The Grand Temple of Dawn stood tall in the eastern wing of Armathil—a towering monument of white stone, gilded archways, and prayers that never reached the gods.
Kael didn't knock.
He walked straight through the sanctified gates, sword in hand, black fire coiling around his boots.
The guards saw him.
They ran.
They always ran now.
[Inside the High Hall]
Rows of young paladins halted their training as Kael passed.
Some dropped their weapons in fear.
Others reached for blades, only to freeze when they saw his eyes—icy gold, ringed with black flame.
He stopped at the door of the Head Instructor's chamber.
The name etched in silver:
Sir Elric Varn.
[Flashback – Ten Years Ago]
Elric had been his brother-in-arms. The strategist. The calm voice during madness. Kael had once called him brother—not in blood, but in bond.
Elric was the one who held the execution order.
The one who gave the signal.
[Present – Inside the Chamber]
Elric stood at the center of the training hall, older now. Gray at the temples. His holy blade still sharp, still polished.
He didn't flinch when Kael entered.
"I wondered when you'd come," Elric said softly.
Kael's grip tightened. "Then you should've started digging your grave."
"I won't beg for my life."
Kael stepped closer, fire rising around him. "Good. Because you won't get the chance."
[Clash – Fire vs Steel]
Elric moved first.
His blade sang, holy light trailing behind every swing.
Kael met him blow for blow—his cracked crystal sword burning white-hot, each strike echoing through the temple like thunder.
They moved like former brothers.
Like saints trained in the same fire.
Elric struck high—Kael parried low.
Kael swept fire across the floor—Elric rolled beneath it, slashing at Kael's ribs.
Steel bit flesh.
Kael didn't even grunt.
"You haven't changed," Elric muttered.
"I have," Kael growled. "You just don't want to see it."
[The Turning Blow]
Kael knocked Elric's blade aside and drove him to the floor, sword poised over his throat.
Flames roared around them.
Elric looked up, face unflinching.
"Do it."
Kael froze.
"Do it," Elric whispered again. "Or admit you're not the monster they say you are."
Kael's hand trembled.
Memories surged—of battlefields, laughter, the brotherhood they once shared.
Then he saw the execution again.
The chains.
The betrayal.
[The Decision]
Kael drew in a sharp breath.
The flame dimmed slightly.
He leaned in close.
"You don't get to die easy," he whispered. "You get to watch. Watch everything you built fall."
He stood, turned, and walked away.
Elric stayed on the floor, hands clenched, breath shaky.
As Kael passed the stunned paladins, he left only a few words:
"Your hero spared you. Mine didn't."
[Later – In the Rain Outside the Temple]
Lucien waited in the shadows. "You let him live?"
Kael stared at his bloodied blade.
"Some deaths are too quick," he said. "And some men need to feel what it's like to be powerless."
His flame hissed in his palm.
"Just like I did."