“Settle, settle, settle!”

  The Herald’s voice cracked like a whip across the colosseum, cutting through the thunder of divine laughter. He spun midair, golden wings snapping open theatrically, his grin wide enough to be a wound.

  “Yes, yes, very amusing, very inspired, ten out of ten mockeries of mortality,” he said, gesturing flamboyantly at the gods still parading their fake fangs and toy hellhounds. “But now, now we must focus! Because the stage is set, the dice are rolling, and our two precious blood-puppets are dangling right where you want them.”

  He stretched out one arm toward Alistair, still locked in stasis on the ruined boulevard.

  “On my left, our darling disaster! You’ve cheered, you’ve jeered, you’ve lost and won fortunes on him. The Bloodstain! The Fangling! The one who tells gods themselves to, ah yes, KNEEL!”

  The crowd erupted. Dozens of gods roared “KNEEL!” back at him, collapsing in fits of divine hilarity.

  “And on my right…” The Herald’s grin twisted sharper, voice dropping to a conspiratorial growl. “We have a jewel of the Pantheon’s pride. The hammer of dawn, the furnace of heaven, the bronze wing that breaks the night.”

  He raised both arms, voice booming:

  “Thaurion the Dawnforged!”

  A roar shook the stands. Bronze-clad gods slammed their fists together in time with the echo of wings. Sparks rained down from the heavens as divine hammers rang in approval.

  “And do not underestimate this beauty,” the Herald said, voice rising in pitch until it bordered on manic shriek. “Only one champion in this Arena has stacked a higher body count and that is the bone-gnawing necromancer whose tally is so obscene we dare not say the number aloud at brunch. But! But! The Dawnforged is catching up.”

  He leaned forward, eyes manic, spittle flying. “And tonight, my luminous degenerates, he faces our darling blood-bat!”

  The stands erupted into stomps, wings flared, fake fangs clacked together like dice.

  The Herald cackled, spinning midair. “Delightful! Delicious! Divinely suicidal!”

  The Herald spun above them, still shrieking about body counts and drama, but Alistair’s eyes had drifted.

  Not to the gods in their absurd mortal masks. Not to the divine stands shaking with laughter.

  To the boulevard opposite him.

  To the man with the bronze wings.

  Thaurion the Dawnforged.

  For the first time since the Herald’s nonsense began, Alistair’s vision pinged with a cold, clinical shimmer.

  [System Notification]

  Name: Thaurion the Dawnforged

  Patron: Aurion, God of the Sun

  Race: Human Ascendant (Blessed of Aurion)

  Class: Sunforged Paladin

  Level: 37

  HP: 618

  Status: Radiant Empowerment – All Light abilities intensified under daylight.

  Alistair’s blood turned to ice.

  Level thirty-seven? he thought. His tongue felt like lead. Oh sure, why not. Nothing says ‘fair’ like tossing me into a meat grinder with wings.

  The number clung to him like chains. He barely had half that health pool on a good day, and right now, he wasn’t on a good day.

  His gaze flicked instinctively toward the stands, scanning row after row of grotesque gods in their mortal cosplay. But there, no fangs in shadow, no blood-stained silks, no dark-eyed mistress lounging with a smile. And across the tiers, no blazing sun-throne, no Aurion glaring down.

  Neither patron had shown.

  The gods wanted a spectacle. They didn’t need to watch the opening act.

  Alistair’s lips tried to pull back in a grin that tasted like ashes. Of course. Let the pets kill each other while the masters sip wine.

  But his eyes returned to the notification, to the glowing bronze glare of Thaurion’s wings, and the grin slipped.

  His blood might have been fire, his body might have been shadow, but right now?

  He was a vampire staring down the sun.

  The Herald fluttered his gilded wings, scrolls and feathers and raw mania, and rose high above the freshly-forged colosseum. His voice cracked across the stands like a war drum.

  “AND NOW! MY DIVINE DEGENERATES, THE MOMENT YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR! LET THE SLAUGHTER BEGIN!”

  The world jolted.

  Alistair’s muscles unlocked all at once, blood surging through his veins like fire. The champion across the boulevard stirred too, bronze wings flexing wide with a sound like swords being drawn.

  Thaurion the Dawnforged.

  The Paladin of Aurion shook off the stasis as if it had been a moment’s nap, hammer spinning in one hand, radiant sparks bleeding from its head. He turned, his voice booming as though the air itself was his pulpit.

  “Abomination of the night,” he thundered, “Aurion’s fire will scour you from this world.”

  Alistair groaned. “Oh gods, he’s a speech-giver.” He raised his blades, lips curling. “Listen, sunshine, if you’re going to monologue, at least skip to the part where you lose.”

  The Dawnforged sneered, bronze feathers rattling as he spread his wings. Sunlight poured off him in waves, an aura that pressed down on Alistair like molten lead. His regeneration faltered instantly, and the shadows recoiled.

  [Effect Applied – Solar Radiance]

  [Vampiric regeneration suppressed]

  [Stealth abilities disabled]

  [Light burn damage: 3 HP per second]

  Alistair hissed through his teeth. “Brilliant. I’m standing in my own personal frying pan.”

  The Herald shrieked from above, giddy beyond measure. “OHHH, OUR DARLING BLOODSTAIN SQUARING OFF AGAINST THE BRONZE WRATH HIMSELF! TWO TITANS, ONE APOCALYPSE, PLACE YOUR BETS!”

  Thaurion raised his hammer high, every word a proclamation. “You will kneel before the sun’s judgment.”

  Alistair sighed, rolling his shoulders. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

  Then the Dawnforged lunged, wings flaring bronze, hammer blazing like a second sunrise.

  The Dawnforged came down like judgment itself.

  [Sunhammer Strike – Activated]

  The hammer blazed white-gold, trailing a burning corona as it slammed toward Alistair’s skull.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Alistair didn’t block. Couldn’t. One hit would splatter him across the boulevard.

  He slipped left, shadows trailing off his cloak as the hammer detonated into the stone. A shockwave rippled out, rattling his bones and carving a crater in the already-ruined street. Debris screamed past his face.

  [Damage Avoided – Evasion Successful]

  [Status: Burn – 3 HP/sec in Solar Aura]

  “Godsdamn,” Alistair muttered, coughing dust. “If that had landed, I’d be flatter than Brimma’s patience.”

  Thaurion rose from the crater, hammer spinning, wings snapped once, bronze feathers slicing the air like blades. He was already on him again, hammer sweeping sideways in a brutal arc.

  Alistair ducked under it, blades flashing up in reflex. The Redcrystal edge kissed the Paladin’s vambrace, sparks bursting. The man didn’t even flinch. His wings buffeted once, tossing Alistair back like a ragdoll.

  He hit, rolled, came up gasping.

  Thaurion’s voice boomed, pompous and absolute.

  “Abomination of the night. Aurion’s judgment will end you.”

  Alistair spat iron, lips curling. “Do you paladins come preloaded with those lines, or is it just you?”

  The Paladin sneered and snapped his wings. Bronze feathers tore free.

  [Ability Activated – Feather Barrage]

  Spears of burning metal shrieked toward him.

  Alistair blurred.

  [Ethereal Phase – Activated]

  His body dissolved into streaks of smoke, lashing sideways through the storm. Even then, pain lanced across his chest as a feather grazed him, searing through the half-incorporeal form. The Paladin’s aura gnawed even at smoke.

  [Reduced Damage Taken – 14]

  [HP: 184 / 235]

  He reformed behind shattered masonry, panting. Ethereal Phase worked, but not cleanly. Aurion’s light chewed through everything.

  Even this doesn’t hold. He’s shutting me down everywhere.

  Alistair darted left as the hammer came down again, tearing the ground open with another thunderclap. He could feel the gulf, the sheer weight of Thaurion’s power.

  Level thirty-seven. Six hundred health. Wings, range, a sunfield in his pocket.

  Nine levels above.

  This wasn’t a duel. It was a god’s idea of a joke.

  “Fantastic,” Alistair growled under his breath, blades twitching in his hands. “I’m playing hide-and-seek with the apocalypse.”

  The bronze wings flared again, light swallowing the ruin. The hammer rose, sunlight dripping from its head like molten gold.

  Alistair’s instincts screamed: stay moving, stay breathing, don’t get hit.

  Because one clean strike from Thaurion wouldn’t just hurt.

  It would end him.

  The hammer fell again.

  Alistair dove sideways, boots sliding across rubble as the weapon slammed into the stone. A shockwave erupted outward, cobbles splitting like eggshells, radiant fire chewing the air. His fangs ached, his flesh blistered.

  [You take 6 damage (Solar Aura Burn).]

  [HP: 178 / 235]

  Thaurion barely moved between strikes. His presence alone was enough. Bronze wings spread wide, every beat rippling with solar heat. He was the sun given muscle, a thing that didn’t swing so much as decree.

  Alistair gritted his teeth.

  The Paladin advanced, hammer dragging a trail of molten light. “Your kind crawls in shadow, parasite. Today, the dawn burns you out.”

  Alistair forced a grin, blades twitching in his hands. “Dawn’s running late, sunshine. You’re stuck with me.”

  Thaurion snarled hammer was already rising again.

  Alistair hissed, eyes narrowing. “Fine. My turn.”

  He snapped his fingers.

  [Summon Chittering Bats – Activated]

  The air shrieked. Shadows exploded outward as a swarm of bats coiled around the Paladin’s face, biting, clawing, wings slapping at his vision.

  Thaurion roared, wings beating hard. The shockwave blasted half the swarm apart in an instant, bodies burning to ash in his solar aura.

  But Alistair was already moving.

  He darted low, slid under a wing, and slashed.

  [Redcrystal Sword – Attack]

  [Critical Hit!]

  [Damage Dealt: 37]

  The blade bit through bronze feather and into the Paladin’s calf. Sunlight bled from the wound instead of blood, hot enough to sear his face.

  Thaurion bellowed, pivoting on him instantly.

  [Ability Activated – Dawnflare]

  The Paladin’s armor exploded in a sphere of blinding brilliance.

  Alistair staggered, vision scorched white.

  [Status Applied: Blinded – 3s]

  [Damage Taken: 20 Light]

  [HP: 141 / 235]

  “Gah!” He staggered back, blades up, blind and swearing. “Thanks. I always wanted to go blind and die screaming!”

  The hammer swept. Alistair felt the air tear and dropped flat. The strike screamed inches above his head, carving another crater. Stone chips pelted his back as he rolled aside, blinking furiously.

  Shapes returned. Just barely.

  He snapped his wrist, forcing mana into the air.

  [Dark Magic Spell – Darken Sight]

  Shadows surged outward, swallowing the boulevard in a three-meter sphere of pitch. The world went black, thick as oil, muffling every glimmer.

  [Effect Applied – Enemy Vision Obscured]

  [Duration: 10s]

  Thaurion growled, hammer sweeping wide into empty space, wings snapping like steel doors. He was strong, but he was blind.

  Alistair didn’t waste it. He darted in, every step a whisper in the dark, Redcrystal sword blazing with mana.

  [Imbued Strike – Activated]

  His blade ripped across the Paladin’s flank, slipping between plates of glowing bronze.

  [Critical Hit!]

  [Damage Dealt: 61]

  The blow staggered the Dawnforged, radiant sparks bleeding from the wound. Alistair’s grin flashed, teeth red with blood. “Gotcha.”

  But then...

  The hammer pulsed, light flaring from every seam of Thaurion’s armor. Radiance bled outward in a blinding detonation.

  [Divine Effect Triggered – Solar Radiance Purges Darkness]

  The shadows shattered. The spell ripped apart like paper under flame.

  Alistair staggered back, eyes watering against the sudden blaze.

  Thaurion’s face twisted in fury, voice booming like a cathedral collapsing. “You dare shroud Aurion’s chosen in night?!”

  He spread his wings, bronze feathers rattling, hammer dripping sunlight.

  [Ability Activated – Aurion’s Judgment]

  A beam of golden wrath arced straight at Alistair. His instincts screamed, he dove, rolled, but the edge of the blast caught him.

  [Damage Taken: 42 Light]

  [Status Applied: Weakened – Damage Output -20%]

  [Status Applied: Searing Soulburn – Regeneration Reduced 50%]

  [HP: 99 / 235]

  Alistair slammed into the ground, coughing, skin blistering from the divine burn. His body screamed for blood, for shadow, for anything, but the aura smothered it.

  He forced himself up, legs shaking.

  A notification snapped into place.

  [Gear Ability Activated – Crown of the Last Regent]

  Effect: All nearby enemies take 20 damage per second for 6 seconds.

  Effect: Projectiles are deflected within a 1-meter radius.

  Effect: If cast while affected by [Burn], you become immune to fire for 10 seconds.

  Alistair staggered, blinking as ember-runes spun into existence above him, orbiting his head like the halo of a dethroned god. Heat washed over him, but it wasn’t his flesh burning. It was his enemy’s.

  [Effect Applied – Aura Burn]

  Target: Thaurion the Dawnforged

  Damage: 20 Fire per second (6s)

  The Paladin snarled as bronze feathers blackened at the edges, sunlight hissing against the warding crown. A feather storm shrieked toward Alistair, but the symbols spun faster, scattering the projectiles aside in showers of sparks.

  “Oh,” Alistair rasped, lips peeling back in a bloody grin. “That’s new.”

  The burn chewing at his skin faltered, smothered by a sudden rush of fire-warding energy.

  [Status Updated – Fire Immunity: 10s]

  Alistair straightened, ember-symbols blazing around his head, eyes locked on the Paladin. “Guess what, sunshine? I brought my own halo.”

  His grin widened, cracked and bloody, blades in hand. “You hit hard,” he rasped. “But I’m still standing.”

  Thaurion’s wings spread, bronze light filling the ruins. “Not for long.”

  And then he came again.

  Alistair’s system window flickered.

  [Enemy Status Detected]

  Name: Thaurion the Dawnforged

  HP: 487 / 618

  Alistair froze. His stomach turned to stone.

  “One critical hit,” he muttered, “and the bastard still has more health than I’ve ever had in my life.”

  The realization crawled up his spine, cold and merciless. He couldn’t keep dancing forever. Every dodge, every feint, every desperate counter was buying seconds, not survival.

  The hammer above Thaurion’s head pulsed brighter, solar fury building to a detonation.

  Alistair’s fangs itched. His skin crawled. And for the first time since he’d unlocked it, the thought whispered like a noose around his neck.

  If I want to live through this…

  His jaw clenched, heart sinking.

  I’ll have to use it.

  [Ability Available – Trueform: Nightbound Majesty]

  Alistair swallowed hard, watching the sun’s chosen descend upon him.

  “Gods damn it,” he rasped. “I have to go full vampire.”

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