The deep growl rising from beneath the First Prison rolled across Blackstone Ridge like the echo of a forgotten age.
The ancient silver eye remained fixed upon Victoria Kane.
Its unblinking gaze carried neither hostility nor kindness.
It simply watched.
The Crown of the Black Star blazed with golden brilliance, while the Dawnblade’s white flames stretched higher, illuminating the summit like a second sunrise.
No one dared to breathe.
Then the First Fallen spoke again.
"The Light has endured..."
"...longer than I believed possible."
Victoria stepped forward, refusing to lower her weapon.
"Who are you?"
Silence lingered for several heartbeats.
Finally, the ancient voice answered.
"I have carried many names."
"Before your kingdoms..."
"...before your stars..."
"...I was called Arkanis."
Dr. Evelyn Brooks hurriedly wrote the name into Elias Crow’s journal.
"Arkanis..."
"It appears nowhere in recorded history."
Father Gabriel stared toward the gate.
"Perhaps history was never old enough to remember."
Far below the summit, the Hollow King’s chains groaned under the strain of his immense body.
His crimson eyes narrowed.
"Do not listen to him!"
"He speaks only to deceive."
The silver eye slowly shifted toward the Hollow King.
For the first time, emotion crossed its ancient gaze.
Disappointment.
"You survived."
The simple words echoed inside every mind.
The Hollow King lowered his head.
"I escaped."
"You failed."
A faint sigh emerged from the darkness beyond the gate.
"No..."
"We all failed."
Those words silenced the battlefield.
Even Roland Thorne stopped struggling against the Hollow King’s enormous grasp.
The corrupted marshal stared toward the prison with growing uncertainty.
"What are you talking about?"
The First Fallen answered without anger.
"I imprisoned the darkness."
"He sought to command it."
The silver eye settled upon the Hollow King once more.
"Instead..."
"...he unleashed it."
Dr. Evelyn looked toward Gideon in astonishment.
"The infection..."
"It wasn’t created."
"It escaped."
Gideon’s face became grave.
"So the Hollow King was never its master."
"He was its first victim."
The Hollow King’s furious roar shook the mountains.
"I became stronger than it!"
"I forged an empire!"
"I conquered death itself!"
The darkness beyond the gate remained silent before replying.
"And yet..."
"...you still wear chains."
Those words struck harder than any blade.
The undead armies remained motionless.
Even the Abyss Walkers lowered their massive weapons.
Roland slowly looked up at the imprisoned giant.
"So..."
"You lied to all of us."
The Hollow King glared at him.
"I gave you purpose."
"You gave me obedience."
Roland’s scarred face hardened.
For the first time since his corruption, doubt entered his crimson eye.
Victoria noticed the change.
"There is still a choice, Roland."
He looked toward her but said nothing.
Suddenly, the mountain shook with violent force.
The low growl beneath the First Prison became a deafening roar.
Cracks spread beneath the enormous gate.
The Last Sentinel gripped his war hammer tightly.
"It is breaking through."
Commander Selene Voss shouted to the gathered defenders.
"Shields up!"
"Protect the summit!"
Thousands of soldiers formed defensive lines as stones rained from the cliffs.
The thirteen spirits of the Marshals surrounded Victoria, their weapons glowing with ancient power.
Marshal Isabella looked toward the Last Marshal.
"The First Fallen is not our enemy."
Victoria frowned.
"Then what is?"
Before Isabella could answer, the ground beneath the gate exploded.
A massive black claw burst upward from the abyss beneath Arkanis’s prison.
Unlike the smooth stone hand of the First Fallen, this claw was covered in writhing crimson veins and jagged obsidian scales.
Its talons carved deep scars across the mountainside.
A horrifying scream echoed across the world.
For the first time, Arkanis’s calm voice carried urgency.
"Last Marshal..."
"...do not let the Devourer awaken."
The black claw tightened around the edge of the First Prison, and the entire mountain began to collapse as an ancient horror struggled to escape from the darkness below.