The broken cathedral loomed like a corpse that refused to rot.
Its spires were cracked and leaning, jagged silhouettes against a sky choked with rolling black mist. Once-carved angels lay shattered across the courtyard, their stone faces split and hollow-eyed, wings broken at unnatural angles. Heavy chains hung from the ceiling inside, swaying slowly despite the absence of wind, clinking softly like the breathing of something asleep—but not dead.
Elara stepped forward first, boots crunching over rubble, arms crossed loosely over her chest. Her crimson eyes flicked across the ruins with open amusement.
"So this is where the big bad hides?" she said, lips curling into a grin. "Looks more like a graveyard."
Kael ignored her commentary.
He stood at the cathedral's threshold, unmoving, staring straight ahead.
At the far end of the vast interior, upon a throne grown from shadow and twisted stone, sat Azrael Morgrave.
He lounged like a bored king, one arm draped over the side of the throne, long fingers idly tapping against the dark material as if keeping time to a song only he could hear. His cloak of shadows flowed unnaturally around him, drifting and folding without wind, alive in a way fabric had no right to be. Sharp blue eyes glowed faintly beneath his hood, cold and calculating, reflecting Kael's gaze without fear.
"Azrael Morgrave," Kael said flatly.
The name echoed through the cathedral.
Azrael lifted his head slightly, the corner of his mouth curving upward. He rested his cheek against his hand, elbow propped on the throne, expression openly amused.
"So," he drawled, voice smooth and mocking, "the little rats came to die."
Dark energy pulsed faintly around him as he spoke, thickening the air. It pressed against Kael's skin like a suffocating fog, heavy with malice and intent.
Elias rolled his shoulders once, shadows already gathering around his arms like living armor. His eyes never left Azrael.
"You talk big," Elias said coldly, "for someone who's about to be buried."
That did it.
Azrael laughed.
Not loud—no, that would have been crude. His laugh was soft, almost pleasant, but it carried a weight that made the mist tremble. He rose slowly from his throne, stretching like a predator waking from a nap. The moment his feet touched the ground, his aura surged outward.
Blue-black energy poured from him in waves.
Reality warped.
The cathedral groaned as if protesting his presence, stone creaking, chains rattling violently as the darkness deepened. The faint light filtering through broken stained glass died instantly, swallowed by shadow.
"Buried?" Azrael repeated, eyes gleaming. "Me? By brats like you?"
Kael drew his blade in one smooth motion.
The long black sword hummed with restrained power, energy pulsing along its edge like a heartbeat. His expression didn't change.
"We'll see."
Azrael lifted one hand casually.
The light vanished.
Darkness swallowed the cathedral whole, thick and absolute. The shadows were no longer absence—they were substance, pressing in from every direction.
Elara clicked her tongue and unsheathed her twin daggers. Crimson light flared to life along their edges, cutting through the dark like fresh wounds.
"Trying to scare us?" she said, grinning. "Cute."
Azrael's teeth flashed white as his smile widened unnaturally.
"No, darling," he said softly. "I'm going to erase you."
He vanished.
One instant he stood before them—then he was gone.
Elias reacted on instinct.
He spun, shadows snapping into place as a dark blade collided with his hastily formed shield. Sparks screamed through the air as metal met shadow.
"Fast," Elias hissed, teeth clenched.
Kael was already moving.
He appeared beside Azrael in a flash, blade arcing down with lethal precision—but Azrael met the strike effortlessly, forming a twisted spear of darkness mid-motion. The weapons clashed, sending a shockwave rippling through the cathedral.
Azrael laughed again.
"Oh?" he mocked. "So you do bite."
Elara didn't wait.
She launched herself into the air, flipping over them, daggers aimed straight for Azrael's skull.
He vanished again.
Reappeared high above, floating effortlessly, cloak billowing like a living thing. He looked down at them with open disdain.
"But not hard enough."
Kael raised his hand.
Black lightning tore through the darkness, ripping upward toward Azrael in a blinding arc. The strike cracked the air itself, thunder detonating inside the cathedral.
Azrael responded by hurling a sphere of compressed shadow.
The collision was violent.
The explosion tore through the upper levels of the cathedral, stone raining down as shockwaves rippled outward. Dust and debris filled the air, visibility dropping to nothing.
Elara used it perfectly.
She sprinted up the cathedral wall, boots finding impossible footing, body moving like a blade through smoke. She leapt, daggers gleaming red as she came down from above.
Azrael turned just in time to catch both blades with a single dark spear.
For a fraction of a second, their eyes met.
Elara smirked.
Below them, shadows erupted.
Elias appeared beneath Azrael, arms thrust upward as a barrage of shadow spikes launched toward him. The attack tore through Azrael's cloak, slicing into the darkness and forcing him to shift position.
His eyes widened—just slightly.
"Not bad," Azrael growled lowly. "Not bad at all."
That was all Kael needed.
He appeared behind Azrael, blade screaming as it tore through space. This time, the strike landed.
The sword carved across Azrael's shoulder, tearing through shadow and flesh alike. Black smoke hissed from the wound, shadow bleeding into the air.
Azrael staggered back.
He clutched his shoulder, staring at his hand as dark ichor dripped between his fingers.
Then he smiled.
Sharper now. Colder.
"You think a scratch will stop me?"
Elara landed beside Kael, flipping her daggers with casual confidence.
"Seems like you're bleeding," she said brightly.
Azrael's eyes locked onto her.
"Good," he replied softly. "Now I'll play seriously."
The ground cracked.
Chains erupted from beneath the cathedral floor, ripping free with shrieks of metal as shadow poured into them. They twisted and merged, forming massive beasts—grotesque shapes of darkness and iron, roaring as they took form.
Kael didn't flinch.
"Prepare for the real fight," he said calmly.
Elias summoned twin shadow swords, grip tightening.
"No holding back."
Elara rolled her shoulders, eyes glowing brighter.
"Finally some fun."
The beasts charged.
The cathedral became a battlefield of chaos.
Kael, Elias, and Elara split instantly, moving in practiced synchronization. Blades clashed against shadow, explosions of black and red energy lighting the ruins like a war-torn sky.
Azrael hovered above it all, laughing openly.
"Show me what you've got!"
One of the beasts slammed into Elias's defenses, dark fangs tearing at his shields. He gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his brow as he held it back with brute force.
"Persistent things…"
Kael cut through the fray, slicing one of the beasts clean in half. Shadow blood sprayed across the stone floor, evaporating into mist.
"Focus on Azrael," Kael ordered. "Leave these to me."
Elara danced across rubble and falling debris, plunging a dagger into a beast's eye.
"Aww," she mocked as it screamed. "Did that hurt?"
Azrael watched from above, shadows rippling around him.
They're not bad, he admitted silently. But let's see how far they can go.
Elias lunged upward, shadows forming blades along his arms.
"You're mine."
Azrael caught the attack effortlessly, darkness swallowing the blade.
"Too slow."
Kael struck from behind—only to be blocked without Azrael even turning.
"Good teamwork," Azrael chuckled, "but not good enough."
Elara's dagger grazed his cheek.
Blood flowed.
Azrael's smile vanished.
"You're starting to annoy me."
Shadow energy erupted outward, hurling Kael and Elias back. Tendrils lashed like blades, tearing into stone.
"He's stronger than I thought," Elias admitted, panting.
"Focus on his openings," Kael replied.
Azrael raised his hand.
Shadow spears filled the air.
Elara dodged effortlessly. Kael cut through them. Elias raised barriers.
Azrael smiled.
They adapt fast…
Three massive beasts emerged.
"I'll take the center one," Kael said.
Elara grinned. "Right's mine."
"I'll handle the last," Elias said.
They charged.
Steel, shadow, and blood collided.
Azrael watched—then vanished.
He appeared behind Elias.
"I never said I'd play fair."
Shadow exploded.
Elias was hurled into the wall, stone shattering on impact.
Kael and Elara turned.
Azrael floated above them, eyes blazing, smile dangerous.
"Shall we raise the stakes?"
And the cathedral trembled as the darkness answered him.