Ashen never thought he’d die like this.

  Kneeling on the ground, bound by chains, blood dripping from his wounds, he looked up at the figures surrounding him.

  once his comrades, now his executioners. The grand hall of the Eternal Sun felt cold, each stone echoing the silence of his impending death.

  He wasn’t special. Just an elite knight who had served the Order with unwavering loyalty. He had fought in their wars, executed their enemies, and obeyed their every command without question. Until he found it—a terrible truth they hid from everyone.

  “Ashen, for the crime of heresy and treason, you are sentenced to death.”

  The Grand executioner's voice was calm, emotionless, detached and saw Ashen as no more than an insect to be crushed.

  His fists clenched, nails digging into his palms. He had expected betrayal. From the moment he found out the truth, he knew they would never let him live.the absolute indifference—hurt deeper than the betrayal itself. The knights he had fought beside, the commanders he had trusted—they all stood silently, watching him being executed. Doing nothing as if they don't know him.

  He should have screamed, cursed them, thrown himself at them with all the fury he had inside. But he knew it was useless.

  “Is that what I was to you? All this time?”

  His voice was deep, rough from pain and rage.

  The executioner's eyes remained cold, unwavering. “You should have remained a loyal hound, and not questioned our way.”

  He imagined himself as they saw him: weak, blind, disposable. A hound that had served, and then discarded the moment it saw the truth. He gritted his teeth in anger.

  The executioner raised their bde. Steel shone under the hall’s torches, ready to sever his head from his shoulders.

  Ashen exhaled slowly, tasting blood and dust. If this was the end, so be it.

  The st thing he saw was the indifference in their eyes. Methodical raising of the bdes. The world dissolved into darkness.

  An endless void stretched around him, vast , no sight of light, warmth, or time. He should be dead. He was dead. And yet…

  Then, it spoke.

  “Pathetic.”

  Ashen turned his head around trying to find where the voice was coming from.

  “You served them like a hound… and they discarded you like filth.”

  Ashen’s fingers twitched. He tried to move, but his body no longer listened to his will. He floated powerless, the pain of betrayal gnawing at him like a living thing.

  “Do you regret it?”

  the voice asked.

  He turned the word over slowly. Did he regret it? Regret finding the truth? Regret refusing to look away when looking away would have been so much easier, so much safer, so much more survivable?

  His jaw tightened. His teeth pressed together until the pressure was the only real thing.

  No. He didn't regret the truth. What he regretted was the blindness that had come before it — the years of loyal, unquestioning service, the faith he had given freely to people who had already decided what he was worth. That was what burned. Not dying. The wasted belief.

  “You found the truth… Yet you were too weak to do anything with it."

  The words cut deeper than any bde. Weak. Insignificant. A mere pawn in a world of ruthless masters.

  “But weakness can be erased.”

  For the first time in the abyss, Ashen felt something else—a presence. Not human. Far greater. Far darker.

  “Rise, Ashen. If you desire vengeance… take my hand.”

  From the void, a hand of shifting shadows extended toward him. Its form was impossible to focus on, terrifying.

  Ashen hesitated. He had trusted once. He had been betrayed once. Trust was a luxury he could not afford.

  Then he remembered the cold stares. The betrayal. The steel cutting into his flesh. The torture he went through. Fury and desperation cwed at him. If he wanted revenge, this was the only path.

  He reached out.

  “Fine. I will take your hand. But what do you want in exchange? I don't believe in charity any longer. Whatever you are — you're not offering this for nothing. So tell me. What do you want in return?"

  he demanded, his voice steady despite the abyss surrounding him.

  The void seemed to pulse. A faint, almost amused ugh echoed. “What do I want? You will find out soon enough.”

  And then the darkness shattered.

  Ashen's eyes snapped open once more.