Night fell over the Douglas Duchy.
Lusian stood atop the fortress's main battlement, gazing out over the scattered lights across his territory. Thousands of homes. Thousands of people.
His people.
In the distance, the first battalions of scouts were returning with reports that no one needed to hear twice: the Crusade was advancing without pause, and more columns converged on the horizon with each passing day.
Lusian closed his eyes and exhaled heavily.
"There are too many."
"Yes," a voice answered from behind him.
Kheris emerged from the shadows. No flash, not even the slightest sound; he simply materialized there.
Lusian did not bother turning around.
"How many?"
"Enough to cover the land."
Silence once again claimed the terrace.
Kheris leisurely approached and came to rest beside the stone railing.
"When they reach the border, they won't charge immediately."
Lusian opened his eyes.
"Why?"
"Because they need the illusion of victory. They need to believe their numbers are enough to crush you." Kheris raised his gaze toward the star-filled sky. "The gods have given them Heroes. The kingdoms have provided legions. The churches have given them fanatics."
His eyes became pools of absolute darkness.
"But there is something no god can give them."
Lusian glanced at him.
"What?"
Kheris extended his hand, palm facing upward.
A sphere of pure darkness coalesced above his fingers.
It did not resemble the magic Lusian wielded. It was something primordial, more ancient, denser.
The light from the nearby torches flickered before going out completely.
A cold shiver ran down Lusian's spine.
"What is that substance?"
"My personal night."
The sphere grew by barely a millimeter, yet the shadows cast by the towers stretched unnaturally.
"I can engulf your entire territory beneath its mantle."
Lusian remained impassive.
"Absolutely everything?"
"From the outer walls to the farthest reaches of the province."
Kheris slowly closed his fist, and the sphere dissolved.
The torchlight returned.
"When the precise moment comes, dawn will never break over these lands again."
Lusian frowned.
"For how long?"
Kheris gave him a cold smile.
"As long as necessary."
Lusian remained silent, once again surveying the living map of his duchy: the lights of the villages, the farmlands, the defensive bastions, the castle...
Adela.
Albert.
His people.
"And what will happen to my people?"
"The darkness will not harm them."
"And the invaders?"
Kheris answered with mathematical coldness.
"They will be stripped of what makes them dangerous."
Lusian understood immediately.
The Oracle's guidance.
The blessings of light.
Tactical coordination.
Divine sight.
Everything that depended upon an illuminated sky would be nullified.
Kheris pushed away from the stone wall.
"However, I cannot unleash it while they remain outside."
"Why?"
"Because the absolute mantle would blind you as well."
Silence stretched between them once again, heavy and oppressive.
"The exact moment the Crusade sets foot upon your land..." Kheris raised one finger. "That is when it will begin."
Lusian gazed at the stars still shining above the battlement.
For the last time.
"And afterward?"
Kheris took a moment to answer.
"Afterward, if the gods want your head, they will have no choice but to venture into my darkness to find you."
Lusian slowly lowered his gaze.
A faint smile, almost imperceptible, appeared on his lips.
It did not express joy.
It expressed ruthless resolve.
"Do it."
Kheris studied him carefully.
"Are you absolutely certain?"
Lusian summoned the image of the tide marching toward his domain in his mind: the boastful Heroes, the dogmatic priests, the greedy nobles who had waited generations to witness his downfall, and the thousands of soldiers who had never heard his voice yet wielded steel to execute him.
Then he remembered the main square.
House Douglas.
His people.
He raised his head, his eyes hardening like iron.
"When the first soldier crosses the border..." he said, "I want them unable to see even their own hands."
Kheris smiled, satisfied for the first time.
"Then prepare your people." The god began dissolving into the shadows along the wall. "Because when night falls..."
His voice lingered in the night air like a fading echo:
"...the sun will never rise over this domain again."
And Kheris disappeared completely.
Lusian remained alone atop the battlement.
He looked toward the sky one last time.
The stars were still there, beautiful, tranquil, and utterly unaware of the devastation that was about to be unleashed.
He turned calmly.
"Albert."
The commander immediately emerged from the tower entrance.
"My lord?"
"I want all the captains in the war room. Now."
Albert observed the icy resolve on the duke's face.
No question was necessary.
"Yes, my lord."
Lusian began walking through the stone corridors.
That night, there was still light over the Mondring domain.
But the battle had already begun.
And the moment the first battalion of the Crusade dared cross the borders of the Douglas Duchy...
the world would lose the dawn.
The dawn arrived over the Douglas Duchy.
Or at least, that was what the hands of the clock indicated.
The sky began to brighten behind the mountain peaks, but no one stepped outside to welcome the day.
Inside the fortress, the soldiers were already at their battle stations. In the inner courtyards, the forges had been operating at full capacity since before dawn; the thunder of hammers striking metal echoed without pause as steel blades and spearheads passed from hand to hand.
Thousands of arrows were stacked along the battlements. Supply wagons were being loaded with grain and salted meat, while the theurgists and rune engineers inspected the stability of the mana reserves.
No one spoke of victory.
Every conversation revolved around a single question:
How long could they hold out?
Lusian crossed the command room with a stack of reports tucked under his arm.
"How many troops do we have?"
—Fourteen thousand three hundred —Albert replied immediately.
"And our food reserves?"
"Five months under strict rationing. Three if we maintain the current allocation."
Lusian nodded impassively.
"Don't reduce the rations yet."
Albert looked at him with concern.
"My lord..."
"When the siege intensifies, there will be plenty of time to reduce consumption."
A detailed map of the territory stretched across the great central table: river courses, forests, the network of villages, and the frontier fortifications.
Lusian knew every inch of that land.
He knew perfectly well the devastation that awaited them if the Crusade's vanguard managed to break through the first defensive ring.
"What's the situation with the evacuations?"
"Completed in the northern sector. The eastern settlements will reach the outer walls this afternoon."
"Excellent."
Albert remained silent for a moment before adding:
"My lord..."
Lusian tore his gaze away from the map.
"What is it?"
"The influx of civilians hasn't stopped. They're still coming."
"Refugees?"
"Yes."
Lusian returned his attention to the parchment.
"Open the gates. Let them all in."
"We're running out of usable space in the central districts."
"Then build more shelters and set up canvas camps."
Albert let out a tired sigh.
"They're already working on it."
Lusian continued down the corridors without asking about numbers or origins.
During the dark days of the Mana Storm, he had followed the same principle: open the gates, provide work, and feed those who had lost everything.
Now, those same souls were crowding into his domain.
Some trembled with fear.
Others simply had nowhere else left to go.
But no one would be turned away.
Lusian crossed the threshold and entered the main courtyard.
The frantic activity of the duchy immediately swallowed him: the constant march of patrols, the whinnying of draft horses, the creaking of wagon wheels, the ringing of anvils, the incantations of mages, and the masses of farmers and infantry carrying buckets of water toward the forges.
The entire Douglas Duchy had been transformed into a colossal war machine.
Adela stood in the center of the training grounds, upright atop the back of the enormous White Tiger, overseeing the maneuvers of the magical beast cavalry.
"Again!"
Her voice cut through the din.
The riders wheeled around.
The beasts released deep roars that made the ground tremble.
Adela raised her arm, setting the exact rhythm.
"Now!"
The formation surged forward in a tight, coordinated charge, moving like a single mass of muscle and steel.
Lusian stopped at the edge of the training grounds, watching her for several moments.
Adela noticed his presence, and their eyes met from across the field.
She gave him a faint smile.
There was no trace of doubt or fear on her face.
Only absolute determination.
Lusian resumed walking.
He couldn't afford to contemplate tragic outcomes.
Not yet.
By late afternoon, the first envoys of the faith arrived at the border.
They were not an army—not yet—but an advance reconnaissance party: thirty clerics dressed in immaculate robes, escorted by a unit of the Kingdom's heavy infantry.
They stopped before the weathered stone marker that had historically defined the jurisdiction of House Douglas.
The leading priest raised his gaze toward the peaks, where the last rays of sunlight still gilded the rock.
"Here begins the domain of the condemned," he proclaimed.
No soldier answered.
The cleric crossed the boundary line...
and froze.
The surroundings changed instantly.
The wind died without warning.
The forest stood completely still, not a single leaf rustling.
The songs of birds and the hum of insects ceased entirely.
Even the impact of their own horses' hooves produced no echo along the road.
The priest looked up at the sky in confusion.
The sun was still overhead, but a dense tide of darkness was rushing from the horizon at an unnatural speed.
"What is that anomaly...?"
The shadow swallowed the mountain ridges first.
Then it devoured the forest line and spread across the plains.
One of the escorts desperately pulled on his reins.
"Is night falling that quickly?"
The priest slowly shook his head, feeling the cold intensify around him.
"No.
This isn't night..."
The tide of darkness continued its relentless advance.
And the exact moment it crossed the stone marker...
The light of day vanished completely.