Kael exhaled slowly, feeling the divine energy eating away at his very essence. The golden spear embedded in his chest pulsed like a living thing, burning through his core. Alden didn't move. His grip on the spear was firm, unwavering. He had no words left to say—only the certainty that he would see this through to the end. Kael's smirk faltered for the first time. Then, with a single motion, he grasped the spear. The air shattered. Alden's body nearly buckled under the pressure. The battlefield itself groaned as the void and divine forces clashed, neither willing to give way. Kael ripped the spear from his chest, the wound sealing almost instantly—but not without cost. The void around him flickered violently, cracks forming in its once-absolute darkness. His golden eyes locked onto Alden, and for the first time, they held something dangerous.
Doubt.
"You're different now," Kael murmured. He flexed his fingers, watching as his body refused to fully regenerate. The divine energy still lingered, defying his very existence. "How?"
Alden lifted his spear. "You tell me."
Kael laughed—a hoarse, broken sound. "You think you've won?"
He vanished. Alden barely had time to react before Kael reappeared behind him, his palm already thrusting forward. The sheer force of the attack ripped through reality itself, an eruption of void meant to erase everything in its path.
But Alden wasn't the same warrior as before. His body moved on instinct. With a single twist, he brought his spear up and blocked the strike. The resulting impact sent shockwaves rippling across the battlefield, shattering the ground beneath them. Kael's smirk returned. "Better." Alden's grip tightened. Then, they clashed.
Alden struck first, his spear a blur of golden light. Kael countered with razor-sharp void tendrils, each one capable of rending through the fabric of existence. Their battle tore through the battlefield, the sky itself splitting under the force of their blows. Kael warped through space, appearing and disappearing between attacks, but Alden was faster now. Stronger. He met every strike head-on, the divine power surging through him like an unstoppable tide. For every attack Kael threw, Alden answered with twice the force. For the first time—Kael was losing. Alden saw it.
And so did Kael. With a final roar, Alden's spear ignited in blinding radiance. He drove it forward, piercing through Kael's chest once more—this time, all the way through. Kael's eyes widened.
His body froze. The battlefield went silent.
Alden exhaled, his vision swimming. His entire body trembled from the sheer power he had just unleashed. But he refused to let go. Not until he was sure—
Kael chuckled. Blood dripped from his lips, staining the golden weapon that impaled him. He lifted his gaze to Alden, a strange, unreadable expression in his eyes."…So that's how it is." The void shattered.
Kael's body began to disintegrate, the darkness unraveling into nothingness. The power that had once made him untouchable was now collapsing in on itself.
Alden stepped back, watching as the god who had once ruled