Two sides, two beings defined by their past. While all conflicts can consume others, none had taken as much as that between the Abyss & Pyre. A clear example of such – that of Sarah, the being now known as Furia. While changed, Sarah still resided within her. Fueled by the vengeance of her lost sister, she merged with the Pyre Entity who used that vengeance to channel its power, becoming the Angel of Vengeance the Realm needed. However, now there was another being, one even above them, and he was set in his ways.

Azaan made his decision – the Realm was to be purified; their lives less important than the cause of fully preventing the Abyss from controlling it. He lacked faith in those who occupied the Realm, unfamiliar with their persistence in the face of adversity. He saw their failures as absolute, where Furia knew it was part of their strength. Their failures lead them to be better…Sarah’s failure is what created her. She would plead with him to allow them to fight for themselves, however his view was clear – they were no match for deities, aliens, and even their own Crystals. They would all die so he could preserve absolute control.

The Realm was unaware of this fate, but Furia, she knew they’d want the other choice, the choice she would want. They would seek vengeance, some against the Abyssal creatures attempting to consume their world, some against the Magistrate that took from them all…like they took Abby. No matter how far gone they were, she still kept the memento: a lock of hair reminding her of the meaning of her fight, their need to survive.

While Azaan summoned forth the Dawnforge, a weapon that could realize his plans, Furia departed to scour across the Realm any other way of preventing this. After some time, she would discover their next plan; an Abyssal crown had been spotted – one associated with a name Azaan only whispered in distant memory – it was too late if the Dawnforge had been summoned…but it hadn’t been activated. As she flew back, she realized it was gone, as if it had moved without so much as a word.

She immediately began to search for Azaan and the Dawnforge, to no avail. The Pyre was vast, one she had no direct experience on & couldn’t traverse to on her own. The Pyre Entity within her knew some, but Sarah’s lack of time, experience, and connection with the Pyre Entity made it difficult to process anything beyond the Realm, and he was nowhere on it she could find. She even would ask various beings, peers in past conflicts…however the Pyre had long lost any trust they built, and had done nothing to build it up once again. The price of their virtue bound mission had caught up to them, to her. How could Azaan have left her behind? Had he lost his faith as well, his desire for persistence finally worn down to the point of complete dissolution? Was this because she was part-human, even as peers was she not worth his respect? Her fury slowly left the Abyss, aimed instead at the ally she thought she had.

With no hope left in finding Azaan, she turned to a desperate source of answers, the place where this madness began for them all: the town of Seris. She took flight, looking for a clue in the remains of where she lost her loved ones. She has fought alongside the Realm, with the Resistance, against the Magistrate, against Yagorath. She would not lose the others as she had lost her sister. As Furia approached the remains of the destroyed town, she felt as the Abyssal power grew and grew, far more than what should have remained. As she arrived, she finally understood why: the rift had returned, and beside it she saw the Oracle herself. Like a mockery of the past, Seris stood in the very spot where Abby was lost, and where she was born.

Furia’s entire soul burned brightly with a single-minded purpose: the destruction of this abomination, the end to all their strife. She felt if she could expunge Seris now, the Abyss would never take the Realm away from them again. She swooped in to fight the being, but right before her blade could connect, she was pulled back by a tear in reality formed behind her.

“Sight beyond sight, you are anything but surprising.” Seris approached Furia with calm determination, unphased by the presence of the Angel at her ritual. Furia launched a column of light at the figure, but in a blur of shadows, Seris disappeared as the beam passed harmlessly where she once stood.

In the shadows, the voice continued to speak, “The Abyss will rise, your attempts remain futile. Your forge, captured.”, but her relaxed taunting tone only emboldened the rage in Furia. As Seris reappeared, Furia launched forward with her blade catching the Oracle, and knocking her to the ground.

“You will leave me no choice, Abby.” she yelled, as she continued to swing against Seris’s form, slowly backing her towards the chasm containing the rift. With every swing, the memory of souls spewing from the Abyssal Portal still burned into her mind.

“Abby? You are too close to them. These are merely vessels. Abby is gone.” Furia faltered, as Seris’s words echoed in her head. It only took that one moment of weakness for Seris to gain the upper hand once again. Furia felt agony in her very soul, and with her core shaken, she fell stunned to the ground.

“Soon, she will return, and everything will be hers to use. Even you.” With those words, Seris turned away & returned to her work mending the rift, as if Furia’s presence wasn’t even an afterthought.

Furia shook off the weight of the souls. Abby may have been gone, but the Oracle still stood. She would only have one more shot at this, one last chance to earn her vengeance. Summoning the might of the Pyre, the very thing she represented, she grew inflamed and dashed with her sword raised. But as she swung down on Seris’s turned back, a flash of red appeared between them, and she felt herself helplessly flying through the air. As she crashed against the ruined buildings, she heard the familiar sound of a gatling gun igniting.

Raum. She recognized the rageful laugh. He was the beast she could not fell on her own… now working with Seris. She was one person, now against two Abyssal Lords working together. Azaan was missing. How could he leave her to fight alone? No matter how much she was willing to give, she could not win this fight; not right now, not alone. She already heard it from them, something worse was coming, and they would all need to be prepared. Bullets filled the air, chasing her as she departed. She was defeated, but not done.

There would be a next time, she can’t lose once it arrives. She could not save one breath. For what Furia sought, only vengeance could provide. The Realm must be fought for, the Realm must stay, for she was Furia: the flame of vengeance incarnate. She would do what none had done before: she would defeat the Abyss, and Seris with it. All she would need is what the Pyre actually lacked: friends.

Paladins Chronicles are short stories meant to enrich the world of Paladins & serve as context for future events. This is part of the first series, please provide us your feedback on socials! Next chapter, we’ll be doing something a bit different…