Wait..." Someone shrieked.
The sky was ablaze with red.
The temple trembled as a bolt of emerald lightning crashed into the stairway, sending rubble and ash into the sky. The priest cried out, shielding his face.
Through the smoke… he came.
Isen.
His figure emerged like a god born from fire and vengeance. His eyes blazed with purpose, the magical flower—glowing fiercely across his chest. Magic coursed through his veins, vines of radiant green energy wrapping around his arms, alive, burning, ready.
He stepped onto the sacred platform.
Theodore froze. "You…"
Isen didn't speak. His footsteps were thunder. His presence, an avalanche.
The king raised both hands, unleashing a torrent of black flame.
Isen raised one hand.
The green vines surged from the air around him and formed a massive, coiled shield. The dark fire struck it—and shattered. The explosion rocked the temple, but Isen stood tall within the storm.
"I told you before," he said, voice calm and sharp as a blade, "you won't take her from me."
Theodore screamed, charging forward, his dagger now extended into a burning staff. "I am a KING! You are NOTHING!"
Isen met him with a roar.
The air cracked as their magic collided—green against black, nature against decay. Vines whipped against shadows, light slashed through darkness. Each movement from Isen was faster, sharper, more focused—he wasn't just fighting for survival.
He was fighting for her.
The ground beneath them fractured. The priest tried to summon protective spells, but a single swipe from Isen's enchanted vine-blade sent him flying into the far wall, unconscious.
The king's fury built to a climax. He raised his staff to summon the eclipse's final power, drawing energy from the red moon.
But Isen, faster than light, launched himself into the air. His blade extended with pure energy, slicing through Theodore's staff—and through his arm.
The king screamed as the limb fell to the floor, magic sparking from the severed stump. He fell to his knees, gasping.
Isen landed with a thunderclap, vines exploding from his feet and wrapping around the king's body, pinning him to the stone.
"You will never touch her again," Isen growled.