War had a sound.
Riven learned that before the battle even began.
It wasn't the clash of blades.
It wasn't the roar of warriors.
It wasn't even the thunder of charging armies.
It was anticipation.
A tension so vast that it seemed to stretch across the entire battlefield like an invisible wire pulled impossibly tight.
The armies stood facing one another beneath the crimson glow of the Blood Moon.
Millions.
The number barely felt real.
To the left stretched the forces of the Second Order.
An endless ocean of crimson banners.
Blood warriors.
Chain wielders.
Heavy infantry.
Elite hunters.
Monstrous cavalry mounted on armored war beasts bred specifically for combat.
The ground itself seemed stained red beneath them.
To the right stood the Fourth Order.
Silver standards fluttered beneath moonlight.
Disciplined formations.
Lunar Vanguard units.
Elite aura casters.
Shield walls reinforced by moonstone barriers.
Everything organized.
Everything precise.
Everything inevitable.
And directly before them stood the Third Order.
Dark banners.
Shadow-forged armor.
The united noble houses.
The defenders of Night.
For the first time in his life...
Riven felt small.
Not weak.
Small.
Because no matter how strong he had become...
No matter how many battles he had survived...
Nothing could prepare someone for this.
His fingers tightened around the hilts of his twin blades.
The leather creaked softly.
Beside him, Nyss stared toward the enemy lines.
Even she looked tense.
Astra remained calm.
Soren's expression was grim.
Roran had stopped making jokes entirely.
And Marlis just marveled at the sheer numbers of enemy forces.
Nobody was speaking.
Because there was nothing to say.
Ahead of them, Nyxara Veilborne sat mounted atop a massive black warbeast.
The Queen of Night looked toward the enemy forces without the slightest hint of fear.
The wind shifted.
The Blood Moon glowed brighter.
And then
The world exploded.
"CHARGE!"
The roar came from everywhere.
Millions of voices.
Millions of warriors.
Millions of instincts unleashed simultaneously.
The battlefield surged forward.
The earth trembled.
The sky shook.
The war had begun.
And suddenly...
There was no time to think.
Only move.
Many elite warriors fully transformed.
Riven launched forward alongside the Third Order soldiers.
The ground blurred beneath his boots.
His enhanced senses struggled to process the chaos.
Everywhere.
Everywhere.
There were wolves.
Second Order berserkers slammed into Third Order shield formations.
Fourth Order soldiers descended from above using lunar mobility techniques.
Aura detonations erupted constantly.
Shockwaves rolled across the battlefield.
Screams.
Commands.
Blood.
Steel.
Fangs.
Claws.
Everything mixed together.
A Second Order warrior appeared before him.
Massive.
Armored.
Charging directly at him.
Riven reacted instantly.
His right blade flashed.
The enemy blocked.
His left blade followed immediately.
The man staggered.
Riven pivoted.
A kick.
A slash.
The warrior fell.
Dead.
Riven barely registered it.
Another opponent appeared.
Then another.
Then another.
The battlefield never stopped moving.
There was no duel.
No fair fight.
Only survival.
Nearby, Nyss moved like moonlight given form.
Silver energy flowed around her blade as she cut through advancing Fourth Order soldiers.
Several hesitated when they recognized her.
The Princess of the Fourth.
Fighting against them.
One soldier lowered his weapon.
"Princess"
Nyss's expression tightened.
Then another warrior attacked her.
The hesitation vanished.
The battle continued.
No room for emotions.
No room for uncertainty.
Only war.
A massive explosion erupted somewhere behind them.
The shockwave nearly threw Riven off balance.
He looked up.
And immediately understood why.
Lira.
The Second Lieutenant of the Third had entered the battlefield.
She wasn't fighting.
She was dismantling people.
A Fourth Order captain attempted to intercept her.
The duel lasted three seconds.
Three.
The captain attacked.
Lira sidestepped.
One strike.
The captain collapsed.
Dead before his body hit the ground.
The surrounding soldiers immediately began avoiding her.
Smart decision.
Unfortunately for them...
Lira was faster.
"COME BACK!"
Her delighted laugh echoed across the battlefield.
Several enemies looked genuinely terrified.
Riven almost felt bad for them.
Almost.
A sudden pressure swept across the battlefield.
Everything seemed to pause.
Not physically.
Instinctively.
Then came another explosion.
Far larger.
Far more terrifying.
Eryx Nocturne.
The First Lieutenant had finally entered combat.
Riven saw him only briefly.
A dark figure moving through chaos.
Then Eryx swung his blade.
The battlefield split.
Hundreds of enemy soldiers were thrown backward as a wave of shadow energy erupted across the front lines.
The sheer force carved a trench through the earth itself.
Silence followed.
Momentary.
Disbelieving.
Then the war resumed.
But now everyone remembered something important.
Near-Alphas weren't normal.
They were disasters wearing
human skin.
Riven pushed deeper into the battlefield.
Enemy soldiers continued appearing.
Continued falling.
Continued dying.
Time lost meaning.
Minutes.
Hours.
He couldn't tell.
Everything blurred together.
Then
Something happened.
A scream.
Close.
Too close.
Riven turned.
A young Third Order soldier had fallen.
The boy couldn't have been older than sixteen.
Riven recognized him instantly.
They'd spoken earlier.
Near the supply wagons.
The soldier had been nervous.
Terrified.
Trying desperately not to show it.
Now he lay on the ground.
Motionless.
A crimson spear protruded from his chest.
His eyes stared upward.
Empty.
Gone.
Riven froze.
For half a second.
Just half.
But it was enough.
An enemy warrior lunged.
Riven barely reacted in time.
Their blades collided.
The impact snapped him back into reality.
The enemy pressed forward aggressively.
A veteran.
Experienced.
Merciless.
The man attacked again.
And again.
And again.
Riven retreated.
Then adapted.
Then countered.
His twin blades flowed together.
Instinct.
Training.
Experience.
Everything he'd learned.
The battle became a blur.
Finally
An opening.
Riven stepped inside the man's guard.
His blade pierced straight through the commander's chest.
The enemy froze.
Looked down.
Then back at him.
Shock.
Confusion.
Acceptance.
The man collapsed.
Dead.
Silence filled Riven's mind.
Not around him.
The battlefield still raged.
But inside.
Silence.
Because this one felt different.
Not a monster.
Not a hunter.
Not a murderer.
A soldier.
Someone fighting for their Order.
Someone who probably believed they were right.
Someone who probably had family.
Friends.
Dreams.
Now gone.
Because of him.
The realization hit harder than any attack.
War wasn't glorious.
War wasn't heroic.
War was loss.
Endless loss.
A hand landed on his shoulder.
Riven spun instantly.
Nyss.
Her silver eyes searched his face.
"You okay?"
The question felt absurd.
Of course he wasn't okay.
None of them were.
But he nodded anyway.
Because there wasn't time for anything else.
Another wave of enemies approached.
The battlefield demanded movement.
Demanded survival.
Demanded sacrifice.
Nyss drew her blade again.
Riven tightened his grip on his own.
Together they turned toward the approaching enemy forces.
The Blood Moon hung overhead.
The armies continued clashing.
The dead continued falling.
And somewhere amidst the endless violence...
The first day of the great war had only just begun.
Far across the battlefield...
unseen by the Third Order...
a towering warrior watched Riven from the Second Order lines.
Scarred.
Silent.
Patient.
A familiar grin slowly spread across his face.
Rigor.
The Beast of Blood.
And for the first time since the battle began...
he started walking forward.
Toward the Fracture.
Toward destiny.
Toward the confrontation both of them had been moving toward for months.
The collision of armies had begun.
Soon...
the collision of monsters would follow.