The Ash Blade stood motionless, half-shadow, half-soul, its presence choking the air around it. Seraphina gripped Ravon's arm, her heart thudding as though it recognized the danger long before her mind did.
The demon lord stepped forward, shielding her with one wing, obsidian black and pulsing with heat. "You're not supposed to cross," Ravon growled, eyes glowing like molten ember.
The Ash Blade lifted its sword.
"The Womb has awakened," it hissed in a voice not of one, but of many.
Ravon didn't wait.
Flame erupted from his palm, slamming into the creature's chest. It staggered, but did not fall. Instead, its sword carved through the magic like it was mist.
Seraphina closed her eyes and whispered, "Protect him."
Her child moved inside her.
Not with fear.
With power.
A sudden pulse of light exploded from her, throwing the Ash Blade back into the cracked veil. The walls trembled. The gate shrieked.
She fell to her knees.
Ravon caught her. "Are you—"
"I'm fine," she panted. "The baby… it reacted."
"No," Ravon said slowly, staring at the seal that now glowed across her skin. "It protected us."
---
But far beyond their realm, in a crumbling temple buried beneath time, others felt it too.
A hooded figure stirred among dust and bones.
"The child has chosen its side," she whispered. "Then the war begins."
She lifted a scroll inked in living fire.
The Cradle of Realms must fall.
---
Back at the fortress, Ravon reinforced the walls with a barrier of demonblood flame.
Seraphina stood near the window, watching the stars. They no longer looked the same. One had begun to pulse with violet fire.
Ravon joined her. "The gate won't stay sealed for long."
She turned to him. "Then we fight."
He paused. "Are you ready for that?"
Seraphina smiled softly. "I carry more than a child, Ravon. I carry the voice of two realms."
Ravon's eyes darkened with reverence. He took her hand and placed it over his heart.
"Then let the realms tremble.