The moonlight barely pierced through the heavy mist curling around the abandoned graveyard. Silent gravestones leaned and cracked, forgotten by the world. At the center stood a worn mausoleum, its doors slightly ajar — a perfect meeting place for those who no longer wished to be seen by the world above.
Inside, Lucien faced them: three figures cloaked in black and red. Lesser nobles, disgraced knights, outlaws — people disillusioned with the Holy Order and desperate for a cause.
Or rather, desperate for a leader.
And Lucien intended to give them one.
"Why should we follow you?" one demanded, stepping forward. A stocky man with a broken nose and wary eyes. "For all we know, you could be a spy from the Order itself!"
The others murmured their agreement, hands twitching toward hidden blades.
Lucien didn't flinch.
Instead, he removed his glove, revealing the faint shimmering pattern across his skin — an ancient marking, one the Church had long declared forbidden.
The others recoiled instinctively, recognizing the symbol. It wasn't demonic... it was older, darker, something lost to time.
"I am not your enemy," Lucien said, voice soft but carrying the weight of thunder. "I am the weapon that will bring down your true enemies."
Doubt flickered in their eyes. Fear danced in their hearts.
But Lucien had long mastered the art of manipulating both.
"You have two choices," he continued, stepping closer. "Cling to your broken lives, hiding like rats... or stand with me, and tear down the walls that imprisoned us all."
Silence stretched long and thin.
Then, one by one, they knelt.
Not out of trust.
Not out of loyalty.
Out of sheer, desperate belief that Lucien could offer them what no one else dared: vengeance.
As they pledged themselves to him, Lucien allowed a small, almost imperceptible smile to slip across his face.
Piece by piece, he was weaving his army from the discarded threads of the world.
And soon, even the demons would not realize until it was far too late...
That they too were dancing on strings he pulled.
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Chapter 8: End