Before the first ray of sunlight touched Horus, I was already in the sky above the city, hidden in space, watching.
The world below me was dark, quiet, and suspended in a strange kind of breathless stillness. Even the wind felt slow. It was that feeling a world had right before something massive happened... the kind of silence that only existed before a war.
I let my perception spread gently through the entire city, brushing through every house, every chamber, every heartbeat.
Primus was the first person I checked. He sat cross-legged in the training yard behind Orobas’s chamber, a thin layer of heat covering the stone beneath him. His eyes were closed. His aura was calm, serene and flowing with the wind. Fire essence flickered along his skin in tiny threads.
Then my perception slid toward Orobas’s chamber.
He floated above the center of his ritual circle, blood-mist swirling around him in steady pulses. The circle under him had grown brighter through the night, thick strokes of red and black weaving together. His old body looked renewed, refreshed... angry.
He was fueling himself for battle.
Dorian was awake too, though not meditating. The man sat alone in his chamber, legs crossed, sipping some dark alcohol from a horned cup. His expression was stiff but focused. His sword lay across his legs. Every few seconds he rubbed his thumb along the edge as if reassuring himself it was still there.
Everyone had their own way of preparing for war.
I pulled my perception outward, away from the elites, and into the streets of Horus.
The sun hadn’t risen yet, but every house was awake. Every window was lit.
Whispers carried through the streets.
"Will the Del Reys really dare to answer the challenge?"
"What if the envoy interferes?"
"Our leader has declared war... we will stand with him."
Some sharpened weapons. Some prayed. Some stood silently at their doorsteps, watching the horizon.
I drifted through the city in silence.
Everywhere I looked, one thing stood out...
The red flags.
They hung from every tower, every building, every gate. Blood-red cloth flapped in the cold breeze, carrying the symbol of the Bloodreavers, a sword piercing a skull with two horns and the name written boldly beneath it:
Bloodreaver.
A war declaration.
A message to every demon under their lands.
A challenge to the Del Reys.
Thousands of flags were rising right now in every city controlled by the Bloodreavers. Together, they formed a massive announcement, a bright crimson shout across Armus.
Come to the Valley of Warriors. Come to war.
Even the sky felt heavier looking at them.
I watched for a few more minutes, then slipped away, cutting through space and heading toward the Ronic capital.
The shift was immediate.
Where Horus was calm and focused, the Ronic capital was loud—angry voices, clashing metal, weapons scraping against armor.
My perception washed over the city.
Demons flooded the streets. Unlike the Bloodreavers, the Ronics were not calmly preparing. Their ancestor had been killed. Their patience was gone.
They wanted blood.
Dozens of them marched openly with weapons in hand. Some were shouting. Some were punching walls. Others were gathering in groups, preparing to teleport toward the Valley the moment the sun rose.
Floating above the center of the city was a giant violet flag.
The same skull-and-sword symbol, but drawn in deep purple smoke. Their own declaration of war. Every demon who looked at that flag felt a spark ignite in their chest. I could feel it clearly. The Ronics did not want negotiations. They wanted revenge.
I let the scene imprint in my mind for a moment, then left.
There was one more place to check.
The capital of the Del Reys.
I arrived above it silently. Immediately I felt the difference.
The air here was heavy.
The entire city was tense. Shadows moved at every corner. Families stood at their windows, clinging to each other. Soldiers rushed around chaotically. Their formations were sloppy. Their steps were uneven.
Even their strongest warriors looked unsure. They weren’t preparing to attack. They were preparing to defend. And defend desperately. This was not a proud, confident army. This was a city that knew they were facing odds against them.
The Bloodreavers on one side. The Ronics on the other. I moved my perception toward Lana’s family.
Her father sat in the war hall surrounded by maps, crystals, and formation scrolls. A dozen demons stood around him, each one armed and alert. The atmosphere carried tension, but not fear. It was the tension of a clan preparing for a large, costly war while believing they still held the advantage.
"We can give up on Zone 7 if needed, but I want all those grandmasters ready for battle in another hour or so," he commanded.
His tone was firm, almost confident. The envoy was on their side. Reinforcement from Dragos had been promised. Those two facts gave him strength.
But one thing disturbed him.
Romothese.
His eyes flicked toward an empty mat near the side of the hall.
"Still no sign of my father?" he asked one of the demons.
"No. The envoy searched for him throughout the night. He reported nothing."
A muscle in his jaw tightened.
"And the Ronic ancestor... soul flame was used?"
"Yes. Confirmed."
That made him stop. Stare at the map. Think.
"Someone is clearly targeting us. Someone who knew our internal movements. Someone who predicted this war before the war even started." he muttered looking at each of the demons standing with him.
But even then, he didn’t panic. He ordered more layers of defense. He called for backup squads. All across the city, the Del Reys were preparing with full force.
And yet...
Every preparation, every reinforcement, every confident order issued by Lana’s father, all of it was built on a foundation that was already cracking, because the truth he didn’t know was simple:
Romothese was gone. His reinforcements would not arrive in time. And the storm they were preparing for was far larger than they understood.
I floated above the Del Rey capital for a few more seconds, watching the final moments of peace before war. The sun hadn’t risen yet, but Armus was already awake.
I left the city behind and shot straight toward the capital, heading to meet Knight and to make sure the reinforcements would never get the chance to interfere.