Chaos gripped the capital like a fever.
Smoke choked the skies, casting a pall of ash over the once-sacred city of Valmerith.
Streets that once echoed with hymns now trembled with the fury of protestors.
Cries of anger thundered outside the Cathedral walls, drowning the last vestiges of reverence.
The Hero—once a beacon of faith, once divine—had become the eye of a storm.
"Did the gods ever favor him?"
"Was he ever holy—or just their weapon?"
The whispers spread like disease.
And in the heart of it all, the Hero knelt—alone—on the cold marble floor of the Cathedral's inner sanctum. Blood still stained his hands, though it was not fresh. The stains lived deeper now.
Before him, High Priest Gregorin stood shrouded in the golden glow of the altar flames.
Once a father figure. Now a judge. A sentence waiting to be spoken.
"You were meant to restore the Church's light," Gregorin said coldly. "Instead, you've drowned it in shadow."
The Hero raised his head, eyes hollow. "I tried to uphold justice—"
"Silence."
Gregorin's voice cracked like thunder.
"You do not get to speak of justice. You slaughtered two dissenters in public—and in doing so, you opened a gateway of heresy."
The Hero staggered, breath shallow. "I didn't know about the sigil—"
Gregorin's expression was carved from stone.
"Intent does not absolve corruption."
The words sliced sharper than any blade. The man who had once called him chosen now looked at him with disgust.
"The nobles demand answers. The faithful waver. And you... you've become a liability."
The Hero's heart pounded. "You would cast me aside?"
Gregorin's eyes narrowed.
"I would bury you, if it meant preserving the faith."
A beat of silence.
Then came the verdict.
"You are stripped of your title. Your sword, your blessings, your status—all revoked. Leave this city. Seek redemption in exile. Until then... you are nothing."
It hit him like a fall from heaven.
The Hero—the Holy Blade of Eternia—was no more.
Across the city, Kael leaned back in his velvet chair as Evelyne approached with measured steps.
"It's done," she said. "Gregorin cast him out."
Kael didn't look up from his glass of wine.
"Good," he murmured.
Evelyne arched a brow. "No triumphant speech?"
Kael's eyes glittered in the candlelight.
"This was never about stripping his title."
"It's about shattering what's left of him."
He placed the glass down gently.
"The divine mantle was just a mask. But now? Now I'll burn the man beneath it."
Evelyne leaned closer, intrigued. "And how do you plan to finish him off?"
Kael smiled.
"By taking what he still believes he has left."
"Her."
Somewhere deep in the forests of Eldwyn, a cottage lay veiled in storm and silence.
Rain drummed against the windows. Lightning carved scars across the sky.
Inside, the Hero sat by the hearth—no armor, no sword. Only a broken man lost in his own breath.
He barely noticed her approach.
But when he turned—he saw her.
The woman he had loved beyond all things.
Warmth in her smile. Worry in her eyes.
"You'll catch a cold," she whispered, offering a towel.
He took it without a word. His hands trembled.
"You're not alone," she said.
He closed his eyes. For the first time in days, the cold retreated from his bones.
She was still here. She hadn't turned away.
And in that fragile moment, he clung to her presence like a man drowning in the dark.
But he didn't know—
She was already Kael's.
Back in his study, Kael finished writing a letter—his pen slicing through the parchment with surgical precision.
Evelyne lounged nearby, swirling wine in her goblet. "Another move?"
Kael folded the letter, sealing it with his insignia.
"A seed of doubt. One letter is all it takes to turn a heart... against itself."
He handed it to a cloaked messenger. "She'll read it in secret. And when she does, the war inside her will begin."
Evelyne watched the messenger vanish into the night.
"You're unraveling him piece by piece," she said. "Ruthless."
Kael's smirk returned.
"He was their light. I will make him crave the dark."
A gust of wind extinguished one of the candles. Only Kael's eyes remained lit—burning like stars in the void.
To Be Continued...