“Humans!” Lost’s voice boomed, “Your reckoning is at hand!”

Rayse, standing atop the fortress battlements, looked at the demon king in all her glory. Her black armor was a scar across the clear midday sky. She stood in midair, completely ignoring the laws of gravity as her presence bore down upon them. She was far enough away to have been a mere speck across the canvas of the sky, but her physique, like her bloodlust, felt large and imposing.

At her back was the full might of the demon army. The entire valley was crawling with demonic foot soldiers, the ever dangerous harbingers. Among them were an equally impressive array of emissaries. They were as plentiful as they were diverse. From what Rayse could see, there were easily as many emissaries present here as there were harbingers at the siege of Kyrios. He gulped down his nerves, remembering how he had almost died from a single one of them not long ago. The heralds were nowhere to be seen, but there was the Lord of Pride, hovering high above even Lost, presumably aboard his massive vessel. Rayse remembered the imposing figure, the floating patch of angry black sea that covered the sky when they fought Rage and Conquest. He saw waves on its surface, as if a storm had come upon its waters.

Rayse stood in awe at the sight, so incomprehensible that even his fear hadn't registered. Easily numbering in the millions, such a massive army simply cannot be true.

“The month has come and passed, and the day has arrived. The Lord of the Abyss stirs in his throne, eager to descend.”

The army at her back screamed, shaking the ground with the noise they made. They let loose at the mention of their maker, striking the ground with such force that even the fortress of Mui seemed to shake.

… And then, silence. Lost brought up a hand, and the sound cut off instantly, making Rayse doubt his senses even more. Even the angry splashing of the sea overhead calmed, its black waters appearing as still as an orb of obsidian.

“My voice echoes throughout your kingdom, and your next words decide their fate. What say you, human king? Shall you embrace the coming of your new God, or perish under His boot?”

Vaynard came forward, wearing gleaming golden armor. He rested his hand on a pommel, where an unfamiliar blade rests. He looked every bit the hero everyone he met said that he was: The valiant hero that chose the burden of rule in the most unforgiving of circumstances.

“As the ruler of these people, and the last king of humanity, I declare that every step you take into my kingdom you will pay for in blood!” Vaynard stepped forward as he uttered each word, standing unto solid air like the demon king before him. A vicious red gleam erupted from the sword he was holding.”I declare that we shall fight to our last breath! Your so-called gift, this embrace of the abyss is naught but some empty claim, some meaningless niceties that places our souls in the unending belly of your wretched god, whose ceaseless hunger you have twisted into some divine purpose! As a king, nay, a man, I can tolerate your rampage upon these lands no longer!” 

Vaynard finally pulled out the sword, blanketing the world in a blood red hue. He pointed it at the demon king, openly challenging her as he made his declaration.

“You may bang your heads against our gates with such strength that it uproots our kingdom. You may slaughter each of us here and send our souls to the despicable being that you call Father. He may even descend to devour the world, and turn His sights to an unlimited number of worlds that is, without us, His for the taking. Yes, demon, I know of our end. I know that our battle for survival is viewed by the heavens as a matter of course. That our lives are but a microcosm, a momentary blip in a war that has lasted from when time was barely even a thought! I see your eyes, Demon King! They ask me why, knowing all this, would I consign my people to such a meaningless death!?”

Each word was an accusation, a listing down of crimes that dated back millenia. Rayse’s heart raced, watching Vaynard shout down the enemy leader. He knew what they were building up to, but he felt that he needed to hear them nonetheless. Worlds upon worlds had been devoured, entire cosmos worth of life had been extinguished before Erebos had set His sights upon this one. In each one He was the victor, in each one He left an empty void in His wake. All these planets, lost forever in the dark of the abyss.

All, that is, except one.

“Etch these words unto your soul, harlot: HUMANITY WILL ENDURE, EVEN BEYOND THE END!”

“”RRRRRAHHHHHHHHHH!!!”” Rayse joined in as everybody in the fortress added their voice to the shouting masses. It was so loud that it seemed to echo throughout the plains and into the distant mountains, amplifying the sound and enveloping the area in humanity’s resilient cry.

The demon king stood in silence, letting the noise wash over her unlike when she commanded her army to stop. One may have thought her intimidated, but soon, her domineering presence enveloped the fortress, compelling everyone into silence. Rayse could feel the air constricting his neck, as if Lost herself had him in her grasp, squeezing the life out of him. A few people surrounding him fell to one knee, with several more threatening to collapse. The king’s red light entered him in this moment, giving him courage, and steadying his senses. He steadied himself, shaking his head back into focus. What had occurred wasn’t any sort of clashing of spells, but was simply a result of a divine being directing their anger upon them. 

“...So be it.” She declared thus, and turned around, floating her way back to the bulk of her army. “I wanted Father to descend with cheers of adulation. He would have to settle with the death knells of humanity.”

A bright light flashed briefly, and the army before them vanished. Rayse was disoriented by the sudden shift, but he kept his guard up. A chunk of the army, as well as the floating sea of darkness, had stayed behind.

“Sire!” Several messengers had arrived,  riding the wind from all over the fortress. “We’re surrounded!”

“Hmmm.” Vaynard grunted. “And so we are.” His sword light dimmed, but he kept it unsheathed. He turned in place, now facing the Fortress of Mui. He took a deep breath, surveying the men on the battlements. He studied each face, as if committing each one into memory. He spoke once again, this time directed at them all.

“May Marduk himself, Father of Light and Lord of all Life, protect you.” It was a benediction, a prayer of blessing for all who heard. He paused for a second, before looking right at Rayse. Or so he thought, until he looked to his side and found Aleph staring back, face as unreadable as a compass in a storm.

“...And may the God of Heroes guide your blade.”