CHAPTER 163: THE EMBERBORN AWAKENS

The skies above the scorched battlefield still shimmered from the aftermath of Tarak’s fall. Zorwath stood amidst the devastation, his gaze scanning the fading flames with amusement.

But then—he paused.

A strange sensation surged through his chest.

Not pain. Not fear.

Something... familiar.

He narrowed his eyes. The wind around him stilled.

His loyal general, a towering being clad in obsidian armor, approached silently and knelt.

"Lord Zorwath," the general rumbled. "Your aura... it flickered. Are you—"

"I felt it," Zorwath interrupted, his voice lower than usual. "Something ancient just woke up."

The ground trembled beneath their feet. Then—

CRACKKKK!

A massive beam of pure light erupted from the earth far beyond the mountains, shooting high into the sky like a divine flare. It split the clouds. The world seemed to hold its breath.

Zorwath’s smile returned.

"So... they dared awaken her."

The light twisted, collapsed inward—and from it, something began to rise. Floating.

A woman.

She hovered effortlessly, her presence alone distorting the wind and light around her. Her white shoulder-length hair fluttered gently, her dress flowing like shadows stitched from moonlight.

Her eyes—pure white, glowing like twin suns—swept across the horizon until they locked onto the distant castle.

And in the blink of an eye—she vanished.

Zorwath didn’t even flinch.

Then—BOOM!

A burst of air cracked through the throne room as the mysterious woman appeared, hovering inches above the marble floor. Her aura rippled through the walls like an earthquake.

Zorwath chuckled softly. "So, the Emberborn has come."

The woman said nothing. Her eyes glowed brighter. And then—

She struck.

A punch faster than light rocketed toward Zorwath’s face. But—

CLANG!

He blocked it with a single finger, deflecting the blow sideways. The shockwave shattered every stained-glass window in the castle.

Zorwath grinned, clearly thrilled.

"You’re strong. I like that. It’s been centuries since someone gave me a reason to spar."

She floated back, silent but intense.

"Who are you?" Zorwath asked.

For the first time, she spoke. Her voice echoed like wind over fire.

"I am what your war has awakened. I am the wrath you forgot you caused."

Zorwath’s dark cape fluttered as he stood tall, shadows dancing across the throne room’s ruined walls. Agwana Emberborn, floating inches above the broken marble floor, stared him down—unshaken.

"I am Agwana Emberborn," she declared, her voice steady like a volcano before eruption. "The ruler of lava and flame. The prophecy calls me the one born of ember and wrath."

Zorwath smirked, resting a hand casually on the hilt of his jagged sword.

"Then it’s nice to meet you, Agwana Emberborn. I am Zorwath—the God of Fear."

He let the title hang in the air like thunder.

Agwana didn’t flinch.

"God of Fear?" she repeated coldly.

"Let it be known then—fear shall belong to you once I am done."

Zorwath chuckled, eyes narrowing with excitement.

"Do not get ahead of yourself."

He stepped forward, the very stone beneath his feet cracking with each stride.

"Show me your wrath."

Agwana raised her hand—a swirling spear of molten lava forming from her palm in an instant. She hurled it without hesitation.

WHOOSH—BOOM!

Zorwath vanished before impact. The spear crashed into the wall behind, melting it into bubbling magma.

He reappeared mid-air behind her, launching a black slash made of fear energy.

"Void Sever."

Agwana spun, summoning a flaming shield just in time. The dark energy crashed into it, splitting the air like a scream, but she stood her ground.

"Not bad," Zorwath mused. "You’re fast."

"I’m not here to impress you."

She clapped her hands together—the floor erupted, massive volcanic pillars shooting up toward Zorwath.

Zorwath dodged effortlessly, riding the shadow of one pillar downward, launching toward her like a missile. He punched—

Agwana caught his fist with both hands.

The room trembled. Cracks split the foundation. Time itself seemed to slow around them.

Then she twisted, slamming him into the ground with a pillar of molten rock exploding from below.

Zorwath was buried.

Silence.

But only for a second.

BOOOOM!

The ground exploded as Zorwath rose, laughter in his voice.

"Yes! That’s what I’ve been missing!"

He unleashed a wave of darkness—screaming shadows that clawed at Agwana like beasts. She sliced through them with flaming arcs of energy, each swing cracking the very air.

Then—

She vanished again.

Appearing behind him, her leg swept in a fiery arc. Zorwath blocked but skidded across the floor from the force. Before he could counter, she was above him—lava raining down like a meteor storm.

Zorwath crossed his arms, summoning a dome of fear, a barrier of black swirling nightmares that held the impact. The lava splashed over it—but the shadows drank the heat.

"Impressive," he said from within. "But you’ll need more than tricks."

He exploded forward, fist blazing with pure void energy, and slammed into Agwana, sending her crashing through several stone pillars. She hit the wall hard, but mid-fall, she twisted—landing on her feet.

"You fight like a demon," she muttered, brushing ash off her shoulder.

"Fitting," he replied. "I was born in darkness."

They launched at each other again—a flurry of punches, kicks, blades, and bursts of flame and shadow. Each strike sent shockwaves across the realm. The air cracked. The floor collapsed. Parts of the castle began to float, caught in the storm of their duel.

Agwana’s voice cut through the chaos:

"This world won’t survive both of us!"

"Then let’s see who it survives!" Zorwath roared back.

Their fists collided—

BOOOOM!!!

A golden explosion swallowed the entire castle wing, and light blinded the sky for a moment.

As the dust settled, both stood, breathing heavily, hair flowing in the wind. Unyielding.

Eyes locked.

The sky crackled. The earth trembled. Two forces—both beyond mortal comprehension—stood face to face.

Zorwath raised his hand lazily, his fingers crackling with black flame.

"So, Ruler of Lava... Let’s see how hot your blood runs."

Agwana didn’t reply. She slammed her hands together, and the ground split open beneath them. From the fissure, molten pillars of lava surged up like geysers, spiraling into the air and hardening mid-flight to form jagged volcanic blades. She launched them toward Zorwath like a swarm of obsidian arrows.

Zorwath smirked and snapped his fingers. A dome of pure shadow enveloped him. The volcanic blades melted the outer layer, but the inner darkness devoured the rest.

Then he appeared above her in a blink—his body splitting into dozens of afterimages.

"You’re fast. But I’m faster."

He chopped his hand down. The air split with a thunderous boom. Agwana raised a barrier of solidified magma, but Zorwath’s strike cracked it open like glass. She flew back, spinning mid-air, and planted her feet on a floating chunk of debris, halting herself.

She touched her chest, where Zorwath’s strike had bruised her armor. Her eyes glowed brighter.

"You want fear? I’ll show you despair."

She clapped her hands together—and the sky turned crimson.

Above them, a second sun began to form. Not fire, but liquid magma, shaped into a perfect sphere by Agwana’s will. As it spun, gravitational force pulled chunks of land into orbit around it.

Zorwath raised an eyebrow, still calm.

"Now this... is interesting."

Agwana hurled the magma sun straight at him.

Zorwath didn’t move.

The burning mass smashed into the ground—a blinding explosion erupted, vaporizing miles of terrain in seconds. Shockwaves rippled through the planet.

But then—through the lava storm—Zorwath emerged. Unburnt. Unshaken.

He walked out of the fire like a demon born in it, flames swirling around his cloak.

"Did you think lava would burn the god of fear?" His voice echoed in Agwana’s mind, deeper than before.

He raised his hand and snapped again.

From the shadows behind her, black tendrils burst upward, wrapping around her legs and pulling her down. Agwana gritted her teeth and ignited herself in golden-orange fire, melting the shadows with a scream.

BOOM!

She flew straight at Zorwath, and this time, he met her head-on.

Their fists collided—and the sky above them shattered like glass, revealing swirling crimson clouds behind it.

They traded blows mid-air—each strike shaking the heavens. Agwana twisted and slammed her knee into Zorwath’s stomach. He coughed—just slightly—then grabbed her ankle and hurled her toward the mountains.

Agwana smashed through three peaks before stopping. She rose slowly, molten blood dripping from her mouth, but her eyes still fierce.

"You’re strong, Zorwath. But strength alone doesn’t win wars."

Zorwath grinned as he floated above her.

"And you haven’t seen fear... not yet."

Both flew at each other again—light clashing with shadow in a storm of destruction.

Above the orange skies of Kronyx, the very atmosphere boiled.

Zorwath and Agwana soared like twin suns locked in a war of annihilation.

Each blow cracked open the heavens. Each clash of energy shattered mountains, turning entire regions into scorched craters.

Screams echoed in every street.

Temples collapsed.

The once-proud statue of Agwana, which stood as a symbol of hope, had now split down the middle, its flaming sword shattered.

A woman sprinted into a cracked building, clutching her child.

She ducked beneath a collapsed archway, wrapping her arms around the boy as molten dust rained down outside.

"Please... O Great Goddess of Flame..." Her voice trembled as she whispered over her son’s hair. "Spare us from this catastrophe..."

The boy looked up, eyes wide, his lips trembling.

"Is that the god you prayed for, Mama?"

She looked outside, where the red skies were being torn apart by two titanic figures— and for a brief second, she didn’t know which of them was truly her god.

Underground of Kronyx – Chamber of Flamebearers...

The ancient flames dimmed.

Cracks slithered across the stone walls like veins—Kronyx itself was bleeding.

The Elders

, keepers of sacred lore, stared at the battle through the massive energy-forged sphere in the center of the chamber.

What they saw defied every scripture ever written.

Agwana, the Uncontainable Flame, the Living Inferno, the one they unsealed...

...was losing ground.

High Flamekeeper Lothan slammed his staff down in disbelief.

"This... this cannot be! She is Agwana! She was forged in the First Flame!"

Elder Kava’s voice cracked.

"Zorwath is... he’s holding back. Look! His strikes—they aren’t even using full power. This battle is a... test to him."

"But how?" whispered one of the acolytes.

A silence fell.

Then—a tremor. One so violent it shattered the flame-crystals that lined the chamber.

The sphere blinked, and a new vision flashed:

Zorwath’s right eye gleamed—an eye not of this universe— and for a brief, terrifying moment, his shadow extended across half the planet.

Not physically. But spiritually.

It was as if Kronyx itself recognized him.

And feared him.

Above – Battlefield in the Skies of Kronyx

Agwana roared, spinning her flame spear, hurling it like a comet. It screamed through the sky and slammed into Zorwath’s chest with enough force to collapse a mountain range behind him.

BOOOOOOOM!

The ground shook. Lava erupted from deep fissures.

Smoke curled from Zorwath’s chest.

But when the flames cleared...

He was smiling.

Calmly. Coldly.

He stepped forward.

"Agwana..."

"You were the last defense of this world."

"And now—" His aura surged, turning black, laced with cosmic purple.

"You’re nothing but a page in its obituary."

Agwana’s flames flickered—for the first time since her unsealing.

Something in Zorwath’s presence was unraveling her divine fire.

Agwana gritted her teeth.

"You’re not mortal. You’re not a god." She raised her hand. "What... are you?"

Zorwath’s voice echoed like a whisper carved from the bones of forgotten universes.

"I am the reason even gods fear the dark."

And then—he vanished.

No flash.

No sound.

Just absence.

Agwana’s eyes widened—too late.

Zorwath appeared behind her, palm glowing with Anti-Flame, a power that devours divine fire.

He whispered:

"Extinguish."