The Royal Palace of Sanctum Lux rose from the city's heart like a monument to divine authority. White stone that gleamed even through smoke and ash, towers that reached toward heaven, and walls that—while not as thick as the outer defenses—were still formidable barriers.

The approach was a wide plaza, deliberately cleared of cover, designed to be a killing ground for anyone attacking the palace.

And arrayed across that plaza were the final defenders.

Fifteen thousand soldiers in perfect formation. Battle-priests on elevated positions, hands already glowing with prepared holy magic. Siege equipment that had been repositioned to fire into the plaza rather than out of it.

And at the center of it all, standing on the palace steps like monuments to martial perfection, the two remaining Grand Commanders.

Liam recognized them from Lilith's earlier descriptions. On the left, Grand Commander Vexis—older, gray-haired, wielding a staff that crackled with both martial and magical power. On the right, Grand Commander Theron—younger, maybe forty, with armor that was covered in so many holy inscriptions it practically glowed.

"DEMON LORD!" Vexis's voice carried across the plaza, amplified by magic. "YOU HAVE DESECRATED OUR HOLY CAPITAL! MURDERED OUR DEFENDERS! BROUGHT DARKNESS TO THE RADIANT EMPIRE'S HEART!"

"Yes," Liam said, letting Sovereign's Dominion carry his response. "And I'm not done yet."

"Then come!" Theron challenged. "Come and face the empire's final judgment! Come and die on the steps of the palace you'll never breach!"

The demon army hesitated—not from fear exactly, but from the simple recognition that charging across an open plaza into prepared defenses was suicide.

"Lord Azra," Commander Koth said, having rejoined with Legions Two and Three, "that's a killing ground. We charge across that plaza, we'll lose half our forces before we even reach their lines."

He was right. The mathematics were brutal. Fifteen thousand defenders with siege support and prepared magic could devastate a charging army.

But the alternative was standing here, waiting, giving them time to reinforce or organize counterattacks from behind.

"We don't charge," Liam said quietly. "We break their formation first."

"How?" Koth asked.

Liam looked at Lilith. "How fast can you cross that plaza?"

"Three seconds," she said. "Maybe four if I need to dodge siege fire."

"Fast enough to kill the Grand Commanders before they can coordinate their defense?"

Lilith's expression was calculating. "Probably. But that leaves me isolated in the middle of fifteen thousand enemies."

"Only for about ten seconds," Liam said. "Because I'm coming right behind you."

He raised his voice, addressing the assembled legion commanders who'd gathered.

"Here's the plan. Queen Lilith breaks their center by eliminating the Grand Commanders. I follow and establish a position using Sovereign's Dominion to break their formation. The moment their lines fracture, all legions charge. We overwhelm them with speed before they can reform."

"That's..." Lieutenant Zara was calculating. "That's actually not terrible. High risk, but if you can create enough chaos..."

"We can," Liam said with more confidence than he felt. "Lilith?"

"I can kill two Grand Commanders," she confirmed. "It's the fifteen thousand soldiers after that I'm concerned about."

"Leave them to me," Liam said.

"Your Sovereign's Dominion has range limitations—"

"Then I'll extend them," Liam interrupted. "I've been holding back, using power carefully. But we're past the point where careful matters. Time to spend everything."

[Current Essence: 58,340]

Enough Essence to push his abilities far past safe limits. Enough to maybe—just maybe—create chaos sufficient to break a prepared defense.

Or enough to burn himself out completely and die in the middle of enemy territory.

Only one way to find out which.

"On my signal," Liam said. "Lilith goes first. I follow three seconds later. All legions charge the moment you see their lines break. Clear?"

The commanders acknowledged, though their expressions ranged from grim acceptance to barely concealed terror at the insanity of what they were attempting.

Liam moved to the front of the formation, standing where the entire demon army could see him. He let Primordial Authority pulse outward—not as an attack, but as a declaration. A reminder of what he represented to them.

[Nameless Litany: 1,203 → 1,267 members]

[Essence Generation: +5007/hour]

Sixty-four new faithful. Sixty-four demons who saw him preparing to do something impossible and decided that faith was justified.

"SOLDIERS OF THE DEMON EMPIRE!" Liam's voice carried across the assembled legions. "BEYOND THAT PLAZA STANDS THE RADIANT KING! THE MAN WHO ORDERED YOUR GENOCIDE! WHO SUMMONED HEROES TO PURGE YOUR FAMILIES FROM EXISTENCE!"

The army stirred, exhaustion momentarily forgotten in the face of focused rage.

"WE HAVE COME TOO FAR TO STOP NOW!" Liam continued. "LOST TOO MANY TO TURN BACK! THIS PALACE FALLS TODAY! THIS KING DIES TODAY! AND THE RADIANT EMPIRE LEARNS THAT DEMONS DO NOT SURRENDER!"

The response was thunder—thousands of voices raised in wordless fury and determination.

"FOR THE EMPIRE!" someone shouted.

"FOR LORD AZRA!" the Nameless Litany chanted.

"FOR VICTORY OR DEATH!" Commander Koth's voice cut through it all.

Liam turned toward the plaza where fifteen thousand enemies waited.

"Ready?" he asked Lilith quietly.

"This is insane," she said.

"I know."

"We're probably going to die."

"I know."

"But if we somehow survive this..." She paused, met his eyes. "That'll be one fucking hell of a story."

"It will," Liam said.

Then Lilith moved.

She crossed the plaza like a bullet given purpose—so fast that the siege weapons couldn't track her, so sudden that the defenders barely had time to register her approach. She hit the Grand Commanders' position like a meteor, and before they could even raise their weapons in defense, she was killing them.

Grand Commander Vexis lasted six seconds.

Grand Commander Theron lasted four.

The defensive center collapsed into chaos.

And Liam Phase Shifted directly into the heart of it.

He appeared on the palace steps, surrounded by thousands of enemies, and unleashed everything he had.

Sovereign's Dominion erupted outward at maximum strength, pushed far past safe limits by Essence he channeled without restraint. The psychic pressure was overwhelming—soldiers dropped their weapons, battle-priests lost concentration on their spells, the entire defensive formation shuddered.

[Essence: -15,000]

[Warning: Critical Essence expenditure]

[Warning: Synchronization strain detected]

Liam ignored the warnings and pushed harder. Infernal Conflagration erupted from him in all directions, black flames that consumed everything they touched. Phase Shift activated repeatedly, making him impossible to target, letting him appear wherever the enemy looked most organized.

He was a one-man catastrophe, and the Radiant defenders broke.

"NOW!" Commander Koth's voice boomed. "ALL LEGIONS CHARGE!"

One hundred and fifty-five thousand demons surged across the plaza, hitting the already-fractured defensive line like an avalanche. The Radiant soldiers tried to reform, tried to hold, but between Liam's ongoing chaos and Lilith's surgical strikes against anyone trying to rally them, cohesion was impossible.

The defense shattered.

The demon army flooded into the palace grounds, and the final battle for Sanctum Lux began in earnest.

Liam Phase Shifted away from the thickest fighting, his Essence reserves dangerously depleted, his entire body screaming protest. He'd pushed far past safe limits, and he could feel it in every cell.

[Health: 47%]

[Essence: 43,340]

[Synchronization Index: +2%]

Two more percentage points. The synthesis deepening with every impossible expenditure.

"PALACE DOORS!" Commander Torven was shouting. "BREACH THE PALACE DOORS!"

The massive entrance to the palace—ornate wood bound with consecrated steel—held against the initial assault. But only for moments. Concentrated magic from demon mages combined with pure physical force, and the doors exploded inward.

The demon army poured into the Royal Palace of Sanctum Lux.

And somewhere inside, a king waited.

Along with whatever final surprises the Radiant Empire had prepared.

[Current Casualties: 31,447 dead, 19,892 wounded]

[Remaining Forces: ~151,000 combat effective]

Fifty-one thousand casualties.

Over a quarter of the army gone.

And they hadn't even found the king yet.

The cost kept mounting.

The synthesis kept deepening.

And Liam Cross—or whatever he was becoming—pushed forward into the palace's darkness.

Because stopping meant everything they'd sacrificed had been for nothing.

And that wasn't acceptable.

Not after coming this far.

Not after losing this much.

The palace would fall.

The king would die.

Or they would all burn trying.

There was no third option anymore.

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