Chapter 2536: Story 2537: The War of the First Dawn

The Devourer rose from the abyss in terrifying silence.

Its colossal body towered above Blackstone Ridge, blotting out the stars themselves. Mountains crumbled beneath its immense weight as obsidian scales reflected the crimson glow of the broken earth. Endless black mist poured from its body, swallowing valleys and forests alike.

For a long moment...

The world stood still.

Then the Devourer opened its mouth.

No roar emerged.

Instead, a wave of absolute silence swept across the battlefield.

The cries of soldiers vanished.

The clash of weapons disappeared.

Even the wind itself ceased to exist.

Lucas Reed looked around in alarm.

"I... I can’t hear anything."

His own voice never reached his ears.

Dr. Evelyn Brooks realized the horrifying truth.

"It isn’t silence."

"It’s consuming sound."

Father Gabriel tightened his grip on the silver cross, mouthing a prayer no one could hear.

Arkanis’s voice echoed directly into every mind.

"The Silence Before Creation..."

"...its oldest weapon."

Victoria Kane stepped forward.

The Crown of the Black Star pulsed with warm golden light.

Unlike ordinary sound, its power reached the hearts of every defender.

She lifted the Dawnblade high.

White fire surged along its blade until it resembled a fragment of the rising sun.

The weapon released a brilliant pulse.

Golden light swept across the summit.

The unnatural silence shattered instantly.

The wind returned.

Soldiers gasped.

The battle cries echoed once more.

Commander Selene Voss smiled grimly.

"Now that’s more like a battlefield."

Without hesitation, she raised her twin swords.

"Forward!"

Thousands of defenders charged together.

Arrows filled the heavens.

Ancient cannons hidden among the ruined walls thundered in unison.

Cole Mercer fired continuously, directing volleys toward the glowing crimson veins crossing the Devourer’s enormous arms.

"Hit the weak points!"

Silver rounds exploded against the veins.

This time they left glowing cracks behind.

"It’s working!" Cole shouted.

The Devourer slowly turned its massive head.

One enormous hand swept across the mountainside.

The simple motion unleashed a storm powerful enough to uproot ancient trees and send warriors tumbling across the summit.

Victoria drove the Dawnblade into the stone, anchoring herself against the impossible force.

Roland Thorne stood beside her.

His restored Marshal blade shone brighter with every passing moment.

"I spent a century fighting for myself."

He looked toward the advancing darkness.

"Today..."

"...I fight for everyone else."

Together they charged.

Golden and white light crossed the battlefield like twin comets.

Their blades struck the Devourer’s wrist simultaneously.

A brilliant explosion erupted.

The obsidian armor fractured.

For the first time, silver blood flowed from the ancient creature.

The Devourer recoiled.

Its deep gaze settled upon Roland.

Inside his mind, a whisper emerged.

"Return..."

"...to ambition."

Roland’s grip faltered.

Visions filled his thoughts.

He saw himself wearing the Crown.

Entire kingdoms knelt before him.

No war.

No rivals.

Only absolute power.

His crimson eye flickered once more.

Victoria noticed his hesitation.

"Roland!"

He closed his eyes.

Then, with a determined cry, he drove his sword into the illusion itself.

"I choose redemption."

The visions shattered.

Golden light erupted from his body.

The last fragment of corruption dissolved into the wind.

High above, the spirits of the Thirteen Marshals saluted together.

Gideon Black smiled with quiet pride.

"He has finally come home."

Before anyone could celebrate, the Devourer raised both colossal arms toward the heavens.

The clouds above the battlefield twisted into a massive spiral of darkness.

Across the horizon, ancient ruins buried for thousands of years began glowing with the same silver light as the creature’s veins.

Arkanis’s ancient voice carried unmistakable urgency.

"No..."

"It is calling them."

Far beyond Blackstone Ridge, hidden beneath deserts, frozen mountains, forgotten oceans, and ruined kingdoms, colossal eyes slowly opened one after another.

The Devourer was not the last of its kind.

It had awakened the others.

The war for Blackstone Ridge had become a war for the entire world.