The Blade of Darkness and the Messengers of God
("The Last Temple of Asterra")
The temple was silent. Too silent.
The air carried the faint scent of scorched corpses, like a whisper drifting through the stillness.
On both sides of the grand hall's door stood the Six Messengers of Light, clad in full silver armor — the temple's most powerful defenders.
But among them stirred something not human — a celestial presence hovering, heavy and divine.
From beyond the door, heavy footsteps echoed.
The enchantments along the wall flickered, weakening without reason.
"He's coming…"
Suddenly, the door bulged and cracked — exploding open.
Darkness.
Smoke.
The wind of shadow.
A lone black-armored figure entered.
Kraan.
A dark aura drifted from his shoulders, and his sword — Dark Moon Light — shimmered with a soft violet-blue flame.
His face was as cold as the sky, and his gaze as deep as the abyss.
The first to step forward was Laurian — commander of the Holy Messengers, wielder of the ancient white blade of the old world.
"This place is the final sanctuary of the Divine. Leave, blade of darkness."
Kraan took a deep breath.
"I have nowhere to return to. Your so-called 'light' was built on the suffering of mortals.
I came here to bring the end."
"Then… face your end!"
The battle began.
Clash I: Kraan vs Laurian
Laurian's white sword blazed with divine light as he struck.
It sliced the air with blinding force, heading straight for Kraan.
But Kraan stood calmly, raising his sword across to block.
CLANG!!!
The clash of steel shook the chamber.
The sacred walls cracked.
They clashed like a god and a demon — yet the difference was clear.
"You think your light can wound me?" Kraan growled.
"Your light is false."
They struck again and again.
Laurian's sword began to fracture.
Blood spilled.
But he did not yield.
"I… will not surrender. The gods… are with me!"
"Then your gods shall die with you."
With one final blow, Kraan brought the full weight of his sword crashing down.
Laurian's armor shattered.
He was hurled backward, slamming through the temple wall.
Clash II: The Last Three Messengers
As Laurian fell, three more Messengers stepped forward — each wielding a distinct power.
One unleashed fire, engulfing the chamber.
Another cast a whispering curse of shadow, trying to unravel Kraan's mind.
The last turned his blade into pure light, aiming directly for Kraan's heart.
But...
Kraan stilled himself.
He raised Dark Moon Light and dipped it in his own blood.
"Divide… in darkness."
It was no ordinary strike.
It was a rupture of existence — as though the cosmos itself split.
The temple cracked.
The sky tore open.
The three Messengers were severed in an instant.
Blood. Fire. Light — flooded the air.
The End: Among the Ruins
The final Messenger burned and fell.
The temple's great pillar crumbled.
Kraan dropped to one knee.
His body weakened.
His sword lowered, calm at last.
He remembered Farella's corpse.
Sofia, Casmir, Sephist, Nevan — his comrades.
His childhood. His grief. The collapse of faith.
"Some light is born from the depths of darkness…"
He knelt beside Farella's shattered chest.
"Then why can't darkness give birth to light?..
I know this truth.
But you… you were too late."
He looked over the city.
The temple was no more.
People screamed.
The once-radiant sanctuary had become a smoking ruin.
Sofia walked to his side.
Her hands trembled slightly, but her face remained calm.
"The first temple has fallen. It's begun."
Kraan nodded.
"Go to the city's front gate. Draven needs your support."
Casmir stood nearby, sword to his chest, glancing at the ruins.
"Draven can handle that small blockade.
But I'm worried…"
Kraan looked at him, waiting.
"Can the remaining three temples fall as easily?"
Kraan went silent for a moment, then gazed toward the hills.
"Sephist and Kyrell are fine.
Nevan and Kyrell are handling the last two temples."
Then the ground trembled.
From deep beneath the citadel, a gate of black energy cracked open, and a cold wind burst out.
Casmir turned.
"There's something else here…"
Sofia didn't flinch.
Instead, she turned toward a sound in the distance.
A voice — like a whisper, like an old incantation:
"Et relinquam te in tenebris…"
(And so, I leave you in the dark…)
Kraan turned sharply.
"What is that?"
From within the depths of shadow, a figure emerged.
Armored, masked with an ancient sigil.
Nevan.
"The second temple has fallen."
His voice was low, calm — but filled with dread.
Kraan drew a breath.
"Go to the third.
The royal palace is surrounded.
But tonight… it all ends."
Shouts and war cries echoed from afar.
Light's soldiers had begun to gather at the central plaza, preparing a counterattack.
Kraan tightened his grip on his sword.
As lightning split the sky, his eyes flashed — cold and resolute.
"We began this path through the truth of darkness…
Now let's finish it."