The first corrupted Titan swung a broken greatsword the size of a house, the blade screaming through the air like a banshee. Kael shifted into Shadowstep, flickering out of the weapon's path a split second before it could cleave him in two. In the slowed world of Time Dilation, he moved like a phantom, his form blurred with lightning speed.
He reappeared behind the Titan, Veyrion flashing upward in a vicious arc. The blade struck the back of the creature's knee with a crack of thunder, lightning exploding outward in a shockwave that rocked the battlefield. The Titan stumbled, howling in a voice that shook the mountains, but it didn't fall.
Beside him, Rynn loosed arrow after arrow, each one crackling with enchantments that pierced through armor and bone alike. Her hawk, Arlen, dived from above, slashing at the Heralds with talons tipped in stormfire. Sable, the panther, weaved between the Titans' feet, sowing chaos with blinding strikes.
Selene stood with her spear raised high, her voice ringing out over the din, weaving ancient words of power. The storm itself answered her, great bolts of white-blue lightning lancing from the sky to strike at the twisted Heralds.
But the Heralds did not falter.
The first of them, a being of jagged obsidian armor and a crown of shifting smoke, raised a hand. A sphere of devouring darkness formed at his fingertips and shot toward Kael.
Kael didn't hesitate. He launched into a sprint, lightning wreathing his body, enhancing his already supernatural speed. He called upon his Elemental Affinity fully now, not holding back. The ground scorched beneath his feet as he dodged the sphere, which smashed into the ground behind him with a sound like a mountain crumbling, leaving a gaping void in the earth.
"Split them!" Kael shouted over the roar of battle.
Rynn understood immediately. She veered left, leading Sable and the stag with her, while Selene and Kael pressed right, dividing the Titans' attention.
The second Herald, a robed figure with chains trailing from his arms like broken puppet strings, lashed out. The chains twisted through the air, seeking to ensnare Kael's limbs and crush him. Kael's instincts flared. He ducked low, rolling across the cracked earth and slicing through one of the chains with a lightning-imbued swing of Veyrion.
He didn't stop.
Using Dimensional Storage, Kael summoned a handful of stormsteel javelins, lightweight but deadly weapons he had stored earlier. With practiced ease, he hurled them mid-dash, each bolt streaking with lightning. One javelin pierced the second Herald's shoulder, sending a burst of white fire gushing from the wound.
The third Herald, a towering, hunched figure of stitched flesh and bone, let out a guttural roar and charged. The earth trembled with each step. Kael grit his teeth. Even with enhanced strength, facing the brute head-on would be suicide.
Shadowstep.
He blinked to the creature's flank, materializing just long enough to strike at its exposed side before vanishing again, a wraith among giants. Veyrion sang in his hand, leaving searing lines of light in the air.
The Titans lumbered after them, slower but no less deadly. One Titan raised a massive foot to stomp them flat.
Kael skidded to a halt, Time Dilation kicking to full effect.
In the slowed world, he could see every detail—the cracks on the Titan's foot, the motes of dust hanging in the air, the way Rynn's hair whipped in the rising wind.
He had seconds.
Summoning the raw power of his Lightning Affinity, Kael drove his sword into the ground and unleashed a wave of energy outward. The shockwave lifted him off his feet, launching him backward out of the Titan's path just as its foot slammed down, shattering the earth in a deafening explosion.
He landed hard but rolled with the momentum, coming up into a sprint.
Luck of the Fates saved him again when a jagged bone spear narrowly missed impaling his side.
He grinned despite himself. He was alive—and he was winning.
Selene reached him then, breathless but fierce, her spear crackling with enough energy to blind a man. Together, they charged the nearest Herald.
Kael slashed high, driving the Herald's defense upward, while Selene swept low with her spear, slicing through the Herald's leg armor. The creature howled, staggering back.
The corrupted Titans faltered without the Heralds' full command. Sable leapt atop one's hunched back, raking its skull with savage claws. Rynn's arrows found the gaps in another Titan's ribcage, shattering the corrupted core within.
Kael pressed the attack.
He fought like a storm given flesh, every move precise, instinctive. His Sword Mastery wasn't just skill—it was artistry. Veyrion moved as an extension of himself, carving through armor and bone, leaving trails of steam in the cold air.
But the Heralds were ancient beings, fueled by the Hunger itself. As Kael struck one down, another rose more monstrous than before. The battlefield became a nightmare of endless enemies, of magic twisting the very fabric of reality.
Kael knew they couldn't win by brute force.
He needed a way to end this. Fast.
Between strikes, Kael spoke, his voice steady even amid chaos.
"Selene! The Gate! Is there a seal?"
Selene gritted her teeth as she fended off another chain lash. "Yes! Beneath the altar, at the heart of the ruins. If we break it, we can collapse the Rift and sever the Heralds' link to the Hunger!"
Kael nodded grimly.
"Cover me!" he shouted to Rynn.
Without hesitation, Rynn shifted her focus, laying down a hailstorm of arrows to drive the Heralds and Titans back.
Kael sheathed Veyrion for a moment, freeing his hands. He summoned more storm javelins from Dimensional Storage, raining them down to scatter their enemies.
Then he ran.
Lightning exploded from his heels, propelling him forward faster than any mortal could hope to follow. The world blurred around him, a tunnel of storm and fury.
The altar loomed ahead—a massive slab of stone engraved with ancient, flickering runes. A black crystal hovered above it, pulsing with malevolent light.
The heart of the Rift.
Kael didn't hesitate.
He drew Veyrion in a reverse grip, charged it with every ounce of storm energy he could summon, and leapt.
At the apex of his jump, he brought the blade down in a two-handed strike.
The crystal screamed as it shattered, a sound that tore the sky open. A shockwave blasted outward, flattening everything around the altar, tossing Titans and Heralds alike into the air like ragdolls.
The Rift spasmed violently, the corrupted storm above them writhing in agony.
Kael hit the ground hard, his vision swimming.
But he forced himself to his feet.
The Heralds screeched as their connection to the Hunger was severed. Their forms began to unravel, shadow and void spilling from their wounds.
Selene hurled her spear through the first Herald's chest, pinning it to a broken wall where it disintegrated into ash.
Rynn shot the second between its eyes, the arrow carrying the last of her storm-forged magic. It burst apart in a flare of blinding light.
The third Herald, the brute, tried to flee, dragging its hulking body toward the collapsing Rift.
Kael wouldn't let it.
He raced forward, Shadowstep carrying him in a series of blinking, erratic moves that closed the distance faster than any normal sprint could.
He drove Veyrion through the Herald's back with a roar, channeling all the storm's fury into the final strike.
The creature let out a final, gurgling howl before it crumbled into nothingness.
Silence fell over Titan's Gate.
The Rift crackled one last time, then folded in on itself with a deafening roar, leaving only a scorched crater in its place.
Kael dropped to one knee, exhaustion crashing down on him all at once.
But he was alive.
They all were.
Rynn limped over, Sable padding silently at her side, her face a mixture of triumph and grim satisfaction. Selene retrieved her spear and helped Kael to his feet.
For a long moment, the three of them stood together, staring at the empty sky where the Rift had been.
It was over.
At least, for now.
Kael looked at his hands, still crackling faintly with residual lightning. The storm inside him had grown stronger. The battle had changed him, forged him even further into something more than human.
He glanced at Rynn and Selene.
They were Stormborn now, bound together by blood and battle.
Whatever came next, they would face it as one.
Kael sheathed Veyrion and turned his eyes to the horizon, where new storms brewed beyond the mountains.
A quiet voice stirred in the back of his mind, not of warning, but of destiny.
This was only the beginning.