Uriel writhed at the bottom of the pit. He stared at the bleeding stumps on his back. Golden blood soaked the dirt beneath him. Uriel clawed at the loose rocks, frantically dragging his body backward to escape.

The arrogant divinity dissolved entirely into a sobbing, terrified mess.

Uriel threw both hands forward. He fired a chaotic barrage of holy flames and explosive light spheres, screeching incoherently. He begged the heavens for salvation. His magic sparked and fizzled wildly, completely destabilized by the celestial decay coursing through his veins.

Solomon marched straight into the magical storm. Indefatigable devoured his exhaustion and pumped fresh strength into his muscles. He swatted the magical projectiles away with simple swings of his blade.

He walked straight through the holy fire, letting the flames scorch his uniform. He closed the distance in three strides and stomped his boot directly onto Uriel’s chest. The impact pinned Uriel firmly to the dirt.

Uriel choked on his own blood. He wrapped his trembling fingers around Solomon’s boot, openly weeping.

"Why can I never get rid of that heretic?" Uriel sobbed, golden tears mixing with the dirt on his face. "Why does his name constantly haunt me? What have I even done to him to deserve this endless curse? Please, spare me! I will give you anything you want! Have mercy! I am an angel! A divine being!"

"You want mercy? Well, violence is my mercy!" Solomon stared down at the crying entity with absolute disgust.

A dormant rage boiled over inside his mind. The Paladin’s ancient memories synchronized perfectly with his own anger.

A spectral projection materialized around Solomon. A phantom set of worn armor and a tattered cape overlaid his physical body, shining with a brilliant silver light.

Solomon raised Eden’s Penance high with his left hand. The silver aura condensed into a blinding edge.

"You asked me who I am," Solomon said, his voice echoing with a dual resonance. "I am Solomon, the plague of the heavens. I will drag every single one of you down from the sky."

Solomon swung the greatsword in a flawless horizontal arc.

Uriel stared up at the descending blade, his eyes wide with absolute terror. The image of the ancient Paladin completely replaced Solomon in his final moments. The legendary paladin glared down at him with unrelenting fury.

The silver steel sheared right through Uriel’s neck. Uriel’s head separated from his shoulders and rolled across the ruined courtyard, his face permanently frozen in a pathetic, weeping wail.

"With this..." Solomon looked up at the sky as the meteor shower continued. "I have avenged you."

The ancient Paladin’s lingering emotions gradually faded from Solomon’s mind. The spectral, semi-transparent armor surrounding his body broke apart into golden particles and drifted away on the breeze.

"I fulfilled my duty as your disciple." Solomon looked down at the decapitated angel lying in the dirt. "I hope you can finally rest in peace and reunite with your wife and child."

Solomon lowered his gaze to the ruined stump of his right wrist. The bleeding had finally ceased, but the sheer volume of blood loss left his skin a sickly, translucent pale.

The final clash had worsened all of his previous injuries. Deep gashes across his chest and legs reopened, spilling fresh crimson down his torn academy uniform.

The battle adrenaline completely vanished from his system. An agonizing surge of physical pain took over his entire body.

Indefatigable continually replenished his stamina and erased his fatigue, but the bloodline ability possessed absolutely zero healing properties. Exhaustion and physical trauma remained entirely separate concepts.

He felt perfectly awake and energized, yet his mortal vessel was literally falling apart from structural damage.

Solomon turned away from the crater and looked out over the sprawling, devastated Kingdom of Eden.

He began his descent down the grand marble staircase of the palace courtyard. He planted the tip of Eden’s Penance into the stone, using the colossal greatsword as a makeshift crutch to support his weight.

Every single step down the ruined stairs sent terrifying jolts of agony straight up his spine.

A profound sadness settled deeply over his thoughts. He stared blankly at his missing right hand. The loss was entirely permanent.

A realization crushed his spirit as he imagined everything he could have achieved wielding a blade with both hands. His martial potential had been permanently crippled.

His sweaty fingers slipped, and he lost his grip on the hilt.

The greatsword clattered loudly against the stone steps and slid out of reach. Lacking the physical stability to retrieve the weapon, Solomon simply collapsed onto the cold marble stairs.

He leaned back against the broken railing, clutching his severed wrist to his chest.

He sat in total silence, watching the final golden meteors streak across the sky just as the warm light of the rising sun breached the distant horizon.

Footsteps echoed against the marble. Solomon raised his head and watched Vlad walking up the ruined stairs.

Vlad paused near the top and glanced at Uriel’s severed head resting in the dirt. He offered a single nod of acknowledgment to the decapitated angel before turning his attention to Solomon.

"You actually managed to finish the job," Vlad remarked, extending his hand. "Let us get you off these steps."

Solomon grabbed Vlad’s hand and pulled himself upright. "Thank you," Solomon said, finding his footing on the uneven stone.

A sudden, piercing agony erupted through Solomon’s chest.

He gasped and looked down, only to realize what had happened.

Vlad had driven his dagger directly into Solomon’s sternum. Vlad twisted the hilt and dragged the blade across, cutting Solomon’s chest wide open in a brutal slash.

Solomon stared at Vlad in absolute shock. The words died in his throat before he could even ask for a reason. His knees buckled immediately.

Solomon collapsed backward onto the cold marble stairs. Warm blood spilled rapidly from his ruined torso, pooling across the stone as his vision locked onto the beautiful twilight and the rising sun.

Vlad stepped closer to the fallen body. He stared down at Solomon with a complicated storm of emotions crossing his face. His jaw trembled, and a profound sorrow fractured his usual expression.

He tried to hold the grief back, but a single tear escaped and traced a line through the dirt on his cheek.

"I have finally returned the favor I owed you, old friend," Vlad whispered, pulling his gaze away from Solomon’s bleeding form. "Until we meet again on that forsaken day when the heavens will fall."

Vlad turned his back, stepped over Solomon, and continued walking up the marble stairs into the ruins of the palace.