The Crimson Pass lived up to its name. Under the bruised purple sky, the towering stone walls glowed with a sickening, arterial red. For centuries, this narrow corridor had been Solthera's shield. Tonight, it was a graveyard.
King Eldric Vaeltheron stood at the vanguard. At sixty, he was still a titan of silver and steel. His greatsword, Dawnbreaker, hummed with ancient Drazhin runes.
"For Solthera!" Eldric's voice boomed, cutting through the mountain wind. "Let no shadow pass while a single heart beats in this valley!"
Across the field, the Zhalver army moved like a rising tide of obsidian. Their armor didn't reflect light; it swallowed it. There were no cheers from their side—only the rhythmic, terrifying thud of iron-shod boots.
The collision sounded like a mountain collapsing.
Steel met steel. Shields splintered into a thousand shards. The firm ground quickly turned into a red mire of mud and blood. Eldric fought like a man dancing with death. Every swing of Dawnbreaker carved a path through the black ranks. His soldiers rallied, anchored by his ferocity.
But miles away, Aetheron was pushing his horse to the brink of collapse. He could see the red glow of the cliffs on the horizon. His heart hammered against his ribs.Just a little longer, he prayed.Father, just hold on.
Back at the Pass, the sea of black steel suddenly parted.
A figure glided forward. It didn't walk; it drifted like a predator. Draeven Zareth emerged from the chaos. His cloak was a living shroud of shadows that seemed to drink the twilight. His eyes burned with a sickly green glow—a forbidden power that mocked the ancient treaties of the Seven Kingdoms.
"Zareth!" Eldric bellowed, his chest heaving. "You bring the filth of the Abyss into a mortal's war?"
Draeven didn't speak. He simply raised a pale, trembling hand.
The shadows at Draeven's feet began to writhe like dying snakes. They lashed out, coiling around Eldric's arms with unnatural speed. Dawnbreaker—the sword of kings—clattered to the muddy ground, its blue runes turning into cold, grey stone. Eldric was disarmed, and the green fire in Draeven's eyes grew brighter.