30.- The Victorious Plague

The Sanctuary of Thal'Korath trembled under the weight of a battle that tore through the ether, a duel of light and shadow that resonated beyond the confines of the divine plane. The air, once a song of infinite calm, now roared with the din of shattered crystal and the hiss of a freezing wind that cut like razors. The towers of liquid gold, which had eternally shone like beacons of balance, were collapsing in fiery cascades, their remains splashing the cloud floor in smoking pools that obscured the glow of the miniature sun. The crystal vaults, carved with living constellations, cracked in chaotic patterns, and the sanctuary bells –the Threshold Bell among them– tolled a discordant lament that echoed in the void, a cry of alarm that pierced the heavens and reached the distant thrones of the gods.

Thal'Korath, Guardian of Balance, stood at the center of the sanctuary, his form of molten gold and silver shining with a fury that could forge entire worlds. His eyes, spheres of white light that pierced eternity, burned with an arrogance born of eons of victories –he had crushed winged demons in the primeval ages, he had banished shadow titans to the void with a single blow–. His spear of pure light cut through the air towards Kaili, an incandescent projectile that had split continents and extinguished rebellious suns, its tip shining with the weight of galaxies. "I have faced plagues like you before!" he roared, his voice a thunderclap that shattered nearby columns into golden fragments that rained down like meteors. "I have purged your kind from the ether! Your audacity ends here!"

Kaili, Harbinger of the Plague, floated before him, her purple skin glowing with an inner light that defied the Guardian's radiance. The gold, silver, and red runes that ran across her body pulsed like veins of power, flashing with an arcane energy that warped the space around her. Her horns, sharp as a gazelle's, curved upwards, the gems embedded in them glinting with fury, and her eyes –dark pits with burning red sparks– narrowed with a cruel smile that cut deeper than any weapon. Six membranous wings beat once, a sharp hiss that tore fragments from the cloud floor, their colors shifting –black, purple, scarlet– in a hypnotic swirl that devoured the light. Her black armor, fitted like liquid obsidian, exposed her arms and abdomen, the runes on them glowing with an intensity that seemed to mock Thal'Korath's power.

"Purged my kind?" Kaili hissed, her voice resonating with a mocking tone that made the broken crystal under her feet vibrate. "You have seen nothing like me, little toy guardian." With a fluid movement, she raised a hand, and a cloud of green-black miasma exploded from her palm, a hurricane of living plague that collided with Thal'Korath's beam of pure light. The impact illuminated the sanctuary in a blinding flash –golden light against corrosive shadow–, but the miasma devoured the beam in seconds, dissolving it into a whirlwind of black ashes that fell to the ground like dead rain. "Your light is weak," Kaili laughed, advancing with slow, deliberate steps, her wings beating with a sadistic grace. "My Queen brought me to break your laws –and I will, bone by bone."

Thal'Korath growled, his arrogance intact as he raised his spherical shield –an artifact that reflected the entire cosmos, forged with the power of a thousand worlds–. "I have sealed abysses darker than you!" he bellowed, and he threw the shield like a golden comet, its surface spinning with a force that had crushed divine armies in ages past. The shield cut through the ether, leaving a trail of light that shook the sanctuary, the runes on the vaults flashing in response.

Kaili laughed –a cold sound that froze the air–, and she extended both hands, her wings spreading wider as a storm of plague erupted from her. The miasma collided with the shield, and for an instant, the sanctuary was filled with a titanic duel –the Guardian's bright gold against Kaili's corrosive black–. The shield held, its light flickering as Thal'Korath roared, "You are nothing more than an echo of the fallen I have shattered!" But the miasma clung to its surface, black threads corroding the divine metal, dissolving it into a smoking puddle that dripped onto the cloud floor, burning holes that released a stench of primordial rot.

Thal'Korath recoiled, his golden form shining with fury, but a black crack appeared on his arm, the first sign of the plague infiltrating his essence. "What… what are you?" he growled, his voice losing its tone of confidence for an instant, an edge of doubt cutting through his arrogance. His spear shone with renewed intensity, and he charged towards Kaili, his weapon cutting through the ether with a force that split space itself, opening golden cracks that resonated with the echo of ancient worlds. "I will tear you from the ether!"

Kaili smiled, her wings beating once more, and a sword of dark energy materialized in her right hand, its blade pulsing with a power that seemed to drain the light from the sanctuary. "Come then, little god," she hissed, and she leaped towards him, her body moving at a speed that surpassed light itself, a black blur that collided with Thal'Korath with an impact that shattered the crystal throne into fragments that rained down like burning daggers.

The Guardian blocked with his spear, the clash resonating like a thunderclap that shook the sanctuary to its foundations. The remaining towers collapsed in cascades of liquid gold that burned the cloud floor, and the bells tolled a broken lament that pierced the ether, a cry that reached the confines of the mortal plane. Thal'Korath spun his spear, launching a burst of solar fire that cut through the air towards Kaili, its golden flames incinerating space itself in a whirlwind that could melt entire worlds. "I have slain terrors greater than you!" he roared, his voice still charged with arrogance, but his white eyes flickered with a flash of uncertainty as Kaili's miasma rose like a living wall.

Kaili laughed, dodging the flames with an elegant twist, her wings cutting through the ether as she charged again. "Terrors greater?" she hissed, her dark sword striking Thal'Korath's arm with a force that made his golden form crack, black fissures spreading from the impact. "You do not know what I am." With a brutal movement, she plunged her free hand into the Guardian's chest, her black claws piercing the molten metal as if it were soft flesh. A torrent of green-black plague erupted from her fingers, injecting itself into Thal'Korath's core, and the Guardian roared, a sound of pain that shook the sanctuary as the black cracks spread across his torso.

"No… it cannot be!" Thal'Korath growled, his voice breaking as fear replaced his arrogance, his white eyes widening with a growing desperation. He struck Kaili with his spear, a desperate blow that cut one of her wings, tearing off a piece of black membrane that fell to the smoking ground. But Kaili barely flinched, her sharp laughter resonating as the plague regenerated her wing in an instant, the black veins pulsing with a life of their own. "Is that all?" she hissed, and she launched a whirlwind of dark energy from her sword, a blast that struck Thal'Korath in the chest, sending him crashing into the ruins of his throne.

The Guardian fell to his knees, his golden form collapsing into fragments that dripped like liquid blood, the plague eating away at his essence with a speed that left him gasping. "I must… warn them!" he roared, his voice a broken cry as fear consumed him, an urgent need to escape and alert the divine council to this calamity. He crawled towards a portal at the edge of the sanctuary, his hands shaking as the plague spread across his back, black and pulsating. "You are not a demon… you are something… worse!" he gasped, looking at Kaili with eyes that no longer shone with arrogance, but with a pure terror that reflected the end of his dominion.

Kaili advanced, her steps slow and deliberate, her dark sword dripping shadows that burned the cloud floor. "Run, little god," she laughed, her voice charged with cruelty as she raised a hand, a green miasma erupting from her fingers like a living whip. "Run to your masters and tell them that my Queen is coming for all of them." The whip struck Thal'Korath in the back, tearing a scream that resonated in the ether, and the plague sank deeper, corroding his form until his golden light faded into a dull glow.

Thal'Korath crawled towards the portal, his spear falling from his trembling hand, his shield already dissolved into a black puddle. With a final effort, he dragged himself through the portal, his form collapsing into fragments as he disappeared, leaving behind a ruined sanctuary –collapsed towers, shattered crystal, the miniature sun extinguished into a black sphere–. Kaili laughed, her voice echoing in the ether like an echo of death, and the mortal world felt the impact –in Aethoria, the sky turned red, the trumpets sounded; in Kragthar'Dun, the earth trembled, the runes bled–. The Great Catastrophe had begun, an echo of a god's defeat, and no one in the world knew that their guardian had fallen to an absolute terror.