The battlefield had grown silent after the last onslaught, but Kael knew the calm was temporary. The crimson haze of Ashrend's flames lingered in the air, and the remnants of shattered stones and scorched earth told of the carnage.
Lyra crouched atop a ruined wall, scanning the horizon with sharp eyes. "They're regrouping. More are coming," she warned, tightening her grip on her bow. Her arrows glimmered faintly with residual Sovereign energy, a reminder of the bond they shared in battle.
Darric knelt beside Kael, catching his breath. "You can't keep doing this alone. Let us stand with you." His voice was steady, but Kael could see the strain—the battlefield had tested them all to their limits.
Kael's gaze hardened, the Crimson Mark on his chest pulsing with a rhythm that mirrored his heartbeat. "I know," he said, voice low and commanding. "But if I don't push further… none of us will survive what's coming."
Ashrend thrummed with energy in his hands, responding to his every thought. The aura around him flared crimson, then shifted, darker, edged with violet—the first sign of a power he hadn't fully grasped yet.
The enemy general, a towering Void Knight unlike any before, emerged from the shadows, its armor black as night and searing with corrupt energy. Its gaze locked on Kael, recognizing the Mark, the same one that had decimated its predecessors.
Kael's companions moved as one, flanking him with precision. Lyra's arrows sang through the air, striking at gaps in the knight's armor. Darric clashed with the knight's massive blade, sparks erupting as steel met steel. Isryn's chants wove around the battlefield, protective wards shimmering with each syllable.
Kael leapt forward, Ashrend igniting, leaving a trail of fire and lightning in his wake. He felt the surge of power—a violent, unrestrained force building inside him. The Crimson Mark burned hotter, searing pain mingling with raw strength.
"Sovereign Wrath!" he shouted, voice cracking through the battlefield.
The air itself seemed to fracture, lightning dancing across his aura, fusing with the fire of Ashrend. He struck downward with precision and fury, cutting through the knight's defenses with a single, devastating arc. Shadows exploded from the wound, howling into the night.
Lyra's eyes widened. "Kael… that energy… it's unlike anything we've seen!"
Darric grinned, rallying with renewed vigor. "Now that's the Kael we follow into hell!"
The Void Knight staggered, and Kael's mind sharpened. He could see openings, patterns, weaknesses—this battlefield was no longer chaos; it was his instrument. He moved fluidly, striking with named attacks that left trails of crimson and lightning: Crimson Cleaver, Veilrend Slash, Infernal Arc—each more devastating than the last.
Yet as he fought, he felt the cost. The more power he unleashed, the heavier the mark became, the closer he drew to the abyss that threatened to consume him.
The companions fought beside him tirelessly, their synergy perfect, their trust unshakable. Lyra's arrows and Isryn's wards protected him while Darric's strikes forced the knight into vulnerable positions.
Finally, with a final, overwhelming strike—Sovereign Severance—Kael's aura erupted, a wave of combined fire and lightning slicing clean through the Void Knight. The armor shattered, the corruption screamed, and the creature collapsed, leaving silence in its wake.
Kael fell to one knee, panting, Ashrend cooling in his hands. His companions rushed to him, each placing a hand on his shoulders, grounding him.
Lyra whispered, voice trembling with awe, "Kael… you're… changing. More than any of us imagined."
Darric laughed softly, exhaustion in his voice. "Then let's make sure the world knows exactly who's standing with him."
Kael gazed at his companions, then at the horizon. Beyond lay the true war—the Sovereign courts, the engineered claimants, the endless Veil that waited. But now, they were ready. Together. And Kael's next evolution, Sovereign Wrath, had awakened.