The dawn before war was always too quiet.
Mist rolled over Hollowshade, veiling the sharpened pikes and reinforced walls in a ghostly white. Soldiers moved silently, their armor clinking like whispers of metal. Scouts returned from the northern ridges, bringing word of Lucien's forces thickening across the marshes of Blackflood.
Hikaru stood at the front gates, already clad in his black combat gear, reinforced with obsidian plating and glowing blue etchings. His blade, Stormrend, hung by his side, humming faintly with latent energy.
The Unified Coalition Banner—half-lion, half-phoenix—fluttered behind him. It was no longer just symbolic.
It was war.
Illya approached, now garbed in full battle robes, her silver staff bound in bands of frostlight crystal. "The strike teams are in position. Vanguard battalions are awaiting your command."
"And the rear guard?" Hikaru asked.
"They're forming a perimeter around Hollowshade and Ashspire's remnants. In case Lucien's using the Convergence as a feint."
Hikaru exhaled. "He might be that bold. But if he truly believes this ritual will give him ascendancy, he'll stay anchored to it."
Illya handed him a scroll.
[War Operation: Operation Eclipse Reign]
Objective: Interrupt the Obsidian Convergence at Blackflood
Allied Forces: 11 Factions, 1400+ Players
Enemy Estimate: 2000+ Units + Lucien's Personal Guard
Command: Supreme Field Leader – Hikaru | Tactical Coordinator – Illya Dawnveil
Timer: 48 Hours to Convergence
The numbers were daunting. But they had something Lucien didn't.
Unity.
The Coalition assembled in the Fields of Valor just beyond Hollowshade. The sight alone would have overwhelmed anyone unprepared: siege golems stomped into position, mages from the Skyfire Dominion conjured floating sentry platforms, and archers from the Forest Pact mounted highland wyverns to serve as mobile skirmishers.
Rourke stood atop one of the siege towers, nodding grimly as he scanned the horizon. "You sure about this charge, Hikaru? No one's ever launched an assault straight into the Blackflood."
Kora leaned against her glaive, chewing on dried root. "No one ever took down Ashspire either. We're not here to play safe anymore."
Hikaru raised his hand. "We split into three divisions."
He pulled up the tactical projection for all to see.
Dawnblade Battalion – Direct Assault (led by Kora)
• Shadowveil Division – Flanking and Sabotage (led by Nia)
• Heartguard Vanguard – Command and Disruption (led by Hikaru, Illya, Rourke)
"We strike from three sides. The convergence site is shielded, but the perimeter rituals are maintained by Obsidian Monoliths. Take those down, the main circle collapses."
Nia smirked, flipping a dagger. "And here I thought you didn't believe in easy missions."
"Easy?" Hikaru scoffed. "This is suicide with better lighting."
The players chuckled nervously. Gallows humor had become their best coping mechanism.
Illya raised her voice. "Remember—resurrection is still enabled. But if Lucien completes the convergence, that's over. One death, and you're erased."
That sobered the crowd.
"Let's move out!" Hikaru roared.
And so, the army moved—not as a ragged cluster of survivors, but as a true force, forged through flame, failure, and friendship.
The moment the coalition set foot into the Blackflood Expanse, the world changed.
The terrain oozed beneath their boots, pulsing like a living organ. Steam hissed from fissures, carrying a scent of sulfur and rot. Mutated beasts snarled in the distance, but the army pushed forward, undeterred.
"Keep formation!" Kora yelled. Her battalion marched in a wedge formation, shield units at the front, fire mages rotating between strikes and barrier reinforcement.
The sky above the marsh was a swirling cyclone of black clouds, and at its heart loomed the convergence site—an obsidian crater lit with runes spiraling inward, growing brighter by the hour.
Hikaru's HUD pinged with a priority alert.
[System Alert: Obsidian Monolith Detected – East Ridge]
Shield Output: 37%
Defenders: Tier-3 Wraithguards x12, Deathshapers x3
He relayed the data to Illya. "This one's ours. Nia should be hitting the west node soon. Once all three fall, we strike the core."
Rourke grinned beside him, hefting his enchanted warhammer. "Time to break some rocks."
The Heartguard Division advanced with precision. Mages shielded the front line as snipers picked off lesser fiends from a distance. When they reached the monolith, it was already crackling with defensive magic.
Wraithguards emerged from the shadows, cloaked in voidsteel armor, swords pulsing with nullfire.
Hikaru's System pinged.
[Skill Activated: Stormrend – Breaker Surge Lv3]
He dashed forward, slashing in an arc. Lightning exploded from his blade, tearing through two Wraithguards. Illya followed up with a hail of frostlances, freezing another in mid-motion.
Behind them, Rourke slammed his hammer into the ground.
[Skill Activated: Faultbreaker Quake]
The earth split, flinging enemies into the air.
But then, a new shadow descended—taller, thinner, robed in dark flame.
[Enemy Identified: Deathshaper – Vhar'zul the Entropic]
The creature hissed, speaking in a voice that made even the ground recoil.
"You defy the Emberlord? Then embrace entropy."
Hikaru didn't hesitate. "Focus it! Now!"
The battle was brutal. Vhar'zul conjured storms of decay, melting weapons, corroding armor, and sapping morale. But the Heartguard held firm. Hikaru's leadership, Illya's precise spellwork, and Rourke's raw power turned the tide.
Finally, with a combined strike—
[Critical Hit – Obsidian Monolith Destroyed]
The monolith shattered. A wave of energy rippled outward, shaking the swamp.
[System Update: Obsidian Shield Integrity – 66% → 33%]
A voice crackled across the comms.
Nia: "West node down. Took a few burns, but nothing major."
Kora: "North's tougher. These Pyreborn aren't playing around. But we'll crack it."
Hikaru wiped blood from his cheek, panting. "Then we're almost there."
Illya looked to the storm above. The convergence had begun pulsing faster.
[Time to Completion: 9 Hours]
"We hit the core before then," she said. "Or we die."
At the center of the convergence, Lucien opened his eyes.
His form was no longer human. Wings of black flame rose from his back. His face was a mask of jagged ember, eyes glowing with the Void's light.
He stared skyward, where storm and energy fed his transformation.
[Class Evolution Complete: Ascended Emberlord – Lucien Vrax]
Passive: World Burn – Converts enemy magic into fuel
Active: Cinderstorm – Ignite the battlefield in soulflame
Special: Voidbrand Domain – Nullify System interference within range
He raised a hand, and the remaining monoliths surged with defensive wards.
"Let them come," he whispered. "Let them see what power truly is."