"I'm never alone."
Jax reached into the pocket of his black trench coat and pulled out a small device no larger than the palm of his hand.
A simple creation.
One of dozens he and the engineers of the United Kingdoms had developed over the past year.
A trigger.
He pressed the button.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then the "boulders" scattered across the field shimmered.
The illusions peeled away like torn fabric.
Ten massive portals erupted into existence.
Columns of light shot across the valley.
The sudden brilliance cut through the artificial darkness and forced soldiers on both sides to shield their eyes.
Gasps spread across the battlefield.
The Empire had marched across this field.
Scouts had searched it.
Mages had swept it.
And yet they had failed to notice that the rocks surrounding them were not rocks at all.
They were doors.
And Jax Darquebane had just opened them.
The first portal blazed with violet light.
Through it strode Nyxian.
Her red hair danced behind her like living fire.
Her black-and-crimson dress rippled in the wind.
Lilith's Kiss rested at her side, and Echo coiled around her shoulders.
Pixelle sat proudly on one shoulder in her full-sized form, arms crossed and wearing the expression of a queen about to watch someone else's bad decisions catch up to them.
Behind Nyxian marched ranks of succubi, incubi, demonfolk, and the soldiers who had fought beside her only days earlier.
The second portal flared gold.
Llandra stepped through.
The Elven Princess looked every bit the queen she had become.
Her armor gleamed like sunlight on polished silver.
Starpiercer was already in her hand.
Thousands of elves followed behind her in perfect formation, joined by archers, support mages, and allied troops from across the United Kingdoms.
The third portal exploded with blue-white light.
Bunny emerged first, carrying her gigantic hammer over one shoulder as if it weighed nothing.
At her side walked Zee.
Quiet.
Graceful.
Radiating a holy power that made the very air around her shimmer.
Sanctaris glowed softly in her hands.
Behind them came healers, shield bearers, and battle-hardened warriors from every race and nation in the alliance.
Portal after portal unleashed more forces.
Fairies filled the sky in glittering swarms.
Wolfkin infantry poured through in disciplined packs.
Minotaurs marched in heavy armor.
Dwarves emerged carrying axes and rifles.
Catfolk assassins appeared with silent confidence.
Merchants, adventurers, and former mercenaries joined the line.
People Jax had inspired.
People Jax had helped.
People who had come because one man once believed they could build something better together.
Brannic stepped through wearing full plate armor and carrying a massive two-handed axe.
At his side floated Merriweather, armored in tiny gleaming plates and radiating enough magical energy to make nearby runes spark.
Graneth emerged next, dressed for war instead of business, twin knives strapped across his broad chest.
"Thought I'd come collect on some unpaid debts," he rumbled.
The Crimson Vanguard marched from another portal.
Their warriors advanced in disciplined ranks.
One mage had already summoned a towering stone golem that strode beside them like a living fortress.
Leon Vandermane, the lion-headed commander of the United Kingdoms' combined forces, stepped forward and planted his clawed feet firmly into the earth.
He looked to Jax and gave a respectful nod.
More portals continued to disgorge soldiers.
Farmers carrying borrowed weapons.
Blacksmiths.
Hunters.
Craftsmen.
Men and women who had never considered themselves warriors.
But they had come anyway.
Because Solmere was their home.
Because the United Kingdoms was their dream too.
Because Jax Darquebane had changed their lives.
The Empire watched in stunned silence.
The field that had seemed nearly empty moments ago was now flooded with tens of thousands of soldiers.
Banners from every allied nation rose into the sky.
The line stretched farther and farther until it seemed the entire world stood behind Jax.
The Empire had arrived expecting a final execution.
Instead, they found a united continent.
The King stared in disbelief.
The Queen's smile vanished.
The curse mage sank into her chair.
The Spy Master slowly exhaled.
For the first time in years, he felt genuine uncertainty.
Not because he doubted their strength.
But because he finally understood what they were facing.
Not a rebel city.
Not a coalition of convenience.
A movement.
An idea.
And ideas were far harder to kill than men.
Jax reached down and pulled Peacemaker from the earth.
He twirled the massive blade once, then let it rest at his side.
The sound of steel settling into his grip echoed like a promise.
The Vixens moved behind him.
All of them.
Nyxian.
Llandra.
Bunny.
Zee.
Pixelle.
Lexi.
Together.
His wives.
His partners.
His heart.
He glanced sideways at Zee.
"Are we ready?"
Zee stepped forward, a bright smile crossing her face.
The same shy healer who once doubted her own worth now stood before hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
She lifted Sanctaris.
"Three."
The staff began to glow.
"Two."
Power swirled around her feet.
"One."
The battlefield held its breath.
"Now."
She drove the staff into the ground.
A shockwave of radiant magic exploded outward.
The anti-summoning spell shattered like glass.
The dark clouds overhead tore apart.
Sunlight flooded the battlefield once more.
The allied armies erupted into thunderous cheers.
Jax looked at Zee and smiled.
"I got it."
For a moment, tears glistened in her eyes.
It was the proudest moment of her life.
Jax stepped forward.
Thirty yards in front of every ally.
Alone once more.
But this time, everyone understood what "alone" truly meant.
The sunlight blazed behind him.
His shadow stretched across the field toward the Empire.
He raised Peacemaker.
"Arise."
The earth around him darkened.
Shadows surged upward.
Hundreds became thousands.
Dante, the Flame Dragon, unfurled blazing wings.
Charlotte, the colossal spider, towered over the battlefield.
Fang coiled across the ground.
Gryph screamed into the sky.
Rootzilla emerged like a living mountain of wood and fury.
And behind them came the rest of Jax's shadow legion.
The Empire's front ranks recoiled.
Some took involuntary steps backward.
Others dropped their weapons.
Even hardened generals felt their confidence crack.
Jax rested Peacemaker on his shoulder and looked across the field at the army that had come to destroy everything he loved.
His amplified voice rolled across the battlefield.
"I like my All-Stars versus your utility players."
No one moved.
No one attacked.
Two hundred fifty thousand soldiers of the Empire stood frozen.
Eighty thousand allied warriors and Jax's shadow army waited in perfect readiness.
Between them stood one man.
The Hero of Solmere.
The Founder of the United Kingdoms.
The Shadow King.
And at long last, the Empire understood exactly what they had awakened.