The horizon burned.
Columns of black fire rose where cities once stood, torn apart by cracks of divine light. The sky itself had split into two colors — on one side, a pale brilliance where golden sigils blazed like living suns; on the other, a writhing abyss of crimson and shadow where demonic banners unfurled across the heavens. Between them, the mortal world fractured, caught in the middle of gods and demons waging their endless war.
From the battlements of Axis, Sid's squad stared into the abyss.
A thunderclap shook the earth as the first blow landed. A celestial avatar, clad in radiant armor of silver flame, descended from the clouds, its sword large enough to sever mountains. Waiting at the rift's edge, a hulking demon lord raised a spear tipped with obsidian lightning. When their weapons collided, the shockwave flattened forests and sent oceans surging inland. Entire towns disappeared under the wave.
"By the gods…" Reinhardt's voice was barely a whisper. His normally steady hands shook around his greatsword. "We're ants in their battlefield."
"We're worse than ants," Kael muttered, his silver spear trembling as sparks of unstable aether hissed around it. "Ants don't get stepped on by accident. This is… deliberate. They don't even care if we exist."
The ground quaked again as a winged host of angelic constructs swooped down, raining lances of searing light. In response, a tide of demons poured forth from Hal'Zirath's Gate chittering horrors, armored juggernauts, serpentine beasts with too many heads. The sky became a storm of blood and fire, each clash reshaping the battlefield.
Sid clenched his fists, the daemon core in his chest thrumming with a terrible rhythm. He could feel Ravh'Zereth's fury, begging to be unleashed. But Aureon's spark also stirred, like an anchor of calm within him. Two voices pulling him apart while the world around him tore itself to pieces.
"Sid!" Lucien snapped, raising the Timeglass Aegis just in time to shield them from a falling shard of golden fire. The impact exploded like a supernova, tearing craters across the landscape. "Focus. If you lose yourself here, we all die."
Sid gritted his teeth. "I know. I'm trying."
But the truth was, even trying felt meaningless. They were insects in a storm meant for titans.
And then the storm noticed them.
From the chaos, a demon lieutenant stalked forward — massive, plated in armor that pulsed like living muscle. Its face was a skull of black iron, and its weapon was a hooked glaive dripping with venomous shadow. It ignored the avatars clashing overhead. Its burning gaze locked directly on Sid.
"You," it hissed, voice like grinding stone. "The child of spark and abyss. The Lords will not permit your existence."
It charged.
The ground shook as Reinhardt leapt to intercept, his blade wreathed in crimson fire. He swung with all his strength, sparks exploding on impact — but the lieutenant caught the strike with one claw, shoving him back like he was weightless.
"Damn it—!" Reinhardt staggered, teeth gritted.
Kael was already moving, his spear darting forward in a blur of silver light. He drove it straight into the demon's chest, forcing it back half a step. The lieutenant roared, its glaive sweeping in a wide arc, and Kael was hurled across the battlefield, slamming into shattered stone.
"Kael!" Sid shouted.
"I'm fine!" Kael spat blood, forcing himself up. His body shook, but his eyes still burned with defiance. "Sid... don't hold back. Use it. Either side. Just use it!"
The demon core pulsed harder. Aureon's spark flared in reply. The war raged around them, gods and demons tearing the sky apart — but here, in the ruins, Sid knew their fight was only beginning.
And if he chose wrong… the entire battlefield might burn with him.