The world around Quinn bled into chaos. Shattered stone rained from the sky as the dark citadel groaned under the clash of shadow and steel. The enemy's vanguard had broken through the eastern wall, flooding the battleground with armored specters, their crimson eyes blazing like coals in the dark.
Quinn's grip tightened around the Bloodfang Blade, its edge dripping with the heat of his qi. Shadows coiled around him, merging with the crimson aura pulsing from his veins. He could feel the blood within every foe nearby — each heartbeat a note in the symphony of slaughter.
"Quinn!" Valen's voice cut through the din. The Shadowborn general landed beside him, twin sabers spinning in a blur. "They've breached the second gate. If we don't hold here, the heart of the citadel will fall."
Quinn didn't answer with words. Instead, he surged forward, shadows flaring like a cloak of living darkness. Three specters lunged at him; his blade flickered once, and their heads rolled across the blood-slick ground. He twisted, kicking the last body into another attacker before carving a crimson arc through the air. The Bloodfang drank deeply.
A heavy tremor shook the earth. From the ruined gate emerged something far worse — a colossal war beast draped in black armor, its body covered in jagged obsidian plates. Its maw glowed faintly with molten fire, and with each step, the ground cracked.
"Blood Titan…" Valen muttered.
The monster roared, a sound like grinding mountains, and charged.
Quinn's shadow qi flared in response, black tendrils shooting from his feet to anchor him. "I'll take it," he growled.
The titan's massive claw descended, and Quinn blurred out of its path in a burst of Shadow Step, reappearing atop its forearm. The heat from its molten veins burned his skin, but he plunged the Bloodfang deep into the joint. The beast bellowed and swung wildly, throwing him off.
He hit the ground hard but rolled to his feet just as Valen's sabers carved a blinding arc at the creature's legs. Sparks erupted, but the armor held.
Quinn's mind raced. Direct strikes wouldn't work — he needed to kill it from the inside. Gathering his qi, he activated Blood Surge, forcing his heartbeat into a thunderous rhythm. His veins glowed faintly, and the blade in his hand pulsed in harmony.
He dashed forward, cutting through smaller specters like they were nothing. Then, leaping high, he landed on the titan's back. Shadows wrapped around his legs, anchoring him as he drove the Bloodfang deep between its armor plates. This time, instead of pulling it free, he unleashed his Blood Requiem — crimson energy flooding the beast's body, ripping through its molten core.
The titan convulsed, its roar breaking into a gargled scream before its chest exploded in a shower of molten shards. It collapsed with a quake that rattled the ground for several heartbeats.
The battlefield went momentarily silent.
Quinn pulled the blade free, panting, his qi still swirling violently. Valen approached, eyes wide. "You're going to burn yourself out if you keep fighting like that."
Quinn glanced at the advancing horde beyond the shattered gate. "Better me than the citadel."
Before Valen could argue, the air shifted — a sudden drop in temperature, shadows deepening unnaturally. A cloaked figure emerged from the enemy ranks, their presence radiating oppressive power. The specters parted for them like water.
Quinn's eyes narrowed. "So… the real fight begins."
The figure stopped a few paces away, their voice a cold whisper that seemed to echo inside Quinn's skull. "Blood and shadow… you've walked too far down a path you don't understand."
Quinn raised the Bloodfang, the crimson edge gleaming in the dim light. "Then enlighten me… before I cut you down."
The figure smiled — and the shadows surged forward like a tidal wave.