Perfect — let's refine and pull everything together so Chapter Four hits harder, flows smoother, and leaves your readers
"Burn it all… Let the ashes tell their story."
Orion's voice cut through the thick smoke like a blade, cold and absolute.
King Edgar's bloodied body slumped against the shattered throne. His once-golden armor was now soaked in crimson. Yet even in death, his face held a fierce scowl — a final act of defiance etched in stone.
Orion stepped closer, grabbed the king's hair, and raised his head.
"You fought like a beast," he muttered, sneering. "But even lions bleed."
He spat and dropped the head with a thud, the sound echoing in the broken silence.
Behind him stood Songar, one arm wrapped in cloth soaked red, his other arm severed — lost to Edgar's final fury.
"That mad dog stabbed my eye and tore my arm from me," Songar growled. "Yet he's the one dead. What justice is that?"
"No justice," Orion replied. "Only war."
He turned slowly toward the burning horizon, smoke rising like a crown above the ruins of the once-great kingdom.
"But the Queen and the boy… they escaped."
Songar's remaining eye narrowed. "Then we chase."
"No." Orion raised his sword. "We hunt."
Beneath the castle, bloodied and breathless, Daemon dragged himself through the hidden tunnels. In his arms, the infant prince whimpered softly. Behind him, Queen Antonia struggled to keep up, her once-regal gown torn and dirtied, her eyes filled with horror — and rage.
"We shouldn't have left him," she whispered. "He stood alone…"
"No," Daemon said, chest heaving. "He bought us time. He gave his life. Now we must give his death meaning."
Suddenly, footsteps echoed. Laughter. Steel against stone.
The enemy was coming.
Daemon turned sharply and pushed the Queen behind him.
"If they reach us, you run. Take the prince and go."
"I can't—" she began, voice cracking.
"You must," he snapped. "You carry the last light of this kingdom. Protect him."
Antonia clutched the child, whispering a tearful prayer.
"I will not fail you, Edgar…"
In the throne room, Orion watched the fire devour the royal banners.
"This kingdom ends tonight," he said coldly. "Even the gods will not remember its name."
Songar stood beside him, silent, broken, dangerous.
"And if the boy lives?"
Orion's eyes burned.
"Then he becomes his father. And I would rather set the entire world ablaze than face another Edgar."
In the forest, Daemon burst from the hidden passage with Queen Antonia at his side. The child wailed. The night was cold. The sky, black.
Behind them, the castle burned — a ruin of war.
The Queen fell to her knees, trembling. "He stayed behind… and died so we could live…"
Daemon said nothing. He stared at the flames, then reached beneath his cloak and pulled out Edgar's sword — scorched, chipped, humming with the weight of legacy.
He raised it high, voice shaking with fury.
"Let this sword bear witness! For every drop of royal blood spilled, theirs will drown the earth! Edgar is dead—but vengeance is alive!"
Antonia stood, holding her child tightly. "Then let vengeance walk with us."
High above, on the scorched battlements, Orion stood alone.
The wind howled. Embers floated around him like fireflies of death.
He closed his eye and whispered,
"Let them run. The longer they live, the more they'll hope. And when hope is crushed... the pain will last forever.