The ruins of Noctera lay scattered beneath a bruised sky, smoke curling into the cold air. Streets once bustling now echoed with silence, shattered only by distant screams and the crackling of burning wood.
Dorell stood atop a crumbled wall, blood pulsing in his veins, eyes alight with cruel anticipation. His grin was feral, lips curling as he prepared his ultimate move.
"You're faster than I thought, Kev," he sneered. "But this ends now."
His palm throbbed with power.
"UNIQUE SKILL: BLOOD ECHO."
From his fingertips, torrents of shimmering blood erupted—coalescing into weapons of liquid red light: spears, whips, and blades that lashed out with deadly precision.
They swept toward Kev like a crimson tide.
Kev's eyes — one burning red, the other glowing violet — flickered coldly. Not a shred of mercy or hesitation marred his expression.
The city around him was nothing but a chessboard, and the people? Pawns—disposable.
With ruthless calculation, he activated Shadow Movement.
His form blurred, evading the attacks with unnatural speed. Each strike he dodged crushed the stones beneath his feet, shattering the city further.
Blood spilled. Screams pierced the air.
Kev's shadow eye scanned the battlefield, sensing fear, pain, and hope — but he felt none of it.
A shard of bloodlight pierced a fleeing merchant's chest.
Kev's lips twisted into a cold smirk.
Let them die.
He clenched his fist, and the shadows around him erupted into tendrils.
"SHADOW MAW."
The void beneath him opened wide, swallowing the blood weapons and anyone foolish enough to approach.
Bodies were crushed beneath the onyx maw; screams were swallowed in silence.
Dorell's eyes widened with shock as he stumbled, struck by Kev's sudden counter.
Kev reappeared behind Dorell in an instant, a blade of pure shadow slicing through the air.
Dorell gasped, clutching his wound.
"You're ruthless," he hissed, eyes flashing.
Kev's voice was icy and unyielding.
I don't care about Noctera or its people. They're obstacles, nothing more."
Dorell smirked, wiping blood from his lip. "Good. Then you and I have much in common."
The fight resumed — shadow and blood clashing violently as the city crumbled.
Kev moved like a predator, relentless and cold.
No mercy.
No hesitation.
Only destruction.
Smoke choked the sky, painting the heavens in sickly shades of gray and crimson. The once vibrant city of Noctera lay in ruin beneath the relentless storm of power unleashed by Kev and Dorell. Streets cracked open like broken bones, homes collapsed into heaps of rubble, and cries of despair were swallowed by the howling winds.
Kev stood at the center of the chaos, his crimson and violet eyes glowing with ruthless focus. The shadow tendrils wrapped around him like living armor, pulsing with dark energy as his breathing remained steady and controlled. Across the ruined square, Dorell's face was a mask of fury and exhaustion, blood dripping from a dozen wounds but his spirit unbroken.
"You still fight," Kev said coldly, voice slicing through the chaos like a blade. "You should have given up long ago."
Dorell spat blood but grinned fiercely. "Giving up isn't in my nature. Neither is letting a monster like you destroy my home without a fight."
With a guttural roar, Dorell summoned the last of his strength, activating Blood Echo once more. Crimson spears of energy rained down, piercing the shattered buildings and searing the earth. But Kev was already gone — a blur of shadows melting into the ruins, avoiding the deadly assault with uncanny speed.
The shadow eyes analyzed every movement of his opponent, calculating weaknesses in real-time, and guiding Kev's strikes with brutal precision. His Shadow Maw ripped through the spears of blood like a tempest, turning Dorell's final assault into a pale echo of its terrifying potential.
Kev's own attack was merciless. Shadow claws erupted from the ground, ripping through the debris and closing in on Dorell with unrelenting force. The air itself seemed to warp around Kev, the boundary between reality and shadow dissolving with every step he took.
Dorell staggered as a tendril sliced across his side, tearing flesh and armor alike. Pain blossomed, but his eyes burned with desperate defiance. He lunged forward, his hands glowing with concentrated blood energy as he prepared to strike at Kev's exposed flank.
But Kev was ready.
With a swift motion, Kev's violet eye flashed with the power to read hidden clues and emotions — fear, desperation, even the faintest hesitation. In that split second, Kev shifted his weight, vanishing into the shadows before Dorell's strike could land.
Suddenly, Kev reappeared behind his opponent, the Shadow Maw extending like a monstrous jaw to engulf Dorell's body. The crushing force of shadow overwhelmed the general, shattering his defenses and forcing the breath from his lungs.
Dorell gasped, his body trembling as the shadows constricted, but his mind remained defiant. "You might have won this battle... but you'll never win the war."
Kev's voice was cold and final. "Then you'll die trying."
With a violent surge, Kev squeezed, the shadows crushing with the weight of a thousand storms. Dorell's scream was cut short as his body collapsed into the dark abyss, swallowed whole by the ravenous shadows.
The city of Noctera trembled as the battle's final echo rippled through its bones. The earth cracked wide open, swallowing entire districts beneath gaping chasms. Flames consumed the remnants of buildings, painting the night with flickering death. The cries of the city's inhabitants dwindled to nothing but distant memories, buried beneath the wreckage.
Kev stood amidst the ruin, unyielding and cold. His crimson eye scanned the destruction, unmoved by the devastation.
Noctera was no more.
He had no sympathy for the city or its people. They were but obstacles in his path, and like all obstacles, they were crushed underfoot without hesitation.
From the depths of his shadow, the voice whispered again — ancient, dark, and hungry.
"You have grown strong... but your journey has only begun."
Kev's eyes flickered with a shadowy fire. The sixth abyss was calling him onward, deeper into mystery and power. But before that, he had to find a way back to weton .
He turned away from the smoking ruins, stepping through the collapsing city with purpose. The battle had changed him; he was no longer just a boy seeking revenge. He was a force born from shadow and blood, a king of an abyss that few dared to understand.
And as the last embers of Noctera faded into ash, Kev disappeared into the darkness — a harbinger of chaos and a seeker of truths buried beyond realms.
The capital of the Northern Kingdom of Mystra lay under cold starlight. Snow-dusted towers glistened against an ink‑black sky. Inside the obsidian walls of Collen's fortress, the atmosphere was tense as a drawn blade.
Collen Koran sat in his high chamber, carved from midnight stone. Behind him, tall windows framed frost-laced pines and distant peaks. Before him lay reports, maps, and shimmering holograms of shadow residue overlaying Noctera's ruins. He traced a finger across the patterns, brow furrowed.
Outside the chamber, the doors opened. Kira entered, accompanied by her two elite sentinels. Her green hair caught the torchlight. Her eyes were steel—resolute but concerned.
"My lord," she greeted, bowing.
Collen nodded, not looking up. "You're wise to come swiftly. I have questions — not orders."
Kira stiffened, but remained silent.
He began: "The destruction of Noctera was catastrophic — beyond any known shadow or destructive magic at the Peak Soldier level. The city's Gate core collapsed, walls melted, wards shattered. The magnitude suggests something… new. Something unforeseen." He paused, voice low. "I want to know how he did it."
Kira's lips parted. "You suspect it's not just brute shadow force?"
Collen turned, his eyes alight with a cold curiosity. "Yes." His fingers tapped the table. "Those patterns of shadow residue. They're layered, twisted. Multiple threads of tonal darkness merging. This is not raw shadow magic: this is precision. Integration. Something inside him commanded shadows, not merely used them."
Kira's guard behind her shifted.
Collen leaned forward. "Tell me, Kira: have your spies ever seen him manipulate shadows outside combat? In silence? In secrecy?"
She swallowed. "Rumors. In remote border villages, people report flickers in darkness — shadows moving against the wind. But no proof. No witness strong enough to survive."
He nodded slowly. "Rumor is fertile ground. It lets fear grow. And fear gives me power." He stood, pacing. "He walks like the Abyss itself lives inside him. They call him The Crazed Lunatic now — not out of poetic flourish, but from terror. The title spreads faster than his paths."
Kira's face darkened. "Then we must act before the nickname becomes legend. If people believe he cannot be stopped…"
Collen's eyes gleamed. "Exactly. I will not be outmatched by myth or fear. I will know his shadow."
A sudden knock rattled the doors. A messenger entered, hooded and panting. He bowed low.
"My lord, reports from Weton's gates. Scouts spotted the signature residue near the border. And they speak of a portal opening — one unstable, but open."
Collen's heart thundered. "So he fled toward Weton already."
He turned to Kira. "Mobilize watchers along border paths. Block minor gates. Burn paths. Let him have none he expects."
Kira nodded. "It will be done."
Collen walked back to the window, studying Noctera's ghostly outline in his mind. He whispered into the silent night:
"You have shadows. But I have questions. And a king's patience."
Outside, the wind rattled the citadel towers. Somewhere, in distant darkness, the name The Crazed Lunatic echoed and the game had only just begun.