Domine opened all three of his eyes slowly. When the light had detonated across the sky, instinct had driven him to raise both arms in front of his face. Even through closed lids it had burned. Now he lowered them in measured control and tilted his gaze upward.
All three pupils adjusted in sequence.
They widened.
Then narrowed.
"Sarandel," he growled.
The sky had changed completely. The astral tear was gone. The dark clouds that had churned overhead and rained crimson upon the city had vanished. In their place hung what felt like a second sun, a massive sphere of divine radiance suspended high above. It burned brilliant white, flooding every street, rooftop, and shattered wall in unforgiving light. By now the real sun should have set. Instead, it was as if day had been forced back into existence. After fighting in darkness for so long, the sudden brightness made everyone squint and shield their eyes, blinking rapidly as their vision struggled to adjust.
"What is that? Who did that?" Lia muttered, staring upward like everyone else across the city.
Xain did not answer. His focus snapped to the portal.
*Now's our chance!*
A stance he had seen before on the screen inside his mind came back to him. He shifted his footing, planting one foot forward and drawing the other back. His arm came up and back in a coiled motion, torso twisting to gather force. In one smooth, decisive movement, he drove forward and hurled the stone. It tore through the air in a straight line toward the portal.
Domine saw it. He was too far away, and the divine flare had cost him a heartbeat. Instead of giving chase, he clicked his tongue.
"Whatever," he muttered to himself. "It doesn't matter."
The stone vanished through the portal and struck the floor on the other side.
---
In Hell, within the obsidian chamber housing the gate, the demonic engineers reacted immediately as the object clattered across the black surface. The crimson-robed engineer turned first, arcane lenses flaring.
"Unidentified object. Scanning… ritual stone. Spell configuration: custom."
The stone pulsed once. The white strings binding it snapped loose and fell away. The engraved symbol flared to life.
The blue-robed engineer drew a compact pistol from within its robes, raising it toward the stone. "Neutralizing unknown ritual sto—."
Before it could fire, the stone exploded. Shards of condensed shadow blasted outward, embedding into robes, limbs, and walls alike. The engineers were pinned instantly against the obsidian surfaces. Then the shadows reversed their pull. The entire chamber imploded inward toward the portal's core. Obsidian cracked. Machinery collapsed. The gateway structure crumpled under crushing force, consuming Kazon and the engineers in a single violent collapse.
---
Back in Aetheria, the portal flickered erratically. Its edges destabilized, sputtering in uneven pulses. Then several chunks of blackened obsidian rubble and a severed cybernetic arm tumbled out onto the cobblestones before the aperture snapped shut with a sharp hiss.
For a split second, there was stunned silence.
"We did it!" Zee exclaimed.
"The portal's closed!" Mae added.
"No more demons can come help them anymore!" Lia said, relief breaking through her exhaustion.
Their excitement lasted only a moment.
Laughter cut through it.
They all turned toward the sound.
King Domine stood amid fractured stone, shoulders shaking faintly with amusement.
"What are you laughing at?" Xain demanded. Nori moved immediately to his side, positioning herself defensively.
"Honestly," Domine began, voice rising with mocking warmth, "you think that changed anything? That was just one portal. Yes, it was the main one. But I have plenty of other portals all over Aetheria. All invading this world at once."
The words landed heavily. The group froze. They had believed the invasion was confined to the city.
"If anything," Domine continued, "you have helped me. Now I do not have to follow through with the contract I had with those two."
He laughed again. The others tightened their stances, refusing to dwell on the implication.
"But regardless," he went on, "it was amusing seeing that look of excitement on your faces. However short it was. I enjoy watching false hope bloom in mortals who do not understand they are going to die."
His three eyes shifted and locked onto Callum.
"Now," he said coldly, "I was going to snap that dog's neck."
He moved to step forward—
And stopped.
His right eye twitched.
"What's wrong? Why isn't he moving?" Vilak wondered aloud from his spot on the roof.
None of them understood what had changed. They could not sense it. They were not attuned to demonic energy.
But King Domine was.
And he could feel it.
He could feel several of his portals across Aetheria closing.