Flame That Devours Hope

The glyph beneath Ian's feet seethed with old power.

Veins of violet light carved through the dust like cracks in reality, they began to beat with rhythm more aged than the bones of the canyon they resided.

The demon hesitated.

It shouldn't have, but it did.

For the first time, it showed something close to fear.

Ian rose, slowly, shoulders trembling but eyes clear. Blood trickled down his arm, and bone peeked through torn flesh — yet he stood taller with every breath.

A sound had escaped from his lips.

Not a spell. Not a scream.

A word.

"Kael'sythra."

The canyon had stilled.

The glyph exploded upward, a pillar of violet flame that screamed without sound. Not fire as one knew it, but something more destructive.

More cruel.

The demon recoiled.

The flame touched the ground — and reality cracked. Stone warped. Ash turned to glass.