A Crown of Ash and Bone
The metallic scent of blood never left Kaels lungs
The mine tunnels reeked of rot Corpses lined the walls like forgotten statues miners guards traitors and monsters alike all torn twisted and defiled Kael walked barefoot through puddles of blood dragging a broken war axe in one hand its edge stained with marrow His armor had long fused with his skin iron scorched black engraved with demonic runes that pulsed faintly with each breath he took
Behind him nothing remained of the human Kael The one who once begged for mercy in chains who watched his family burned alive who died screaming while gods turned their eyes away he was ash now
The creature walking the tunnels was reborn in pain
Kael stood before the deepest gate of the mine a door sealed by ancient magic layered with hexes and chained by rusted blacksteel At its center the face of an archdemon carved in obsidian grinned in mockery
What waits behind this door Kael asked aloud not expecting an answer
The forgotten sins of this world whispered a voice in his mind
It was the Whisperer the cursed entity bound to his soul when he was resurrected It spoke not in words but in bonedeep feelings memories not his own It fed on vengeance and Kael fed it well
With one swift monstrous swing Kael brought the axe down
A crack of thunder The seal shattered Chains snapped like brittle twine
The obsidian door groaned open revealing a chasm of lightless black Cold rushed out like a living thing biting at his flesh And then a growl low and primal shook the earth Something ancient had stirred
From the darkness stepped a Behemarx a demon forged from dozens of bodies each screaming silently beneath its translucent flesh Its head split into four each with needlelike teeth dripping tar Bone spikes jutted from its spine and its claws scraped sparks from the tunnel floor
Flesh soul scream it hissed
Kael didnt flinch
Instead he walked forward each step slow deliberate The axe dragged behind him like a judges gavel
The Behemarx charged
Its steps shattered stone Kael dodged twisting sideways with supernatural grace and cleaved a chunk of flesh from its arm The Behemarx roared—not in pain but rage and slammed him with a tentacled limb
Kael flew back into a wall coughing blood His vision blurred
And then he smiled
Good he muttered standing Youre strong enough to deserve death
He activated Hellrend one of the stolen skills etched into his soul from the demonic cultist he devoured in Chapter 4 Flame erupted from his axe black and hungry
They clashed again
Claws met steel Flesh burned Tentacles tried to strangle Kael but he bit through one tearing sinew with his teeth Gore splattered across the walls
Kaels laughter echoed
This was no longer a fight it was art
Within minutes the Behemarx was reduced to twitching meat Kael stood over its broken mass and without hesitation ripped its soul from its chest The spirit howled in terror as it was consumed by the Whisperer
Kael exhaled
Then he collapsed to one knee
His body shook His veins glowed black
The transformation was not complete
He had taken too many cursed essences Too many forbidden skills The human in him still resisted clinging to scraps of morality
Kill it the Whisperer said Burn that weakness out Let me finish the work
No Kael growled Not yet Im not done making them suffer
He pushed himself up every bone screaming Then turned back
The deeper tunnels led not just to ancient evils but to the surface to the cities above where the nobles who murdered his family lived fat and untouched
It was time to climb
Three Days Later
The town of Volcrest stood under a red sky
Guards patrolled lazily believing the world beneath them was nothing but myth Children laughed Markets bustled Priests sang praises to the gods of light
They didnt hear the screams not yet
Then came the first warning a thick fog crawling up from the mines
Then silence
Then at the town gate a man appeared
He was wrapped in armor stitched from skin A horned helmet shadowed his eyes He held no flag no banner Only a burning axe and a gaze that hollowed the soul
Who who goes there one guard shouted voice trembling
Kael didnt speak
He simply raised his axe
And Volcrest burned
Kael moved through the streets like a butcher Limbs flew Heads rolled He didnt kill for satisfaction anymore he killed because it was the language of justice Each nobles house he reached he slaughtered everyone inside from servant to lord He dragged them into the street nailed them to walls and left their corpses as warnings
He summoned new skills with every soul he stole
Blood Spire impaled enemies on crimson lances that burst from the ground
Wail of the Damned a scream that shattered minds turning victims against one another
Obsidian Reaver a blade forged from demonbone that grew stronger with each kill
The sky turned black by noon
By sundown Volcrest no longer existed
Only smoke Bones And Kael standing on a hill of corpses drenched in red
But he wasnt satisfied
This was just one town One nest of filth The kingdom stretched wide and deeper corruption lay in its heart The Divine Church the Royal Academy the Council of Magi all of them had betrayed him
All of them would be ashes
As Kael left Volcrest he whispered something not even the Whisperer understood
They thought death was the end of my story
But I was reborn to write a new one with their blood
He vanished into the night