Chapter 47: Blood and Ashes
Lucian stood over Dorian's broken body, the world around them eerily quiet. Only the soft crackle of distant flames and the settling of dust filled the ruined air.
He stared down at the man who had once been a thorn in his side—a rival who thought he could climb to his level. A mistake.
Dorian coughed violently, blood splattering the cracked floor beneath him. His hands twitched uselessly, grasping at shattered pride.
"You lost," Lucian said simply, his voice cold and final.
Dorian tried to lift his head. "You think...this ends with me?" he rasped, a weak smile tugging at his lips. "There are worse monsters out there..."
Lucian knelt down beside him, his crimson eyes gleaming in the faint firelight. "Maybe," he whispered. "But they'll fall just like you did."
Without ceremony, Lucian rose, turning his back on the defeated man. Dorian wasn't worth another second of his life.
Evelyn walked up beside him, silent, watching the last flickers of Dorian's defiance fade into nothing.
"You're cold," she murmured, almost admiringly.
Lucian gave a half-smirk. "You have to be." He glanced sideways at her, a rare softness in his gaze. "In this world, kindness gets you killed."
She stepped closer, their shoulders brushing. Her hand found his, fingers intertwining for just a moment—brief, but full of unspoken promises.
They didn't need words.
The bond between them, forged in blood and chaos, was stronger than anything.
A loud KRA-KOOM! in the distance shook the broken city, snapping them out of the moment.
Lucian's gaze sharpened. "More trouble."
Evelyn tightened her grip on her weapon. "Let's finish this."
They moved together, two shadows slicing through the wreckage of a dying world. Unstoppable. Unbreakable.
Behind them, Dorian's final breath rattled from his broken chest. Forgotten. Erased.
Lucian didn't look back. He never looked back.
Because the future was theirs to carve out—
In blood.
In fire.
In absolute, ruthless dominance.
To be continued…
I'm sorry I wasn't able to write any new chapters earlier, but I'm fully back now and ready to keep the story going!