Jason stood at the center of the devastated plain while the Ember Lord and Shade Lord towered behind him like ancient gods. Their colossal forms pulsed with raw, primordial power that distorted the air around them. He had not summoned them because he needed help defeating the Tartaros army. He had summoned them because he wanted every survivor, every spy, and every hidden observer to understand exactly how vast the gap between them truly was.
The Ember Lord slowly raised a molten fist while chains of liquid fire whipped across the battlefield, leaving glowing scars in the earth wherever they passed. The Shade Lord extended writhing tendrils of absolute darkness that pierced through shattered barriers and broken fortifications as though they were made of paper. Jason watched the destruction with cold detachment, making no effort to hide the overwhelming disparity in power.
