A War of Shadows and Kings
The world stood still for a moment.
Just a moment.
And then it shattered.
The Dragon King’s blade had torn through the darkness, and for the first time, the enemy faltered. The shadows wavered, recoiling as if struck by something beyond steel—something stronger.
But the figure standing across from them wasn’t beaten.
Not yet.
He barely moved, yet the shadows coiled tighter around him, twisting like living things, like a second skin that refused to part from its master.
His gaze flicked toward the Dragon King, assessing.
And then, he smiled.
Not the kind that held amusement. Not the kind that carried warmth.
It was the kind of smile that belonged to a man who had been waiting for this exact moment.
For a long, long time.
“You’re stronger than I expected,” he mused, tilting his head slightly. “But strength alone won’t save you.”
The Dragon King didn’t answer.
Because he didn’t need to.
Instead, he shifted his stance, his golden eyes glowing with something dangerous, something ancient.
Something that sent a chill down Elara’s spine.
And for the first time since this battle began—
The shadowed figure hesitated.
---
A Name That Still Hurt to Say
Elara knew she couldn’t keep standing there.
She knew she had to move, had to fight, had to push past the storm of emotions clawing at her chest.
But how could she, when the ghost before her was someone she once—
She swallowed hard.
Even now, she couldn’t bring herself to say his name.
Not even in her thoughts.
It felt like an admission of something she wasn’t ready to face.
So instead, she did what she had always done best.
She fought.
With a sharp inhale, she lunged forward, her blade slicing through the air, aiming for the heart of the shadows.
But he was faster.
As if he had been expecting her to move, he twisted out of the way at the last second, the darkness around him shifting like an extension of his own body.
“Elara,” he murmured, just loud enough for her to hear.
It was almost gentle.
Almost.
But there was something else beneath it—something sharp, something cold.
Something that reminded her that the man she had once known was gone.
And the one standing before her now—
Was her enemy.
---
A Past That Wouldn’t Die
Jax didn’t hesitate.
The moment Elara’s attack missed, he was already moving, fire bursting from his palms in a furious wave.
“Yeah, yeah, we get it,” he called out. “You like your creepy little villain monologues. Real original. But how about you actually fight instead of standing there acting all mysterious?”
The flames roared.
They surged forward, swallowing the space between them, forcing the shadowed figure to retreat.
But he didn’t panic.
Didn’t falter.
He simply raised a hand.
And the fire—vanished.
As if the very air had swallowed it whole.
Jax blinked. “Oh, come on.”
The enemy tilted his head, watching him with something like amusement.
“Magic is a fickle thing,” he said softly. “It bends to those who understand it. And you—” He glanced at Jax, at the fire still flickering at his fingertips. “You wield it like a child playing with a toy.”
Jax scowled. “Well, excuse me, Mr. I-Absorb-Flames-Like-It’s-My-Job. Maybe if you gave me a tutorial instead of trying to kill us, I’d be better at it.”
Lucienne rolled her eyes. “Jax, for once in your life, stop talking.”
Jax huffed. “Rude.”
But before he could say anything else—
The shadows struck.
---
A Clash of Power and Fate
They came faster this time.
More precise.
The enemy was done playing.
The first tendril shot toward Kael, but he was already moving, his dagger slicing through the darkness in a single, practiced motion. Another wave of shadows crashed toward Lucienne, but her blade met them head-on, light and darkness clashing in a violent explosion.
Elara barely had time to register the battle before a cold whisper of air rushed toward her.
She turned just in time.
A blade of pure shadow was already descending—aimed directly at her heart.
She blocked.
Metal screamed against darkness as she struggled to hold her ground, her arms shaking from the sheer force of the impact.
“You’ve gotten better,” the enemy murmured, his face only inches from hers now.
Elara’s jaw tightened. “And you’ve gotten worse.”
He smiled. “You always did like to lie.”
Then—he pushed.
Hard.
Elara barely managed to throw herself back before the shadows could tear through her, rolling across the broken stone.
Pain shot up her arms, but she gritted her teeth and forced herself up.
She couldn’t falter.
Not now.
Because if she did—
If she let herself hesitate—
She would lose.
And she wasn’t willing to lose.
Not again.
---
The Dragon King’s Fury
A deep, rumbling growl echoed across the battlefield.
A sound that sent shivers down everyone’s spine.
The Dragon King had had enough.
In a single step, he closed the distance between himself and the shadowed figure.
His blade came down with the force of a storm.
And this time—
The enemy couldn’t dodge.
The moment steel met darkness, the entire ruin shook.
The force of the attack sent shockwaves through the battlefield, knocking back even those who weren’t caught in the direct blast.
For the first time—
The enemy staggered.
The Dragon King didn’t wait.
He struck again.
And again.
And again.
Every swing of his blade was precise. Calculated. Unrelenting.
He wasn’t just attacking.
He was overpowering.
And the enemy—
Was losing.
The shadows that had once moved so effortlessly were now struggling to keep up.
A crack had formed.
A weakness.
A chance.
And Elara saw it.
This was it.
This was the moment.
With a sharp breath, she moved.
Faster than thought, faster than hesitation—
Her blade aimed for the one place she knew he couldn’t defend in time.
The heart.
But just as her weapon was about to connect—
The shadows collapsed inward.
And in an instant—
He was gone.
---
The Aftermath of the Unfinished
Silence.
For the first time since the battle began—silence.
The enemy was gone.
Vanished into the darkness as if he had never been there at all.
The only proof that the battle had happened was the destruction left behind—the cracked stone, the lingering magic, the heavy weight in all their chests.
Jax let out a breath. “I hate it when they do that.”
Kael sheathed his dagger. “He’ll be back.”
Lucienne nodded. “And next time, we’ll be ready.”
Elara didn’t say anything.
Because even as the others spoke, even as the battle ended—
She knew this wasn’t over.
Not by a long shot.
And worse—
She wasn’t sure if she was ready for what came next.