Chapter 59: Inevitable Confrontation

Dreadfist fell out of the portal and landed on the hard and cold floor. His head was ringing, his chest was hurting and he was not able to feel his left leg. His vision was blurred and the voice he heard was unrecognizable. He saw the blurred outlines of a person that was approaching him but he was not able to recognize who it was.

His body felt numb, he was not feeling anything but pain. The pain got worse with each passing second but there was nothing Dreadfist could do to ease the pain. There was only one way to make his situation better. He had to drain the lifeforce of another creature. There was only one creature around him, or at least he could only see that one person. He had no idea who it was but he didn't care. He wanted the pain to stop. He wanted to feel better by any means.

Dreadfist waited and waited. The pain didn't stop but at least he regained the feeling over his body. He grabbed the person by the throat and brought them closer. He leaned forward and opened his mouth. He buried his fangs into the creature's warm and soft neck. The creature resisted but Dreadfist wrapped his arm around them and pressed them tightly against him. He used all of his strength to suppress the creature's attempts to get free. The creature got weaker and weaker the more blood and lifeforce he stole.

He stopped draining as soon as he realized that the creature was empty. He had sucked every single portion of its blood and lifeforce. He felt much better than before, much stronger. His body was no longer hurting and his vision became clearer. A few minutes later, he was able to see everything around him. He pulled the wooden beam out of his upper thigh and watched his forearm as it regrew slowly. His regeneration abilities had begun to work again.

His gaze fell on the motionless body next to him. It was Doctor Sivallah whose skin was very pale. Her gaze was blank and rested on the ceiling. She was obviously dead. Dreadfist regarded her for a few moments before he squatted down and searched her for useful items. He found a few vials filled with different coloured liquids. He found a key to a room and necklace with a pendant.

He opened the pendant, spotting a small crumbled and yellowed picture. It was the picture of a small sin'dorei boy at the age of four. Dreadfist assumed that this boy was Doctor Sivallah's son. He was wondering how old the boy was these days. He wondered if he was still alive or if he had been killed during the Third War. He had not seen that boy before nor had he seen an older version of him. He had no idea if he was still alive.

Dreadfist took all the items and then picked up Doctor Sivallah's corpse. He teleported to another place a few moments later. He was in a dark place which was not illuminated. He noticed a powerful and fearsome aura but he was not scared. He remained calm and didn't flinch as he heard loud, massive footsteps. A creature was coming closer.

Even though it was totally dark, Dreadfist could see every corner of the prison cell. He saw the huge demon that stood not far away from him and regarded him curiously. He also saw thousands of skeletons that were scattered all over the floor.

The horned, winged red-skinned creature opened its mouth to speak. "Dreadfist."

"It's a pleasure to see you, Brutalos."

"What do you want?"

"I brought you something to eat," Dreadfist replied and threw Doctor Sivallah in front of the giant's feet.

"What happened to her?" the demon asked curiously.

"I accidentally killed her."

Brutalos chuckled. "Really?"

"Really."

"Normally, I would say that I'm sorry for your loss but I would lie if I would say that. I'm glad she is gone. I hated when she did experiments with me. She did mean something to you, didn't she?"

Dreadfist shook his head. "No, she didn't. Everything about us was a lie. She reshaped me and forced me to love her. I never had a choice. But now that she is gone, I realized that she only used me."

"Do you remember anything about your old life?" Brutalos asked.

"No. Do you?"

Brutalos shook his head. "No, I don't."

"Anyway, I need to go now. Enjoy your meal, Brutalos."

A small smile appeared on the giant demon's lips. "Thank you."

Dreadfist vanished a few seconds later.

---

Raesh's gaze rested on the purple and bronze floating crystalline fortress. Three sectors which looked like spaceships rotated around it. One was light blue, one was red and the last one was light purple. "Tempest Keep is much larger than I have expected. I wonder how many demons and Sunfury soldiers are in there," he said to himself.

"Too many for my liking," responded a familiar voice. Raesh turned his head, spotting his mother behind him. He turned around and hugged her quickly.

"How are you doing, mother?" Raesh asked curiously.

"Better than expected, to be honest. I thought I would feel much worse in the absence of your father but it seems I found a way to deal with it."

"I will always be there for you and support you whenever I can, I hope you know that."

Sylvanas nodded and gave him a slight smile. "I know that. Thanks, Raesh."

"What do you think of what I told you yesterday?"

Sylvanas paused for a short moment. "Well... I'm worried, to be honest. The similarities you discovered don't have to mean that your father is Dreadfist but if he is... I wouldn't know what to do... I hope that similarities are just coincidences. I don't want to imagine your father being a slave of the Burning Legion... I'm afraid that your grandfather mind-controlled him and made him to his puppet. I fear he will fight us without knowing who we are. I fear the worst..."

Raesh hugged her much tighter and put his hand on her back, stroking it gently. "Everything will turn out well, mother. You just have to believe in it." Raesh had no idea what he should say to comfort his mother. All he could do was to try to calm her down. He was not as good as his father in this aspect but he was still trying his best. He believed that everything will turn out well. He had to believe that, otherwise, he feared he would fall into depression. Like his mother, he hoped that Dreadfist and his father were not the same persons.

Raesh was sure that there could be many logical explanations of why Dreadfist had swung his father's weapon and moved like him. It was possible that he had copied his father's fighting style for whatever reason. Maybe to irritate them and make them believe that he was him. Maybe he wanted them to go after him so that he could lure them into a prepared trap. Everything was possible. Raesh knew he had to remain careful and think about everything twice before he would make a decision. Every wrong decision could mean his death. He had to remain calm and control his emotions. He could not allow his emotions to act for him, otherwise, he might die.

"No matter what will happen in Tempest Keep and what we will discover there, I will make your grandfather pay for abducting your father. I don't want to imagine what he did to him... I fear the worst..."

"So do I. All we can do is to face our fears and find out what happened to father. We must find him and free him."

"We must," repeated Sylvanas.

"Freeing Tempest Keep from the betrayer's control won't be easy. It will cost many lives."

"We have no other choice than to attack the fortress. Kael'thas must be stopped by any means. We may have prevented his plan to gain control over the elemental lords but that doesn't mean he poses no threat to us. He will always pose a threat to us. We must capture him or even kill him if necessary..."

"I don't want him to die," Raesh said quietly.

"Me neither but if we have no other choice..."

A sad sigh escaped Raesh's lips. He regarded his fingernails for a few moments before he looked back at his mother who had a gentle expression on her face. She was about to say something as she heard quiet footsteps. She turned around and spotted Tyrande who was accompanied by Velsana and Vissia.

"What can I do for you, High Priestess?" the Banshee Queen asked curiously.

"You can make your troops ready to attack. The draenei managed to deactivate the shields and the security system. We are ready to invade the fortress."

"My troops are ready." She looked at her son. "Are you ready, my dear?"

Raesh took a deep breath. "I am."

Sylvanas looked at the night elven priestess. "We are ready to lead our people to battle."

A small smile appeared on Tyrande's lips. "Perfect. The other leaders and their armies are ready too. You know which area you have to clear?"

Sylvanas nodded. "Kael'thas' stronghold, The Eye. We will clear the inner palace and confront him."

"I wish I could go with you, Kael'thas had once been a good friend of mine. I have respected him back then... I wish I could confront him with you"

"You still can," replied Sylvanas.

"I know but I already agreed to lead the charge on the Botanica."

Sylvanas gave her a small nod. "I wish you good luck, High Priestess."

"I wish the same for you, Lady Windrunner."

---

Raesh sighed out in relief as the void creature in front of him started to dissolve. "The warmth of the sun... awaits," were its last words before it vanished.

Raesh dropped to his knees, his breathing was loud and fast. The battle had been long, intense and had cost him most of his power. The opponent they had fought had been stronger than anyone had expected. She had possessed a power no one had expected her to have.

Raesh turned his head as he noticed a person out of the corner of his right eye. It was his aunt Sydori who regarded him curiously. "Are you okay?"

"I am. I just need a few moments to calm down."

His mother approached him. "Take all the time you need to recover. We need you in a good condition if we want to defeat Kael'thas and his advisors."

"We have a problem if his advisors are as strong as Solarian."

"I doubt they are. It was the power of the void who made the high astromancer so powerful but I doubt that your grandfather's advisors possess the same power. I don't know much about the void but I assume its power is hard to control. As you have seen, the void can cause a lot of destruction in the wrong hands. I hope Kael'thas' advisors are not able to control it, otherwise, we have a problem...," said Sylvanas.

Raesh allowed Sydori to ease his pain. She put her hands on his shoulders and cast every useful spell she was able to cast. Raesh felt a lot better after a few minutes. The pain vanished and he felt less exhausted than before. His master Aethas Sunreaver walked over to him and gave him a consumable item. It was a cookie which was very tasteful and stored a large amount of arcane energy. Raesh thanked him and ate it, getting up from his knees as soon as he felt refreshed.

He turned his head and looked at his mother. "I would have never expected Solarian to be so powerful. She even transformed into a void creature... How is that possible?"

Sylvanas' shrugged. "I wish I could answer you this question but I have no idea how that is possible. It seems that Solarian had access to forbidden knowledge. She followed a forbidden path that granted her unimaginable powers but drove her into madness."

"Even though she turned evil and betrayed us, I still feel bad that we had to end her life. I feel bad about killing every single sin'dorei who joined the mad king. They are our brethren after all..."

"I understand your point of view, my son. I understand that you don't want to kill your brethren but you have to regard that matter from a different perspective. They were sin'dorei. They no longer are. They are no longer blood elves, they are felblood elves. They are nothing but traitors who work for those who want to destroy our world. Anyone who serves the Burning Legion is our enemy. If we can't save them, we have to kill them."

Raesh took a deep breath. "You are right, mother. It's just... I don't know how to formulate it..."

Sylvanas put a hand on her son's right shoulder, staring into his green eyes. "We do what must be done. I don't want to kill these renegade sin'dorei but we have no other choice. If we don't kill them, they will kill us."

Raesh was silent for a few minutes, so was everyone else. Lady Liadrin, Kaelor and a female blood knight walked over to them. Liadrin's gaze fell on Sylvanas first and then on her grand cousin. "Are you ready, Raesh? The traitor king is only a few rooms away from us. It's time to stop him for once and for all."

Raesh didn't hesitate. "I am ready."

"Let's go then."

They walked through the door at the other side of the room, following the bordering corridor. They met a few felblood elves, Sunfury soldiers, demons and crystal golems. They killed all living creatures and destroyed the golems, arriving in front of a huge door which was heavily guarded. They got rid of the guards and opened the door, stepping into a room which was as huge as the room in which they had fought High Astromancer Solarian.

The room was round, the walls and the floor were purple. Raesh's eyes fell on the creatures in the middle of the room. There were lots of demons, Sunfury soldiers and felblood elves. His eyes widened as he spotted the person in the middle of them.

"I knew you were alive," Raesh said loud enough that the man could hear it.

"You stopped me one time but you won't be able to stop me a second time," replied Dreadfist.

"Where is Kael'thas Sunstrider?" asked Liadrin. "We are here for him and not for you. Let us pass and we will spare you."

"If you want to fight him you have to fight me first. The last time you only survived because of the exploding reactor. This time, nothing will stop me from killing you. I give you one last chance. Turn around and flee, otherwise, I have no other choice than to kill you."

"We won't retreat at this point, not after we have fought ourselves through the halls of this part of the fortress. Kael'thas Sunstrider must be stopped and we won't leave this fortress without him. Dead or Alive," Liadrin said determinedly. "We will kill you too if we must."

Soft laughter escaped Dreadfist's lips. "Kill ME? That's the funniest joke I heard for weeks. I'm sorry to disappoint you but I won't lose against mortal weaklings like you."

"We will see about that," Liadrin responded.

Dreadfist pointed at Liadrin. "Go my minions. Bring me the head of this bitch and kill everyone else," he shouted. His minions obeyed and prepared spells or charged at the warriors of the Alliance. Raesh didn't hesitate to prepare frost spells. Sylvanas had already nocked her arrow before Dreadfist had announced the begin of the battle. Her arrow flew through the air and hit a male felblood elf right between the eyes. He collapsed a few moments later and remained on the floor. He was dead.

Sylvanas nocked another arrow, firing it at a Sunfury mage. The mage avoided it at the last moment but they were not able to avoid Vereesa's and Verena's arrows. The mage was dead before their body landed on the floor. The wrathguard next to the dead mage was hit by spells cast by Raesh and Aethas. Together, they killed the demon quickly and focused on the nearest demon, an observer that was shooting laser beams out of its eyes. It wounded several soldiers of the Alliance and even killed one of them.

Archers and mages poked its eyes out, totally blinding it. Without its eyes, the observer was not able to do anything. It was defenceless. Liadrin cut in halves with a precise sword swing.

Raesh had no idea how much time had passed when the last of Dreadfist's minions died. He checked his surroundings, spotting that lots of his comrades had been killed so far. Only his mother, Sydori, Liadrin, Vereesa, Verena, Kaelor, Rommath, Aethas, five blood knights and six Forsaken were left. They lost twenty soldiers but killed all fifty of Dreadfist's pawns.

The half-demon was surrounded by corpses, his armour was covered in blood. The sword he carried in his humanoid hand was not the same he used last time. It was not the sword of Raesh's father. It looked similar to his father's sword but there were no runes engraved in the blade. Raesh was asking himself what happened to the sword. His first assumption was that it had been destroyed when the reactor had exploded. He thought it was possible that Dreadfist had used it to protect himself. That might explain how he had survived.

He had no idea what happened to the sword but he was relieved that Dreadfist no longer possessed it. That way, their chances to defeat him were larger. Dreadfist was still wearing his mask, making Raesh wonder who was behind the mask. He was just hoping that Dreadfist was not his father. He wouldn't know what to do if he would discover that Dreadfist and his father were the same person. He had no idea what the mad king had done with his father. It was not unlikely that he had corrupted him and changed him. Raesh prayed in the name of the destroyed Sunwell that Dreadfist was not his father.

Dreadfist's upper body was covered by a corselet which looked exactly like the one they had destroyed in Manaforge Duro. He wore the exact armour but his left demonic hand was not covered by a glove this time. Five of the six runic symbols were glowing goldenly. The half-demon stood still and regarded the remaining warriors of the Alliance. He didn't intend to do the first move. Raesh thought it possible that he just wanted to buy time for the mad king.

"Why are you wearing a mask?" asked Sylvanas. "Show us who you are."

Dreadfist chuckled. "You want to know if I'm your lover or not, don't you? If that's the case, I have to disappoint you. I'm not Kelrian Sunstrider. If you are looking for him in this fortress, you won't find him. Kelrian Sunstrider is gone and he will never return."

"I don't believe that for a second. If you are not him, he must be somewhere," hissed Sylvanas. Her eyes were narrowed and she was biting her bottom lip hard. It was clearly visible that she was stressed. Stressed and troubled. Not knowing where Kelrian was and what happened to him made her very worried. She feared the worst. She was angry, impatient and unpredictable.

Raesh didn't want to imagine how his mother would react when they wouldn't find his father in the fortress. He worried about his father but he worried more about the sanity of his mother. He feared she might get a mental breakdown if they wouldn't find his father in Tempest Keep.

"Searching for him is wasted time. I might tell you everything I know about him if you agree to join and serve the Burning Legion. If all of you swear your loyalty to master Kil'jaeden, then I tell you everything I know," responded Dreadfist.

"We will never be the pawns of the Burning Legion," hissed Vereesa. "I will never allow my people to become the slaves of the Burning Legion."

Dreadfist's gaze fell on Raesh. "You are the legitimate heir of the throne. What is your opinion about it? If you join us, I'll tell you where to find your father."

Raesh tilted his head. "You just said my father is gone and now you want to offer me to bring me to him? You are contradicting yourself. You are not trustworthy at all. I'm not a fool, I won't fall for your tricks."

Dreadfist exhaled loudly. "Very well. You don't want to submit to the master, so I have no other choice than killing all of you miserable creatures."

"Try it," hissed Sylvanas and nocked an arrow. Vereesa and Verena did the same, Raesh, Rommath and Aethas prepared spells and the melee soldiers moved towards Dreadfist. The half-demon avoided all arrows and created a fel green barrier around himself which absorbed the fire, arcane and ice spells cast by the mages.

More arrows flew but they were absorbed by the barrier which broke when Aethas' arcane blast hit it. The arcane blast had been so weakened by the barrier that it didn't do any visible damage as it hit Dreadfist. His armour showed no scratches or cracks. It was undamaged.

"Is that all you got?" he asked and swung his sword, cutting off the left arm of a female Forsaken. She roared out in pain and tried to hit Dreadfist with her second axe but he executed another swing, cutting through her waist. The Forsaken's upper body fell and landed on the floor, blood was sprayed. Raesh was not sure if the Forsaken was truly dead but there was not much she could do if she would still be alive.

Raesh focused his power for a freezing spell, aiming it at the half-demon's weapon hand. Unfortunately, Dreadfist saw it coming so that he was able to jump to the side at the last moment. He dodged the spell but made himself vulnerable for a brief moment. Aethas hit him with a strong arcane bolt, causing him to stumble. The technique had done much more damage than Dreadfist had expected. The long crack in his armour started beneath his right shoulder plate and ended in the middle region of the corselet. The armour was still intact but it was damaged, meaning it could be destroyed if the gathered warriors would hit him more often.

Hitting him was harder than expected because he was pretty agile for his size and the heaviness of his armour. He avoided many arrows and spells and still managed to block most of the attacks of the melees. He got hit from time to time but his armour absorbed all the damage. More cracks appeared in the armour but it was still intact.

Dreadfist did not only avoid most of their attacks, but he also attacked them in return. Three of Liadrin's blood knights and four of the six Forsaken had fallen within a short amount of time. Dreadfist was no ordinary opponent. He was very powerful and very dangerous.

"This is taking too long for my liking," Dreadfist shouted and lifted his demonic hand, muttered words in eredun.

Raesh noticed the energy spike that was formed between Aethas' feet. Raesh acted instantly and jumped to the side, colliding with his master and ramming him away. They both landed onto the floor, the energy spike grew and shot to the ceiling a few seconds later. Aethas realized that, if Raesh had not pushed him away, he would have been skewered by the green spike. He was stunned but he regained his composure rather quickly. He got up and gave his student a thankful nod before he prepared a spell.

Raesh let his gaze wander while focusing power for another powerful spell, realizing that remaining blood knights and Forsaken had not noticed the creation of more spikes. They had been skewered by them and were obviously dead. It was horrible to see them like this. They were skewered like pigs. No matter where Raesh looked, he always had a skewered creature in his sight. Nevertheless, he was still able to focus on his spell.

Raesh noticed that one of the five golden runic symbols on Dreadfist's hand had stopped glowing. Only four of six runes were still glowing. That meant that he was still able to cast four extremely powerful spells. Raesh knew he had to pay more attention to their surroundings to prevent more of them from dying by such unpredictable spells.

He looked at his grand cousin. Despite her heavy armour, Liadrin managed to avoid most of Dreadfist's blow. She blocked those she couldn't sidestep with her shield and her sword and even managed to land a few hits in return. Kaelor was always close to her and helped her to keep the half-demon busy. Dreadfist didn't have time to shift his attention to the archers and spellcasters that were shooting lots of missiles at him.

The longer the fight endured, the more damaged his armour got. It threatened to break and fall apart with the next hit but it withstood longer than anyone had expected. Nevertheless, it broke eventually.

Aethas and Raesh had combined their powers to create a large arcane blast which had not only shattered the corselet and wounded the demon's flesh but also thrown him away. Dreadfist rebounded off the opposite wall and landed hard on the floor. Painful noises escaped his lips as he got up, blood flowed out of several medium-sized wounds in his torso. His mask had been split in two in the process, one half still covered the left side of his face while the other laid shattered on the floor.

His facial features were familiar. Raesh's eyes became even wider as Dreadfist removed the left half of the mask. Shocked noises escaped the lips of some of his companions. It was clearly visible that his mother and his aunts were shocked. Even though they had known about the possibility, they were still stunned by the discovery. They were too stunned to move or attack. They remained on their spots and did nothing except staring at Dreadfist who took advantage and created a green glowing barrier around himself.

Together with Aethas and Rommath, Raesh created prismatic barriers around the melee and ranged fighters. He could only hope that they were strong enough to protect them from Dreadfist's powerful spells.

"It is really you..." Sylvanas said. Her voice was quiet and trembled but her opponent was still able to hear her.

"No, I'm not. I'm no longer Kelrian Sunstrider. Kelrian is gone and he will never return. I already informed you about this. I'm Dreadfist, the right hand of Kael'thas Sunstrider and special agent of Kil'jaeden."

"I don't believe it," replied Sylvanas. Her eyes reflected doubt but also a small amount of hope.

Dreadfist chuckled and lifted his sword. "Then I will prove that nothing of the man you loved is left in me."

A mischievous smile appeared on Dreadfist's lips as he let his gaze wander from one face to another. Sylvanas' eyes were narrowed, her facial expression was tense. She was still holding on her arrow and was ready to let it loose. The expressions of the others were similar, their eyes rested on the creature that had once been Kelrian Sunstrider. They were ready to fight him if he would dare to attack them.

Dreadfist had no intention to not fight them. He had his orders and he intended to execute them. He focused power and sprinted towards the remaining warriors of the Alliance. He was so fast that he broke through the barrier before his opponents had realized what was going on.

The green barrier around his body was still intact and moved with him, protecting him from arrows and spells. Sylvanas fired another arrow and even sent a sphere made out of dark energy at him but both missiles were blocked by the barrier which got weaker in the process. Even Raesh's and Aethas' arcane blasts were absorbed by the barrier which still lasted. It had started to crack but it was still intact even after it had been hit by Sydori's holy smite.

Loud evil laughter escaped Dreadfist's lips. "Is that all you got? Is that all the Alliance has to offer? Pathetic! I expected more of you. You are nothing but weaklings. You are nothing but tiny insects compared to me. I will show you true power."

Without a warning, he closed his demonic hand, creating a spell without needing to speak a magic formula. A rift opened and dozens of green elongated crystal splinters came out and flew towards Sylvanas and her companions. Sylvanas pulled an explosive arrow from her quiver, shooting it at the biggest splinter. The explosion tore the splinter apart before it could come too close to them. Vereesa and Verena did the same but there were still too many splinters in the air which came closer rapidly.

Raesh, his master and Rommath tried to destroy as many as they could while running into different directions. Everyone was running away and hoping to avoid the splinters somehow. The mages managed to teleport away at the last moment before splinters would have pierced their bodies. Sylvanas, Verena and Vereesa managed to dodge the biggest ones but some of the smaller ones hit them. One smaller splinter hit Vereesa in the left upper thigh. It had pierced through her armour and her flesh and caused the sin'dorei to cry out in pain. Sylvanas sprinted over to her and caught her before she would have fallen to the floor.

Sylvanas had also been hit by smaller splinters but none of them had pierced through her armour. They stuck in her corselet, her greaves, bracers and even in her shoulder plates. She had not been wounded, unlike her sister and Verena. The dark ranger didn't make any sound as she pulled the splinter out of her left hip.

Sylvanas handed her sister to Liadrin who had not been hit by any splinter. The shield of holy light she had cast on herself had protected her. Kaelor had done the same and was uninjured like his superior. Sylvanas let her gaze wander, noticing that no splinters were in the air. Those who had not hit any of her companions stuck in the floor or in the walls. Nobody had been seriously injured. Nobody except for Kelrian's sister.

Sydori laid on the floor and was surrounded by her own blood, her upper body had been pierced by a large splinter. She was still alive but her condition was critical. Sylvanas didn't need to be a doctor or healer to recognize that from this distance. Sydori was badly wounded and she wouldn't live long if no one would take care of her.

Liadrin didn't hesitate to sprint over to her and help her but Dreadfist was faster and reached his sister before his cousin. A battle cry escaped Liadrin's lips as she swung her sword but Dreadfist blocked her attack and grabbed her at the same time. She managed to free herself by leaving a deep cut in his right hip but she was not able to injure him further. He kicked her away and avoided arrows and missiles.

Sylvanas pulled another arrow from her quiver, aimed and shot. The arrow was still flying as Dreadfist did something no one had expected him to do. He picked up Sydori and held her in front of his body. Sylvanas had no control over the flight path of the arrow once she had shot it, so she could not alter it. She could not prevent her arrow from hitting Sydori in the chest.

Sydori's eyes widened, blood and painful noises came out of her mouth. The following seconds seemed like hours to Sylvanas. She had the impression that time was passing much slower suddenly as if everything around her was happening in slow motion. Sydori fell slowly after Dreadfist had let go of her. Her skin was pale, her gaze was blank. She was dead before she hit the ground. Sylvanas' arrow had hit her right in the heart. The half-demon had used her as a living shield to protect himself.

That was proof enough for Sylvanas that the man they were facing was no longer the man she had loved with all her heart. She didn't want to accept the truth but she knew she had no other choice. The Kelrian she had known was gone. Kael'thas had done something with the man she had loved. He had turned him into the creature she was now seeing. Kael'thas Sunstrider had made a monster out of his only son. He created a weapon who had no emotions and no moral values. Dreadfist was nothing but a killing machine the mad king used to get rid of his enemies.

The man she had loved would have never used his sister as a living shield nor would he fight them and kill those who wanted to stop Kael'thas. Her non-beating heart was aching as she realized that Kelrian was no longer their ally but their enemy. She didn't want to have any of this to be true but she had no other choice than accepting the truth. She had no doubt that the man who had just killed his sister would stop at nothing. He would kill them if they wouldn't defeat him first.

Sylvanas could only hope that they would manage to defeat Dreadfist without having to kill him. She knew that the odds were not in her favour but she still hoped that they could find a way to reverse what Kael'thas had done to Kelrian. She didn't know if that was possible but she hoped it was. She hoped they could defeat him without killing him. Nonetheless, she knew that they would have to kill him if they had no other choice. If they wouldn't stop him, he would kill all of them.

Or at least everyone except for Raesh. She knew that Kael'thas wanted him for his evil plans. She couldn't allow him to get her son. She didn't want that the same that happened to Kelrian would happen to Raesh too. Losing Kelrian would be bad enough but losing her son too would be the worst-case scenario. Sylvanas had to protect her son by any means.

She was more than just surprised as she found out that Raesh was capable of protecting himself against the creature that had once been his father. She had no idea what happened to Raesh but for some reason, he was more powerful than ever. A few minutes ago, he had been really exhausted and had almost spent all of his mana but now he was firing spell after spell. She had no idea what was going on but it seemed that the death of his aunt had triggered something in Raesh. He was furious. Furious and anything but exhausted.

Even Dreadfist was surprised by the sudden increase in power. He was not able to avoid Raesh's spells which were much stronger than he had expected. Each of his son's spells hit him hard and injured him. His upper body was covered by several deep wounds out of which a large amount of green blood was flowing out. The other pieces of armour got heavily damaged and some of them even broke. Not even his sword was able to protect him. Deep cracks appeared in the blade which got larger and deeper with each hit. It was only a matter of time until the sword will shatter.

Raesh noticed that his new gained power was slowly leaving him. He was aware that his time was limited. He focused all of his remaining power in one spell and shot it at the half-demon. Dreadfist was not fast enough to avoid it nor was he able to shield himself. He was hit by the blue energy sphere, the explosion knocked him away.

He landed on the floor, his entire body hurt and he was losing more blood than before. Despite the immense amount of pain he was feeling, he was still able to get up. His body was shaking, his vision was blurred but then became clearer after a few moments. He noticed that his son was on his knees and breathing heavily. He was exhausted, making Dreadfist assume that he wouldn't be able to cast another spell. The blond sin'dorei paladin kneeled next to Raesh and gave him a worried look. It seemed he was casting a spell on him.

Dreadfist let his gaze wander, noticing that Liadrin was walking towards him. She held her sword in both of her hands, determination was written all over her face. Dreadfist had no doubt that she would kill him as soon as she would reach him. Sylvanas was looking at her son but Vereesa and Verena were aiming at him. Their arrows wouldn't need long to reach him.

Dreadfist gave his body the command to move to the left but it didn't obey him. The pain paralyzed him and made him defenceless. As expected, the arrows were shot. Dreadfist knew that his fate was no longer in his hands. It was sealed. He knew he will die. He had not expected them to be able to kill him. He had not expected his son to be that powerful.

He still didn't understand why Raesh had become so powerful for a few minutes. He wished he could figure out the reason for that but he knew he wouldn't be able to find answers. That day was the day he would die. Death was the only thing he feared. He had no idea what was awaiting him. He had no idea if there was a place where the dead went. He could only hope that there was an afterlife.

He closed his eyes, expecting to die the next moment. He expected the pain to vanish but that didn't happen. He was still able to feel the immense amount of pain and he was still able to feel the auras of his foes. But there was another aura he felt. A familiar aura.

He opened his eyes and recognized Exadius who stood in front of him. The dreadlord had caught both arrows with his bare fists, his wings were spread out and functioned as a protecting shield. He turned his head and looked at his beaten partner. Dreadfist noticed the green symbols on his face and neck. The same symbols were tattooed on his skin. The marks of the Deceiver. He was surprised to see them on his partner's skin because he had not expected Kael'thas to find a way to break Exadius' will. He had no idea what his father had done to bring Exadius under his control.

But that didn't matter. Kael'thas had done it and Dreadfist was glad about that. If it was not for them, he would be dead. Thanks to Exadius, he was still alive. The dreadlord had protected him and prevented Liadrin from getting to him to deal the finishing blow.

A wide grin could be seen on Exadius' lips as he let his gaze wander. "Did you miss me?"

"Step away, evil creature. We did not come for you," shouted Liadrin. "This fight is none of your business."

"You tried to kill my partner, so it's my business. I cannot allow him to die. Lord Kil'jaeden wants him alive for his plans and King Kael'thas also has an interest in the survival of his son. It's my job to look after him," replied Exadius.

"Lord Kil'jaeden? So you are now serving the creature you swore to kill..."

Exadius' grin became wider. "I was wrong about him all the time. For millennia, I cursed him for what he did to my people but recently I realised how wrong I was all the time. He is the best thing that happened to the nathrezim. Each individual is more powerful than ever due to him. We are much stronger than we are supposed to be. We control armies, nations and worlds. Before him, only a few races knew of us but due to him, we are feared in the whole universe."

"You can't be serious...," Sylvanas replied sharply.

"I am serious."

"Your people are nothing but pawns for the Legions. Slaves who do anything their masters want. They don't regard you as equals, you only serve them as tools. They use you to achieve their goals and they don't think twice about sacrificing you to achieve their goals."

"We all serve our purposes," responded the nathrezim.

"I may not have spent much time with you but Kelrian told me a lot about you. He told me that you want to free your people from the Legion's influence. You want to save as many individuals as you can. But now you achieve the entire opposite with your actions. I have no doubt that deep inside you, you don't want to serve the Legion. You are getting forced to act like this. You are not yourself, nor is Kelrian."

"Kelrian is gone and you will never get him back. You can capture him but you will only waste your time if you try to reach him. He is gone forever."

"I don't believe that for a second," Sylvanas hissed. "There is always a solution to everything. I have no doubt I can reach him and free him from the Legion's control."

Exadius gave Sylvanas a small smirk. "Good luck with that. If you want to take him captive, you have to defeat me first." He snapped with his fingers, making a barrier appeared that wrapped around Dreadfist. The nathrezim looked at his partner. "You know what to do."

Dreadfist said nothing in return and merely nodded at him. Exadius looked back at the heroes, noticing the grim looks on their faces. Raesh was still visibly exhausted, so Exadius assumed that he wouldn't be able to participate in the fight. The others were not as exhausted as Raesh, determination was clearly visible on their faces.

"What do you mean? What does he have to do?" Sylvanas asked strictly.

Exadius gave her a mischievous grin. "You will soon find out, banshee."

Sylvanas gritted her teeth and nocked an arrow. "Last chance. Step aside and surrender. We will spare your life and find a way to free you from the Legion's control."

Exadius said nothing in return. He let his sword appear and grabbed it with his right hand, holding it in front of him.

"Alright, let's get this over with. You leave us no other choice than to kill you."

Exadius' grin became wider. "Try it."

Sylvanas let her arrow lose but Exadius reacted quickly and moved to the side. He didn't manage to avoid it but at least it didn't hit him in the head as Sylvanas had hoped for. The arrow hitExadius in the left shoulder but it was not able to break through the thick armour that covered his body. Exadius smiled but didn't make a comment.

Liadrin charged at him but he blocked her sword swing with his runeblade, knocking her away with a precise punch with his free hand. Liadrin staggered backwards and nearly fell to the floor but she was able to catch herself at the last moment. Kaelor had rushed to the dreadlord in the meantime and kept him busy, allowing the archers and mages to aim at the demon. Two arrows hit Exadius in the chest and one hit him in the left shin but none of them managed to break through his black-golden armour.

It took a while for them to finally break through his armour. It was Sylvanas who had focused a large portion of her power in one of her arrows. It had hit him in the left upper thigh and pierced through his flesh, coming out at the opposite side. Exadius managed to suppress the painful noise that would have left his lips. He whirled around furiously and hit Liadrin with his foot, sending her flying through the room.

Despite the wound she had suffered, she managed to get up. Her chest plate was shattered and covered by her own blood but she didn't care. She didn't even take the time to heal herself, instead, she picked up her sword and shield and ran back to the demon who had just thrown Kaelor to the floor. A ray of holy light wounded the demon but made him pretty angry at the same time. Exadius turned to Liadrin and regarded her with narrowed eyes.

"You are a pain in the ass, paladin. You will be the first to die by my blade," shouted Exadius and raised Worldender above his head. The fel green blade started to glow much brighter than it already did. Everyone noticed the powerful aura that was radiated by the sword right before Exadius rammed it into the floor. The following shock wave knocked everyone away. Everyone except for Exadius who stood on the same spot as if nothing had happened.

He didn't need to pull the runeblade out because it no longer stuck in the floor. There was a huge hole right where Exadius had rammed his sword into the was hovering only a few inches above the bottom of the hole. Exadius' hand still rested on the handle around which black leather stripes were wrapped.

He let his gaze wander, noticing that his opponents were getting up one by one. There were huge cracks in the floor, on the walls and in the ceiling. The ceiling looked anything but stable. It threatened to collapse but Exadius did not care about that.

He noticed that Vereesa had a lacerated wound on her forehead, her facial expression was distorted in pain but other than that she was fine. She had not suffered any serious injuries.

The nathrezim's gaze found Liadrin again who was already on her feet. He rushed over to her and swung his sword but a barrier of holy light protected her. He swung again, this time there was no barrier that could protect her but Liadrin managed to jump to the right side at the last moment. The demon was about to grab her but Kaelor bashed his hand away with a precise hammer swing, making the demon howl out in pain.

His left bracer broke and the light that was radiated by Kaelor's hammer came in contact with the demon's skin. The holy light was the most efficient weapon they had against the dreadlord. The light was the greatest weakness of all demons. It hurt Exadius the same way as it would hurt other demons.

"You filthy cock-sucking bastard," hissed Exadius and grabbed the paladin with his free hand, lifting him in the air. Kaelor lashed out but he was not able to hurt the dreadlord often enough to force him to drop him. Liadrin attacked Exadius, intending to save her subordinate but Exadius made a large leap backwards and landed in the middle of the room.

Exadius' golden eyes rested on the wriggling blood elf paladin. "I wanted to kill your superior first but now you made me so angry that I decided to end your worthless life before I end hers. Say goodbye to this world, mortal scum."

Exadius lifted his sword and brought it closer to the paladin, intending to skewer him. A powerful spell hit him in the chest, making him stagger backwards and gasp for air. His grip loosened so that Kaelor was able to get free. He didn't hesitate to run away from the demon as soon as he stood steady on two legs.

Raesh had gathered the last remains of his power to prepare a spell in the meantime but he was hesitating. He didn't want to fire it right away because the risk was too high that he would hit his lover too. He waited until Kaelor had almost reached him before he released the spell. Exadius crossed his arms in front of his chest, expecting Raesh to aim for his partly exposed torso but that had not been Raesh's intention. He had not planned to hit him but the damaged ceiling above him. The arcane blast hit the part of the ceiling beneath which the dreadlord stood, causing it to break.

Exadius was buried beneath huge pieces of rubble. For a short moment, Raesh believed that it was over but he realised quickly that it was not. The pieces of rubble started to vibrate and were thrown away in all directions a few moments later. Fortunately, neither Raesh nor the others were hit by the pieces.

Raesh's gaze fell on Exadius who was already standing again. His armour was heavily damaged, he was bleeding and even the replacement for his horn was missing. He looked pissed. Raesh noticed quickly that the upper half of the horn was not the only thing that was missing. Exadius was not carrying his runeblade. Raesh looked out for the runeblade, spotting it next to a large piece of rubble. It was closer to him than to the dreadlord who had spotted the mighty weapon at the same moment.

Raesh did not hesitate to sprint towards the sword. Exadius spread his wings and jumped into the air, flying towards the sword. He was a lot faster than the sin'dorei mage, meaning he would reach it earlier. Raesh knew that he wouldn't reach it before Exadius but there was nothing he could do about it. He had spent the last portion of his mana so that he was not able to make himself faster or slow down Exadius.

The demon reached the runeblade and stretched his arm out, his fingers were only a few inches away from the sword's handle as a shock blast hit him and pushed him away. He landed on the floor not far away from the sword but he was up quicker than Raesh had hoped for. He jumped to the side to avoid Aethas' next attempt to distract him and sprinted towards the runeblade.

Raesh knew he had to reach the runeblade before the demon, otherwise, he would win and kill him and everyone else. Getting the sword was the only way to defeat the nathrezim. There was no other way. Raesh was aware that his master, his lover and his aunt Liadrin were heavily exhausted and that his mother and his other aunt had only a few arrows left. He knew that if he would fail, all of them will die in the end.

He focused the last remains of his physical strength and made a large leap over the piece of rubble in front of him. He landed next to the runeblade and picked it up. As the demon approached, he acted instinctively without thinking about his actions. His eyes widened as he realized what he had done. He had not intended to do that, he had just wanted to pick up the runeblade and run away with it. He had not intended to do more.

Exadius' eyes were much wider than Raesh's. His mouth was wide open, his skin was paler than usual. Blood flowed out of his mouth, ran down his chin and even dropped onto the floor. Exadius lowered his head, looking at his chest. Worldender stuck deeper in his chest than he had expected. Almost the entire blade stuck in his upper body, a huge part stuck out of his back. Raesh had impaled the former king of the nathrezim with his own runeblade.

Exadius was stunned and so was Raesh but the young sin'dorei regained control over his body faster than the nathrezim. He pulled the sword out and prepared the next swing but he realized quickly that he didn't need to hit the demon a second time. The hole in the dreadlord's upper body started to expand very quickly. "No... This cannot be... That's impossible," Exadius cried out.

He watched in horror as his wings and arms dissolved, followed by his legs. "No...I will not..." were his last words before his head dissolved. Nothing was left of the former king of the nathrezim. Raesh had watched Exadius' demise in shocked silence, his face reflected surprise and guilt. He had not wanted this to happen.

He assumed that the runeblade was the reason why Exadius had died a horrible and painful-looking death. He was sure that Exadius wouldn't have died that way if he would have hit him with any other had expected the runeblade to be very powerful but he had not expected that it could kill a powerful creature like Exadius with just one clean thrust.

Raesh's gaze rested on the spot where Exadius had been standing much longer than he had planned. He averted his gaze and looked at his father, his eyes widened as he noticed that his appearance had drastically changed. Dreadfist was a bit smaller than before but much more muscular. His skin had a light greenish colour, his eyeballs were fel green but his irises were golden. Two massive wings and fel green sharp spikes came out his back. Instead of six, he had only two horns which were much larger, thicker and made out of a material that had similarities to felstones.

Dreadfist now had two demonic hands instead of only one. There were six runes tattooed on his right hand, only three of the six runes of his left hand were still glowing. Raesh knew what this meant. His father was able to cast nine destructive spells which could do serious harm to anyone who would be hit by them.

Raesh turned his head and looked at his mother, noticing that her mouth was wide open and her eyes were widened in surprise and terror. She was as shocked as everyone else. She was so shocked that she could not speak even though she wanted to talk to the man who had once been the love of her life.

"You have defeated my partner. I have to admit that I'm surprised. I did not expect that to happen. Congratulations. Too bad you couldn't know that if you kill him, you make me stronger. Exadius' death triggered my transformation. The form you see now is my true form. I am finally complete, thanks to you. No one can stop me now. No gods, no kings and no mortal weaklings like you. I am invincible."

"We will see about that," Liadrin responded.

Soft laughter escaped Dreadfist's lips. "You will soon realize that you can't win against me. You only managed to defeat my partner with his own runeblade. If you intend to use it against me, I have to disappoint you. It is not as strong as it was before its creator's death. Now, it's nothing but an ordinary sword without any special powers."

"You are bluffing. I don't believe any of your words," replied Raesh.

Dreadfist's gaze fell on his son. "Come on, attack me and find out how wrong you are."

"Don't try it, Raesh," Sylvanas said warningly. "Don't listen to him. Do not do any foolish moves."

"Don't worry, mother. I may be young but I'm not naive or foolish. I know that he just wants to bait me. He wants me to do a wrong move."

"You are very smart, my son," complimented Dreadfist.

"Don't call me that," hissed Raesh. "You are not my father. Kelrian Sunstrider is, but you are not. You are Dreadfist. A demon. But you are not him."

"I'm still your biological father."

"You were. Just look at yourself and what you have become. You are not the man I looked up to my entire life. You are nothing but a fel-sucking bastard. Nevertheless, I don't believe what you said earlier. I don't believe that my father is fully gone. I have no doubt that a small portion of him is left in you. I just have to reach him but to be able to do that I have to beat you first," told Raesh.

"Good luck with that, boy. As I said, Worldender will be worthless against me now that you murdered the demon who forged it over ten thousand years ago."

"I did not murder him. It was self-defence," Raesh pressed through gritted teeth.

"Do not listen to him, Raesh. He just wants to distract you and manipulate you do something rashly," reminded Kaelor.

"He is right, Raesh. Listen to your, lover. He must be pretty special that you chose him. I hope for you that he is worth it. It seems that you have forgotten that it's your duty to continue our bloodline. You are leaving your family in the lurch with your decision. Sylvera is dead, so she won't be able to continue our bloodline. What a shame. I'm not mad at you, Raesh. I'm just disappointed in you. Very disappointed."

Raesh's eyes narrowed, he was clenching his fists but did not say anything in return or do anything. He remained on his spot, his hands held the runeblade tightly. He was biting his bottom lip hard, anger was reflected by his facial expression.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, his first thought was to shake it off but he decided against it and allowed the person to touch him. He turned his head and looked at his mother whose face reflected worry. "Do not listen to him," she said quietly. "He is wrong about everything. It's not your duty to continue our bloodline. Not to mention that there are still ways for you to make an heir even though you are homosexual. You are not leaving anyone in the lurch. You don't have to feel guilty."

"I know, mother. I'm glad about your support."

Sylvanas gave him a small smile. "I will help you whenever I can." She cleared her throat and turned her head, looking at Dreadfist who regarded them curiously. His head was tilted and one of his brows was raised. "What now, boy? Are you going to fight me?"

Raesh's eyes reflected determination. "I have to if I want to save my father."

"You are too late for that. Your father is gone and he will never return. How often do I have to repeat that until you accept it?"

Raesh held Worldender in front of his body, turning his head to look at his comrades. Aethas, Rommath, Liadrin, Verena, Vereesa, Kaelor and his mother were ready to fight the demon. Raesh waited until the first arrows flew and then sprinted towards Dreadfist. The demon pulled one of the spikes out of his back and increased its size, performing a spell on it. Within a few seconds, he transformed the crystal into a functioning sword.

Dreadfist blocked his son's attack with ease and gave him a provocative smile as he knocked him back, causing him to stumble. Raesh caught himself and attacked Dreadfist once again but he didn't succeed. Dreadfist blocked his attack but this time he didn't just do that. He grabbed Raesh and slammed him onto the ground before he realized what was going on. Like the first arrows the archer had shot, the following arrows also bounced off his skin. The tips of the arrows were not sharp enough to pierce through his skin. Even Aethas' fireball didn't do much.

It burned Dreadfist's skin but his body healed by itself. The technique had not bothered the half-demon at all. He blocked Liadrin's and Kaelor's attacks, kicking them away. "Is that all you got? You disappoint me, mortals."

He caught Verena's arrow with his bare fist and threw it back at her. The arrow flew much faster than before, hitting the dark ranger between her ribs. Verena's painful cry was music to his ears. He caught the arrows of the Windrunner sisters and crushed them as if they were nothing but thin toothpicks, dropping the pieces onto the floor.

"Behold the power of the Sunstrider family," Dreadfist shouted and swung his sword, creating a gust of wind that made the rangers fly through the room. He moved immediately, ramming his son away who had stepped in his way. Dreadfist reached Sylvanas and stretched his arm out, intending to grab her. Sylvanas jumped to the side at the last moment, throwing a dagger at him. Like her arrows, the dagger rebounded of his skin.

Sylvanas cast a sphere of dark magic on him, hitting him directly. He was stunned for a few seconds, allowing Sylvanas to increase the distance between them, but other than that the technique didn't do anything. Dreadfist was still uninjured. Sylvanas noticed that one of his nine remaining runic symbols had stopped glowing. She also noticed that another symbol glowed weaker than the others.

She guessed that the reason for his seeming invulnerability was the amount of power he was sacrificing every second. She was sure that he was not invulnerable, he was just using a large amount of power to protect himself. She had no doubt that there was an invisible shield around his body and that he was using lots of his power to keep it up and refresh it whenever it threatened to break. The more power he would spend, the more runic symbols will stop glowing. His power was limited but she had no idea how long he could keep the barrier up. Buying as much time as possible was the only option they had. They could only defeat him when he had used up all his reserves.

Sylvanas parted her lips, wanting to tell the others her theory. Unfortunately, Dreadfist hit her with a spell before she was able to do that. She was thrown against the nearest wall, green glowing chains came out of the wall and wrapped around her body. Sylvanas was unable to move and defend herself but at least she was still able to speak.

"The longer the fight goes the more power he will lose. He is losing power every second, so you have to keep him busy until all of his reserves are spent. You win in the long run if you play for time."

"Shut up, bitch," shouted Dreadfist and snapped his fingers. Another chain came out of the wall, wrapping itself around Sylvanas' neck. It sat tightly, causing pain to Sylvanas. Tears came up in the corners of her eyes, her throat was hurting. The chain was so tight that she was unable to speak or produce any recognizable sounds.

"Don't worry, little man. I will not kill her. I will spare her and keep her as a trophy. She will always remind me of the great victory I have achieved today," he said to Raesh, smiling as he saw the furious look on the mage's face.

"I will not kill you either but I don't need the rest to be alive. Who shall I kill first? Your other aunt? Your grand cousin? Your master? Or do we begin with your lover? What you say?"

Raesh said nothing in return. He took a defensive posture, preparing himself for an incoming attack. Dreadfist raised an eyebrow, giving his son an irritated look. "You refuse to answer? Really? Shall I make a choice then? Very well." He let his gaze wander, looking at Vereesa first, then at Liadrin and Aethas and at last at Kaelor. "I think I will kill this one first."

"Try it and I will end you," roared Raesh.

Dreadfist laughed. "Nice joke. Seems I have to put you in your place. Very well. Come to me and show me what you got."

"Don't do it," Kaelor shouted but his warning came too late. Raesh was already running towards the demon who had a wide grin on his lips. Raesh swung Worldender but his opponent caught it with his bare hand. Raesh's eyes widened as he tried to free the sword from the demon's grip but he didn't succeed. Dreadfist enclosed his hand around the blade, a quiet cracking was hearable which came much louder within a few seconds.

The unimaginable happened. Dreadfist crushed the blade with his bare hand, watching its splinters fall onto the floor. His grin became wider as he saw the shocked expression on his son's face. "I told you that the sword is basically useless when its creator is not alive. It no longer has any power. Basically, it's nothing but an ordinary sword."

Raesh's eyes rested on the hilt for a few seconds before they moved to the tall demon. Dreadfist grabbed Raesh before he could do anything and flung him to the left side of the room. Raesh landed hard on the floor right in front of the huge mosaic glass window. He was able to get up before the winged demon reached him but he was not able to do much. His whole body hurt so much that he was barely able to move without crying out in pain. Chains came out of the floor and tied Raesh up, preventing him from doing anything.

Dreadfist looked at his hands, noticing that all runic symbols on his left hand had stopped glowing. Only four symbols were left on his right hand. "They will be enough," he muttered and looked at Raesh, making sure that the sin'dorei mage was not able to do anything.

He looked at the six warriors of the Alliance that were still able to fight. They were not far away from him and cast spells or took aim. Dreadfist muttered a few words in eredun, another rune stopped glowing when he finished his spell. Dozens of chains came out of the floor, the warriors tried everything in their power to avoid them but there were too many chains. In the end, everyone was tied to the floor.

A pleased smile could be seen on Dreadfist's lips. "Seems I won. All I need to do now is to kill you. I wish I could kill you one by one but unfortunately, my mana is running low. You lasted longer than I expected. You are very powerful. I have to admit that I'm impressed by your stamina. Too bad that I have no other choice than killing all of you at the same time. Don't worry, it will be over rather quickly."

Dreadfist lifted his hands in the air, closed his eyes and focused the remains of his power. His voice was loud, sentences in eredun escaped his lips. A greenish aura appeared around his body. Raesh had no doubt that his father was casting a very powerful spell. A small sphere appeared between the chained warriors which grew larger with each passing second. Raesh noticed that glow of the remaining two runic symbols became weaker and weaker over time. The last symbol faded eventually but the spell was not completed yet. The sphere was huge but not huge enough for Dreadfist's liking.

Raesh had expected to feel powerless. He had expected that he could do nothing but watch his comrades die. He had expected that the chains would prevent him from doing anything to save them. He was more than just surprised as he realised that the chains were no longer holding him back. They were no longer tightly wrapped around his body. Unlike his comrades, he was able to move his arms and legs. He was still in pain but he ignored it as best as he could. He knew that those who were important to him would die if he wouldn't stop Dreadfist.

He had no idea how he managed to free himself nor did he know why he still had the strength to sprint towards his father who was still channelling the spell. He had no idea what was going on but he didn't care. Saving his comrades was all that mattered to him at the moment. Raesh acted instinctively and rammed his father with all of his remaining strength, hoping to stop the spell that way.

It worked but something unexpected happened. His father fell backwards and not to the side. He had intended to push him to the side but he had underestimated his strength so things turned out differently. His father collided with the window behind him that broke in the process. None of them was able to prevent the inevitable. Neither Dreadfist nor his son were able to prevent themselves from falling out of the broken window.