Liam stood before them, his arm still bandaged, his armor stained with the blood and mud of yesterday's battle. He looked human and small against the backdrop of demon warriors, and for a moment, he felt the weight of that disparity.

Then he remembered he'd killed a Grand Commander in single combat, executed an Archon with perfected authority, and led this army deeper into enemy territory than any demon force in living memory.

Small didn't mean weak.

Human didn't mean powerless.

"I won't lie to you," Liam began, his voice amplified by Sovereign's Dominion until it carried across the assembled army. "Yesterday was brutal. We lost sixteen hundred and eighty-three soldiers breaking through a defensive line that was designed to stop us. Some of you lost friends. Comrades. People you'd fought beside since the beginning of this campaign."

The assembled demons were silent, watching him with expressions ranging from reverent faith to barely concealed skepticism.

"And I won't pretend those deaths were noble sacrifices in service to some glorious cause," Liam continued. "They were brutal, painful, and in many cases, completely avoidable. If we'd taken a safer route, if we'd moved slower, if we'd prioritized preservation over speed—those sixteen hundred and eighty-three demons would still be alive."

He paused, letting that truth settle.

"So why didn't I choose the safer route?" he asked. "Why am I asking you to march at a pace that's breaking you? Why am I spending lives like currency when I could be more cautious?"

The question hung in the air.

"Because cautious means dead," Liam said flatly. "Not eventually. Not as a possibility. Dead. Certainty. All of you. Every demon in this empire. Your families. Your children. Everyone you've ever known or cared about—erased by twenty-one divine champions whose sole purpose is to purge demonkind from existence."

He let Sovereign's Dominion pulse outward, not as a command but as emphasis—making reality itself pay attention to his words.

"The Radiant Empire is summoning those champions right now," he continued. "In the Cathedral of Divine Light, at the heart of Sanctum Lux. Every hour we delay is another hour they have to complete the ritual. Every day we rest is another day closer to prophecy manifesting as twenty-one unkillable warriors who will hunt down every demon in this world."

Liam moved to the edge of the platform, making eye contact with soldiers in the crowd.

"So yes, I'm pushing you past your limits," he said. "Yes, I'm asking you to march through exhaustion and fight through injuries and sacrifice comfort for speed. Because the alternative isn't safety. The alternative is extinction. And I would rather lead you through hell with a chance of survival than let you rest comfortably while prophecy prepares your genocide."

[Essence Generation Increased]

[Nameless Litany: +304 Essence/hour]

The faithful were responding, their worship intensifying with each word.

"But I understand doubt," Liam continued, his voice softening slightly. "I understand questioning whether I know what I'm doing. Whether a human—looking god, has any business leading a demon army against impossible odds."

He pulled off his gauntlet, revealing his bandaged arm underneath.

"I bleed like you do," he said. "I hurt like you do. For now, I am still mortal like you are. Three times. A battle-priest almost incinerated me. A war hammer nearly caved in my skull. And when I phase-shifted through their formation, I felt every moment of deaths grip that you feel when facing holy fire and consecrated blades."

Liam held up his human hand for all to see.

"I am not invincible yet," he said clearly. "I am not all-powerful yet. I am a god whose price to return was weakness...and mortality."

A ripple of shock went through the crowd. Even some of the Litany members looked uncertain.

"I am," Liam continued. "I am absolutely committed to preventing your extinction. I am willing to sacrifice everything—my safety, my comfort, my life if necessary—to give this empire a chance at survival. And I am very, very good at doing impossible things when necessity demands it."

He channeled Essence, letting Infernal Conflagration dance across his human hand—black flames that defied nature, power that transcended his mortal limitations.

"I may not be invincible," he said, "but I am god enough to terrify our enemies and inspire our allies. I may not be unkillable, but I can survive situations that should kill me. I may not have all the answers, but I have the will to find them even when the path is unclear."

The flames extinguished, leaving only his human hand again.

"So I'm asking you to trust me," Liam said. "Not because I'm divine. Not because I'm perfect. But because I'm the only option you have, and I'm too stubborn to let prophecy win without a fight."

He paused, then spoke his next words carefully.

"If you want to turn back, I won't stop you," he said. "If the cost is too high, if the odds seem too long, if you've lost faith in our mission and in me—leave now. I won't punish dissent. I won't execute doubters. Because forcing people to die for something they don't believe in is tyranny, not leadership."

The crowd stirred, uncertain.

"But if you stay," Liam continued, his voice hardening, "if you continue this march—I need absolute commitment. No half-measures. No holding back. Because we're going to assault walls that have never been breached, fight through defenses that have held for three millennia, and destroy a Cathedral that's protected by the concentrated faith of an entire empire."

He let Primordial Authority pulse outward, making the air itself vibrate with power.

"And we're going to succeed," he said with absolute certainty. "Not because it's easy. Not because it's safe. But because the alternative is genocide, and I refuse to let that happen while I still draw breath."

[Synchronization Index: + 2%]

Two percentage points in a single speech. The synthesis deepening as his human honesty merged with demon necessity.

"Four days to Sanctum Lux," Liam said. "Then we break the unbreakable. We kill the unkillable. We prevent the inevitable. And we prove that prophecy is just another obstacle to overcome."

He met the eyes of soldiers throughout the crowd.

"Who's with me?"

For a long moment, there was silence.

Then someone in the Nameless Litany shouted, "FOR LORD AZRA!"

The cry was taken up by others. First the faithful, then soldiers who'd fought beside him, then entire units who'd witnessed his miracles and victories.

"FOR LORD AZRA! FOR THE EMPIRE!"

The chant built into a roar that echoed across the valley. Not universal—Liam could see very few oldiers remaining silent, even fewer walking away—but enough. Enough faith to continue. Enough commitment to reach Sanctum Lux.

Enough belief that the impossible might just be achievable.

Liam stepped down from the platform, his entire body aching with exhaustion and injury, and found Lilith waiting.

"That was either brilliant, or perhaps catastrophic," she said quietly. "We won't know which until tomorrow."

"Either way, I meant every word."

"I know. That's what worries me." She studied him for a moment. "You're not supposed to admit you're mortal. Gods don't confess weakness."

"Good thing I'm not a god, then," Liam said. "Just a very committed actor who refuses to let the curtain fall."

[Current Status]

[Stage: 5-Star Greater Fiend]

[Essence: 68,940]

[True Essence: 1,800]

[Evolution Points: 40]

The numbers climbed while the army settled into uneasy rest.

Liam returned to his tent, every muscle screaming protest, and collapsed onto his bedroll without removing his armor.

Four days to Sanctum Lux.

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