Lukon broke them.
Not metaphorically.
Not dramatically.
Physically.
The moment Syrax lunged again with that massive crimson blade, Lukon caught it barehanded and crushed it into fragments of light. Before Syrax could recover, a hand wrapped around his face and slammed him into the ground hard enough to crater the floor beneath him.
Lith rushed in from the side with a roar, claws igniting gold and black.
Lukon caught him too.
One in each hand.
Their attacks died instantly.
Then the king dragged them both across the throne room by their faces.
Stone screamed beneath them as their bodies tore through the floor, chunks of marble exploding around their heads. Syrax clawed at Lukon's arm, Lith bit into his wrist hard enough to draw blood, but the monster barely seemed to notice.
Then he threw Lith.
Hard.
Lith's body became a blur before smashing into a distant wall with enough force to collapse half of it inward. Stone buried him instantly.
Syrax barely had time to look before Lukon grabbed him by the throat and slammed him down again.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The entire chamber shook.
Lukon stood over him now, monstrous wings spread wide as he drove fist after fist into Syrax's body. Armor shattered. Bones cracked. Blood sprayed across the floor with every impact.
"You weak little thing!" the voices screamed through Lukon's mouth. "You were born from greatness and became THIS?!"
Another punch.
Syrax's vision blurred.
Another.
His body stopped responding properly.
Lukon raised his fist again.
Then stopped.
A voice echoed through the chamber.
Faint.
Broken.
"…no…"
The fist trembled.
"…stop…"
Syrax blinked slowly through one swollen eye.
The monster above him was shaking.
"My boy…"
Blood suddenly dripped onto Syrax's face.
Not his own.
A tear.
Dark red.
"I won't let you kill… MY SON!"
For the first time since entering the throne room, Lukon's expression changed completely.
The rage twisting his face no longer belonged to the invaders inside him.
It belonged to a father.
The monstrous body jerked violently as Lukon fought for control from within. One arm clawed at itself while the layered voices screamed in fury.
"NO!"
"SUPPRESS HIM!"
"TAKE CONTROL!"
But Lukon held.
Even if only for seconds.
His body locked in place, trembling violently as he forced the corruption to halt.
Syrax stared upward in shock.
"…father…?"
Lukon's eyes, truly his eyes now, focused on him through pain and tears.
"Run…" he growled weakly. "Before… I…"
The voices surged again.
The body convulsed.
And from deep within Lukon's chest, a faint glow became visible.
The crystal.
The Queen.
Her prison shook violently from the internal struggle. Through the fractured crystal, her eyes slowly opened.
Weak.
Tearful.
Aware.
"…Syrax…"
His breath caught instantly.
"Mom…!"
The moment he called out, the Queen's energy pulsed in response.
A burst of power exploded from within the crystal prison, blasting through Lukon's chest from the inside. The creature screamed as the dark blade pinning her in place violently shot free from the crystal and skidded across the ruined floor.
Near the collapsed wall, Lith's hand burst out from the rubble.
"…ow…"
He dragged himself free, covered in dust and blood, one eye barely open.
Then he spotted the blade.
And immediately understood.
Lith staggered forward, snatching the weapon before rushing back toward Syrax's side. He shoved the blade into the prince's hand and gripped his shoulder tightly.
"Wait for it," Lith muttered.
Syrax looked at him, confused.
Then Lith grinned weakly despite the blood running down his face.
And sprinted straight back toward the giant death monster.
"HEY!" Lith screamed.
Lukon's twisted head snapped toward him instantly.
Lith bent down mid-run, scooped up another handful of dirt and shattered stone, and launched it directly into the creature's eyes.
Again.
The chamber went silent for half a second.
Even the voices sounded offended.
"DID YOU JUST THROW DIRT AT US AGAIN?!"
"YES!" Lith yelled back immediately.
The distraction worked.
Lukon recoiled violently, claws covering his eyes as the internal struggle destabilized him further. The Queen, still trapped inside the crystal embedded in his chest, released another pulse of energy from within.
Syrax moved.
Broken ribs screamed.
His arm barely functioned.
One wing hung uselessly behind him.
Didn't matter.
He launched himself forward with everything left in him, dark blade clenched tightly in his hand as crimson energy exploded around his body.
Lukon looked up just in time to see his son coming.
And this time-
he smiled.
Not the monster.
Him.
The real Lukon.
Syrax drove the blade straight into his chest.
The creature shrieked.
Its entire body began turning to ash immediately, corruption tearing itself apart from the inside out. Wings disintegrated. Flesh cracked away in burning fragments.
And standing there beneath it all was Lukon himself.
Calm.
Free.
His eyes finally clear.
Syrax trembled violently.
"Father…"
Lukon reached down slowly, placing his hand over Syrax's.
Then gently forced the blade deeper.
Straight through his own heart.
The voices screamed.
Then stopped.
Lukon exhaled shakily as ash began consuming him.
"…thank you," he whispered.
His body scattered into dust moments later.
And the only thing left behind-
The crystal imprisoning the Queen fell and slid across the floor a few feet away, shattering into thousands of glowing fragments.
The throne room fell silent.
Not truly silent. The castle still groaned around them, fires still crackled in distant halls, rubble still shifted from the damage of the battle.
But the screaming had stopped.
The voices were gone.
Only ash remained where Lukon once stood.
Syrax stared at it numbly, chest rising and falling unevenly. His hand still gripped the dark blade buried in the floor beneath him, knuckles white from how hard he held it.
Then he heard it.
"…Syrax?…"
Weak.
Shaking.
Real.
His head snapped toward the shattered remains of the crystal.
The Queen collapsed forward the moment the prison fully broke apart.
Syrax moved instantly.
He caught her before she hit the ground.
For a second neither of them spoke. The Queen's hands trembled as they touched his face, almost like she was afraid he would disappear if she blinked too hard. Tears streamed freely down her cheeks now, mixing with the blood still staining her skin.
"You're ok…" she whispered.
Syrax broke.
The prince who had crossed battlefields, stared down monsters, and killed his own father collapsed into her embrace like a child again.
"I thought I lost you," he choked out quietly.
The Queen pulled him close despite her weakness, one hand cradling the back of his head as she held her son against her chest.
"You came for me," she whispered, voice cracking. "Even after everything…"
"Always," Syrax replied immediately.
Nearby, Lith quietly looked away for a moment, scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck with the one arm that still mostly functioned.
Humans always acted like beastkin were the emotional ones, meanwhile demon royalty out here having full emotional collapses in the apocalypse. Incredible species.
Then Syrax suddenly looked up.
And stood.
Before Lith could react, Syrax stepped forward and wrapped both arms around him in a crushing hug.
Lith froze instantly.
"…uh."
"You idiot," Syrax muttered into his shoulder. "You came back for me, thank you brother."
Lith blinked twice, ears twitching awkwardly.
"Well yeah," he grumbled. "Would've been kinda rude not to."
Syrax laughed weakly despite himself.
Then footsteps echoed from the ruined entrance.
Heavy.
Slow.
Lith's body reacted immediately.
He spun around with a snarl, stepping in front of the Queen and Syrax despite barely being able to stand anymore. Golden eyes locked onto the approaching figure as claws extended again instinctively.
Thagos emerged from the dust.
Or what remained of him.
The massive crocodilian demon was gone. His form had collapsed into something more humanoid now, though still towering and broad shouldered. Cracks ran across his scaled skin, blood still dripping from wounds Lith had carved into him earlier. He looked exhausted.
Lith lowered himself into a stance anyway.
"You want round two?" he growled.
Thagos stared at him for a moment.
Then barked out a tired laugh.
"With what energy?"
Lith was about to answer when a gentle hand touched his shoulder.
The Queen.
"Stop," she said softly.
Lith glanced back at her, confused.
She looked toward Thagos with tired eyes.
"He was always loyal to the crown," she explained quietly. "Even when the kingdom lost its way."
Thagos lowered his head slightly.
"…I failed to stop him," he admitted.
"No," the Queen replied. "You stayed."
Silence settled briefly between them.
Then Syrax stepped forward beside Lith, still battered beyond belief but standing nonetheless.
"So…" Lith muttered quietly to him, "are we cool with the giant crocodile guy now?"
Thagos snorted.
"I can still kill you, panther."
Lith pointed weakly at himself.
"I am held together by rage and internal bleeding right now. Please don't."
To everyone's surprise, the Queen laughed softly.
A genuine laugh.
Small.
But enough.
Then her expression shifted as she looked upward toward the distant sounds of war still echoing outside the castle walls.
"…enough," she whispered.
The air around her changed.
Even weakened, the power of the matriarch flowed through the throne room like warm light piercing through smoke. Crystalline energy spread outward from her body in gentle waves before shooting into the sky itself.
And then her voice echoed across the entire battlefield.
Every soldier heard it.
Every demon.
Every human.
Every beastkin.
"People of Erathos," she said, her voice carrying across the heavens themselves. "This war is over."
Outside, blades slowly lowered.
Magic faded.
The battlefield stilled.
"The king has fallen," she continued softly. "No more blood needs to be shed tonight."
Silence followed.
Then, slowly, across the ruined kingdom, the fighting stopped.
Inside the shattered throne room, Lith finally let himself sit down hard against a broken pillar with a groan.
"…cool," he muttered. "Now can somebody explain why dirt keeps working?"