Ashes Of The Demon King

Kael stood alone in the scorched valley

Ash covered his cloak and blood soaked his boots

The last of the corrupted priests were nothing but charred shadows behind him

Their screams had faded into silence

But silence never lasted

From the far ridge the cloaked figure still watched

Its face hidden under layers of rotting cloth

Its eyes not glowing but void

Empty holes that looked into something beyond death

Kael did not ask who it was

He did not speak

He simply walked forward

With each step the earth cracked under his feet

Not from weight

But from power

Power that did not belong to mortals

Power that came from rebirth

From pain

From death

From the pact made beneath the altar of bones

The figure moved

Floating more than walking

It drifted down into the valley with no sound

No breath

No life

Kael stopped only when the figure reached him

Its voice was like knives through wet flesh

It said

You have killed too many

The balance is broken

The doors are opening

Kael said nothing

He did not care for balance

He did not care for warnings

He raised his hand and summoned a blade not made of steel

A blade of red flame and black runes

A blade that screamed with every movement

The figure did not flinch

Instead it reached into its own chest and pulled free a chain of pale bones

Spinning the bones like a whip it charged

They clashed in a burst of raw force

Kael moved like a monster not a man

Every swing of his blade split the air

The figure matched him strike for strike

But Kael did not tire

Kael did not retreat

He pressed forward

Step by step

Until the figure cracked

Its body tore open from shoulder to waist

And something inside screamed

Not a scream of pain

But of awakening

The bones it wielded shattered

And from its broken form spilled a swarm of leeching spirits

Pale things with hollow mouths

They rushed Kael

Hundreds

Thousands

Each one feeding off hatred

Off sorrow

Off vengeance

Kael let them come

He welcomed them

As they latched onto him

As they tried to drain him

He absorbed them instead

Their memories

Their rage

Their curses

He consumed them and grew darker

Stronger

His veins glowed

Not with light

But with hunger

His body twisted

Not with pain

But with rebirth

He was not human now

Not demon

Not god

Something else

Something ancient reborn through suffering

He looked down at his hands

Clawed

Covered in dark crystal

He could feel the tower again

Not a building

But a throne

A monument of blood calling him

Then he heard her voice

It was soft

Cold

Familiar

It came from behind the broken stones

The voice said

You finally look like what you were always meant to be

Kael turned

She stepped into view

Long silver hair

Eyes like shattered glass

She wore the same robes as the priestesses

But hers were soaked in the blood of her own order

Kael knew her

Elira

Once the high priestess who betrayed him

Now something else

She smiled without warmth

I have waited for you Kael

Waited for this

For your transformation

He said nothing

But he remembered

She had fed him to the altar

Had lied to the elders

Had sealed his soul in the demon gate

Now she stood before him unashamed

Not begging

Not weeping

But proud

She raised her hand and the ruins behind her trembled

From the earth rose new beasts

Twisted hounds with no faces

Worms the size of carriages

A giant stitched together from dead sorcerers

All of them stared at Kael

Elira said

I made these for you

For our reunion

Let us see if you are truly worthy of the hatred you carry

Kael felt no fear

He felt no joy

Only hunger

He took one step forward and the earth shattered beneath him

The sky darkened

And a tower began to rise behind him

Its shape forged of shadows and bones

Not built

But summoned

Kael raised both hands

From above fell swords of fire

From the ground erupted chains of frost

Poison fog spilled from his cloak

And lightning danced in his eyes

All ten skills he had mastered awakened

Each star he had earned now burned bright on his soul

The beasts charged

But he was already among them

He tore the hounds apart with blades of wind

He shattered the worms with fists of stone

The stitched giant screamed as Kael pierced its chest with a laser of blood magic

The field became a graveyard within seconds

Elira watched

And laughed

Even as blood ran from her eyes

You are perfect now she said

But perfection is not enough

Come find me

At the summit

Where the gods used to sit

Before we burned them

She vanished in a spiral of runes

Leaving only death and echoes

Kael stood in the aftermath

His cloak torn

His power still growing

And behind him

The tower kept rising

Calling him upward