Part II – The Echo of the Fall
On the fourth day, the earth ceased to be an ally.
At dawn, the ground itself began to shake. The fortress soldiers, already exhausted, awoke with hearts pounding more from the tremors beneath their feet than from enemy screams. There were no horns. No charge. Only... a shadow growing.
From the edge of the horizon, a figure emerged through the dust. Immense. Inhuman.
Thorgan, the Stone Abyss, had arrived.
Each of his steps made the remaining walls tremble. His arms, covered in plates of pulsing rock, held a monolithic mace carved with living runes. His face looked sculpted from the mountain itself: unmoving, cold, without anger... only pure judgment.
The demons halted. Their formations split to the sides, like a river parting before an eternal boulder. He advanced alone. Because he needed no one.
From the central tower, Lord Caelum Dareth saw him.
"Everyone... to the emergency exit! Protect the civilians!"
His voice tore through the air, louder than any spell.
With battered armor, helmet in hand, and a face tired but resolute, Caelum descended the staircase among the ruins with a determined stride. Around him, a handful of knights followed. Some limping. Others with trembling hands. But none retreated.
Thorgan raised his mace. The wind stopped blowing.
Caelum pointed his sword forward, and a blue glow ignited along the blade.
"Is it you, Abyss? Have you come to claim these ruins?"
Thorgan did not reply. He simply stepped forward.
The ground gave way beneath his foot. The mace came down with brutal force, shattering an entire side tower in a single blow.
Caelum charged.
The sound of their clash was like thunder itself.
Flames, light, stone, and wind exploded between the two giants. The duel was not just of swords or strength, but of will. Each strike from Caelum pushed ruin back. Each blow from Thorgan drove hope into the rock.
The knights protected the evacuation routes. Women and children descended through secondary paths. Exhausted mages led the wounded into hidden tunnels. But it wasn't enough. The enemy was surging.
Caelum shouted his house name. And with one final lunge, he pierced Thorgan's armor…
…but the giant did not fall.
Thorgan struck his chest. Caelum was thrown back, crashing against the central pillar of the fortress.
Bleeding, reduced to a shadow of himself, he rose again. And smiled.
"Now..."
His hand traced a symbol in the air. A rune activated by a drop of his blood.
A deep rumble coursed through the foundations.
"Let my heart turn to stone… if it can save them."
The North Hall – the heart of the Fortress – began to collapse. Pillars cracked. Arches gave way. A controlled landslide, orchestrated with precision. A trap for Thorgan, a wall between the civilians and death.
The side exits closed behind the fleeing. The demons remained outside.
And Caelum… remained inside. Among the rubble of the collapse.
When Alexander reached the top of the ruins, the sky was still.
In front of him, a bloodstained cloak fluttered among the rubble, caught on a broken pillar.
"Not all sacrifices are in vain. Some are... unrepeatable."
He closed his eyes for a moment. Then turned away.
It was time to go.