Book One: Rise of the Demonborn
Chapter 27: The Day the Sky Burned
Part 1: The Siege Begins
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The skies over *Theronox* darkened—but not with rain.
With banners. With airships. With summoned beasts that blotted out the sun.
Across every horizon, the *world had arrived*.
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Kael stood at the highest tower of his obsidian citadel, eyes fixed on the monstrous army spreading like a sea of death across the forest's edge.
Drums thundered.
War chants echoed.
And above it all, a sacred *resonance* hummed through the air—*holy magic*, dense and unnatural.
Kael blinked.
His vision *blurred*.
His wings trembled.
Something was *wrong.*
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Deep in his chest, he felt a sharp *pull*, like a hook dragging at his core.
He stepped back, clutching his ribcage.
Serineth appeared behind him.
"My King… your aura—"
Kael gritted his teeth.
"I know."
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*Below the tower*, the undead horde roared, ready to defend their dark paradise.
Thousands lined the gates.
Bone giants stood like towers.
Necromancer lieutenants readied their spells.
But none of them knew… *Kael's power was slipping.*
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At the far end of the field, twenty-four glowing figures approached, cloaked in radiant armor and divine energy.
*The 24 Heroes of the Accord.*
In the center walked *Lira Ashveil*.
Her cloak was gone, replaced by a suit of flame-bound armor, and on her back—the *Living Flame Spear*, forged from Kael's own fire during their last encounter.
The ground beneath her scorched with every step.
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Behind her marched the battalions—*a million strong.*
Their chants echoed:
"Ash to ash."
"Death to death."
"No more thrones of bone."
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Kael descended the tower slowly, every step heavier than the last.
By the time he reached the inner sanctum of his throne, the edges of his magic were fraying like burned cloth.
He turned to his generals.
"They've sealed me."
Miraith gasped.
"How—"
Kael held up a hand.
"It doesn't matter.
We hold. We fight.
Even with a blade to our throat—we *breathe.*"
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And outside… the first *arrow* was fired.
It sailed over Theronox's walls…
…and ignited the *siege of the Undead City.*
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Part 2: The Fall of Theronox,
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*The first wave hit like a storm.*
Theronox's outer wall—fortified with blackstone and reinforced with necrosteel—shattered under the weight of *light-borne artillery*.
*Holy siege magic*, cast by an army of priest-mages, rained down in beams that turned bone to ash and stone to molten slag.
Kael's defenses, once feared across nations, cracked like glass under thunder.
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Inside the city, chaos unfolded.
Undead soldiers marched into position, but for the first time since Kael's rise—they *screamed*.
Their connection to the Necroking's aura was *dimming*.
Some faltered.
Some crumbled.
Kael stood at the center of his throne chamber, hands trembling.
He could feel the silence of the *soul network*—his reach no longer infinite.
The *Holy Field* kept him from sensing beyond the city walls.
"I am blind," he whispered. "And deaf."
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Miraith ran in, bleeding ichor, her robes tattered.
"The west gate has fallen.
The snowlords have breeched our defenses They're rendering the army powerless."
Serineth followed.
"The beastmasters are nearing the palace as we speak. "
The dead can't keep
up."
Kael said nothing.
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Outside, the *black knights* of Volstran led the second charge.
They moved like shadows in metal, wielding blessed halberds designed to *cut through necrotic energy*.
They didn't just fight.
They *cleansed.*
Every soldier they struck didn't just fall—they were erased.
No resurrection.
No reclaiming.
Only *void.*
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Above, the *Skybound Riders* of Naer'kai dropped bombs that exploded in sigils of light.
Temples were destroyed.
Soulforges were shattered.
And still, Kael did not move.
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Finally, Serineth yelled, "You must flee, my king!"
Kael looked at her… and for the first time, she saw *uncertainty* in his pale eyes.
"I can't run," he said softly.
" according to the humans, this is where I am supposed to fall."
His hands clenched.
His throne cracked.
"So I will fall… with*teeth bared, you are the ones who should flee Serineth, you and the other commanders must go, you are no longer the undead, do not worry about me, the undead will hold enough for me to figure something out. It is my fault, I miscalculated, I underestimated the humans. So summon the other commanders and come here, I will send you somewhere else before my magic falters. Today I set you free, live your *"
Serineth clenched her fists, tears running down her cheeks, the once undead human, had transformed into a beautiful entity. She was not just raised from the dead, she was reborn . "
" Allow me to stay and fight with you, please let me be of use I___, "
" I can't allow that, do not be dragged into this war because of gratitude or repaying a debt, I have used you far enough now, I release you from the chains that bound you. Now summon the other commanders, quickly there isn't much time left. "
Serineth collapsed, tears streaming down her face.
"no please master, I exist to serve you p..please don't do this. If we retreat, we retreat with you__."
Kael's face was in a calm state, his hand was on his cheek as he sat on his throne.
"Enough Serineth, do it now, that's a final order, besides, I cannot leave this place, their seal has bound me."
Serineth cried silently and had no choice but to summon the other commanders, she stretched her hand and uttered a spell, a magic circle appeared and the 6 commanders appeared, like Serineth, they were not undead.
Kael explained to them his intentions, they couldn't agree with the idea.
Luminaris, clenched her fist
"I am not leaving master."
"Then I have no choice but to do this."
He uttered a spell and all of them fell into a deep sleep. He prepared the teleportation magic and sent them far away, where humans didn't roam.
"Now it begins."
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*Lira* and the other heroes reached the inner gates.
Behind her, the *Soul Iron Prism* was carried by four archpriests, sealed in a floating cube of crystal.
It pulsed every time Kael used magic.
She knew what it was meant to do.
"When it reaches the throne," the High Priest had said,
"it will drink his soul. Forever and take away his magic, the vile demon will die today in the name of the gods."
She looked up at the burning towers of Theronox.
*He's not fighting back yet…*
*Why?*
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Back inside the castle, Kael finally rose.
"Summon the cursed hounds.
Wake the Wailing Giants.
Prepare the last sanctum.
And open the *black gates.*"
Maraith gasped. "You swore never—"
"I let you stay here to tell you this, you must not let Serineth and the others attack the humans, under no circumstance unless threatened or in danger."
"So now, when I give you the signal, use this rune to suck in the darkness that surrounds this place, it's all going according to plan."
Maraith was confused, " But master how will this__."
"Just do it, and use the confusion to escape, you already know the location of the others."
Maraith bowed her head, in defeat.
"A..as you wish master."
His wings stretched wide—flickering, weakened, but still terrifying.
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And then he whispered something that turned Miraith's bones cold.
"This city is already gone.
I'll make its fall a *warning.*"
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