The silence in the abyss was not peace.
It was command.
Deep within the shifting caverns of the Infernal Nexus, the air rippled like molten glass. The ancient thrones of the demon lords — once symbols of ruinous majesty — now stood fractured, their obsidian spires melted by a heat that did not belong to this world.
Velgrin stood at the center. The Fourth Flame flickered behind him — not burning upward, but inward, folding space itself around its core. Its light was silent, devouring color until only crimson shadows remained.
The other lords gathered in a half-circle, their presences warping reality — titanic silhouettes carved from despair and storm.
Azareth, cloaked in living chains of twilight, broke the quiet first.
"Velgrin… you summon us after centuries of silence, only to desecrate the Nexus which was kept closed until the revival of the Ravh'zereth with that thing. What have you done?"
Velgrin lifted his hand. The Fourth Flame pulsed once, and every shadow bent toward him. His voice, when it came, was cold and deliberate — the tone of one who had forgotten what hesitation meant.
"I have done what none of you dared. I have bound the remnants of gods and demons alike. They serve now as one."
A murmur rippled through the lords. The air thickened with outrage — and fear.
Another voice, sharp and mocking, came from the throne of ash.
"You speak of balance, yet you desecrate both realms. Do you think the divine will let you live after this?"
Velgrin turned slightly, eyes glinting with a cruel luminescence.
"The divine no longer lives in the way you think. Their fragments linger. Their light still burns. And I —" he raised a hand, fire spiraling around his arm, "— have learned to shape it."
He clenched his fist. The chamber shook.
In that moment, images flared in every mind — twisted silhouettes of angels kneeling in silent fire, demons screaming as golden flame merged with their essence. Creation and damnation fused into one raw element.
Azareth stepped forward, tendrils of shadow coiling around her arms.
"You've broken the Covenant. The Fourth Flame was never meant to exist. The Balance will collapse!"
Velgrin's expression didn't shift.
"The Balance has already collapsed. The gods fell, the demons fractured. Only I still move with purpose. You cling to ruins while I forge an empire of light and void."
He gestured toward the Fourth Flame. For an instant, it burned like a star — and through its core, countless souls screamed.
"You see?" Velgrin said softly. "The vessel you fear — the boy chained by Ravh'Zereth — is already bound to this cycle. Whether he ascends or falls is irrelevant. The flame within him is part of mine."
Azareth's eyes widened. "You used him? You dared—"
Velgrin's voice rose, thundering through the chamber.
"The vessel will either ascend or burn. Either way, I win."
The Fourth Flame roared, swallowing sound and form. For a heartbeat, the demon lords saw what Velgrin had truly become — not a ruler, but a convergence, an entity wearing the guise of a man.
Then the light vanished.
When the shadows cleared, only Velgrin remained — and every other throne stood empty.
He turned toward the unseen horizon of the Infernal Nexus, his tone low and satisfied.
"Let the vessel struggle. The more he resists, the closer he comes to me."
The Fourth Flame pulsed once more — and the darkness bent to his will.