Every king casts a shadow.
Kael had walked through war, betrayal, and blood to stand in the light.
But now, that shadow had a name.
> A face.
A soul.
A brother.
And it wanted to burn the world clean.
---
The Battlefield of Boneglass
The armies met at Boneglass Ridge — a dead land, cursed by old magic and sharpened by sorrow.
A battlefield made of broken weapons and ash.
Kael's legions formed ranks under a blood moon: flame-wielders, fangriders, rune-carvers, and berserkers. All bearing the mark of Ashfang.
And across from them stood the Revenant host:
Ten thousand strong.
Silent.
Each warrior tethered to a dying star.
And in front of them—alone—stood him.
Clad in robes of black fire.
Eyes mirror-bright.
Smiling like someone who'd never known fear.
The Prince of the Hollow.
---
A Mirror in Flesh
Kael stepped forward.
The prince mirrored him.
They met in the center of the no-man's land, no weapons drawn.
Only truths.
The prince tilted his head. "So this is what I could have been."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "And this is what I refuse to become."
The prince smiled wider. "You carry our father's heart. But I carry his mind."
> "You burn for the living.
I burn for the forgotten."
Kael tightened his grip on the Fang of Varok.
"What's your plan?"
The prince gestured to the sky.
The moon bled darker.
> "We're not here to win."
> "We're here to erase."
---
The Flame Requiem
Lina screamed into the mindlink: "Kael—he's channeling the Hollow's core!"
Kael's body trembled.
He could feel it.
The prince wasn't just attacking.
> He was rewriting the laws of death.
The sky tore open.
A second moon appeared.
But it wasn't a moon.
It was an eye.
Kael fell to one knee, pain shredding through his spirit.
Sylah's voice cut through: "If he completes the chant, the Hollow will merge with this world!"
Drayk bellowed from the flank. "Kael—NOW!"
---
The Clash of Bloodfire
Kael rose.
His flame roared.
Black and silver.
Revenant and Moonborn.
He clashed with the prince in a blast of fire so bright, it blinded both armies.
Steel screamed.
Magic fractured.
And time itself slowed.
They fought like gods and brothers.
Fists.
Fangs.
Fire.
The prince struck Kael's chest with a curse that burned backward through his bloodline.
Kael struck the prince's face with the truth of his fire—and the guilt of their father's lies.
---
The Final Choice
Kael pinned him.
Blade to heart.
The prince laughed.
"You won't kill me. You can't."
Kael's voice cracked. "I don't want to."
The prince whispered, "Then we all die."
> "Unless… you take my place."
> "Sit on the Hollow Throne.
End the war by becoming its god."
Kael hesitated.
The world held its breath.
Then he stabbed the Fang of Varok into the earth.
And whispered:
> "I'm not here to rule the Hollow."
> "I'm here to seal it."
---
The Flame Unleashed
Kael called on the last of his flame.
His life.
His blood.
His soul.
He bound it into a final spell.
One that would seal the Hollow Realm forever.
He grabbed his brother—still laughing—and pulled him into the rift.
> "You're not my shadow," he said.
"You're my warning."
He cast the spell.
The sky exploded.
The Hollow collapsed.
And Kael vanished.
---
Aftermath
The Revenants screamed.
Then they crumbled.
Dust on the wind.
The Moonborn stood victorious.
But silent.
Because their king—their fire—was gone.
---
Epilogue: The Ashfang Legend
Years passed.
The world healed.
And in the whispers of wolves and the flicker of sacred flame, one name lived on.
> Ashf
ang.
They said he died to save them.
Some believed he became fire itself.
Others… swore they saw him walking in dreams.
But Lina knew.
In her heart, she knew.
> Kael Varos wasn't gone.
> He was watching.
> Waiting.
> For the next war.