Shadows at the Oblivion Gate

Act I — The Alarm

The lower wards of Heaven weren’t the kind of place you took a picnic basket.
Too much stone. Too much silence. And, oh yeah—looming in the middle of it all, the Oblivion Gate.

A vast scar of black crystal carved into the world, ringed by wards, its surface rippling faintly like oil. Normally, the Gate was sealed tight—quiet, cold, brooding. But tonight, it pulsed.

Abyssal energy leaked out in waves, foul and wrong. Mana flares screamed up from the wardstones, signaling what everyone already knew:

Something was coming.

The Sentinels of Flame had already assembled, armor burning with faint crimson glow.

Their spears and swords hummed with heat as they formed ranks across the plain, waiting for the inevitable charge.

One officer muttered under his breath, voice tight.

“They’ll breach soon.”

Another spat onto the ground.
“Let them. I’ve been itching to roast a few demons.”

The captain raised his hand, ordering silence. Their eyes all locked on the Gate.
The world held its breath.

Act II — My Senses It

Meanwhile, me? I was nowhere near the Gate.

I’d been wandering the upper wards, trying to burn off the leftovers of stress, sarcasm, and whatever cosmic indigestion the Divine Tree had jammed into me.

And then it hit me.

Not sight. Not sound. Just… that pulse. A pressure sliding under my skin, sharp and sour.

Demon energy.

“Oh, fantastic,” I muttered. “Another day, another apocalypse. And here I thought maybe I’d get an evening off to practice not dying.”

The ember in my chest thrummed in agreement, but I ignored it. This wasn’t about that. This was about me needing to hit something before I exploded.

So, naturally, I ghosted.

Act III — Parallax Stealth

The world flickered. My body split into echoes.

One Haise stepped left. Another drifted right. Another stayed in place. All of them blurred, glitching faintly, until even the air forgot where I really was.

No aura. No mana signature. Not even a whisper of presence.

Invisible. Untouchable.

It was the kind of stealth that made even shadows paranoid.

“Perfect,” I smirked, stepping unseen across the wardstones. “If the ministers could see me now, they’d probably accuse me of cheating at hide-and-seek.”

The Sentinels didn’t notice as I slipped past their lines. Their eyes were glued to the Oblivion Gate. They didn’t feel me. Nobody ever did.

Good. This was my hunt.

The Gate pulsed again, and I didn’t wait for demons to crawl out. I stepped into it.

Act IV — Inside the Portal

The Abyss smelled like rot, metal, and every mistake I’d ever made.

The ground cracked under my boots—black stone threaded with molten veins of crimson. The air shimmered with heat and static, and somewhere above, a sky of fractured void stretched like broken glass.

And then I saw them.

Thirty… no, closer to forty. Low-tier demons, hulking and snarling, their bodies stitched from shadow and fang.

Waiting at the threshold. Preparing to surge into Heaven.

Too bad I RSVP’d early.
(That’s Répondez s’il vous plaît, by the way—answer me, demons.)

I grinned. “Guess you forgot to send me an invitation. Rude.”

Act V — Silent Hunt

I moved first.

Parallax Ghost split me into three, each echo lunging from a different angle. My divine sword hissed into existence in my grip—silver-white steel, etched with runes, thrumming with hunger.

The first demon didn’t even scream. One clean slice—gone.

The second turned, but my echo blurred through it, and when the real me struck, its head rolled before the body realized it was dead.

Third. Fourth. Fifth. One by one they fell, shredded by an enemy they couldn’t see, couldn’t smell, couldn’t even sense.

Panic spread fast.

Demons growled, stumbling over each other, swinging claws at empty air. Shadows lashed out at my ghosts, hitting nothing.

“Oh, come on,” I whispered, stepping past another falling corpse. “You’re not even trying.”

The silence hunt worked too well. In fact, it got… boring.

I sighed, dismissing the stealth.
“Alright, fine. Let’s make this interesting.”

Act VI — The Reveal

Light flared around me as I stepped into full view.

Dozens of glowing eyes snapped toward me. Growls rolled like thunder.

I raised my sword lazily, smirk tugging at my lips.
“Good news: I brought all the elements. Bad news: I don’t share.”

The first wave rushed.

I swung. Flame roared down the blade, cutting three in half in one fiery arc.

Another leapt—lightning exploded from my grip, spearing through its chest, leaving the smell of burning ozone.

Two flanked me—ice walls erupted, skewering them in frozen shards.

One tried to leap from above—wind slashed upward, slicing it to ribbons midair.

The ground trembled with their charge, so I answered with earth. Spikes of crystal tore up beneath their feet, impaling them in shrieks of black blood.

Water surged at my call, a tidal crash drowning another cluster.

Every swing. Every breath. A different element. A different storm.

The Abyss glowed with my chaos.

“Next!” I barked, cleaving another pair apart.
“You missed rehearsal!” I snarled at the next, lightning splitting its skull.
“Too bad you didn’t RSVP.” Slice. Blood sprayed.

The fight blurred into a rhythm. Step, strike, smirk. A dance of murder and mockery.

By the time my sword dimmed, the Abyss was quiet.

Bodies smoked. The ground hissed with melted frost, burnt stone, scorched ash.

And me? I was grinning.

“All frustrations officially vented,” I muttered, wiping my blade clean. “Best therapy session yet.”

The portal flickered behind me. Time to leave before I got caught.

Act VII — Confusion POV (Sentinels of Flame)

Act VIII — Demon Prince POV

Closing

Back in Heaven, I slipped through marble corridors like nothing had happened. No applause, no suspicion. Just me, grinning to myself.

“Note to self,” I muttered, “Oblivion Gate field trips are excellent stress relief.”

The ember in my chest pulsed once, warm.

For tonight, that was enough.

End of Chapter 10 — Shadows at the Oblivion Gate