The Below had never known a battle like this.
Silver light carved through molten stone. Shadowfire roared from the abyssal cliffs. Angelic hymns clashed with demonic roars, vibrating through the cracked sky. I could feel the impact even from the ether distant, muted, but powerful enough to stir the endless mist surrounding My realm.
The war was not simply fought. It was born forged in hatred, fear, and pride.
At the centre of it, two figures struck like meteors against reality itself.
Scourge, wings torn and burning with shadowfire, moved with impossible speed so fluid and lethal he looked like a blade dancing in the air. Arephon, the angelic general, shone like a falling star, armour glowing with law, spear singing with righteous fury.
Every strike echoed like thunder. Every clash shook the foundations of the Below.
The angels held formation around their leader, casting down radiant barriers to protect one another. The demons surged in chaotic waves, chasing any glimmer of weakness, driven by instinct and cruelty.
But the clash between the generals boiled above all else.
Arephon stabbed forwardScourge twisted aside, laughingShadowfire crackledSilver light parried
It was evenly matched.
Until Ellas arrived.
He appeared at the edge of a molten ridge, climbing slowly, clutching the medallion the demon had given him. His breath trembled. His mortal body strained. But hatred heavy, burning, almost divine pulled him upward.
When the first demon spotted him, it froze.
"D–Duke?" the creature whispered.
An angel followed the demon's gaze and stiffened in shock."A mortal? Here?"No, his aura "Impossible…"
Ellas stepped onto the battlefield. Shadowfire flickered weakly around his hands not as strong as Scourge's, but unmistakable.
Angels recoiled in disbelief. Demons stared, fascinated.
"He bears the flame of the Below"
"A mortal holding demonic rank?"
"He wields Scourge's shadowfire!"
The battlefield paused just long enough for the shock to sink in.
Ellas exhaled and extended his hand.
Shadowfire sputtered from his palm, shaky and weak more smoke than fire, more pain than strength. But it was enough to burn a path through molten stone and strike an angel shield, causing it to crack.
The demons roared.
They charged forward with renewed ferocity.
"DUKE!"DUKE ELLAS!"A mortal risen!"Our ranks grow stronger!"
Even the angelic general turned in surprise.
"A mortal wielding shadowfire?" Arephon spat. "Blasphemy."
Ellas smirked despite the pain. "Then fear your own weakness."
Scourge laughed.
It was not joyful nor mocking but triumphant.
"Do you see it now, Arephon?" Scourge spread his wings, shadowfire tearing across the battlefield. "Even a broken mortal has more vision than you."
Arephon struck with his spear, but Scourge blocked it effortlessly, shadowfire consuming half the blade.
"You were always arrogant," Arephon hissed.
"And you," Scourge replied, voice dripping contempt, "were always blind."
The general's wings flared. "Blind?! I rose where you fell. I lead where you rebelled. I"
Scourge cut him off with a harsh laugh.
"You lead because I refused the role."
Arephon froze mid-strike.
The angels reacted with shock. The demons leaned forward. Ellas narrowed his eyes, listening.
Scourge stepped closer until his cracked, glowing skin nearly touched the general's shimmering armour.
"Did Elder never tell you?" he whispered. "You were never meant to lead heaven."
Arephon's grip tightened. "Lies."
Scourge's smile sharpened.
"The Elder chose me first."
A stunned silence fell across the battlefield.
Even the rivers of molten stone seemed to pause their flow.
"I was stronger," Scourge continued, voice cold and smooth. "More powerful. More disciplined. More promising than any angel ever forged."
His wings spread wide, casting the battlefield into darkness.
"But I denied the role."
Arephon shook with fury. "You expect me to believe that you"
"Yes." Scourge leaned close. "Because the throne was too small."
Arephon's spear wavered.
Scourge's voice lowered into something softer yet more cruel.
"Elder chose you because I stepped aside. Because I would not be chained to weakness. Because I refused to lead a choir of terrified children."
Gasps rippled through the angelic ranks.
Arephon's expression cracked first disbelief, then rage, then humiliation.
Scourge delivered the final cut.
"You became the leader because the throne needed someone to sit on it. Not because you were strong."
For a heartbeat, the entire war paused.
The angels' resolve faltered. Some lowered their spears. Some looked away, ashamed.
The demons sensed blood in the water.
They surged forward in monstrous waves, roaring with bloodlust.
"WE FIGHT FOR SCOURGE!"WE FIGHT FOR THE TRUE GENERAL!"HEAVEN FALTERS!"
Ellas leapt into the fray, shadowfire flickering around his fist. Each time he struck, the medallion pulsed, ripping a small piece from the spark in his chest. The demon's warning echoed in his skull.
Every use burns your life.
He did not care.
He punched an angel shield Shadowfire cracked it. The medallion glowed. The spark inside him dimmed.
Ellas smirked through pain.
"I will rise above even Scourge."
The demons followed behind him, formation breaking into frenzied enthusiasm.
"DUKE ELLAS!"SHADOW-BORN!"HE FIGHTS WITH THE FALLEN KING!"
Above them all
Scourge and Arephon clashed again.
But now the general's strikes faltered. His zeal wavered. His certainty bled out.
Scourge roared with laughter.
"What's wrong, Arephon?" he mocked. "Has truth broken your wings?"
Arephon's fury finally snapped.
He lunged with a scream. A wild, uncontrolled attack, driven not by discipline...but humiliation.
And Scourge saw victory.
Shadowfire erupted along his spear. The battlefield shook. Angels cried out. Demons roared.
And Arephon, struck full force by a blast of pure shadowfire, crashed into the molten cliff.
Scourge hovered above him, triumphant.
"You were never my equal."
The war erupted again with twice the savagery.
And with Ellas at his side, shadowfire burning through a mortal body, the Fallen King tasted the first real scent of victory.