The fortress city of Kelvorn was liberated by dawn. Fires burned in the towers, and imperial banners lay trampled beneath rebel boots. But the price had not yet been paid.
From the smoke emerged Sir Kaedric Marraven, The Wolf of Velmor, his armor scratched but gleaming. His blade, "Obsidian Oath," was drawn—dark steel with crimson edges forged from cursed dragon bone.
Saelar stepped forward from the rebel ranks, calm and unflinching.
> "Your time has passed, Kaedric," Saelar said. "Lay down your sword."
Kaedric growled. "I made an oath to the throne. That oath ends with your head."
> "Then let history decide whose conviction burns brighter."
With no more words, they clashed.
Steel rang. Sparks flew. The rebel army circled the duel in silence.
Kaedric was relentless, striking with brutal, knightly discipline. He was stronger. Faster. A storm of raw martial might.
But Saelar wasn't fighting with brute strength—he was dancing with precision and timing.
Then, the moment came.
> "Soul Gear—Void Howl: Fangs of Eclipse."
Two flashes of light—Nyxfang in his left hand and Solbite in his right.
Kaedric's first spell—a wave of explosive magic—unraveled instantly within five meters.
Nyxfang pulsed.
> "Abyssal Rejection."
The magic rebounded as an arctic storm. Kaedric shielded, stunned.
He pressed again, faster now, unleashing a mix of swordplay and spellcraft.
Saelar twisted through space with Chrono Shift Blink, vanishing and reappearing behind him with a slash across Kaedric's back.
Kaedric growled and lunged—but Saelar blinked again, slicing through time with Solbite, undoing the knight's charge and stepping back five seconds in time.
> "Temporal Fracture."
The battlefield shimmered with ghosted timelines of what could've happened—each one ending with Kaedric's failure.
Kaedric knelt, exhausted, bloodied, his armor cracked.
Saelar stood tall, daggers humming in hand.
> "I could kill you now," Saelar said. "But I won't."
> "Why?" Kaedric spat. "You think mercy will win you loyalty?"
> "No. I offer you a choice."
Saelar walked forward and extended a hand.
> "Swear your sword to me—and House Marraven will not only be spared, but honored. Your legacy will not be one of slaughter, but rebirth."
Kaedric looked into his eyes… and saw no arrogance. Only resolve.
> "Swear to serve not a tyrant… but a cause worth bleeding for."
After a long pause, Kaedric dropped his sword.
> "Then command me, Lord Saelar."
The rebels erupted into cheers. Kelvorn had not just been liberated by arms—but by the soul of a new ruler.