The Rift Emperor's Desperation

A Rift Emperor's Rage

Kael exhaled sharply, his breath ragged and uneven, a plume of white mist escaping into the frigid air.

His fingers trembled against the gash Mia had carved into his side—a deep, searing wound that throbbed with every heartbeat, hot blood seeping through the cracks in his blackened armor.

The golden rings in his eyes flickered wildly, their glow erratic, like a dying star struggling against collapse.

He had bled before. But never like this.

This wasn't just an injury.

It was a crack in the myth he had built around himself, a fracture in the invincible identity he had forged.

This was weakness.

A word he had erased from his existence when he fused with the Obsidian Shard.

Kael's chest heaved. Rage burned through his veins, drowning out the pain, twisting into something darker, something monstrous. His sword quivered in his grip, its violet-and-gold veins pulsing unevenly, mirroring the chaos within him.