In that moment, the question was no longer who would strike first… but who would fall last.
From the top of the gallery, Ronen stood.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgE2NGWDT4X
He was no longer waiting for ritual,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15JnMcKqaS
nor for solemn silence,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejBCJ7kLHI
nor for a prolonged chant of blood.
All he wanted now18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWDMBYvsau
was a swift ending18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQDNemjGYc
decided by force,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3RhV4XLx2
sealed by fear.
The caravan entered the square.
An iron cage groaned beneath the weight of its chains.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGXYZMrsY01
The sound of metal grinding against stone18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZFp8UQ2d0
was like the scraping of the city’s own nerves.
From inside it,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhiLMOgbvMH
the screams burst forth.
The child’s mother cried out his name,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4bEzvcOtm
her voice shattering with every step,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBXfX9NF0t
while his grandmother beat her trembling hands against the iron,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8bBwxD1yH
as though trying to break fate itself, not the bars.
The child…18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9n2E33sFEj
was still.
He did not cry.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZCPn96TUt
He did not resist.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpIxayPINv
He stared with eyes that could not understand18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPL3PSH60nP
why life was being torn away around him18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmg7nblplAC
without being asked.
He was pulled from the cage.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKp3kzpaBM
Placed upon the designated stone.
The stone was cold.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfiYEttybLA
The carvings beneath him pulsed with ancient blood.
A broad sword rose above his head.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL2xvGsMHJi
The ritual blade settled into the executioner’s grip18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBR5rO5kS6
steady,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm21Yu8Yunc
as though it had been born there.
Across the square,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrM5fjwANq4
the guillotine stood raised,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2uym5IplZ
and the bound figure18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwAoyLeYRgQ
the one everyone believed to be the king18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡybdwkPmvfu
stood beneath it,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevEk7RvUdm
silent,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7RvyXrjrra
asking no mercy,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLiVN1Epg8n
offering no fear.
Ronen raised his hand.
His voice thundered across the square like an unappealable verdict:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡic8RlYmfJ0
“Begin.”
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJj6aeFSys
The strike did not fall.
Before the blades could descend,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfqSSoqsDE
uproar exploded from every direction.
From within the stands,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUeyhRdUf9
from behind the columns,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8P8palMPV
from beneath the platforms18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgtB9A2x3q
the Ghouls moved.
At a single signal from Ghilis,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcyDKIoFLOK
they rose as one body.
They did not scream.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2vxA1zF1n
They did not rush blindly.
They advanced with crushing steadiness,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtg1BeJqJD
their steps shaking the ground,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIyBzNZs88
their bodies tearing through formations.
Spears shattered.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRlt5foKks
Ranks collapsed.
One Ghoul seized a human soldier,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7FNILF6tr
lifted him as though he weighed nothing,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdHSpSvTBwK
and hurled him into the ranks18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxE0AAJlBAS
and order unraveled in an instant.
Another blocked an entire passage with his body,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVL7hDpbipW
absorbing blows,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSpunq7dj5
never retreating,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQ2MRaLUIL
as though pain no longer knew the way to him.
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMHLFVDUcL
Naher gestured.
He did not need more than that.
His aura spread.
The djinn around him18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡju0hCinifG
lost their breath first18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MYPa7zDP4
then their will.
Some joined him instantly,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ619udu9buT
as though obedience had been waiting for permission.
Others had their resolve drawn out of them18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQSLiq31aGF
like smoke pulled from fire18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCYUpi7QNW
empty,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWwR88F5Rg
compliant.
Naher’s soldiers did not fight with weapons alone.
One vanished18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7FwNQ4HSWm
then appeared behind three Ghouls at once,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKD34d2jkvs
driving claws into their necks18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡStiGxNNuwS
before they sensed his presence.
Another extended his shadow,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡawGfCW18U4
turning it into black ground18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9HhNBOe5EP
that swallowed fighters’ feet18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1vDVVTWsj
and halted their advance.
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrtuXbFfZe9
From a side passage,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtq9F1K70uh
the wall split open.
Nehram emerged18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiuoFbLWWho
with what remained of his men18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuncn8NZlAN
and a number of Ghouls.
He placed his hand upon the stone18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7eWa7oNP36
opening one path,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ49YQbjxQZB
sealing another.
He fought with the place itself.
A guard tried to encircle him;18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dJsyEFmhS
the wall behind the guard became a door,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkCzOiD69kU
and the man fell into nothingness.
But for every step forward,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8D3RVgi92p
another wave of Naher’s forces answered.
The aura widened.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLIQMyIvK5
Pressed.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqkigguGIp
Suffocated.
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxN9EhhTqmo
Rayhan unleashed a storm of sand,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkhdZwXWEo
blinding eyes,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTm78pbSrV
warping distance,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbZB4BltW2
twisting direction.
But the djinn adapted.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRqwnQvo904
They began to fight without sight.
Solan, above18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysSPyLgMPU
among ropes and ceilings18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWMjurVTHC
cut,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPHFbjrO9o
dropped,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMDDJfmJCP
and bound.
He brought down two commanders,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMYZtb01JbL
but a third djinn18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrNqK5AZar
passed through the ceiling itself18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zoKgwT36u
and forced him back.
Karem detonated trap after trap18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgGP4eXT9P
flash,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXjT0uTWlq
confusion,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7hx3dMcYY
collapse.
But the numbers…18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡInmwXG7MJQ
were too many to contain.
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6gZY8AM6rC
The balance began to tilt.
The Ghouls fell.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRQva9GSOx
Not one.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6hXucn36e
Not two.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgnD2lHsV7
But rows.
Some succumbed to Naher’s aura,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWFhbaM2hd
ceasing to fight,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ11s3y9Muya
as though their souls had been drawn from their bodies.
Others were surrounded,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HBCvWNLU6
bound by sigils18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDAuNaC4eiJ
that would not break.
Ghilis shouted,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOvLs7rDTw8
trying to reorganize,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtReFDbW7iN
but the pressure was immense18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwyybB1Ob4
like a wall descending slowly,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQTWAsf0vJn
without mercy.
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTlEabzUNW
The Mask Falls
At the guillotine,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7IhZUHjxJf
the blade dropped.
But the body…18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4O4mmDTLi
vanished.
It dispersed like smoke,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3tZTnjMjo
as though it had never been human at all.
A cry of shock ripped through the square:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgKS08UPKr
“It’s not the king!”
In the same instant,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjNauwvIkT
Naher signaled.
The djinn surged.
Ronen screamed,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoWOmPENIKs
his rage exposed, his voice cracked:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6CxaF9Hw5
“Bring back the king!18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbYS5UbQPx8
Now!”
An entire unit moved18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4bQN4mhlkN
toward Nehram.
It was clear to all:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjoIEIA9jej
the king was there.
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemib2E7Rum
Aram’s forces retreated.
It was not flight18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUx4J0UGkO
but forced withdrawal.
Positions fell18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5TxEmcyTvT
one after another.
The aura tightened its grip.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnH6n0AEsxC
Numbers betrayed skill.
From atop the gallery,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYO9n1fiXN
Ronen watched the burning square.
He smiled.
He had not won yet…18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rl01oxCue
but he was close.
And in that moment,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtiUKVvOxzI
Aram was nowhere to be seen.
No one knew18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLyXC73wwnA
where he would strike…18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvyR7kVgrD6
or when.
But Saba,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8L13aij7m
which trembled beneath everyone’s feet,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsrv2tSdIY
was on the verge of witnessing18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfknVKHl809
the blow18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPK6sBuAfQb
that had not yet been seen.
and then Add to home screen.