The throne room was no longer a place of triumph.Where once its obsidian pillars gleamed with polished splendor, now cracks spiderwebbed across the floor, and the great banners of the realm hung in tatters.The war had left the heart of the kingdom scarred — and its people fearful.Selene stood tall before her assembled council, though exhaustion weighed on her like armor made of stone. She wore no crown today, only her black battle cloak, still stiff with dried blood. At her side stood Adrian, pale but upright, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of a sword he hadn’t touched since the void.“The Master’s reign is ended,” Selene declared, her voice carrying through the hall.“We will rebuild. And we will protect our people — no matter the cost.”Murmurs of agreement rippled through the chamber.But not all voices were united.“Majesty,” said Lord Rhen, a thin, sharp-featured man whose loyalty had always been more ambition than devotion.“Forgive me for speaking plainly, but rumors a

The palace doors were shattered.Selene raced through the halls, her boots pounding over broken marble.Each corridor was worse than the last — walls blackened by shadowfire, tapestries shredded by unseen claws.Guards lay unconscious or dead, their bodies twisted in unnatural positions as though some dark force had tossed them aside like dolls.The closer she came to the highest tower, the stronger the pressure became.It was like walking into the eye of a storm, every breath thick with cold and despair. Hold on, Adrian, she prayed silently.Don’t let him take you from me.A deafening crack split the air.The tower shook, a wave of darkness rolling down its spiraling staircase.Selene didn’t flinch.She gritted her teeth and pushed through, her sword glowing faintly as she forced the shadows to part before her.At last, she reached the top.The chamber was unrecognizable.Once a sunlit observatory, it was now a throne room of nightmare — its walls weeping black ichor, its windows re

The palace gates thundered under the rebels’ assault, each crash shaking the ground beneath Selene’s feet.Splinters of wood rained down, torches blazed like false suns, and the crowd’s roar rose to a fever pitch.“Down with the queen!”“Give us the monster!”“Adrian must fall!”Kael stood ready at Selene’s side, his sword drawn and his face grim.“They’ll breach the gates within minutes,” he warned.“If you don’t give the order now, Majesty, there will be no stopping them.”Selene’s heart pounded. Her vision swam with memories of Adrian chained in the void, his voice breaking as he told her to save herself.Now, he stood at her side, trembling — a man and a monster both, barely holding himself together.The realm wanted to tear him apart.And Rhen wanted her throne.The crowd surged again, screaming for Adrian’s blood.Adrian flinched, staggering back as if their words were knives in his skin.Crimson flickered in his eyes — faint but dangerous.“Selene,” he rasped, clutching her arm

The courtyard burned.Torches lay scattered across the marble, some extinguished in pools of blood, others still burning where they’d been dropped.The once-proud banners of the crown were trampled into the mud, torn and stained with ash.Selene’s boots pounded across the slick stone as she raced toward Rhen, her cloak streaming behind her like a living shadow.Behind her, Adrian’s ragged breaths faded into the din of battle. Kael held the line, his sword clashing with rebel steel to give her the space she needed.This was it.The final battle.No more speeches, no more half-truths.Only survival.Rhen stood at the base of the palace steps, silver armor glinting red in the firelight.His blade was already wet with blood, and his smile was a predator’s — cold, certain, merciless.“Majesty,” he said mockingly, bowing low.“How gracious of you to deliver yourself to me.”Selene’s sword hissed as she drew it from its scabbard.“Drop the title,” she spat.“You forfeited it when you chose r

The night sky boiled crimson above the courtyard, the Master’s power spilling into the world like a poisoned tide. The palace walls trembled, fissures spider-webbing across the marble beneath Selene’s feet. Around them, the remnants of both armies had fallen silent, too terrified to move. Every eye was fixed on Selene and Adrian — on this terrible, final moment. Adrian stood at the heart of the chaos, his body held upright by the Master’s will. His gray eyes flickered like dying embers beneath the storm of crimson light, his face twisted in agony. Selene’s breath caught at the sight of him. He looked like a man drowning… And she was the only one who could reach him. “Choose, little queen.” The Master’s voice rippled through the air, thick and oily. “Strike me down, and you strike him down too. Save him, and your realm burns.” Selene’s grip tightened on Kael’s sword until her knuckles went white. Her arms trembled, not from exhaustion, but from the unbearable c