The Fourth Seal

The winds howled across the scorched landscape, carrying the echoes of war and ash. Celeste stood at the edge of a broken cliff, her eyes fixed on the horizon where the Fourth Seal rose—a titanic obsidian structure pulsing with malevolent light, suspended by crumbling chains of divine energy.

Beside her, Kael adjusted the Infernal crown in his hands. He hadn’t put it on—not yet. It was more symbol than power. Celeste could see how it weighed on him nonetheless.

Astraea leaned heavily on Nyra, still recovering from her imprisonment. “The Seal was built by both celestial and infernal forces to keep the Devourer imprisoned. If it breaks…”

“We lose everything,” Kael finished.

Celeste took a slow breath. “Then we stop it before that happens.”

---

The March to the Seal

Eryss led the remaining rebels through the crags and canyons of the Infernal Realm. They encountered more than demons—echoes of corrupted angels, mindless husks of fallen spirits, drawn to the weakening seal like moths to flame.

Celeste burned a path through them.

Kael fought with vicious grace, twin blades now alight with a mix of shadow and flame.

Nyra scouted ahead, silent as smoke, while Astraea used the last of her light to shield the younger fighters in their ranks.

The closer they came, the more unstable the realm became. Chasms opened without warning. Reality twisted. Time looped in brief, disorienting flashes.

The seal was unraveling.

---

Inside the Monolith

They reached the base of the Fourth Seal—a structure older than memory, carved with runes that shimmered with both divine and demonic light. A massive gate stood at its heart, cracking with energy. The air buzzed like a storm waiting to burst.

A voice echoed from within.

“I see you, Flamebearer.”

The Devourer.

It was not a creature—it was a force. A god-eater. A thing that unmade worlds. Its voice twisted their thoughts, pulling at their fears.

Celeste staggered, clutching her head. Visions of her mother burning, of Kael betraying her, of herself alone in a dead world—

Kael grabbed her shoulders. “Don’t listen to it. You’re stronger than it knows.”

Celeste opened her eyes, golden light blazing. “Then let’s prove it.”

---

The Ritual

Astraea explained the truth: the seal could only be reforged by a balance of celestial and infernal energy. Two hearts. Two souls. One willing sacrifice.

Celeste and Kael stepped forward.

Eryss protested. “If either of you dies—”

“Then someone else picks up the flame,” Celeste said.

They joined hands.

The ritual began.

As energy swirled around them, the Devourer roared, trying to break through. Tentacles of shadow burst from the gate. Kael fought them off while Celeste channeled her fire into the cracked core of the seal.

Light clashed with darkness.

A choice appeared in Celeste’s mind—an illusion or a truth—where she could burn her own soul to seal the Devourer forever… or trust Kael to share the burden.

She chose trust.

Their souls entwined, flame and shadow becoming one.

And the gate… closed.

The Seal repaired.

The Devourer screamed, then was silenced.

---

Aftermath

The sky above the Infernal Realm cleared for the first time in millennia. The landscape shifted, softened. Chains fell silent. The war was over.

Celeste fell to her knees, exhausted but alive. Kael knelt beside her, their hands still locked.

“You trusted me,” he whispered.

“I always will,” she replied.

The rebels cheered.