The Sinner's Banquet

The Fire and the Crown

Fire rained down from the sky, turning the wooden fortress into a burning trap within seconds.

"Ethan, unlock your chains now!" Lyra demanded. She did not waste a single moment panicking. Instead, she slid a hidden lockpick from the lining of her boot and shoved it into the heavy keyhole of my iron bindings.

Her fingers were completely steady even as the stone ceiling of the cell cracked overhead. In this world, the upper city held total control over magic energy, using holy fire to burn down any slum rebellion before it could grow. Lyra had grown up watching her family burn under that same fire. She had learned long ago that fear only got you killed; speed and clear planning kept you alive.

With a sharp click, the iron bindings fell from my wrists.

I flexed my fingers, letting the dark energy rise back into my right hand. "Lily brought them right to us," I said, my voice heavy with anger. "She tracked the Blood Hawks here."

"She did not just track them," Lyra said, her face grim as she pulled her daggers. "She used the Blood Hawks as bait. She knew you would kill the patrol, and she placed a second tracking spell on their captain's armor. She played everyone."

We ran out into the courtyard. The scene was absolute chaos. Rebel fighters were clashing with fifty holy knights in gleaming silver armor. Commander Vane stood near the burning main hall, his broadsword covered in blood as he fought off three knights at once.

High above us, standing on the edge of the stone wall where the wooden palisade had collapsed, stood my sister. Lily wore rich robes of silver and gold, completely untouched by the smoke and fire. She carried a golden staff topped with a glowing white crystal—a symbol of the High Council.

"Rebel trash!" Commander Vane shouted, turning his blood-red crystal toward the wall. "You sold out your own brother!"

Lily looked down at him, her eyes calm and cold. "Ethan is a dangerous void user. High Priest Malakai has decreed that all void users must be purged to protect the city’s power grid. I am simply doing my duty to the crown."

She raised her staff. A massive ring of holy fire expanded around her, shooting three large fireballs straight toward Commander Vane.

Vane raised his shield, but the blast sent him flying backward into the burning rubble. The red crystal in his hand shattered into pieces.

"We need to go," Lyra said, grabbing my arm. "The camp is lost. Vane’s men are getting cut down. If we stay here, her knights will surround us."

"I am not running from her again," I said, stepping forward as my right hand turned into dark shadow claws.

[Player Status: Extreme Emotional Spike.]

[Skill Activated: Shadow Step.]

My body dissolved into black mist. I reappeared on top of the stone wall, right in front of Lily.

Lily did not flinch. She did not even take a step back. She simply looked at me with a faint smile, holding her golden staff between us.

"You grew up fast, Ethan," she said softly. "I knew the mine guard wouldn't be able to kill you. You always were stubborn."

"You sent those men to cut off my head," I said, my shadow claws twitching with power. "You gave Malakai my path."

"I gave Malakai what he wanted so he would give me this," she replied, touching the golden badge on her collar. "Do you think you can save anyone by living in dirt tunnels with rebels? The Nightshade faction has been losing for twenty years. They are weak. I am taking the city from the inside."

"By killing me?"

"By making sure only one of us has to make the hard choices," Lily stated. She raised her left hand, revealing a small silver ring on her finger. "I placed a seal on the lower core. If you attack me, the holy knights will detonate the energy pipes under the slums. Ten thousand people will die instantly."

My heart hammered against my ribs. She wasn't bluffing. She had calculated every single move before she even stepped foot in this forest.

"You became the very thing that killed our parents," I told her.

"I survived," Lily corrected coldly. "And you should too. Jump off this wall and run into the deep woods, Ethan. Take your little rebel girl and hide. If you ever return to the city, I will kill you myself."

Before I could answer, a dark shadow leaped up from behind her.

Lyra had scaled the outer stone wall without making a sound. Her curved dagger flashed through the smoky air, aiming straight for Lily’s throat.

"Look out!" a holy knight shouted from below.

Lily moved her staff just in time to block the dagger. The metal clashed against the golden staff, sending yellow sparks into the air. Lyra twisted her body in mid-air, landing on the wall and sweeping her leg to knock Lily off balance.

Lily stumbled backward, her cold mask breaking for a split second as annoyance filled her eyes. She pointed her staff directly at Lyra’s chest.

"Fallen rebel pest," Lily hissed.

A blinding beam of holy light shot from the crystal. Lyra raised both daggers to block, but the force of the blast lifted her off her feet and threw her over the edge of the high wall, sending her falling toward the jagged rocks thirty feet below.

"Lyra!" I yelled.

I didn't think twice. I jumped straight off the stone wall after her, extending my shadow hand to catch her waist in mid-air. We slammed into the mud at the base of the cliff, the dark energy absorbing most of the impact, but the breath was knocked completely out of my lungs.

Lyra coughed, wiping blood from her lip as she stood up. "I am fine. Move!"

We scrambled into the thick brush of the dark forest just as holy arrows rained down on the dirt behind us. We ran through the trees for twenty minutes until the sounds of screaming and burning wood finally faded into the distance.

We collapsed under the roots of a giant dead oak tree, breathing heavily.

[System Alert: Rebel Stronghold Destroyed.]

[Nightshade Faction Status: Scattered.]

[New Main Quest Triggered: The Void Awakening.]

Lyra looked at her broken dagger, her knuckles white with rage. "Vane is dead or captured. The rebellion is broken. And your sister controls the entire border guard now."

"She thinks we are running away," I said, sitting up as my void hand slowly faded back to normal skin. "She told me to hide in the deep woods."

"Are we hiding?" Lyra asked, her sharp dark eyes staring straight into mine.

"No," I answered. "She said the power grid controls the city. If we destroy the main energy core, her council robes won't mean a thing."

Lyra smiled for the very first time, a cold, dangerous expression. "Now you are talking like a real Nightshade."

Suddenly, a loud, unnatural howl echoed through the trees right above us.

The branches snapped. A massive creature with grey fur, glowing red eyes, and two extra arms dropped from the canopy, landing heavy on the dirt right between us. It wore an iron collar stamped with the High Priest's emblem.

A tracking beast.

The monster opened its huge jaws, locking its red eyes onto Lyra’s bleeding arm. But before it could spring, a silver spear flew through the dark trees and drove straight through the creature's neck, pinning it to the ground.

A tall figure stepped out from behind the thick fog, pulling a second spear from his back. He wore high hunter armor, but his visor was lifted, revealing a face covered in dark ritual tattoos.

"Ethan Cole," the hunter said, his voice echoing with strange magic. "High Priest Malakai sends his regards. Your sister isn't the only one who traded your life tonight."