," Coker said. "Long ago."
Naia looked up at him.
"Then why does he look like you?"
Far away, deep beneath the earth, the Demon King's altar cracked.
A low laugh echoed through his throne room.
"They touched."
"The gate begins to open."