Less than half a year ago, all present would have been awestruck at the sight. An army of angels led by their greatest general fighting the demonic hordes that camped in the shadow of Mount Arreat. But Tyrael's words about the events in the desert were still clear to them. They knew what Imperius had done and the sight fell short.
"Not every day you see angels, and a whole army of them to boot." Hans said.
"I am sorry to so spoil your first sighting, but we cannot stay to wonder. I severely doubt that Imperius is our ally in this." Vaisoris said.
"They're killing demons by the bucketload," Hans said. "Any enemy of demons is a friend of mine."
"If you recall my tale on the boat, Her Rudiger." Vaisoris said.
"Oh." Hans said, connecting the dots.
"We need to find a way through." Valkana said. Ahead of the caravan the battlefield was chaos, demons surging around shining seas of angelic soldiers. Each was armed with a spear much like the one Imperius carried, though he carried the mightiest. A demon like a living siege tower, all bone plating and fiery maws stretching into the sky, charged at Imperius, its gait giving off rumbles even to the slope where the caravan stood. At the last moment Imperius leapt from the ground to its face and rammed Solarion through its skull in one movement. He leapt and fought on before the towering demon had even touched the ground. The hole in the sky that the angels had come from had closed by now and the battle was beginning to shift to one side of the plain, groups of angels striking isolated demons from above with their spears.
3 streamers of mist surged past the caravan to land on the slope in front of them before coalescing into humanoid shapes with ornate armour and hoods that covered their faces entirely in shadow.
"Esteemed Horadrim," The lead angel said, then nodded at Hans, "and guests. You have done the High Heavens a great service to come so far. We are here to bring you before Lord Imperius, so that the artefact can be kept safe from the servants of the Nine Hells."
Valkana stepped forward. "We can protect it ourselves."
"That may be so, but our orders stand." The angel said, shifting his stance with his spear ever so slightly.
Valkana and the other warriors drew their weapons in response, but before the groups could come to blows, Vaisoris goes between her and the angel.
"We accept, and we will go see Lord Imperius." Vaisoris said.
The angel in front raised his spear again and the hooded face turned towards Vaisoris. "Good of you to see reason. Quick, follow us. We must hurry." As one they turned and headed towards the rear line of the angelic army. In the battlefield, some semblance of a line of battle had formed and the demons were being hemmed in.
As Valkana walked past Vaisoris to follow, he leaned close to her. "Be ready to go at any moment." He said hurriedly in a low tone. Biting back her questions, Valkana nodded and put her axe away.
As the Horadrim and their escorts traversed the battlefield, the fight had begun waning. The demons still fought tooth and claw, but the angelic army fought in unison and with purpose, and for each angel that fell, a dozen demons followed it. It seemed that, with the Prime and Lesser evils all recovering from their capture in the Black Soulstone, the demonic legions were an ill match for the angels on the battlefield.
Around the halfway point to the area where Imperius was, the footpath leading up towards Mount Arreat's core was not far away. They still only had the three angels from earlier escorting them, and they were doing so with their backs turned. In truth Vaisoris did not know how they would escape the angels, but there would not come a better time.
Vaisoris tapped Valkana on the shoulder. "Time to go."
The warrior woman looked about her and nodded at the rest of the Horadrim. With a sharp turn, they took off towards the footpath. The scholars kept an eye on the cage, the warriors drew their weapons and prepared for battle. With a shout, the angels noticed their escape and leapt past them, wings spread wide and spear held in front of them.
"Halt!"
"We've changed our minds about your audience." Vaisoris said with a chuckle.
Before the angels could respond, Valkana threw herself at them, battle-axe ringing against the shaft of one of their spears. "Go, now!"
The Horadrim leapt to it, the warriors splitting up to attack the other two angels and the scholars running past with the cage, beginning the trek up the footpath.
The angel Valkana had attacked grunted but pushed back with enough force to put Valkana on the back foot and then struck out with its wings to hold her still, interrupted by a crossbow bolt sinking its side. The angel groaned and backed away, holding its side.
"My thanks, Hans." Valkana said and hoisted her axe.
"No worries." Hans said grimly. He looked pale but his hands were steady as he reloaded.
The angel ripped out the bolt and threw it aside. "Impertinent mortals. Lord Imperius said you might attempt something foolish."
Valkana wasted no breath on a response, instead loosing a shout of battle and leapt at the angel. Her axe struck three times, each ringing against the angel's spear but the metallic shaft held. A wing-tendril slid under her to trip her up, but a throwing knife sliced the magical limb in two. The angel had to leap back to avoid the crossbow bolt that followed it, then turned to smoke and sped past Valkana. She barely managed a warning to Hans before she saw the spear materialise first, aimed for Hans' stomach. To the Hunter's credit, he threw himself aside in time and left one of his spherical grenades behind in his place. It detonated with an explosive roar, showering both humans in dirt and rocks.
"Pompous prick." Hans said, but further words caught in his throat.
When the cloud from the grenade settled, the angel stood seemingly unaffected. It tapped the butt of its spear on the ground and the area was suffused with sunlight. The tip of the spear glowed and before either human could move, the angel countered, leaping at Hans first. His crossbow and bandoliers fell away in shreds under the sudden attack, and when Valkana closed to help, the angel spun in place and attacked. Valkana caught the first strike with her shield but it struck with such force that the metal shield shattered.
The angel wings struck out against both human combatants. One tendril grabbed Hans around the ankle, spilling him on his face, while another two wrapped around Valkana's arms and legs. As they struggled to escape, the angel turned away to pursue the scholars that were running up the slope. Around them, the other warriors of the Horadrim had been similarly ensnared.
"You will convince your fellows to give up the artefact. We will not be so merciful a second time." The angel said as it closed in on the remaining Horadrim.
Hans was groggy from his fall, but Valkana heard him mumble something.
"Neither will we."
The tendrils holding Hans shook and fell away, dropping the Demon Hunter to land awkwardly on his behind. As the angel turned, it barely had a moment to react before a clock of coal-black energy covered Hans' upper body and struck back, the angelic wings shying away from them. Several black tendrils struck the angel's form like bolts from a ballista, punching through its armour like it was paper. Dust spilled from the angel's wounds as the black limbs retracted and struck at the other angelic escorts. One of them was decapitated before it could defend itself, but the other get its spear up in time, only to be bull-rushed by Valkana. Even as it shrugged the warrior-woman off, the black limbs impaled it. With a groan the angel collapsed.
Hans got up only to collapse back to his knees. "Gods, that was tiring."
Valkana moved to his side, momentarily taken aback by the golden flecks she saw glowing at the corners of his eyes.
"What, have I got something on my face?" Hans said with a weak chuckle.
Valkana helped him to his feet and encouraged the other warriors to get on their feet. If any angels had followed the scholars, they would need help.
"The big guy's coming." Hans said. He was leaning on her heavily.
In the distance, Imperius was striding towards them, his army parting to allow him to pass.
Valkana lifted Hans as much as she could and hurried up the path.
The scholars ran their hardest, and the warriors followed ready for battle, but the angels were faster. Hans might have dispatched their immediate escorts but before the Horadrim had crossed 100 meters, a dozen angels landed on the path in front of them, spears raised.
Hans had recovered his breath and with an effort of will he summoned the black cloak again. It hovered about his shoulders almost with a will of its own, drifting on a wind Valkana could not sense. He stepped away from her and towards the angels.
Valkana heard a gust of wind and saw Hans shudder and cough up blood. Only then did she notice the spear that had impaled him.
"Hans!" Valkana shouted. Before she had even taken 2 steps, he Hanshad collapsed, the spear ripped back out by some unseen hand. He looked at her and tried to speak, but only coughed up blood. Even as she tried to pick him up, his eyes glazed over.
The Archangel Imperius stood in the path behind, his spear held at his side.
The Horadrim stood in awe and surprise as the air split open between them and the Archangel.
Tyrael stepped through the portal, a hand on the handle of his sword. He had swept his brown cloak back to reveal the gilded armour he wore beneath and his sword glowed to rival Imperius' spear.
"Step aside, Tyrael. This escaped your reach when you chose mortality." Imperius said.
Tyrael ignored the command. "What is your goal, Imperius? What do you intend for the Nephalem's soul?"
"Soul?" Imperius laughed. The sound was cruel, not joyful. For a moment Tyrael thought a demon truly had possessed Imperius, but no, his former brother was himself. All valour and arrogance.
"That is no soul. It is a mass of energy, nothing more." Imperius said.
Tyrael swallowed his anger. "And what then? You wrest it from their hands by force, like the demons would, and what then, Lord Imperius?" Tyrael practically spat the word 'lord'.
Imperius paused. "Very well."
"As a last gift to my old brother, I will tell you what I intend." Imperius said.
He tapped in the air with his spear, and a small portal emerged, too small to pass through but large enough to show the Silver City and the Silver Spire at its heart. "When we angels fall on the battlefield, we are reborn in the light of the Crystal Arch, to join the Unending War anew."
"Any angel knows this, Imperius. It has always been." Tyrael said.
"So it has, but for all its glory, the Crystal Arch can only very rarely bring forth entirely new angels. Our numbers grow, yes, but not as fast as the demonic filth can propagate. The Lightsong cannot match the Black Abyss." Imperius said. The portal vanished.
Tyrael was speechless. What Imperius was saying was not untrue, but it had always been considered taboo at best, heresy at worst.
Imperius pointed at the Soul Cage with the tip of his spear. "But here we are presented with an opportunity to change the War forever. That orb holds enough power to enhance the Lightsong for millennia to come. Bring forth a legion of new angels and crush the hellspawn."
"And then what of Sanctuary? What of humanity?" Tyrael said.
"Why, they will be crushed. They are tainted by their demonic heritage. Nothing must be left behind. Then, and only then, will the Unending War be over." Imperius said, then extended a hand towards Tyrael.
"This is your final chance at redemption, Tyrael. In the light of the new Lightsong, you can regain your rightful form. You can be rid of this contemptuous mortality."
Tyrael knew what his answer would be. He only hoped Auriel and Itherael would understand. Valla, give me strength.
Tyrael drew his sword, a ringing sound lingering in the air for a second. "The Nephalem's soul will stay here, in Sanctuary. I will never let you have it, Imperius."
Imperius' wings dropped to his side. "Golden Spears, arrest this heretic." He said, his voice devoid of any sympathy.
As the angels in front of the caravan began muscling past to apprehend Tyrael, he cut the air with El'druin to open his own portal, this one nearly as vast as the one Imperius had used to bring his army to the battlefield. Out from it came another group of angels. These did not carry the signature crimson sashes of the Golden Spears, nor did they carry imitations of Solarion. With a cry of battle they surged past Imperius' guards to stand in front of Tyrael. There were perhaps only a quarter of their number compared to the Golden Spears.
"Lord Tyrael! The Angiris Council sends their blessing." Linarel said with a salute.
"What is this? Angels cannot fight angels!" Imperius roared.
"You have done as much in the past, Imperius. This is the end of the road. You were told to cease meddling with the affairs of Sanctuary. Now the Council must take action." Linarel said and turned towards the Archangel. His wings were jittery but the young angel stood his ground. Tyrael smiled despite the grim situation. Imperius' army still fought the demons but if even half his numbers came towards them, they would not last long.
Tyrael turned towards the Horadrim that still stood in shock. "Go, we will hold them here. You must see our quest through, for all our sakes."
The warrior woman nodded grimly at him and stood up; her armour was spattered with blood from the fallen demon hunter. One last cluster of golden sparks caught Tyrael's eye before they faded away. The scene reminded Tyrael uncomfortably of Valla's death. With one look back, the woman hurried the other Horadrim onwards towards the caldera.
"I will see you all exiled for this treachery." Imperius shouted, his voice all rage.
Linarel stood his ground. "You do not have a seat on the Council anymore, Imperius, you-"
"In the new Lightsong, there will be no need for the Council. I alone can lead the Heavens to victory!" Imperius shouted, cutting Linarel off.
"And you call us heretics." Linarel said with a growl, gripping his spear firmly."
"Soldiers of the Diamond Guard," Linarel shouted to his fellow soldiers, then pointed to Imperius and his red-sashed soldiers, "Let not one past. They are the enemies of the Angiris Council!"
Tyrael had never, even in his darkest nightmares, thought he would see civil war between angels; that was a thing for the humans or the chaotic demons. But here it was, instigated in part by himself. He hoped the Horadrim had reached the caldera, but he had no way of knowing. In truth, Tyrael didn't even know what would happen when they reached the caldera. All this had been staked on a vague prophecy scribbled on a wall built on the slopes of the very mountain behind him. By now he had no choice whether to believe it; he had to forge on, make it real.
With a shouted curse, Imperius leapt at the Diamond Guard, a regiment of his Golden Spears in his wake. His first swing crushed the shield of one angel and his follow-up pierced through the hood of another, causing the angel to collapse in a pile of dust. Angels killing angels. Tyrael thought as he blocked the third blow with El'druin. The sword creaked under the impact but held, Solarion glowing like a small sun.
Around them the battle was joined in full, angels fighting angels.
"We've danced this dance before, Tyrael. This one will end like all the others." Imperius said with a snarl and pushed.
"You were stopped the other times, Imperius, now it is up to me to hold the line." Tyrael said with a grimace.
"That's right, Tyrael, now it is up to you." Imperius said and leapt back before thrusting his spear forwards. The tip glowing a vibrant gold was all the warning Tyrael got before a lance of energy struck him, deflecting off his raised sword and shearing a gap through his shoulder-plate. He cried out in pain and stumbled to his knees, barely able to raise his left arm. His left side felt like it was on fire.
Imperius dropped Solarion to his side and strode up to where Tyrael sat gasping for breath. An angel tried to stand between him and the Archangel, but Imperius swept him aside like kindling. An armoured glove gripped Tyrael by the throat and raised him up till he could look into Imperius' hood. As with any angel, there was nothing but blackness, no eyes or expression.
"This is what your deeds and your mortality hold for you, Tyrael. Remember that when I snuff out your precious Sanctuary." Imperius said and threw Tyrael aside, leaping through the battle-line as a wisp of smoke.
"Lord Tyrael!" Linarel shouted in alarm and knelt at his side. Tyrael accepted his hand and stood slowly. Stabbing El'druin into the soil, he examined the wound. His armour was badly damaged and his shoulder underneath was burnt, a long groove of scorched flesh that leaked unpleasant liquids. It hurt to even look at.
"I have to go after Imperius." Tyrael said.
"But you're injured." Linarel said.
"You and yours have to hold the line, Linarel. Only I can follow. You can do one thing for me before I leave." Tyrael said.
"What is it, my lord?"
"Take this pauldron off of me." Tyrael said.
Sheathing his sword, Tyrael ran up the slope. The noise of battle fell behind him but it never went away. He said he had to follow Imperius, but what could he realistically do. As Imperius had said, they had fought before. It always ended the same way; Imperius won. Aside from their elder brother Malthael, Imperius had always been the strongest amongst the Archangels. But even so, Tyrael had to forge on.
Before long he came upon a scene of battle. 5 Horadrim lay by the wayside, their armour shattered and their blood staining the ground. Imperius must have come past here.
As he passed, he heard a cough and a shuffling of dirt. The scarred Horadrim woman had staggered to her knees even though her armour was caked with blood.
"Lord Tyrael." She said and coughed.
"Imperius did this, I presume." Tyrael said and kneeled.
"He tore through us like we were nothing." The woman said.
"I am afraid I cannot help you with your wounds. I have no knowledge in those matters." Tyrael said.
"I'll be fine, help me up. If you're going to stop that monster, I'm coming too." She said and held up her hand.
Tyrael began to protest but remembered himself saying something very similar to Linarel.
With the remains of her armour she was heavy, but after a short while she could walk on her own. As Tyrael wondered how, he noticed the flecks of power that were emanating from her eyes. Golden sparks of nephalem power. After they set into a run, they heard cries of pain and fear up ahead. They had caught up to Imperius.
The entrance to the caldera was through a narrow cleft in the peak and opened into a large space lit up by the magma smouldering within the mountain. The air was heavy with smoke and stiflingly hot. Dead Horadrim were scattered about, impaled or burnt. Imperius stood in the centre of the space, his form wreathed in lightning energy.
"Back! Get back!" Vaisoris shouted in the distance. The lightning was coming from his medallion.
Imperius grunted and with a tap of his spear against the ground, the lightning vanished.
The woman breaks into a run towards Imperius, but he is too far away, and she is still too far away when Imperius throws his spear, impaling the old arcanist. The woman screams and charges Imperius, slamming the full weight of her body into the angel, who does not budge. With an armoured glove he backhands the woman who falls to the ground before she slowly crawls towards Vaisoris.
Imperius did not even spare Tyrael a glance as he began walking towards the Soul Cage that lay on the ground, not a single protector left
In desperation, Tyrael closed his eyes and reached out with his mind. He might be mortal now, but his position as the Aspect of Wisdom, Malthael's successor, granted him some measure of power even now. But there was another Aspect he used to embody, one that had no form now.
The Courts of Justice sit without a lord. Auriel had said. Tyrael reached out for that familiar bond and grasped it with his mind's eye. It was like holding on to a bolt of lightning. Agony surged through his body but still he held on until it became simply a pain, then a warmth that went to his very core. Angelic power suffused his form for the first time in many years and when he took a breath, he realised he did not need it. When he opened his eyes, the world of Sanctuary looked as it had over a millennia ago when he first looked upon it with the eyes of an Archangel. Familiar white tendrils spilled from his shoulders.
"Imperius!" Tyrael shouted and rose to his feet. El'druin sat more comfortably in his hand than it had in years. His left arm gave not even a hint of pain.
His brother continued walking, sparing him not a mote of attention. His wings returned to him, Tyrael surged past Imperius and around to land on the narrow rock path, his shining sword held before him.
"Tyrael, what have you done?" Imperius stated in horror after a moment of confusion.
"What is necessary to stop you." Tyrael said. Mount Arreat rumbled beneath their feet. Soon it would not be an environment fit even for an Archangel.
"There will be no place in the High Heavens for this blasphemy." Imperius stated.
"That is not for you to judge, Imperius." Tyrael said.
With a roar of anger Imperius thrust Solarion at Tyrael who deftly deflected the thrust then rolled around the bull-charge that Imperius followed with, cutting at Imperius' back with El'druin. A whip of light from Imperius' wings slapped the sword aside but Tyrael did not lose his grip, pulling the sword from the wing's grip. Imperius whirled to strike at Tyrael, flowing into attack after attack as Tyrael blocked the strikes. Dodging a counterattack, Imperius leapt backwards and thrust Solarion forwards, firing a beam of golden energy at Tyrael. El'druin shined a bright white as it blocked and absorbed the raging energies. The struggle between the two ancient weapons filled the space with near enough light to blind, so Imperius charged, but Tyrael dodged aside at the last moment and moved his wings to snare the angel. For a moment he succeeded and Imperius struggled to disentangle himself, but before Tyrael could move to strike, the angel rammed his spear into the ground, releasing a torrent of energy in a column around him. Tyrael retracted his seared wings and deflected another strike from the spear but was too slow to move away as Imperius charged a third time, flying a few meters before landing on his back in the dirt. Tyrael struck out with his wings as Imperius closed in but the angel countered with his own and led way with the spear. The razor-sharp blade stopped a hair's breadth short of Tyrael's neck.
"A mortal can never stand against an angel." Imperius said.
"I never needed to." Tyrael said and coughed.
The storm in the centre of the space intensified suddenly, drawing Imperius' attention. The Soul Cage sat at the edge of the platform, one of the hatches open, the scarred woman slumped to the ground next to it, utterly spent. She held Vaisoris' medallion in her hand.
"Your rage and your prejudice blinded you, Imperius. They were your undoing." Tyrael said as Valla's soul sprang from the cage into the rumbling storm inside Arreat's core.
Imperius shouted and leapt over and past Tyrael, his wings carrying him further than Tyrael could intercept. Imperius thrust Solarion forwards, the blade beginning to glow red-hot with energy.
But before the Archangel could reach the glowing orb, it vanished then in an instant shifted into a tall humanoid composed of the same glowing energies as the Nephalem's soul had been.
"In the name of the High Heavens, what is-" Imperius said but before he could finish, the being turned towards him and surged forwards, far faster than anything Tyrael had ever seen. One of its hands closed around Imperius' throat and he was pushed back without any seeming effort, slamming into the rocky floor with enough force to dislodge rocks and dust from the ceiling.
"What are you?" Imperius said, his hands reaching for his spear that had fallen beside him.
"Your mistake." The creature said.
It placed a foot on Imperius' hand then raised its own opened fist. A wave emanated as the fist closed, stripping away all sound. Tyrael felt nothing as it passed him, but he saw both angel and demon vanish in the plain below Mount Arreat's caldera. In the blink of an eye, the raging battle was gone, not even dust on the wind.
"After this, there will be no more interference from either the Heavens or the Hells in the affairs of humanity. They'll be free of your schemes." The creature said.
"The Worldstone is shattered, monster, that is impossible." Imperius said, squirming in its grip.
"Watch me." The creature responded, then tightened its grip with such speed that Tyrael could hear something like a crack of thunder. Imperius evaporated.
The caldera was silent. Even Mount Arreat had quietened in the creature's presence.
"Who- what are you?" Tyrael said, trying to keep his voice level.
The creature looked at him and gently floated down to just above the rock floor. Its features shifted and a familiar face appeared.
"I have a name, you know." It said and came to float in front of Tyrael.
"Valla?" Tyrael managed to stammer after a long moment of confusion. Before him was Valla, but not in mortal flesh. The colossal energies of her soul had coalesced into the Nephalem's form.
"I knew you'd remember." Valla said with a grin, then her expression turned more sombre.
"Hello, Tyrael. It feels like forever since last."
"But, how?" Tyrael said, nearly speechless.
"You'll have to ask someone smarter than me. All I know is that I'm here now, and that it's over. For good." Valla said.
"What's over?"
"I can't explain fully. I said some lofty words, but I won't be around much longer in this form. I spent myself with the restructuring." Valla said.
"The restructuring?" Tyrael said.
"From this point on, no angel or demon can enter Sanctuary without my invitation. For good." Valla said. Feeling the remnants of raw power rolling off her, Tyrael knew she was not exaggerating.
"And if I won't be around for much longer, the deadline for an invitation is nigh." She continued. The echo of a smile on her glowing face.
On some level, Tyrael had known a decision like this would come soon. He turned around to the young angel behind him.
"Linarel, I need you to bring a message from me to the Angiris Council." Tyrael said.
"My lord." Linarel stood to attention.
"Tell them it has been an honour to stand beside them all these millennia, but this is farewell. Archangel, no, the man known as Tyrael will never set foot in the High Heavens again."
"My lord?" Linarel said.
"I would hurry away, angel, time grows short." Valla said before Linarel could continue. As if to prove her point, her form flickered in and out of sight in the blink of an eye.
Linarel moved to speak but kept his silence.
Tyrael took his sword in hand and held its blade in the air, but no portal came.
"I said it wouldn't work like that anymore." Valla said and reached out, lightly touching an invisible surface beside her. A ripple formed at her touch and as the small waves cascaded through the air, the innermost turned the colour of the light blue sky above the Diamond Gates. A blink of an eye later, the gates of the Silver City were visible through the portal Valla had created. The last that Sanctuary would ever see.
Valla and Tyrael were alone in the caldera now. For a moment, neither spoke. There was too much to say and too little time.
"It was an honour, Tyrael." Valla said. Her form shimmered for a heartbeat.
"Nay," Tyrael said, blinking away tears, "It has been my honour, Valla of Sanctuary, from the very first."
He moved to take her hand, such as it was, but she moved past it and embraced him. The 'skin' of her new form was warm, like the sun on a summer afternoon. It reminded Tyrael of ancient memories, of seeing the High Heavens for the first time. There they stood until Valla faded for good, the golden flecks drifting away on the wind.