Tanka Epic, Part 3

This is the third part of the Tanka Epic, an experiment in writing an epic poem where each stanza is a standalone tanka. If you haven't already, I'd suggest clicking the link marked "Tanka Epic" on the right side and finding the first part. Otherwise, click below to read!

The Lord of Madness,
Seeing his generals fall,
Howls his fury
To the empty palace halls
And collapses in his throne.

Never has Death come
To the halls of the Black King,
Nor come close to him
And visited upon him
Its own frigid apathy.

Sitting alone now
On his obsidian throne,
His head in his hands,
The Dark Lord broods upon Death
As It knocks upon the gates.

Glancing once again
Into the Pool of Far Sight,
A smile rises
Suddenly upon the gray lips
On the Demon Prince’s face.

All is not lost now.
A wicked cackle echoes
Through the Onyx Court.
He throws himself from his throne
And strides with renewed purpose.

The heroic Knight
Reaches the Onyx Palace
Without his comrades.
With a remorseful look back
At the dead, he presses on.

The glassy gates shake
Beneath the Knight’s broad shoulders.
Slowly they open,
Revealing the Lord’s courtyard
And the Seraph’s goal beyond.

Maki’s Blade in hand,
He moves inexorably
Into his dark foe’s
Abyssal dominion,
Ready to avenge his men.

Crashing through the doors
Into the castle’s foyer,
The Knight’s ears prick up
At the sound of cackling
Echoing down the dim halls.

The laughter leads him
Through the crazing labyrinth,
Deeper down into
The palace’s catacombs
Where lay the tortured and damned.

His glowing armor
Cuts through the shadows ahead,
Revealing his path
Deeper into Hell’s soil
Where death or glory awaits.