The battlefield was no longer a city.
It was a crater of fire.
Ash fell like snow, glowing red at the edges as if the sky itself bled. The streets of Eldhame had collapsed into molten cracks, buildings reduced to hollow frames that burned without fuel. At the center stood the Hollow Titan—the First Flame's bearer. Its skin was cracked obsidian, its chest a furnace where corrupted godlight and daemonflame churned together in a storm of impossible fire. Every breath it exhaled was a wave that melted stone.
Sid staggered to his feet, chest heaving. His arm, fractured by the Seal, pulsed with golden-white and black fire, the marks spreading like roots across his veins. The Titan's glare fixed on him alone.
"Why… why is it only looking at you?" Reinhardt muttered, bracing his axe against the ground. His body shook from Hollow backlash, claws half-formed. "There are dozens here it could crush, yet it watches you like prey."
Nox's feathers hissed with faint embers as the demon perched on Sid's shoulder. Its voice was brittle.
"Because the First Flame recognizes its heir. It knows what burns inside him."
Sid swallowed hard, forcing a laugh through his ragged breath. "Heir? You mean target."
The Titan roared, raising its arm. A sphere of blinding flame grew in its palm, larger than any building that had stood moments ago. Lucien's eyes widened as he raised his blade, Velari runes sparking.
"Sid, move!" Lucien shouted, but Sid was already sprinting forward.
The ground shook as the Titan hurled the flame. It hit like a miniature sun, vaporizing stone, metal, even the echoes of what once lived here. Sid dove, the explosion searing his back. For a heartbeat he thought his body was ash—until his flame ignited on instinct, wrapping him in a shield of black chains and gold sparks.
He landed hard, coughing. The air was thick with sulfur and smoke, but he pushed himself up, eyes blazing.
"Fine," Sid spat, his hand trembling as it gathered both flames. "You want me? Then come and take me."
The Titan thundered forward.
Reinhardt lunged from the side, roaring, his axe glowing red with Hollow backlash. He slammed it into the Titan's leg, cracking obsidian. But the Titan barely flinched—it kicked Reinhardt with enough force to send him crashing through three burning husks of houses.
"Reinhardt!" Sid shouted, but Lucien moved before he could.
"Time bends to my will!" Lucien raised his sword, runes flashing. Chrono Collapse! A shimmer of warped seconds formed, freezing the Titan mid-swing.
The massive arm hung in the air, trembling against Lucien's hold. Sparks of lightning crawled along Lucien's blade, his teeth gritted. "Sid—strike now! I can't hold it long!"
Sid nodded, rushing in. His fractured arm burned as if it would shatter, but he didn't care. Blackbind Flame surged, chains wrapping around his fist. He slammed it against the Titan's furnace chest.
The explosion of impact sent shockwaves across the ruins. The Titan stumbled, cracks spreading across its chest furnace. For a heartbeat, Sid thought it might fall.
But then—
The Titan laughed.
A sound like boulders grinding in a volcano. Its cracks glowed brighter, flames spewing through them. It broke free of Lucien's time hold, swinging its arm and slamming Sid into the ground hard enough to make the earth crater.
Blood filled Sid's mouth. He tried to rise, but his fractured arm gave way, spasming with both godlight and daemonflame.
"See?" Ravh'Zereth's voice whispered inside him. "Even your strongest strikes are mine. That pain in your arm—it is me clawing out."
Sid screamed, clutching his head. "Shut up!"
The Titan loomed, its furnace chest pulsing brighter. It opened its mouth and unleashed a torrent of corrupted godflame, sweeping the battlefield. Lucien barely pulled Reinhardt out of range, both of them singed.
Nox flared his wings, shadows extending to shield Sid, but the torrent still burned through. Sid's skin blistered, his veins screaming with fire.
Varas appeared in a blur, his jagged fang-sword biting into the Titan's knee. The exiled demon snarled. "On your feet, boy! You wanted both flames—prove you can wield them!"
Sid's vision blurred, but his heart hammered with defiance. His own flames answered.
Golden-white light spiraled with black fire, chains weaving through radiance. His body convulsed, unable to contain the union—but he forced it, even as blood streamed from his nose and eyes.
"I am not your vessel," he growled, raising his burning arm at the Titan. "I am Sid!"
He launched the attack.
Chains of black latched onto the Titan's furnace, locking it in place. Golden flames surged along them, searing its core. The Titan roared in agony, collapsing to one knee.
But Sid was screaming too. His body tore under the strain, his skin splitting where flames leaked.
Lucien's voice cut through the roar. "Sid, stop! Your body can't handle this!"
"Don't tell me to stop!" Sid shouted back, his voice raw, desperate. "If I stop, everyone dies!"
The Titan's chest cracked wider, fire spilling like rivers of molten light. With one last push, Sid drove his chained flame into its core.
The Titan exploded.
A shockwave of black and gold fire tore across the battlefield, leveling what remained of the city.
Silence.
Sid collapsed to his knees, coughing blood, smoke rising from his body. His fractured arm hung limp, glowing with both divine and demonic radiance. The others stared in shock—Lucien pale, Reinhardt shaking, Varas grim, and Nox silent with wide eyes.
But then, from the smoke, came Velgrin's voice. Smooth. Mocking.
"Well done, little flame. You've slain the First Flame bearer… but do you truly think this was the only one?"
Figures began emerging from the fire. Shadows. More bearers, their furnaces flickering to life.
Sid's eyes widened in horror. His body was already at the edge, yet the battle was only beginning.
And Velgrin's voice whispered again:
"The more you burn, the closer you come to me."