The night was thick with smoke.
A Holy Reaper's carriage—flanked by guards in polished white armor—rolled through the western quarter of Armathil. The civilians had been cleared. No witnesses. No blood on record.
But Kael watched from the rooftops anyway.
The Reapers were the Church's executioners. Not saints. Not soldiers. Just silence dressed in robes and steel. This one—Brother Halric—had been the first to vote for Kael's execution ten years ago.
Kael remembered.
And he never forgot.
[Inside the Carriage]
Halric adjusted his hood, voice low as he spoke to the cleric beside him. "The Ashen Flame is a false Saint. A shadow. He wears Kael's face, but that soul is gone."
The cleric nodded nervously.
Halric scoffed. "Even if he was reborn, we will burn him again."
A voice replied from the shadows of the carriage.
"Let's test that."
The light crystal hanging above shattered.
The air turned to smoke.
[Outside – Chaos Erupts]
Guards screamed.
A blade of white fire split the carriage in half. Solas, now cracked and flickering with vengeance, carved through steel like paper.
Kael stepped from the flames. His tattered robes and scorched armor shimmered in the firelight. One eye glowed faint gold, the other ringed with black ash.
Guards charged.
They died in seconds.
One tried to pray—Kael spared him a quick death.
[Inside the ruins of the carriage]
Halric crawled from the wreckage, coughing blood. His holy sigils flared, forming a barrier around him.
"You... you were dead!"
Kael walked slowly, dragging his blade along the ground, fire licking at the stone.
"I was."
He raised the sword.
"And now I'm the punishment."
Halric screamed a blessing. A spear of light shot forward—Kael didn't dodge. It pierced through him… and hissed out as the black-and-white flame devoured it.
"You always feared the dark." Kael's voice was hollow. "But it was the light that betrayed me."
One swing.
Silence.
[Later – News Spreads]
Word hit the streets like wildfire: Brother Halric, First Reaper of the Church, dead. His body found burned, sword still in hand.
Some whispered it was the Saint, risen from the ashes. Others said it was a demon. The faithful called it heresy.
But in the dark alleys, the poor had a new prayer.
"Guide us, Ashen Flame. Burn the liars."
[Freya's Chambers – That Night]
She read the report twice.
Her hands shook.
Kael was no longer hiding.
He was sending a message.
And she knew exactly what it meant.
One by one… I'm coming for all of you.