Silence gathered over the battlefield. Fires still burned as dust settled upon the ruins of Arcadia. Renku, Andreia and Zether all stood before Zavala. Without hesitation the three of them moved as one.
Renku drove his hands downward and the ground beneath Zavala erupted. Chains of blue energy burst from the earth like living serpents, twisting around Zavala's legs before racing up his body. Zavala tore one apart with his free hand, but another wrapped around his wrist and yanked his arm to the side. His body barely reacted to the restraints. The green energy spreading through him had changed everything. There was no hesitation in his movements anymore, no anger, no desperation. Only a cold, relentless instinct that seemed to know exactly what they were trying to do.
"Now!" Renku shouted.
Renku summoned more chains that wrapped around Andreia's hand. He moved his hand in a pulling motion before repelling Andreia forward.
She shot across the battlefield, her body surrounded by the soft glow of divine light. The destruction of Arcadia blurred around her as she closed the distance, but Zavala saw her coming. His free hand rose toward her, green energy beginning to gather in his palm. It condensed rapidly, twisting into a dense sphere of poisonous light that crackled around his fingers.
Andreia's eyes widened as Zavala's arm snapped forward. But before the attack could leave his hand, a dark figure appeared between them. Zether.
His shadowy form materialized directly in front of Zavala, amber eyes burning beneath the darkness that covered his face. He moved without warning, driving his fist into Zavala's forearm with enough force to knock it violently off course.
The green energy exploded into the sky. A wave of heat tore across the battlefield as the blast disappeared beyond the ruined buildings of Arcadia. Zavala staggered half a step, and that was all Renku needed.
"Got you," he whispered.
The ground beneath Zavala cracked as more chains erupted from beneath the rubble. This time wrapping around his arm before he could recover. One locked around his wrist. Another coiled around his forearm. A third wrapped around his elbow and pulled downward, forcing the arm against his side. Renku planted his feet and dragged both hands backward, every muscle in his body tightening as the chains strained against Zavala's strength.
Zavala pulled with all his strength. The chains groaned as Renku's boots slid across the broken stone.
"Come on!" Renku growled. "Just stay there!"
Zavala's head slowly turned toward him. Those green eyes stared through Renku with a coldness that made his stomach tighten. There was something wrong about them now. Something empty. Zavala had always carried rage in his eyes, even when he was calm. Now there was nothing. No hatred. No fear. Only calculation.
Zavala's muscles tightened and the chains began to crack. Renku's expression changed.
"Andreia!" he yelled.
She was already moving. Light gathered around her hand, bright enough to cut through the darkness surrounding the battlefield. It stretched outward, forming a blade of pure white radiance. The sword hummed as she gripped it, its light reflecting across the ruined streets and the blackened remains of Arcadia's eastern district.
Zether stepped aside and Andreia charged. Zavala tried to wrench his arm free, but Renku screamed as he pulled the chains tighter, forcing every ounce of his strength into holding him in place.
"DO IT!" Renku yelled.
Andreia drove the sword forward. The blade struck Zavala's chest. For an instant, nothing happened. Then the crystal reacted.
Green energy erupted from it, colliding violently with the light surrounding Andreia's sword. The impact sent a shockwave through the battlefield, throwing dust and broken stone into the air. Andreia gritted her teeth and pushed harder, both hands tightening around the sword as the crystal resisted her.
The light began spreading across Zavala's chest. The green energy pushed back. The two forces collided in a violent struggle, white light against toxic green, neither willing to give way. Andreia could feel something on the other side.
Not Zavala, something else. There was something that seemed to recognize what she was doing. The crystal pulsed. Once, twice and then a tiny sound cut through the roar of energy.
CRACK.
Andreia froze. A thin fracture had appeared across the surface of the crystal. Zether stared at the crack, his amber eyes narrowing. For the first time since the battle began, Zavala's expression changed. His body jerked violently.
A scream tore from his throat, but beneath it was another sound. Something deeper, distorted and almost inhuman. The green energy inside the crystal surged. Andreia nearly lost her grip.
"What is happening?" she shouted.
Zether didn't answer immediately. He stared at the fracture spreading slowly across the crystal. They had finally damaged it, but whatever was inside Zavala had felt it too.
A pulse of Arcane energy suddenly erupted from Zavala's chest. It tore through the air with enough force to send Andreia stumbling backward. At the same time, the chains around Zavala's body began to strain. Renku gritted his teeth and pulled harder, but the pressure building inside Zavala was becoming impossible to contain. One chain snapped. Then another. Pieces of blue energy scattered across the street before fading into the dust.
"Hold him!" Renku shouted.
He tried to summon more chains, but Zavala moved first. With a violent surge of power, he ripped himself free. The remaining chains shattered around him and the force of the release sent Renku stumbling backward.
Zavala turned toward Andreia. She barely had time to raise her sword before he reached her. His hand caught her by the arm and he swung her into the ground. The impact cracked the stone beneath her.
Andreia gasped, the breath driven from her lungs as Zavala lifted her again. Before she could recover, he slammed her down a second time, even harder. Dust and fragments of stone erupted around her body. She coughed, struggling to breathe, but Zavala gave her no time to recover.
He dragged her upward once more. The jagged green crystals growing from his arm scraped across her forearm as he threw her aside. One of them tore through her skin, leaving a deep gash across her arm.
Andreia cried out and collapsed onto the broken street. She coughed again. Blood poured out of her mouth with each cough. Zavala turned toward her. The Arcane energy around his body began to intensify. One of the crystals along his arm glowed brighter as energy gathered around his hand. Andreia tried to push herself up, but her body refused to cooperate. Her injured arm trembled beneath her as she looked up at Zavala.
For the briefest moment, she saw the arm coming toward her. Then a shadow crashed between them. Zether caught Zavala's arm just before the blow could land. The force of the collision sent cracks racing through the ground beneath his feet, but he held his position. His amber eyes burned through the darkness covering his face as he shoved Zavala's arm away.
"No you don't," Zether said.
Zavala barely reacted. He twisted his body and prepared to strike again, but Zether was already moving. The two collided in a blur of shadow and green energy, their attacks tearing through the ruined street.
Renku saw his opening. He didn't think about it, he just moved. Blue energy wrapped around his leg as he sprinted toward them. He planted one foot against the ground and launched himself forward, twisting through the air before driving his heel directly into Zavala's face.
The impact sent Zavala flying. His body tore across the ruined street, smashing through what remained of one building before disappearing into a cloud of dust and rubble. Renku landed hard, sliding several feet before catching himself. He immediately turned toward Andreia.
"Andreia!" he said.
Zether was already beside her. He dropped to one knee and looked at the wound on her arm. At first, it appeared to be nothing more than a deep cut from one of the crystals. Then he noticed something moving beneath her skin. Thin streams of green energy were spreading outward from the wound. Zether's expression changed immediately.
"Renku," Zether said, concern crossing his face.
Renku crouched beside Andreia.
"What?" asked Renku.
"Look at her arm," Zether responded.
Renku stared at her arm. The green energy continued to spread, moving beneath her skin like veins of poison.
"It burns," she said, as she winced and grabbed her arm.
Zether carefully examined the wound without touching it.
"The Arcane energy is attacking her from inside," Zether explained. "It is like a virus that was created just for us."
"Can you remove it?" Renku asked.
"I don't know," Zether responded.
Renku looked toward the rubble where Zavala had disappeared. Green light was beginning to shine through the dust.
"Then we need to get her out of here," Renku said.
"You go. I'll stay here," Zether said, his gaze remained fixed on the ruined building. "He's going to keep coming."
As if answering him, the rubble shifted. A piece of stone rolled down the side of the collapsed building. Then another. A green glow emerged from beneath the ruins. Zether stepped forward.
"You're going after him?" Renku questioned.
"Yes," Zether said.
"Then I'm coming with you," Renku said.
Zether shook his head.
"You stay here. Andreia needs you," Zether explained. "Figure out a way to stop the virus. I'll hold him off."
Renku glanced down at her arm. The green energy had already spread farther up her forearm.
"But..."
The shadows around Zether began to gather. Renku knew that look. There was no hesitation in Zether anymore. Whatever he had become during his transformation, he had already made his decision.
"Zether…" whispered Renku.
Zether looked back one final time.
"Keep her alive."
Then he disappeared into the darkness. Renku watched him go before turning back toward Andreia. She was breathing heavily, one hand pressed against the wound as the green energy continued to pulse beneath her skin. He knelt beside her.
"Stay with me," he quietly whispered.
Andreia looked at him through the pain, but Renku looked toward the distant ruins. A low roar echoed through the streets. Zavala had survived the impact and Zether was already heading straight toward him.
Zether moved through the ruined streets of Arcadia with Zavala close behind him, each collision between them sending another tremor through the ground. The eastern district had become little more than a graveyard of stone and fire, yet the two figures continued to tear through it as though the destruction around them meant nothing. Zether's shadows twisted around his body, carrying him from one position to the next with impossible speed, while Zavala answered every attack with violent bursts of green Arcane energy. Each time Zether struck him, the cracks across Zavala's body widened, but the Demon King refused to fall. Something inside him was keeping him alive, something that no longer seemed to care whether the body it inhabited survived.
Zether appeared behind him and drove his fist into Zavala's back. The force sent Zavala crashing through the remains of a stone building, but before the rubble had finished falling, green energy erupted from the ruins and swept across the street. Zether raised an arm, allowing the shadows to absorb the worst of the blast, though the force still pushed him several yards backward. He steadied himself and looked toward the ruins, his amber eyes narrowing as Zavala slowly emerged from the wreckage.
Zavala's breathing was ragged. Blood ran down the side of his face, but his eyes remained fixed on Zether with an unnatural calm. The crystal embedded in his chest pulsed beneath the cracks covering its surface, and every pulse sent another wave of Arcane energy through his body. Zether could feel something wrong with the air around them. The energy wasn't simply radiating outward anymore. It was moving beneath the ground.
A deep rumble rolled through the city. Zether glanced down. A thin line of green light appeared between the broken stones beneath his feet. It spread slowly at first, crawling through the cracks in the street before branching into several directions. Another line appeared farther away, followed by another. Within seconds, green light was glowing beneath the entire district.
Zavala looked around.
"What is happening?" he asked.
Before Zether could answer, the ground erupted.
A column of green Arcane energy burst from beneath the street and shot high into the sky. The force of it threw chunks of stone into the air and sent Zether stumbling backward. Across the district, more eruptions followed, one after another, tearing through buildings and sending towers of green energy into the atmosphere. The earth shook beneath them so violently that the remaining structures began collapsing around the battlefield.
Zether stared toward the horizon. The green light was spreading far beyond the eastern district. It was everywhere.
"What did you do?" Zether asked.
Zavala looked at his hands, almost as though he was seeing them for the first time. "I didn't."
Another tremor shook the ground. Zether's expression hardened as he realized what was happening. The Arcane energy that had been building inside Zavala had reached deeper than his body. It had entered the planet itself, spreading through the earth and forcing its way toward the core.
"The planet," Zether said quietly. "It's consuming the planet."
Zavala looked toward the sky as another eruption tore through the city. For the first time since the transformation began, fear appeared in his eyes.
Before either of them could move, the sound of engines thundered overhead. A large vessel broke through the smoke and clouds above the ruined city, descending toward the eastern district. The Angel emerged through the darkness, its hull battered from the fighting but still intact, and its engines burned brightly as it maneuvered toward the ground. Ezekiel stood at the front of the ship, watching the destruction below.
"Bring us down," he ordered. "We need to get the remaining survivors aboard."
The Angel descended through the smoke, and the moment the doors opened, Renku rushed inside with Andreia in his arms. She was barely conscious, her face pale from the pain coursing through her body. The green energy beneath her skin had spread farther up her arm since they had left the battlefield.
"Put her down here," Ezekiel said, pointing toward the deck.
Renku lowered Andreia carefully and immediately looked toward the city.
"What is happening?"
Ezekiel's expression was grim. "The Arcane energy has reached the planet's core."
Renku looked at him in disbelief.
"The core?"
"It is eating through it," Ezekiel said. "The readings are getting worse every second. If this continues, the entire planet will become unstable."
"How long do we have?"
Ezekiel glanced at the instruments before looking back toward him.
"Minutes."
Renku's eyes widened.
"You mean the planet is going to explode?"
"If we aren't off it when the core collapses, we won't have to worry about surviving anything else."
Another violent tremor shook The Angel. Renku instinctively reached for Andreia as the ship rocked beneath them. Ezekiel turned toward the open doors.
"We need everyone aboard now."
Renku looked down at Andreia. She was breathing heavily, her hand pressed against the wound on her arm as the green energy continued to move beneath her skin.
"We'll get her out," he said.
Ezekiel nodded. "And pray we get the rest."
Outside, Daeron and Azarel were making their way toward the ship with the last group of survivors. Daeron looked exhausted, his armor covered in dust and blood, but he kept moving. Azarel stayed beside him, helping the wounded when he could, though his attention kept returning to the battlefield behind them. The Angel was close now. They could see Ezekiel standing at the entrance.
"We're almost there," Daeron said.
Azarel was about to answer when another explosion shook the city. He turned. Across the ruins, Zether was fighting Zavala again. Zavala charged through the dust, green energy pouring from his body, and Zether met him head-on. The two collided with enough force to send a shockwave through the surrounding streets. Zether managed to land several blows, but Zavala caught him by the arm and hurled him through the remains of a building.
Daeron stopped.
"Zether."
Azarel watched as the rubble collapsed over him.
"Keep going," he said.
Daeron looked at him.
"What?"
"Get aboard," ordered Azarel.
"You're not coming?" asked Daeron.
Azarel glanced toward the ruins. "I'll be right behind you."
Daeron hesitated. "Father, we don't have time."
Azarel placed a hand against his shoulder. His expression softened for just a moment.
"Go, Daeron. Get aboard the ship."
Daeron looked at him, clearly wanting to argue, but the next tremor shook the ground hard enough to force the decision from him. He turned and ran toward The Angel. Azarel waited until his son was safely moving toward the ship before turning back.
He drew his sword. Then he headed toward Zether. Zether emerged from the rubble just as Zavala came crashing toward him. Zether twisted aside, allowing the Demon King's fist to smash into the ground, and immediately countered with a shadow-infused strike that sent Zavala staggering backward.
"Zether!"
"What are you doing here?" Zether looked toward Azarel.
Azarel stopped beside him and looked toward Zavala's chest.
"The crystal."
Zether followed his gaze.
"What about it?"
"We need to get it out of him," Azarel stated.
Zether's expression darkened. "I already tried to destroy it."
"And it didn't work?" Azarel asked.
"No," replied Zether.
Azarel looked toward Zavala. The crystal pulsed again, and another wave of green energy traveled through his body.
"Can he sense you?" questioned Azarel.
Zether understood what he meant. "Yes."
Azarel nodded slowly. "What about me?"
Zether looked at him. "You don't have Cosmic Energy."
"Then he can't sense me the way he senses you." Pointed out Azarel.
Zether stared at the battlefield for several seconds, putting the pieces together.
"You want me to distract him?" Zether asked with a smile.
"I'll get close enough to remove the crystal," Azarel said.
Zether looked at Azarel. "If you pull it out, you might kill him."
"I can live with that," Azarel said with no hesitation.
A roar echoed across the city as Zavala charged toward them.
Zether stepped forward. "Stay behind me."
Azarel raised his sword. "Just keep him looking at you."
Zether disappeared. The shadows erupted across the street. Zavala turned toward him immediately. Their battle resumed with brutal speed. Zether moved through the darkness, appearing in one place and disappearing into another, forcing Zavala to follow him. Every attack was designed to keep Zavala's attention away from the rest of the battlefield. Zavala's fists tore through buildings, while Zether slipped around the attacks and answered with strikes of his own.
Azarel waited. He watched as he searched for the opening. Zether drove Zavala backward with a powerful strike to the chest. Zavala stumbled and Azarel moved. He slipped through the ruins behind them, keeping low as he approached. Zavala never noticed him. His attention remained locked on Zether, whose Cosmic Energy burned brightly enough to draw his senses like a beacon.
Zether struck again. Zavala blocked. Azarel was almost there. Zether appeared above Zavala and drove him into the ground. The impact sent dust into the air. Azarel stepped through it. He reached for the crystal. His fingers closed around the fractured surface.
Zavala's eyes widened. "No!"
Azarel pulled with all his strength. The crystal tore free from Zavala's chest. Zavala screamed. A violent surge of Arcane energy exploded outward, throwing Azarel backward and sending Zether flying through the air. The crystal remained in Azarel's hand, pulsing violently as green energy poured from it. Zavala collapsed onto his knees, clutching the wound in his chest.
For several seconds, he couldn't breathe. Then he coughed. Blood spilled onto the ground. The green light surrounding his body began to fade. The cracks covering his skin stopped spreading, and the unnatural pressure that had filled the air around him slowly disappeared.
Zether landed hard several yards away and pushed himself back to his feet. He looked at Zavala.
"It's finally over."
Azarel stared at the crystal in his hand before throwing it aside. "Go."
Zether looked at him. "What?"
"The ship," Azarel said.
"You're coming right?" Zether asked.
Azarel nodded his head. "I'll be right behind you."
The ground trembled again, harder than before. In the distance, an entire section of the city collapsed into a widening fissure. Zether looked toward The Angel. Daeron was already aboard. He looked back at Azarel. Azarel's expression told him everything.
Zether didn't want to leave him, but there was no time. The planet was dying, and every second they spent here brought them closer to death.
Finally, Zether nodded. "Don't make me regret this."
Azarel gave him the faintest smile. "Just get my son out of here."
Zether disappeared into the shadows. A moment later, he emerged aboard The Angel. Daeron saw him and immediately looked past him.
"Where's Father?" he questioned.
Zether didn't answer.
Daeron stepped toward him. "Where is he?"
Before Zether could respond, Ezekiel shouted from the front of the ship.
"We're leaving!"
The engines roared. Daeron looked back toward the battlefield. Azarel was still standing beside Zavala. The two men stared at each other across the ruined street. Zavala slowly pushed himself upright. He looked different without the entity's power surrounding him. He was still wounded, still dangerous, but the madness that had consumed him was gone.
He laughed.
It was a weak, broken sound.
"So this is how it ends."
Azarel walked toward him, sword in hand. "Yes."
Zavala looked toward the burning ruins around them. "Your kingdom is gone."
Azarel stopped as Zavala's eyes returned to him.
"Everything you spent your life protecting is gone," Zavala said.
Azarel said nothing. Zavala coughed, blood spilling from his mouth.
He smiled anyway. "Now you know what it is like to have no kingdom."
Azarel's grip tightened around his sword.
He stepped forward. Zavala barely had time to raise his head before Azarel drove the blade through his chest. The sword pierced straight through his heart. Zavala gasped.
Azarel held his gaze.
"That is for Vilor."
He pulled the sword free. Zavala staggered backward, blood pouring from his wound. His legs finally gave out, and he collapsed onto the ruined street. The Demon King was dead. Azarel lowered his sword. For the first time in years, perhaps even decades, the weight he had carried seemed to disappear.
He turned toward The Angel. He took one step, then another. He made it several yards before his body suddenly stopped responding. A strange warmth spread through his stomach. Azarel looked down. A sword was protruding from his abdomen. His breath caught.
Slowly, he turned his head to see Zavala was behind him. Barely alive. Blood covered his face, but his hand was still wrapped around the hilt. Azarel looked at him in disbelief. Zavala pulled the sword free. Azarel stumbled forward. He coughed, and blood spilled from his mouth as his knees struck the ground.
"FATHER!" Daeron's voice echoed across the battlefield.
The Angel had begun to rise. Daeron pushed toward the open doorway, but Ezekiel grabbed him before he could jump.
"Let me go!" Daeron cried out.
"Daeron, we have to leave!" Ezekiel said calmly.
"My father is down there!" Cried Daeron.
"We can't stay!" said Ezekiel.
Daeron fought against him, tears running down his face as he watched Azarel struggle to remain conscious.
"Father!" Yelled Daeron.
Azarel heard him. He slowly lifted his head. The Angel was already rising higher into the sky. He could see his son standing at the doorway. For a moment, Azarel forgot the pain, the burning city and even Zavala. All he could see was Daeron. His son.
The boy he had raised. The man he had tried to prepare for a world he knew would never be kind to him. Azarel forced himself to stand. Daeron screamed his name again.
Azarel shook his head. "Go, my son."
Daeron's face crumpled. "No!"
Azarel smiled through the blood covering his lips.
"Be the Great King I could never be."
Daeron froze as the Angel continued to climb. The distance between them grew. Azarel's strength finally failed and he collapsed onto the broken earth. Daeron watched helplessly as the ship carried him farther away.
Below them, Arcadia was beginning to tear itself apart. The ground split open across the horizon as the Arcane energy consumed the planet's core. Entire cities disappeared beneath the earth. Mountains cracked and collapsed. Rivers changed course as the land beneath them broke apart. Great columns of green energy erupted from the surface and disappeared into the heavens.
Ezekiel looked at the instruments. "We're clear of the atmosphere."
Renku looked toward the rear of the ship. Andreia lay unconscious nearby, the green energy still moving beneath her skin. He took her hand and held it tightly. Daeron remained at the doorway. Zether stood beside him.
Neither spoke. Daeron stared down at the world below. He had entered the ship believing his father would be there moments later. Instead, he was watching the only home he had ever known disappear beneath him and somewhere on that dying world, his father was gone.
A final tremor rolled through the ship.
Ezekiel looked toward the planet. "Hold on."
The Angel accelerated. Arcadia disappeared behind them in a blinding eruption of green light. For a moment, the entire world seemed to become a second sun. Then the planet broke apart. Daeron watched in silence as the world beneath him shattered into countless pieces, each fragment glowing with the last remnants of Arcane energy.
His father's final words remained in his mind.
Be the Great King I could never be.
Daeron lowered his head and closed his eyes. Now the weight of the crown had been passed down to him.
End of Chapter 27