The morning that came wasn’t lovely at all. It arrived with chaos and noise.
First, with Nisha’s voice shattering the pre-dawn silence.
"Cade! Summon your damn spirit!"
Her shout yanked me from sleep. The sun hadn’t even begun its climb yet, but the sky rumbled with fury, as if the heavens themselves were preparing to unleash something terrible.
I kicked off my blanket and sprang to my feet, already reaching for Kassie.
The sky cracked again. A pillar of lightning — massive, blinding — tore downward from the clouds. Straight toward us.
Kassie materialized above me instantly, her sword raised high to intercept the devastating strike. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the air, white-hot energy cascading over her blade.
As she absorbed the attack, something else shot toward me.
Nisha was locked in combat with Light Paladins that had surrounded her position. My awareness felt fractured, disjointed — everything happening too fast, at wrong angles.
The figure slammed into me before I could react, tackling me hard and sending us both tumbling deeper into the forest.
We rolled down a slope together, crashing through underbrush until we hit the bottom. The impact with a tree trunk knocked the wind from my lungs, pain flaring across my back.
The person who’d tackled me was already standing, their form resolving in the growing dawn light. Heavy white armor. Short brown hair flowing past their shoulders.
The figure turned fully toward me.
"Elena?"
"Yes. It’s me, Cade." Her voice carried something brittle beneath the anger. "So it was true after all. You know, I tried not to believe it. Everyone else spoke like they expected something like this from you, but I..."
She held a lance in both hands, advancing with measured, deliberate steps.
"I had to confirm it for myself after the Cardinal showed us the evidence. And then you attacked Kai — tried to kill him! All for what? Jealousy? And you lied to me!"
"What?" A dark frown creased my face. "I told you—"
I stopped mid-sentence.
’What’s the point? The Church already got to her.’
She wore Paladin armor now. Probably all of them had been initiated as Holy Light Paladins, fed whatever story the Church wanted them to swallow.
I straightened, letting whatever was left of my concern for them die. When I looked at Elena’s face now, it was the face of an enemy. Nothing more.
"You’re right, Elena." My voice came out flat. Cold. "I killed those people. I burned them to death. Because they deserved it."
I took a step forward.
"They watched an innocent person get burned alive, and all they felt was satisfaction. All they wanted was her agony. Her pain."
A laugh escaped me — soft at first, then edging toward something darker.
"You should’ve heard their screams, Elena. They were worse than any devil. You know, I’m starting to think mankind does a better job at being the devil than actual devils ever could. If those even exist to begin with."
My daggers slid into my hands as I began circling her.
Her face twisted with anger and grief as I spoke, emotions warring beneath the surface.
"Whether they’re clergymen, politicians, beggars... we’re all so damn good at it." I tilted my head slightly. "You wouldn’t know, of course. Not until you tried it yourself."
Another short, bitter laugh.
"Turns out killing was easier — and less burdening — than I thought it would be."
She looked at me then with something that might have been pain. Pity, even.
Then she swallowed it. Her face went blank, stripped of emotion.
’That’s right. Hate me. Don’t go thinking there’s something left here worth saving.’
"You know," she said quietly, "I actually believed the best in you. For a moment."
Then she moved.
No — she flew.
Her feet left the ground and she shot forward with terrifying speed, spinning mid-air before crashing both legs into me like a battering ram.
I crossed my arms to block, but it barely mattered. Cold lightning damage surged through my guard as her strike connected, and I flew backward, tumbling through soil and vegetation.
I rolled with the momentum and came up on my feet. She was already descending again.
I released a wave of red aura, subverting the atmosphere around us.
’Emperor’s Presence should slow her down — she’s lower level, it should hit her harder.’
The effect took hold immediately. My strength subtly increased, her movements should have faltered—
But she barely slowed at all.
She gripped her lance and leaped, twisting her body mid-flight to bring the weapon down like a hammer. I shot left, dodging by inches.
The ground shook. Soil exploded where her strike punched into the earth, the shockwave nearly canceling my balance. I righted myself and lunged forward with both daggers, throwing a kick at her lower leg — the only opening I could see.
She faltered. Balance disrupted.
My elbow flew up and smashed into her temple.
She immediately swung her lance at me, but the strike was sluggish from lack of momentum. I simply jumped back.
A small smirk climbed onto my face.
"You shouldn’t have forgotten your helmet at home. What, were you trying to show off that pretty face?" I paused. "Actually, you’re not even that pretty. I’ve seen girls on Pornhub who look better."
Her teeth ground together audibly. She shot at me again.
I jumped back to dodge. However...
She didn’t land.
It was subtle. Strange. Her legs levitated, and she twisted through the air multiple times as if the wind itself had seized her, spinning her like a top.
Her lance lashed out with brutal speed.
I raised my dagger to block. But the impact was monstrous. My dagger was smacked from my hand, the lance tearing through my knuckles in the same motion. Blood sprayed.
Elena unfurled from her spin and landed gracefully while I staggered backward, wide open.
"Cade Marlowe," she said, her voice ringing with finality. "This is your judgment."
She shot toward me with murderous intent radiating from every movement, enough to send ice down my spine.
But in that moment, a nasty smile spread across my face.
’It’s done.’
With this... I had no more ties to these people. No more anchors. No more pretending.
My grin widened in that fraction of a second as she lunged toward my defenseless position, lance poised for a killing thrust.
"Get out of my face, Elena."
White flames ignited between us.