The warehouse groaned under the weight of power. Winds clawed at its broken windows. Lightning arced through the dark skies as the battle within raged on.
Outside, the Ashveil task force gathered, spells at the ready—but no one could enter.
A ward shimmered in the air, a shimmering veil wrapped around the building like molten glass. Every time someone approached, the barrier repelled them.
"This is no ordinary barrier," said the Ashveil commander. "It's been tailored. Only one passed through… the younger Veyne."
They watched, helpless.
---
Inside, golden wisps danced briefly around Darian's limbs before fading, leaving him centered, breathing deep.
The demon circled him slowly. "You're no spellcaster. You've no mana. But you've strength... something else. Let's see how far that takes you."
Then it charged.
Darian met it head-on.
Their clash cracked the floor. Darian ducked beneath a swipe and delivered a bone-shattering punch to the demon's ribs. The creature recoiled, but retaliated with a vicious spin-kick that sent Darian flying across the room.
He rolled, came up crouched, then launched forward again.
The demon slashed its claws. Darian twisted sideways, grabbing its arm and hurling it into a shattered pillar. Stone exploded. The demon rose with a grin.
"Interesting."
It unleashed a wave of cursed energy. Darian charged straight through, aura flaring briefly. He leapt, grabbed the demon mid-blast, and drove it through the floor into the underground level of the warehouse.
Dust and debris rained down.
The demon kicked free and vanished in a blur.
Darian closed his eyes.
He listened.
Then he moved.
A blur passed his side—he turned and struck.
His fist met the demon's jaw with a thunderous crack, sending it sprawling. He didn't pause. He rushed forward, pinned the demon with one arm, and drew from the remnants of his broken sword.
He plunged the jagged blade into the demon's chest.
The creature screamed.
Black blood spilled across the ground, sizzling like acid. Its body convulsed.
Darian's hand reached into the wound.
And pulled.
A crystal—dark violet, pulsing with malicious energy—came free in his grasp.
"No…" the demon gasped, eyes wide.
Darian crushed it.
The demon froze.
Then it screamed—not from pain, but from something deeper.
"You…" it whispered, fading. "You are the Bearer... I was wrong... I thought your brother..."
Its voice grew distant.
"I was only a harbinger. There are others—stronger… ancient… waiting. If this is all your Might can offer, then you will fall."
The creature's body cracked, split, and dissolved into ash.
Darian dropped the remains of the blade and fell to his knees.
Then everything went black.
---
Ashveil's forces watched as the ward around the warehouse dissolved.
Cautiously, they entered.
Inside, they found two bodies.
Caelum and Darian—unconscious.
Teyla ran to them, followed by the commander.
"They're alive," Rowan confirmed, placing his hand over Caelum's chest.
An Ashveil mage scanned the surroundings.
"The demon's gone…" she muttered. "Slain."
Another mage hovered a scrying orb over the brothers.
"I can sense strong mana signatures," she said. "But only from this one." She gestured to Caelum.
"And the other?"
"Nothing. No mana at all."
The mages exchanged looks.
"Then how…?"
"We don't know," said the commander. "But we'll find out."
---
Back at the Arcadium, two days later, both brothers rested in a secluded healing chamber.
They awoke within minutes of each other.
The Ashveil commander stood at the foot of their beds.
"We need answers," he said. "What happened in there?"
Caelum sat up slowly. His voice was hoarse.
"I… I don't remember."
The commander turned to Darian.
"And you?"
Darian looked at him—calm, unreadable.
"No," he said. "Nothing."
The commander frowned, but said nothing further.
He turned and left, the chamber door closing behind him with a quiet hiss.