VOIDBLADE: THE LAST SWORD OF THE END

The horn's echo faded into the distance, but the tension it left behind coiled tighter with every passing second. From Ravenwatch's highest point, Void God watched as dust rose on the horizon — the first sign of Lord Castien's approaching forces. Two hundred soldiers, Vos had said. Mercenaries and conscripts. The first wave in a war that would soon consume Briarstead County.

And he welcomed it.

Behind him, the village stirred with unease. The people of Ravenwatch had seen their corrupt overseers fall beneath his blade, but their fear remained — not just of the lords who once oppressed them, but of him. Of the void that whispered through every step he took.

Let them fear. It would keep them alive.

Jin stood beside him, lightning crackling faintly along his gauntlets. His brother's expression was tight with focus, but Void God knew the questions brewing beneath. Jin had agreed to back him, but only to a point — and that point would soon be tested.

"I assume you have a plan," Jin said, eyes never leaving the rising dust cloud.

"Several," Void God replied. "But they all start the same way."

He turned to Vos. "Spread the word. Any villager who takes up arms against Castien's forces will be protected. Any who raise a hand against us… won't be."

Vos inclined their head and vanished into the village's shadows without a sound.

Jin's mouth tightened. "You're playing a dangerous game."

"It's the only kind worth playing."

They waited in silence as the dust cloud grew closer. By midday, the first ranks of Castien's forces were visible — a ragged line of mercenaries and conscripts, led by a handful of mounted knights. Their banners snapped in the wind, gold and crimson against the pale sky.

Void God stepped forward, the edge of his cloak brushing the stone. "Stay here," he told Jin.

"Not a chance."

He didn't argue. Together, they descended the hill and walked out to meet the enemy.

The mercenaries slowed as they approached, uneasy whispers rippling through their ranks. Even from this distance, they could feel it — the stillness that rolled off Void God in waves. The weight of the abyss pressing down on reality itself.

A knight broke ranks and rode forward, his armor gleaming in the afternoon light. "You stand before the forces of Lord Castien!" the man called out. "Surrender Ravenwatch and swear fealty, and you may yet live."

Void God didn't stop walking.

The knight hesitated, his horse stamping nervously. "Did you hear me, swordsman? Lay down your arms!"

Still, he advanced.

The knight raised his hand — a signal — and the first wave of archers nocked their arrows.

Jin's voice was low. "We're really doing this?"

Void God smiled. "We are."

The knight's hand fell. The archers loosed.

Void Step.

The world twisted, and Void God was no longer there. He reappeared in the midst of the mercenaries, Voidfang already moving. The first strike severed a spear's haft; the second carved through the man holding it.

Jin hit the line a heartbeat later, lightning exploding from his fists. The conscripts never stood a chance.

The battle for Briarstead had begun.