🏰 Scene: Kingdom of Halron – The Fall of a King
Far across the burning fields, in the once-great city of Halron—
A king knelt before his own throne.
Blood dripping from his mouth.Sword broken at his feet.
Above him stood a woman wrapped in divine light—her eyes silver, her hand radiating cold fire.
High Inquisitor Veyra—a secret weapon of Irelia, awakened now that the Replica had fallen.
"You failed to kill Kaien Everflame."
She spoke no louder than a whisper.And yet her words shattered walls.
"Now you will serve in death."
The king screamed.
And his soul burned to ash.
🌍 Scene: Flamebearer Camp – A Quiet Morning, A Brewing Storm
Kaien woke to a strange kind of peace.
Birds. Morning dew.No sirens. No spells crackling in the sky.
But something felt… wrong.
Subtle.
The kind of wrong that didn't come from monsters or armies.
The kind that comes from people.
Marcus was the first to notice it.
Recruits arguing.Captains second-guessing orders.New Flamebearers whispering about "what Kaien should do next."
Nikolai delivered the news bluntly at the war table:
"We're growing too fast.Too many new faces.Not enough loyalty yet."
He rolled out a parchment.
It wasn't a battle plan.
It was a list of potential traitors.
⚔️ Small Scene – Kaien Faces the Weight of Leadership
Kaien stared at the parchment without touching it.
Donovan crossed his arms.
"We can't just trust everybody anymore."
Seris leaned in.
"And if we don't start leading harder, someone else will."
Kaien closed his eyes.
He hated this.
Fighting gods was simple.
Fighting fear inside your own home?
That was harder.
🕊️ Meanwhile – A Shadow Watches
Across the ruined fields, unseen by any watchman, a figure in a cracked cloak stalked closer to the Flamebearer camp.
Eyes hollow.Movements slow, deliberate.Carrying an old, jagged crest mark on their palm.
Not sent by Irelia.Not even known by her.
Something older.Something that remembered the first flames of rebellion.
And it whispered Kaien's name like a curse.
🛡️ The Squad's Different Reactions
Reinhard: Tightened training drills. Hardened the squads.Aziel: Tried to keep morale high with jokes—and failed miserably.Monku: Trusted everyone. Too much.Lyra: Watched everything. Said nothing.
And Kaien?
Kaien felt his dream slipping.
"I'm not afraid of losing a fight.I'm afraid of becoming the kind of man who wins too much."
🩸 Set Up for a Future Threat
Nikolai warned them before nightfall:
"There's a bounty.Not on Kaien's head.On his people's."
Small groups were being hunted.
Flamebearers dragged from their tents, executed by invisible blades.
It wasn't war anymore.
It was a slow bleed.