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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmes9gLA8iF
He was no longer waiting for ritual,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7FMwnxS1c
nor for solemn silence,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwKux1gwjA
nor for a prolonged chant of blood.
All he wanted now20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZU0u5DXd5F
was a swift ending20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjsgSRKUhZ
decided by force,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡobCXB9Gi7J
sealed by fear.
The caravan entered the square.
An iron cage groaned beneath the weight of its chains.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡackzYivBlD
The sound of metal grinding against stone20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67IUuwlAoo
was like the scraping of the city’s own nerves.
From inside it,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BjRgsl9G0
the screams burst forth.
The child’s mother cried out his name,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEMkvRRKlDZ
her voice shattering with every step,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQiWBvttxnZ
while his grandmother beat her trembling hands against the iron,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡno83gxBmsH
as though trying to break fate itself, not the bars.
The child…20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7edbP9gpn
was still.
He did not cry.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPncBjy9xu
He did not resist.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMkUhfhcbiR
He stared with eyes that could not understand20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG0Bu6ua1KX
why life was being torn away around him20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4t3p7xTEtD
without being asked.
He was pulled from the cage.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4X9UMhG6B
Placed upon the designated stone.
The stone was cold.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4B74Gb0Fs
The carvings beneath him pulsed with ancient blood.
A broad sword rose above his head.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2PcdQSzDu
The ritual blade settled into the executioner’s grip20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfwuGnnYGW
steady,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjgQGVF91QS
as though it had been born there.
Across the square,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElmd6imIRA
the guillotine stood raised,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQp3npZ4Xns
and the bound figure20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN9vAMeH5GS
the one everyone believed to be the king20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOABTWLaysD
stood beneath it,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjnX8XEC3e
silent,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzfgVwCdt8
asking no mercy,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSY9KUfYk1V
offering no fear.
Ronen raised his hand.
His voice thundered across the square like an unappealable verdict:20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2r80w7GDp
“Begin.”
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUHXzyM3j2
The strike did not fall.
Before the blades could descend,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCeYyRBo41
uproar exploded from every direction.
From within the stands,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkX3h8KUSM
from behind the columns,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRl8GrKojFx
from beneath the platforms20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuV1EEvZiqh
the Ghouls moved.
At a single signal from Ghilis,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqL483hW8HK
they rose as one body.
They did not scream.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7gXhtnDZA
They did not rush blindly.
They advanced with crushing steadiness,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzcvhoAg7b
their steps shaking the ground,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwX0eBxM8P
their bodies tearing through formations.
Spears shattered.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVaSx0RLaTy
Ranks collapsed.
One Ghoul seized a human soldier,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIAHNKFEcH
lifted him as though he weighed nothing,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiche4fATnL
and hurled him into the ranks20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrKVWm1kJ0
and order unraveled in an instant.
Another blocked an entire passage with his body,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDa6X0QepXB
absorbing blows,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4hDwPlMVGb
never retreating,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7qYQBfPeQ
as though pain no longer knew the way to him.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIC87MMpDLp
Naher gestured.
He did not need more than that.
His aura spread.
The djinn around him20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8L4Q7zsc7
lost their breath first20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuN11XmktVD
then their will.
Some joined him instantly,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8iSZisCNNi
as though obedience had been waiting for permission.
Others had their resolve drawn out of them20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rggZcTCE3
like smoke pulled from fire20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUrr8qjEqLX
empty,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6o4rgUthjO
compliant.
Naher’s soldiers did not fight with weapons alone.
One vanished20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlY1e9LLNT
then appeared behind three Ghouls at once,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTMIozXx129
driving claws into their necks20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51F4XpxAKK
before they sensed his presence.
Another extended his shadow,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe148w8vJ1J
turning it into black ground20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNkgXYQwZj
that swallowed fighters’ feet20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAr6ZCRuBi8
and halted their advance.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr5S95aFuId
From a side passage,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ZbifVzLjt
the wall split open.
Nehram emerged20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3SXq5AZwkb
with what remained of his men20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJE3H8Zw4s0
and a number of Ghouls.
He placed his hand upon the stone20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7U0K7b87h
opening one path,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmT1QJNPd3
sealing another.
He fought with the place itself.
A guard tried to encircle him;20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBwui84MdM
the wall behind the guard became a door,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwD2JxvNqm
and the man fell into nothingness.
But for every step forward,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxaPsGuHIg
another wave of Naher’s forces answered.
The aura widened.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9Ij3mih0q
Pressed.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6lKKYKm8Z
Suffocated.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuhAXJCkGc
Rayhan unleashed a storm of sand,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Bun5Ng8Uy
blinding eyes,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVbnZRycj5
warping distance,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZL09bSEIC
twisting direction.
But the djinn adapted.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDPaoTyqzD
They began to fight without sight.
Solan, above20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYflHwauP1
among ropes and ceilings20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKPYNOdznT
cut,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCYB90W0S0
dropped,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVWMzq1e7i
and bound.
He brought down two commanders,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSo17c6gtrn
but a third djinn20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4mTVhSayD
passed through the ceiling itself20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuacIVdHY3
and forced him back.
Karem detonated trap after trap20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiugiCAK8bv
flash,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccJU6LvEMZ
confusion,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuigDrHfJsT
collapse.
But the numbers…20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2MelULODwn
were too many to contain.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJFvZyCXjm
The balance began to tilt.
The Ghouls fell.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDOIzri0JB
Not one.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3LuGCYZRvP
Not two.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSGE78MnlO
But rows.
Some succumbed to Naher’s aura,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9euNamKpkQ
ceasing to fight,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQVLuawtAHV
as though their souls had been drawn from their bodies.
Others were surrounded,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xmIJS0dy2
bound by sigils20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡATDJ1aloYw
that would not break.
Ghilis shouted,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRmwRAb8yL
trying to reorganize,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8aVj9L2pv
but the pressure was immense20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4h337vfmBg
like a wall descending slowly,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMz2Nzib3B
without mercy.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY1ktnzkdsD
The Mask Falls
At the guillotine,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNE34yBoymA
the blade dropped.
But the body…20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡilttfLQpUQ
vanished.
It dispersed like smoke,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWr6NPgcxU8
as though it had never been human at all.
A cry of shock ripped through the square:20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb3kzSaOZCP
“It’s not the king!”
In the same instant,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qb30HVoO8
Naher signaled.
The djinn surged.
Ronen screamed,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmtbzM2ni2
his rage exposed, his voice cracked:20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡioCkrcg6Gt
“Bring back the king!20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsI9FQJxepy
Now!”
An entire unit moved20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QtmRx4luP
toward Nehram.
It was clear to all:20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFPtN2HpoK
the king was there.
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhEipxxjPLa
Aram’s forces retreated.
It was not flight20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqMxrUK4A0
but forced withdrawal.
Positions fell20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvpYVSjYphp
one after another.
The aura tightened its grip.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jOGfrNn9H
Numbers betrayed skill.
From atop the gallery,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjGiHiHYvU
Ronen watched the burning square.
He smiled.
He had not won yet…20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrc8w8O6XS
but he was close.
And in that moment,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGS5uxLfBf
Aram was nowhere to be seen.
No one knew20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8XvyHhQkx
where he would strike…20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0VkvzCH9l
or when.
But Saba,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0A3EimfwT
which trembled beneath everyone’s feet,20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4yDt2pCFf
was on the verge of witnessing20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ2O8RHAkHc
the blow20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXGasobgJDC
that had not yet been seen.
and then Add to home screen.