The sky no longer belonged to gods.
From the Kingdom of Alexandria's eastern front to the mountainous borderlands of the crumbling Republic, the skies were war-torn. Warplanes soared like vultures, blotting out the sun, raining bombs on forests and cities alike. Anti-air flak stained the heavens with smoke. It was a storm of man's own creation, and the eye of it was drawing ever closer to the mountain fortress of Erelion's Spine — the final stronghold of the Republic.
Herzl stood among the command officers aboard the sky carrier "Glory's End", staring at the map table. The Republic had retreated into the mountains. It was a final stand.
"The terrain works against us," General Eryas growled. "We'll lose entire battalions just climbing. If we bomb from the air, we risk triggering avalanches that could kill our men."
"We don't have time for hesitation," Grim cut in sharply, fingers laced behind his back. "Kael's fortress is there. End him, and the war ends."
Herzl stared at the map, his mind far away.
He remembered a quiet village he had once passed through — now reduced to ash. A grandmother offering him bread, a boy saluting him in the street. Were they alive? Did they survive their so-called liberation?
Herzl clenched his fist.
"This ends tonight," he said. "But we'll do it without slaughtering what's left of the world."
General Eryas scoffed, but said nothing.
The assault began at twilight.
The Battle of Erelion's Spine
Bombers screamed overhead, letting loose payloads of Inn-enhanced ordnance — explosives infused with elemental force, each one strong enough to reduce stone walls to sand. The Republic retaliated with lightning cannons and gravity mines, cutting Alexandria's forward advance in half.
The mountain shook.
Screams echoed through the valley.
Fire lit the peaks.
And in the chaos, Herzl and Grim — along with a handpicked team — infiltrated the fortress.
Steel corridors, reinforced with old-world magic, bent under the weight of battle. The team moved like shadows — until they reached the core.
There, in a cathedral carved into the mountain itself, Kael Dravien waited.