Sunset Shimmer: Path of the Damned

by Blackdrag-rose

Enclave: Final Battle

A couple of hours passed before the forces of Hearthglen and Tirisfal reached their destination, finding that New Avalon was full of death and that Acherus was looming nearby, where they started to set up all of their weaponry, because they didn't have the message not to engage the Scourge. Sunset, now sporting the near full set of plated saronite armor, save for the helm, looked out at the scene before her with a smile on her face, as she could only image the battle that would unfold once the Lich King commanded them to engage their enemies. Of course their val'kyr had risen every slain Scarlet soldier and citizen who had been slain recently, forming an undead army that was far more than what the Scourge had started with in the beginning of this conflict. That was the beauty of the Scourge, no matter how many of them the living slew in battle they would raise the fallen and boost their number to more than what they had started with, usually drawing from the lines of their enemies to cause chaos among the ranks of the living.

In fact everything was in flames, allowing the Scarlet Crusade to see that the Scourge was in control of everything here, and their foes didn't seem to care right now, in fact it looked like the human soldiers wanted to destroy them first, before even worrying about the flames, much to her amusement as she watched them.

"Sunset, it is time to bring about the Scarlet apocalypse. The Lich King is waiting for you at Death's Breach." Darion said, a fact that interested her for a few seconds, though she simply nodded her head a little as the Highlord departed, as he was part of the force that would assault Light's Hope once the Scarlet army was destroyed and risen.

It didn't take her long to reach Death's Breach, where she found that the Lich King was standing on a raised platform that had a ramp leading up to his post, while the two Princes were on either side of him, standing in magical circles, with the rest of their death knights standing nearby, to which she walked part way up the ramp before kneeling and lowering her head towards her master.

"You have served me well so far, Sunset Shimmer, as you have caused death and destruction as far as the eye can see, all while burning the mark of the Scourge into the Scarlet lands," the Lich King said, where he seemed pleased with her, due to being one of his most brutal and soulless death knights, far worse than any who had come before her in such a short period of time, before he gestured to the burning town for a few seconds, "but more is required, for it is time for you to finish what you started. You, who have slaughtered all that stood in your way, without pause or remorse, and yet have been unable to fill the craving for death and destruction in your dark heart, will bring an end to the armies of the Scarlet Crusade, by commanding one of my frost wyrms and taking it into battle."

"It will be done, master." Sunset replied, though while she showed no emotion towards this decree, like most of her kind, inside she was excited and honored that her master was allowing her to bring about the end of the Scarlet Crusade, while riding one of his frost wyrms no less.

A frost wyrm was a dragon risen into undeath, possibly one from the Blue Dragonflight, one of the five flights that seemed to live in this world, and it flew down to them on the Lich King's command, stopping nearby as it waited for someone to get on it, before he transferred the ability to command it to her. With that done Sunset climbed onto her new mount and took off without delay, where she and her wyrm flew through the air and approached New Avalon, where she could hear the screams of the Scarlet soldiers as they witnessed her arrival. She found some ballistae scattered all over the place, as if they had been expecting a frost wyrm to show up, or maybe they had been planning on using them on Acherus, but she destroyed them with the power of her mount's icy breath, loosing spheres of icy power on her targets. Flying through the air was nice, dodging arrows and the bolts of the remaining ballistae, though Sunset found far more enjoyment in slaying the Scarlet soldiers and delivering despair to them when they realized that they couldn't hit her, as with her magic being able to sense incoming attacks she could move the wyrm before it got hit.

Due to her actions, and the Scarlet Crusade's soldier's inability to hit her, it wasn't long before the armies of Heartglen and Tirisfal were wiped out, broken before her cunning and might, allowing Sunset to return to where her master was waiting for her arrival and reach it in no time, leading to her kneeling before him once more.

"Sunset Shimmer, you are indeed worthy of being my champion, and so I bestow this helm upon you," the Lich King said, where she and the others found that he had a plated saronite helm in his hands, one that also hid part of her face and had tusks on either side of where her face would be, to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies, but it had been altered at little, to provide a horn for her horn and ears to slip through, to which she pulled her cowl off and let him place it where it belonged, "Your terrifying visage will tell our enemies that death comes for them, and that any who stand boldly before us will face a merciless end, driven into a corner by your incredible might. There remains but one task now, the end of Light's Hope Chapel and the deaths of the Argent champions who are currently hiding there. Go now, my champion, as the Highlord and Thalanor are awaiting your arrival before making my final command a reality."

"It shall be so, master." Sunset replied, as the moment she had been working towards was finally here, the Scarlet Crusade had been crushed, with only the Onslaught remaining in Northrend, and it was time for the Argent Dawn to join them in undeath, as her master raised his terrifying runeblade and channeled it's dark power, raising the fallen Scarlet soldiers as soldiers of the Scourge, many of the rank and file becoming ghouls with the commanders retaining their form.

As that happened, and the new army listened to their master's call, Sunset climbed onto her steed and rode through the nearby cave, as she received the directions she needed via her mental link to the Lich King, which he used to tell her what her orders were, all while not invading her privacy since she had proven to be his loyal weapon. The cave was more like a tunnel and lead to an area infected by the Scourge's power, part of the Plaguelands to be exact, though she didn't have a lot of time to waste as she headed down a path to her left and rode for a mill. There she found Darion, Thalanor, Koltira and Thassarian, and a few others getting ready for war, though she knew when the horn of war was sounded their forces would be summoned to do war with the forces of Light's Hope Chapel. For a few moments none of them said anything as she rode up to where they were waiting, either because they feared her or because they were relieved that she was part of this assault, she really didn't care to be honest, but she knew the silence would break eventually.

Sure enough it came in the form of Darion issuing his command, calling for the death knights of Acherus and the soldiers of the Scourge to rise and do battle with Light's Hope Chapel, though as Sunset rode into battle with the others she found that blood seemed to be raining from the sky, causing her to smirk as the Scourge followed her.

Not a few seconds later she found her targets, the soldiers and champions of the Argent Dawn, where she jumped off her deathcharger and impaled her first foe with her blade as her forces surged into the small area, forcing the defenders to raise their weapons as the other death knights joined her. By her estimates it looked like there were only three hundred defenders for Light's Hope Chapel, while the forces of the Scourge numbered far greater than that, easily between five to ten thousand total soldiers that could be brought down on this place if need be. There were a number of powerful foes for them to face, paladins and priests who were strong in the Light, far more than the Scarlet commanders she had slain back in New Avalon earlier, something she was able to confirm when she slashed into one's chest hard enough for him to call forth a barrier of holy energy to protect himself for death, causing her to change targets. Several knights rushed her at the same time, as if they knew that she was the far more important target to take down, yet none of them were ready for her to suspend them in the air with her magic, strangling them before ending their lives and tossing their bodies to the ground as she continued her onslaught.

Darion and the others proved to be great in combat as well, cutting down knights and forcing the stronger foes to shield themselves with some of their energy, not that it mattered since they'd fall once their power ran out, before something odd happened, the Ashbringer started to fight the Highlord's control. It was as if the blade sensed that there was someone more worthy of it's power in this place and, when confronted with the power of the Light, it remembered the purpose that it had been forged to bring about, leading to it fighting it's corrupted nature and master. For a while it was amusing, as he was supposed to be the blade's master, but it soon reached the point where Darion found himself unable to target any of his foes, the weapon refusing to hit any of the paladins or priests that they were supposed to be tearing down. Once that happened Sunset was less amused by Darion's lack of ability and was just annoyed that he couldn't control the blade, as he should have done something about this a long time ago, when he was raised with the weapon, to ensure that it was his and his alone, total domination of the weapon's will.

When the hundredth defender fell, however, Sunset felt the power of the Light surge over the area as another figure, likely a paladin who had been in hiding the entire time, rode over to them and stalled Darion with a single command, even if it was followed by a Light spell being used on all of them, as in her, Darion, Thassarian, Koltira, and the other death knights, save for Orbaz, who simply disappeared.

"Have you learned nothing, boy?" the figure asked, speaking to Darion and no one else, where Sunset found that most of her force was in front of him and she, on the other hand, was off on the side with multiple paladins maintaining a prayer to the Light, to keep her chained to this part of the field they had fought on, "You have become everything that your father fought against... much like that coward, Arthas, you have allowed yourself to be consumed by darkness, though I know why he does not dare to show his face, for he fears what lies beneath this chapel. He's sent you all to your doom, just like all those he's raised in the past."

As Darion opened his mouth to protest something happened, the Light seemed to drag out some memory of his, calling a figure who had to be his father and his younger self, though all Sunset saw was his weakness brought to life once more, a fact that enraged her. It was a repeat of what Thassarian and Koltira had revealed to her back in New Avalon, though as she called upon some of her power she found that the paladins and priests redoubled their efforts, in fact more came to aid them, showing her that the Light knew she was dangerous, likely pushing them to keep her contained. As she fought against the power of the paladins and priests, who were surprised by the fact that she was battling their strength and that she was drawing closer to breaking free, Darion faced the spirit of his father, Alexandros, who had been the Ashbringer before him, his father to be exact. If Sunset had been alive she was sure that this would have been touching, but since she was undead, an uncaring death knight that destroyed anyone who stood against her master or betrayed the lessons that had been instilled inside her, this just enraged her to no end and fueled her as she pushed through the Light's power, all while constantly surprising the paladins and priests.

When Alexandros' spirit got to whatever lesson he was trying to pass on, however, a death gate opened behind him and all of them watched as the Lich King, in all his dark glory, stepped out, though he mocked their 'touching' reunion before returning the spirit to Frostmourne as he declared that Darion, like all death knights, belonged to him, which enraged the Highlord as he picked himself up and charged at their master, who swatted him away like a fly.

"You're a damned monster, Arthas." Tirion, the higher ranking paladin that had turned the tide of this battle, stated, but as he said that most of the paladins and priests gathered themselves, because while no one had suspected that the master of the Scourge would show himself, while his forces were still struggling, they knew that they needed to be ready for his assault.

"You were partly right, Tirion, I sent most of them to lure you out into the open... how easy it was to do so, despite all the signs that it was a bad idea, but one I sent to take your head." the Lich king said, as it was rare for him to care about any of his minions, in fact Sunset was only aware of one undead that he cared about, that being the greatest lich of them all, the one he personally helped revive into his undead state, the great Kel'Thuzad, possibly two counting herself, "My champion has power beyond your imagining, and if you think this will hold her you are sorely mistaken."

Tirion barely had time to think about what that meant as Sunset shattered her bonds, the sheer force knocking back the paladins and priests that had been trying to bind her to one spot, while those who were nearby rushed at her, intending on taking her down before she could do anything. Such a thing was irrelevant to her as she swung her blade and crushed the weapons that her foes were using right now, breaking their maces and greathammers, the latter being the one that needed two hands, as she yanked others to her and cut them down. Tirion seemed surprised by her movements, how she could lay waste to the guards that were keeping her contained, without remorse for her dark actions, or without pause for that matter, while understanding what the Lich King had been saying, she was his dark champion. In that moment he had a few doubts about his skills, even Sunset could see it as she hacked through one of the paladins, and when he drew his sword she zeroed in on his position without delay, swinging her sword multiple times with enough force to smash through it, scattering fragments as she knocked him backwards with her force.

In the following moment she lifted her blade and her empty hand, using her powers to yank her enemies to her and just suspended them in the air, like she had done when she nearly strangled the life out of Thassarian, though in that moment, with her back turned, Darion picked himself up and hurled the Ashbringer through the air, which she sensed and moved her hand to catch... only to find that it avoided her hand as Tirion took hold of it.

"ARTHAS!" Tirion shouted, where the Light exploded out of him, taking out Sunset's power on him and everyone else, all while transforming the deathly Ashbringer back to it's original form, a shining blade with a floating golden circle where the skull had been resting, meaning his power had overwritten Darion's own.

Sunset knew what was coming and jumped back, allowing her to intercept the incoming attack that was meant for the Lich King, even though the Ashbringer smashed through her runeblade, breaking it into several pieces, causing her to discard the ruined weapon as she called forth her power and snatched the blades of the fallen. The Lich King had blessed her with a variety of skills and techniques, all of which granted her the ability to use different types of weapons and styles, so she switched from one two handed greatsword to two smaller weapons and rushed at Tirion as her magic rolled over the area they were in. As she lashed out at him, however, Sunset found that none of her weapons seemed to stand up or resist the power of the Ashbringer, as no matter what technique or style she used the blades broke, the greataxe was smashed, and anything else she seized was broken before the might of the Light. It enraged her that the Light, a force that usually only awakened paladins and occasionally answered prayers, or at least the Scarlet Crusade claimed that, would suddenly take such an interest in this fight and deny her the victory she had worked so hard to obtain for her master, fueling her desire to end Tirion and deny the Light whatever it was trying to do.

As she did that Tirion gathered energy in the edge of the blade, where Sunset recalled that Darion once told her about one of the powers Ashbringer used to have, Wake of Ashes, a powerful attack that dealt massive damage to the undead, and as soon as it was ready he swung it at her. Sunset reacted by summoning her magic, as she was planning on catching the attack and breaking it, which would open the way for her to cut him down and end this battle, but what happened before her eyes wasn't the power she had been told about, rather Tirion used one of his paladin abilities to stun her while most of her focus was on him. Such a thing allowed the holy energy to split apart and wrap around her body, where she found several spikes made out of some white material appeared around her, acting like posts for the Light to pass the energy through, allowing it to constrict her and drop her to the ground. As she engaged her magic once more, since it didn't mess with her horn and natural powers, she found that Darion and the other death knights had combined their green magical barriers, an anti magic zone designed to protect them, into a protective shell around her, designed to cancel out her own magic and render her horn useless.

In that moment she realized that many of their order were planning on betraying their master, after hearing that he didn't care for them, even if that should be expected, and, in her desperation, directed her thoughts to her master, willing him to live before the Light tore him down, especially as Tirion struck him with his new sword, knocking the Lich King backward a tiny bit and caused him to depart.

"Mark my words, Tirion Fordring, I won't rest until you, your order, and the traitors are slain and the master's will is made reality at long last!" Sunset stated, as she didn't want the Highlord or his allies to believe that they had won, especially due to the Light cheating and actively helping them in a fight they should have lost, rather she wanted them to know that this event would lead to their ruin and that, in due time, she would bring about their eventual defeat, "Do you hear me?! None of you are safe while I walk this earth!"

As she said that, however, Sunset found something messing with her body, likely the Light in some manner, and her eyes felt heavy for the first time since she was raised into undeath, where her head hit the ground as she passed out, unaware of whatever the future held for her and the traitors.

Comments

[zachary12]

nice work

[midnight arrow]

great chapter

[Nosoni]

Finally the DK starting zone is finished and the Traitors will feel Sunsets wrath

[Xpparda]

Epic chapter, thanks

[Blackdrag-rose]

11271815 Indeed they shall... but first she needs to get out of whatever she wakes up to and get a new weapon, since magic, alone, won't help her win this battle.

11271790 I'm glad you enjoyed it.

11271835 It is my pleasure to produce great chapters that readers enjoy.

[Glutbier]

Maybe Sunset will use her old powers when she still had the crown!(Remnants of Demonic Power) Ha Ha