Eldric didn't hesitate. Even without his greatsword, he drew a short blade from his belt. His eyes blazed with a fire no magic could extinguish.
"You will not break Solthera!" he spat, lunging straight for Draeven's black heart.
Draeven sidestepped with liquid grace. His dagger, etched with forbidden runes, pierced Eldric's chest.
In that horrific instant, the world stopped.
There was no blood. Instead, Eldric's physical form began to shimmer and blur like a mirage. His Drazhin essence was unraveling. The King's body transformed into a brilliant silver mist, spiraling upward toward the darkening stars.
Eldric Vaeltheron vanished into the wind. All that remained was his empty armor, his heavy silver crown, and his silent sword. They fell into the blood-soaked mud with a hollow, metallic thud.
Draeven's laugh, sharp as breaking glass, echoed across the pass. "A king of mist," he mocked. "How fitting."
The Soltheran soldiers froze. Their hearts broke in a single breath.
A moment later, the thundering of hooves shattered the silence. Aetheron and Kaelor burst into the pass. Aetheron didn't wait for his horse to stop. He threw himself into the mud, his eyes locking onto the empty, silver breastplate of his father.
"Father..." the word was a broken whisper.
He sank to his knees. His fingers brushed the hilt of Dawnbreaker. The sword was cold. Kaelor stepped up behind him, his hand gripping Aetheron's shoulder with a strength that was the only thing keeping the young King upright.
"He is gone as the Drazhin go, Aetheron," Kaelor said, his voice thick with grief. "His essence has returned to the source. He died a King's death."
Aetheron stood up slowly. The grief in his amber eyes was being consumed by a quiet, terrifying rage. He looked at the empty spot where his father had stood, then toward the retreating shadows of Zhalver.
He picked up the silver crown from the mud. It was cold, stained with the earth of the battlefield. Aetheron didn't put it on his head; he gripped it until the metal bit into his palm. "Draeven Zareth believes he has stolen our future," he whispered, his voice vibrating with power. "But he has only ignited the fire that will burn his world to ash."