The battlefield was quiet — too quiet.
Argan stood atop a jagged cliff of obsidian, his gaze scanning the ruined horizon. The smoke of war still hung in the air, and the scent of blood clung to the wind like a ghost refusing to depart.
With a flick of his fingers, a black rift cracked open beside him. From within stepped a towering figure clad in enchanted armor, his presence cloaked in reverence and restraint.
Dalan knelt immediately, lowering his head without a word — his loyalty unwavering, his posture that of a knight before a god.
"You summoned me, my king," he said, voice calm yet firm.
Argan's eyes narrowed slightly. "Is the field secure?"
"Only the weak remain, Your Majesty," Dalan answered, not lifting his gaze. "Their resistance is meaningless. Our forces are cleansing the remnants as we speak."
Argan nodded faintly, his eyes distant. "Good. I grow tired of meaningless slaughter. There is no glory in crushing insects."
"Shall I remain and oversee the final purge?"
Argan turned his gaze to the dark sky, stars dimmed behind drifting ashes.
"No. Let them go. Let them return to their homes, if they still have any. We're done here."
He paused, then added, "I need you elsewhere, Dalan."
Dalan looked up, surprised. "My king?"
Argan's voice was low, thoughtful. "This war may be over… but wounds remain. I want you to lead the others — help the civilians rebuild. Protect them. Watch them. Make sure this never happens again."
Dalan placed a hand on his chest, bowing deeply. "It shall be done. I will not fail them."
Argan raised his voice to the sky.
"Essentials — all of you!"
At once, shadows coalesced around him as seven elite commanders appeared from thin air, kneeling in unison before their king.
"We are here, my lord," they declared.
Argan's voice rang with finality.
"The war is over, but do not lower your guard. Those with families — go to them. The rest of you… follow Dalan. Aid the people. They are what remains worth protecting."
"Understood, my lord," they responded, their voices steady though their hearts heavy. None wished to be parted from him.
"Do you have any further commands, Lord Argan?" Dalan asked.
Argan shook his head lightly. "No. You may all go. I will summon you… when the final dusk falls."
With those words, they vanished in a flash of black flame, leaving Argan alone amidst the remains of broken planets and shattered empires.
Now, only silence accompanied him — silence, and the distant cry of dying stars.
Suddenly, Argan felt a ripple — a whisper of dark energy slithering through the fabric of space. It was faint… yet familiar. The same signature Jaun had once wielded.
Argan's eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, he extended his hand into the void. Though invisible to mortal sight, he grasped the dark energy with ease — as if seizing smoke with iron fingers.
"This… the demon god's essence. So he still lingers," Argan thought, his mind calm but sharp as a blade drawn in silence.
Without another word, he closed his eyes, letting his senses stretch across the cosmos. Threads of corruption, faint and malicious, slithered toward a distant point beyond galaxies.
He found it.
And in an instant — without sound, without warning — Argan vanished.
Far beyond the edge of the known universe, within a realm steeped in chaos and despair, the Demon God stirred in his throne of bones and shadows. He had sensed it. His corrupted essence being hunted.
"This is impossible!" the Demon God hissed, his voice like shattered stone. "How could he trace me here?!"
A chill crept through the dimension. The shadows around him twisted unnaturally.
"What… is that?"
"What is it that you find so hard to believe?" said a calm, icy voice behind him.
The Demon God's eyes widened — panic etched into his once-proud form. He turned slowly… and there stood Argan.
Silent. Unyielding. Inevitable.
"No… you shouldn't be here! This realm is sealed — forbidden!"
Argan took a step forward. The dimension itself trembled with each movement.
"I warned Jaun. Yet your filth continues to crawl across creation. I am done warning."
"You can't destroy me! I am eternal!" the god roared, summoning pillars of black flame and fanged shadows.
But Argan did not flinch.
"So is judgment."
He raised his hand — and reality began to fracture around his presence.