The ruined cityscape was silent. Not a single breath of wind, not a flicker of life beyond the two warriors locked in their deadly battle as most of the residents had evacuated while most Sentinels were killed. The sky above them churned—divine light clashing against abyssal darkness, each trying to consume the other.
Darius wiped the blood from his lips, forcing himself to stand tall despite the searing pain coursing through his body. Every breath burned, his wounds refusing to fully heal as abyssal corruption gnawed at his insides.
Ryojin, on the other hand, stood completely still. His body barely showed signs of fatigue, his violet eyes gleaming with something between amusement and anticipation. The shadows at his feet twisted restlessly, waiting for his command.
He wasn't fighting seriously yet.
Darius knew it.
And that realization sent a chill down his spine.
Ryojin took a slow step forward, the sound of his boot against the shattered ground echoing like a death knell. "Still standing?" he mused. "Not bad. You always were stubborn."
Darius tightened his grip on his Divine Greatblade, raising it once more. His golden wings flickered, their glow unstable—but still burning.
He wouldn't fall here.
Not without stopping this monster first.
Ryojin tilted his head. "You know what's funny?" His voice was calm, almost conversational. "Once, a long time ago, we stood on the same side. We fought together, killed together. We swore to carve our own fate, no matter what."
His smile turned sharp.
"But you still chained yourself to the gods."
Darius didn't answer.
Because, deep down, Ryojin's words dug into something real. A part of him that had always wondered—had always questioned—if his loyalty to the Celestial Order was truly his own choice.
No.
Darius banished those thoughts.
The gods had given him purpose.
The gods had given him power.
And with that power, he would end this fight.
His golden aura flared, forcing the abyssal mist around him to retreat. He exhaled sharply, eyes narrowing as he summoned everything he had left.
A final strike.
No hesitation. No regret.
Ryojin watched, his smirk never fading. "So, you've made your decision."
Darius moved.
The air exploded as he launched himself forward, divine energy surging through every fiber of his being. His greatblade ignited, burning hotter than a star, golden runes inscribed along the blade pulsating with sheer celestial might.
"Solar Devastation!"
A radiant shockwave tore through the city as Darius swung down.
The sheer power of the attack split the ground, a torrent of divine judgment cascading toward Ryojin with unstoppable force. The ground cracked apart, light engulfing everything in its path.
And then—
A single whisper.
"Collapse."
The light never reached him.
The moment before impact, the Abyss consumed it.
Darius's eyes widened in horror as his ultimate attack—the culmination of his faith, his strength, his very soul—was swallowed whole.
No explosion. No resistance.
It simply ceased to exist.
Ryojin hadn't even moved.
He lifted his katana, tapping its edge with a finger. "Not bad," he mused. "But let me show you something."
The shadows surged.
And then, Ryojin was gone.
Darius barely had time to blink before—
Agony.
A piercing, suffocating pain erupted through his chest.
He looked down—
And saw Ryojin's katana buried in his chest.
Abyssal fire roared from the wound, its darkness sinking deep, overwhelming his divine essence, silencing his celestial light.
His fingers trembled. His wings dimmed.
He had lost.
Ryojin leaned in close, his voice a whisper against his ear.
"You should've never betrayed me, Darius."
With one final twist of the blade—
The light vanished.
Darius fell.
He was unconscious
The world seemed to stand still.
Darius's body hit the ground with a dull, lifeless thud, his golden wings flickering… then fading. His once-radiant armor, blessed by the Celestial Order, now lay cracked and broken, the divine runes burned away by abyssal corruption.
His greatblade slipped from his grasp, embedding itself into the fractured earth beside him.
A warrior of the gods had fallen.
Ryojin exhaled, rolling his shoulders as he pulled his katana free from Darius's chest. Abyssal mist curled around the blade, hungrily devouring the remnants of divine energy that still clung to it.
He gazed down at the fallen knight, his expression unreadable.
Silence.
For a moment, it was as if the battle had never happened. The city around them lay in ruins, a graveyard of shattered stone and burning remnants of a war long lost. The night sky above, once split by divine and abyssal forces, was now eerily calm.
Ryojin closed his eyes.
He had won.
And yet…
He felt nothing.
Not triumph. Not satisfaction. Just the same emptiness that had followed him.
"You were stronger than I expected," he murmured, glancing at Darius's still form. "But in the end… you were still bound by their chains."
His grip on his katana tightened.
A part of him had hoped—just for a second—that Darius would have been different. That he would have remembered what they once fought for.
But he had been a fool to think so.
Ryojin turned away, sheathing his katana in a single smooth motion. The Abyss still simmered within him, restless and insatiable, craving more.
More destruction.
More power.
More war.
And war was coming.
He could feel it.
This battle was just the beginning.
The Celestial Order would not ignore Darius's defeat. They would send more warriors. Stronger ones. They would hunt him, try to contain him.
Try to kill him.
Ryojin smirked.
"Let them try."
With that, he stepped forward, disappearing into the shadows.
The night swallowed him whole—leaving nothing behind.
And in the ruins of Solara, beneath a broken sky, the fallen knight lay motionless.
His light extinguished.