The northern sky darkened as if mourning the sun. Wind howled over the stone ramparts of Halvyr's Watch, the mountain city built into the cliffs, its towers jutting like spears into the fog.
Alaric stood at the highest balcony of the citadel, his cloak fluttering in the wind, eyes locked on the approaching figures in the valley below. A black banner rippled—a sigil of swirling void and broken stars. Voidbinders. Not raiders. Not scouts. This was a formal declaration of challenge.
"They're not hiding anymore," Kael muttered beside him, his newly awakened Thundercore crackling faintly beneath his skin. "They're daring us."
Alaric didn't answer. His Mythforged core pulsed faintly, the fire and stone within simmering with rising heat. Lysera stepped forward, arms folded, her tone unreadable.
"They've sent a general," she said. "One of the Celestial Reaver's direct bloodline. This isn't just posturing."
Behind them, the council chambers bustled with tension. Lords argued, soldiers sharpened blades, and emissaries from neighboring holds arrived by winged drakes, demanding answers. Word of the Voidbinders' open movement had spread like wildfire.
Worse still, Halvyr's Watch housed one of the few remaining Relic Seals—ancient devices meant to suppress Titan fragments sealed within the earth. If the Voidbinders were here in force…
"They're not after us," Alaric said quietly. "They're after the seal."
A tense silence fell.
Lysera turned to him. "Then we can't let them reach it."
At the Gates of Halvyr
The outer gates trembled under aetheric pressure as a single figure stepped forward from the Voidbinder host. Cloaked in midnight-blue armor etched with glowing crimson sigils, he carried a glaive longer than a man's height. His silver eyes gleamed with unnatural stillness.
"I am Vaelion, Warden of Ruin, bound to the Reaver's Will," the figure called. His voice echoed unnaturally. "You harbor a Relic Seal. Surrender it, or witness this city torn stone from soul."
The sentries above hesitated.
Kael flexed his hands. "I want to fight him."
"You'll get your chance," Alaric said grimly. "But not yet."
Behind the walls, Halvyr's war-mages aligned into formations. Catapults readied. Glyphs ignited along the battlements. And in the heart of the citadel, Alaric, Kael, and Lysera stood before the Archon of Halvyr—Lord Thedran.
An aging man with storm-gray hair and sharp eyes, Thedran wore ceremonial armor and a cloak pinned with a relic shard. His voice was clipped, but carried steel.
"You've brought war to my doorstep, outsiders."
"We've brought warning," Lysera said calmly. "And maybe a chance to end it."
Thedran studied her, then turned to Alaric. "Can you stop him?"
"No," Alaric answered honestly. "But we can fight him. And buy you time to evacuate the lower tiers and prepare the seal's defenses."
Thedran held his gaze—and then gave a single nod.
The Battle Begins
The gates of Halvyr opened with a groan, and the trio stepped forward to meet Vaelion beneath a sky of crackling energy. Around them, the Voidbinders began to chant, drawing upon corrupted aether. Their beasts snarled—creatures of void-touched flesh and bone.
Kael raised his hand, lightning dancing between his fingers. "We do this fast. Hit hard, scatter their front, and isolate Vaelion."
"I'll anchor him," Alaric said. "You flank with Lysera."
"And me?" Lysera asked with a small smile.
"You break their will," Alaric replied. "You always do."
She blinked once, then surged forward, blades of spectral moonlight erupting in both hands. Kael exploded into the fray with a booming clap of thunder, ripping apart the first wave of Voidspawn. Alaric charged straight for Vaelion, his fire-and-stone core flaring to life, each step leaving molten cracks in the ground.
Vaelion met him without hesitation, their weapons clashing in a shockwave that shook the valley. Aether clashed with void—mythforged strength against Reaver-born ruin.
Elsewhere: Shadows Within
Unseen to all, deeper in the city's lower sanctum, a shadow slipped through the corridors.
Maeryn.
Shrouded in tattered robes and escorted by two elite Voidbinders, she moved through the ancient catacombs beneath Halvyr, drawn toward the Relic Seal. Her Titan-forged essence pulsed with a cold hunger, her eyes glowing with fractured crimson.
"The battle above is a distraction," one of her escorts whispered.
Maeryn said nothing. She placed her hand on the seal—and the mountain trembled.
End of Chapter 40