The air above the clearing grew heavy, thick, and unnaturally cold, as if night itself had decided to descend from the sky and settle between the trees, and when Kaelthar—the Herald of the Void—took another slow step forward, the ground beneath his feet did not merely tremble but began to lose its form entirely, as the grass blackened, stones crumbled into dust, and the roots of the surrounding trees withdrew from him as though nature itself sensed that this being did not belong in any world.
Drakar stood motionless, gripping his chains so tightly that the metal creaked quietly in his hands, and the runes engraved upon the blades with ancient symbols began to glow with a dark red-gold light, reacting not only to the enemy's power but to the very presence of the Void itself, which drifted around Kaelthar like black smoke untouched by wind.
Selene stood a few steps behind him, her staff radiating silver light that was as cold as moonlight over a frozen lake, yet even that glow trembled in the presence of the darkness surrounding Nyxaroth's general.
"So… it is you," Kaelthar said quietly, and his voice did not truly echo through the air but seemed to emerge directly inside the minds of those who heard it, as though the words were not sound but thoughts forced into their consciousness."The mortal who tears runes from the bodies of gods."
Drakar tilted his head slightly, studying the creature before him, and he felt the thunder rune within his chest responding to Kaelthar's presence, while the dark flame of the Serpent stirred within his blood, as though the ancient dragon sleeping deep inside his soul had recognized an old enemy.
"And you," Drakar replied slowly, each word falling heavily like a stone dropped into a deep well, "are the servant of someone too afraid to appear himself."
The darkness around Kaelthar shifted.
Not with anger.
But with something closer to curiosity.
"My master fears nothing," the general replied, and his eyes—or rather the deep hollows where eyes should have been, swirling with shadow—briefly flashed with faint violet light."He simply does not waste time on those who have not yet proven worthy."
Behind Drakar, Selene whispered quietly.
"Don't listen to him."
But Drakar had no intention of doing so.
He was already moving.
A chain shot forward, slicing through the air with a sharp whistle, and the blade—once forged in the divine forge of Svarog—struck directly toward the dark rune burning in Kaelthar's chest.
But instead of cutting through flesh or stone, the blade passed through shadow as if striking smoke.
Kaelthar did not even flinch.
He simply raised one hand.
And suddenly the air around Drakar thickened like tar.
His body stopped abruptly.
An invisible force crushed him from all sides.
"You are strong," the general said with mild interest."But you are still mortal."
Drakar gritted his teeth.
The runes on his skin flared brighter.
"Try… saying that… closer."
Then he surged forward.
Lightning exploded from his chest.
Not from the sky.
From within.
The energy of thunder shattered the invisible restraints, and Drakar moved again like a black arrow flying straight into the heart of a storm.
Kaelthar raised his second hand.
The darkness behind him split open.
Dozens of shadows burst from the fracture in the air.
Not the small creatures they had fought earlier.
These were larger.
Stronger.
Their bodies were formed from fragments of stone, emptiness, and twisted runes that pulsed with dark light like hearts that had never truly lived.
"His legion," Selene said.
She raised her staff.
Silver magic spread around her, forming a circle of radiant light.
"I'll hold them back."
Drakar did not even look behind him.
He had already leapt.
One chain wrapped around Kaelthar's shadow wing, and Drakar used the momentum to pull himself closer before spinning the second blade and driving it into the general's shoulder.
This time the strike was real.
The shadow cracked.
Dark light burst from the wound.
Kaelthar tilted his head.
"Interesting."
His hand shot forward and seized Drakar by the throat.
It happened so quickly that even the runes on the chains did not have time to react.
The general's fingers were cold.
Not merely cold.
Empty.
Drakar felt something trying to drain the power from his body.
"You do more than steal the runes of gods," Kaelthar said quietly."You… are changing."
Drakar smiled through the pain.
"Thank you… for noticing."
Then his eyes ignited.
Black flame erupted beneath his skin.
The serpent-shaped scar on his arm burned brighter than ever before.
"Stop holding back," the Serpent whispered.
Drakar did not answer with words.
He answered with action.
His body arched violently.
Scales of dark energy began forming along his shoulders and arms.
His pupils narrowed.
Becoming draconic.
Dragon Berserk.
Kaelthar released him.
For a moment.
And that moment was enough.
Drakar landed on the ground.
The earth cracked beneath his feet.
His breath turned hot.
When he exhaled, dark fire escaped his mouth.
"Now…" he whispered."Try that again."
Kaelthar watched him silently.
And for the first time since the battle began, the shadows surrounding the general trembled.
"So that is why my master is interested in you."
Behind them Selene was battling the legion of shadows.
Her magic exploded in flashes of silver light that sliced through the darkness, but every time one creature fell, two more crawled out of the fracture.
"Drakar!" she shouted."We cannot hold them forever!"
He knew.
If Kaelthar remained here any longer, the rift would stabilize.
And then Nyxaroth's legions would begin pouring through without end.
Drakar lifted his chains.
"Then let's finish this quickly."
He rushed forward.
This time his speed was different.
More savage.
More draconic.
The chains whistled through the air like living serpents, and the blades struck Kaelthar again and again, each blow carving cracks into the general's dark armor.
Kaelthar responded.
His shadow wings unfolded.
And a wave of void energy exploded outward.
Trees surrounding the clearing snapped in half.
Stone shattered.
Drakar was thrown dozens of meters away.
He crashed into the ground.
Then rose.
Slowly.
Blood ran from his lips.
But he was laughing.
"Now… this is more interesting."
Kaelthar stared at him.
"You do not understand," the general said."Every god you kill makes my master stronger."
Drakar wiped the blood from his mouth.
"Then I'll just become stronger faster."
And he charged again.
But this time he was not alone.
Selene appeared beside him, her magic wrapping his chains in silver light.
"Don't tear out his rune," she said.
"Why?"
"Because the rift will grow larger."
Drakar smiled.
"Then we seal it."
Kaelthar raised his hand.
The darkness around him thickened.
"Try."
Drakar and Selene moved at the same time.
Dragon fire and moonlight collided with the Void.
And the clearing exploded with light.
The battle would decide the fate of the rift.
And perhaps…
something far greater.