The portal roared open above the skies of Veilgrove, its swirling light casting shadows across the towers. Thunder cracked—not from weather, but from Kael's arrival.
His boots hit the stone with quiet authority.
Eyes turned.
Gasps followed.
"Is that…?"
"He's back…"
"He's changed…"
And then silence.
The kind that only comes before a god speaks.
Riven was the first to break through the crowd. She ran to him, eyes wide—not with fear, but everything she ever left unsaid.
"You came back."
Kael didn't speak. He just pulled her in.
Held her.
The fire around him quieted.
"I always would."
The world might burn, the realms might collapse—but this moment held steady. Two warriors. Bound by flame, forged by chaos.
The people gathered. The guilds. The masters. Even those who doubted once knelt in awe.
Kael stepped forward, raising his voice—not just as a fighter. Not as a myth. But as a man.
"You look at me… and you see a god. A king. A flame that can't be touched. But I bleed just like you."
"The Dragon King sent war to our doorstep. He wanted fear."
"But I say—we fight. Not as pawns. Not as sheep. But as warriors. As a realm unbroken!"
Cheers broke out.
Blades were raised.
Flags unfurled.
The Guilds united under one banner: The Flame of the Realmguard.
The War of Two Kings had begun.
One king of tyranny.
One king of fire.
And Kael stood at the front.