The siege of Drelith had already turned into a nightmare.
From the upper walls, Sid could see the Hollow tide swallowing the streets — bodies of dark, twitching flesh climbing over each other in mindless hunger. The city's sky was choked with ash and dust, blurring the sun into a sickly orange smear.
Somewhere beyond the chaos, Velgrin was moving.
Sid didn't know exactly where, but Ravh'Zereth did. The demon's voice pressed in from the edges of his mind like a predator brushing past its prey. You feel it, don't you? That heat, that pull?
Sid tried to push the voice aside and focus. He was pinned behind a collapsed watchtower, black chains of his Oblivion Bind twitching faintly at his fingertips. Across the street, Thorne was carving a path through the Hollows with his Hollowbane Arsenal, the air popping from each experimental round.
Then it hit.
The world's air seemed to rip in half.
A column of fire erupted at the heart of the city — no, not fire. It was alive. It didn't just burn; it warped. The air bent around it like glass under heat, and within the flames shapes flickered — screaming faces, crumbling towers, something impossibly vast.
Velgrin's First Flame of Ascension.
The flames moved like they had intent, sweeping through streets and alleys. Hollows dissolved instantly on contact, their forms reduced to dust, but so did the humans too slow to escape. The fire didn't care. It devoured without judgment.
From a rooftop nearby, Kael stopped mid-swing, his lightning sparking against the wind. "What the hell is that?"
Nox's voice crackled in Sid's earpiece — tense, rapid: "That's not natural fire. Don't let it touch you, any of you!"
But the flame was coming too fast.
Thorne landed hard beside Sid, teeth clenched. His Hollowbane Arsenal clattered empty. "Kid, whatever trick you've got — now's the time."
The fire rolled toward them, a living wave. Sid didn't think. Black chains lashed out in every direction, his Oblivion Bind forming a dome around them both. The chains hissed and steamed as the flame struck, bending but holding — barely.
Thorne was pressed against Sid's shoulder, eyes darting at the chains. "Never thought I'd say this… but I'm trusting you."
Inside, Sid's demon core pulsed. The First Flame wasn't just heat — it was calling to him. His black fire flared without his command, responding like it had been waiting for this moment.
Ravh'Zereth's laughter thundered in his mind. Yes. Feed on it.
Sid's knees buckled as the power surged through him. For a second, the battlefield dissolved — replaced by visions of a burning throne and an army kneeling in ash. His hands shook, the chains around them tightening with unnatural force.
The flame outside passed, leaving a street of nothing but scorched stone and drifting cinders. But Sid was still on his knees, breathing hard, the demon's voice lingering like smoke in his skull.
He had held the line. But something deep inside him had shifted — and he didn't know if he'd ever be able to push it back again.