For a moment, no one moved.

The sound of Vok'thar's body hitting the stone still echoed through the cavern, a final punctuation to the War Chief's life.

Dark blood dripped from Jack's clawed gauntlets, the two hearts still pulsing weakly in his grip.

Then chaos erupted.

"TRAITOR!" Nyx'ira's scream tore through the cavern as shadows exploded around her.

The four Thal'Gorin guards drew their weapons, appearing in their hands as they moved to surround Jack.

Seryth's light flared so bright it was blinding, her wings spreading wide as she took a step back from the ledge. "Soul Warden, what have you…"

Jack calmly opened his system storage and the hearts vanished from his hands, absorbed into the dimensional space.

His red eyes, visible through his helmet's T-shaped opening, swept across the assembled demons with a cold stare.

The nearest Thal'Gorin guard lunged first, his blade aimed at Jack's throat.

Kyren vanished from sight.

The reanimated demon was a blur of motion, his light blade materializing as he closed the distance between himself and the attacking guard.

The Thal'Gorin warrior never saw him coming. Kyren's blade punched through the demon's back and emerged from his chest in a spray of dark blood.

[Enemy Killed]

Before the corpse hit the ground, Kyren had already moved to the second guard. His light blade carved through the demon's neck with surgical precision, separating its head from its shoulders in one clean strike.

[Enemy Killed]

The third guard tried to run, realizing too late that this wasn't a fight they could win. Kyren appeared behind him like death itself, his blade finding the gap between armor plates and piercing straight through the demon's heart.

[Enemy Killed]

The fourth guard raised his weapon to defend himself, but Kyren was already there. A flurry of strikes too fast to follow, and the guard collapsed with a dozen fatal wounds bleeding across his torso.

[Enemy Killed]

The entire exchange took less than ten seconds.

Kyren stood over the corpses, his light blade humming with power, then turned toward Nyx'ira. He moved with that same supernatural speed, closing the distance before the Shadow Blade could react.

His blade came to rest against her throat, the edge pressing just hard enough to draw a thin line of blood.

Nyx'ira froze, her void-like eyes wide with shock and fury. Shadows coiled around her arms, ready to strike, but Kyren's blade didn't waver.

One wrong move and her head would separate from her shoulders.

"Don't," Kyren's hollow voice echoed through the cavern. "Move."

Seryth had drawn her own blade, her light blazing like a miniature sun. Her two elite guards stood ready, weapons out, positioned between their High Commander and the carnage.

But none of them had moved to attack. They stood frozen, uncertainty written across their luminescent features.

"Soul Warden," Seryth's voice shook with barely contained emotion. "What is the meaning of this? You said you would bring peace! You said…"

"I am bringing peace," Jack interrupted, his red eyes fixed on her. His voice carried absolute authority, the kind that demanded obedience.

"But peace requires sacrifice. Vok'thar was that sacrifice."

"You murdered him!" Seryth's light flared brighter. "You murdered the War Chief of the Thal'Gorin in cold blood! This will reignite the war worse than before!"

"No," Jack said simply. "It won't."

He took a step forward, his crimson-black armor gleaming in the Aethrium light. Through his helmet, his red eyes burned with an intensity that made even Seryth take an involuntary step backward.

"I was blessed by Dreknar the Black Flame," Jack said, his voice carrying through the cavern with absolute certainty. "Your sovereign. Your god. The demon god you pray to, whose name you invoke when you kill your enemies."

The cavern fell silent. Even Nyx'ira, with Kyren's blade at her throat, stopped struggling.

"Dreknar gave me a task," Jack continued. "Kill the leader of either the Aurion or the Thal'Gorin. Bring him their heart. I have done exactly as he commanded." His red eyes moved between Seryth and Nyx'ira. "So tell me, would you go against the will of your sovereign? Would you defy your god?"

Seryth's light dimmed slightly, uncertainty flickering across her features. Her blade lowered a fraction. "Dreknar... blessed you?"

"He gave me a task to complete." He gestured toward the ledge where the War Chief had fallen. "The Black Flame's will has been carried out."

Nyx'ira's voice was hoarse, strained by the blade at her throat but still defiant. "You expect us to believe that our god commanded this? That Dreknar wanted his own worshippers murdered?"

"I expect you to understand your place," Jack said coldly. "Dreknar doesn't care about mortals. He doesn't care about your war or your dead or your prayers. You're all insects to him, and he grows tired of your constant begging for divine attention."

His red eyes were fixed on Nyx'ira. "Your War Chief prayed too much. Annoyed the Black Flame with his constant requests. So Dreknar ordered me to silence him permanently."

The brutal honesty of it was rough. Both Seryth and Nyx'ira recoiled from his words.

That their god viewed them as nothing more than irritating pests whose deaths served as convenient tools for divine purpose.

"I am simply carrying out his wishes," Jack continued, his voice steady. "I will kill Pho as promised. I will end the manipulation that started this war. And I will lead your people into an era of peace and prosperity."

He turned his attention fully to Nyx'ira, his red eyes burning through his helmet. "You will be the new leader of the Thal'Gorin. You will answer to me. You will follow my commands. And if your people want to survive, if they want to avoid being crushed by forces beyond their comprehension, they will do the same."

"And if I refuse?" Nyx'ira managed to say despite the blade at her throat.

"Then you die here," Jack said simply. "And I find someone else among the Thal'Gorin willing to lead under my authority. Your choice is simple: live and serve, or die and be replaced."

Before Nyx'ira could respond, the air beside Jack rippled and distorted.

S materialized out of thin air as if he'd been standing there the entire time and simply decided to become visible.

He wore his usual impeccable black suit, his red eyes gleaming with amusement as he took in the scene of carnage and tension.

"Perfect timing," S said cheerfully, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeve. "I take it the demonstration was successful?"

Jack turned to face him. "Do you have them ready?"

"Of course." S reached into his jacket and pulled out a stack of documents that definitely should not have fit in that pocket.

The papers glowed faintly with magical energy, runes written in demon tongue.

Seryth's eyes widened. "What is that?"

"Contracts," S said, his smile widening. He walked forward and placed the stack on a nearby boulder, spreading them out so each document was visible. "Standard binding agreements. Nothing too onerous, really."

"What kind of contracts?" Seryth asked warily, her light dimming further as she studied the magical documents.

S's red eyes gleamed. "Simple. You pledge your life to the Soul Warden. You acknowledge that you owe him everything, your survival, your position, your very existence. And most importantly..." He tapped one of the contracts with a perfectly manicured finger. "If he ever calls upon you, you must follow his command to your last breath."

The silence that followed was defining.

"You want us to swear fealty to him?" Seryth's voice carried disbelief. "To bind ourselves with magical contracts?"

"I want you to acknowledge reality," S corrected. "The Soul Warden just killed a War Chief with his bare hands. His servant slaughtered four elite guards in seconds. He carries the blessing of Dreknar the Black Flame." His smile never wavered. "You're alive right now because he allows it. The contract simply makes that relationship... official."

Seryth looked at Jack, then at the contracts, then back at Jack. Her luminescent eyes searched his red eyes, looking for any sign of mercy or flexibility.

She found none.

"And if we refuse?" she asked quietly.

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