The firestorm devoured the sky. Smoke rolled in dark, choking waves across the Hollow as flames climbed the crumbling towers. Sparks rained down like dying stars. The roar of the siege was unending—wood snapping, stone shattering, men screaming.
Kael stood amid it all, calm within chaos. His blade hummed with black energy, his shadow twisting around him like a living storm. Across from him, the Skull Commander advanced through the smoke, each heavy step cracking the scorched ground.
Their armies gave them space. Even the dying had fallen silent. Two forces of nature were about to collide.
The Skull Commander’s armor glowed faintly from within, lines of crimson light pulsing like veins. His voice echoed through the ruins, rough and resonant.
“You’ve made the Hollow bleed long enough, Ka
