The forest had burned behind them.
Not in flames — but in memory.
Every step that carried them toward the walls of Eldoria was heavy with the smell of blood, smoke, and the faint metallic tang that refused to wash off their skin.
The jungle was gone, but its ghost clung to them still — in their wounds, in their silence, in the echo of Ryn's monstrous roar that lingered between heartbeats.
The path to Eldoria wound through mist and ruin. The squad moved as one broken body — Ragna leading, Kaen limping a few steps behind, Riku and Darren helping the wounded, Draxion at the rear, dragging his blade through the mud like a funeral march.
They had entered the forest as warriors.
They returned as survivors.
---
The Return to Eldoria
The gates of Eldoria rose from the fog — walls of obsidian stone, veined with dull red light that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Above, guards stood faceless beneath iron masks, their spears angled downward as if ready to strike the moment anyone faltered.
When the gates opened, the sound wasn't welcoming.
It groaned like a tomb awakening.
Inside, the streets were too quiet. The air was thick with judgment. People who once saluted passing soldiers now hid behind curtains, whispering through half-open shutters.
"That's them…"
"The cursed squad."
"Followers of the beast…"
"Why keep that monster alive?"
Each whisper cut like a blade.
Kaen felt their stares crawl across his skin — judgment, fear, disgust. He wanted to scream that they didn't understand, that Ryn had saved them — but no one would believe him.
He could still feel the heat of Ryn's blood splattering across his arms, the tremor of the earth when his captain's body twisted, burned, and fell. That memory weighed heavier than any wound.
They reached the barracks near the inner wall. Healers rushed to them — pale men and women with hollow eyes, hands trembling from endless battles. The air reeked of herbs, smoke, and iron.
Kaori tended to Draxion's arm, Darren sat wordlessly with his hammer beside him, its head dented and dark, and Riku slumped against the wall, her braid undone, eyes flickering like dying embers.
Kaen sat apart from them, sword across his knees — its edge still blackened by molten stone.
The silence between them said what none dared to speak:
They had won nothing.
---
The Prison Below
By dawn, the bells of Eldoria tolled — deep, hollow, mournful.
Kaen woke with a start. He hadn't slept — couldn't. His dreams were filled with fire and screams.
He made his way toward the dungeon beneath the barracks, each step heavier than the last. The air grew colder, wetter, and thick with the stench of rust and despair.
Two guards stood before a heavy iron door, spears crossed. Their armor bore the sigil of the Council — black wings over a flame.
"I need to see Captain Ryn," Kaen said, voice sharp but trembling beneath.
"Not permitted," one guard said without meeting his gaze.
"He's my captain," Kaen snapped. "He saved us—"
The second guard's tone was rehearsed, detached. "He attacked his own. He's tainted by corruption. Judgment by fire at dusk."
Kaen's breath caught. "Judgment… by fire?"
The guards didn't move. Didn't blink. Statues of obedience.
Kaen glared at them until his vision blurred, then turned sharply and stormed up the stairs — his fists clenched so tight his nails cut his palms.
---
Ragna's Command
He found Ragna in the training yard, sharpening his blade beneath the pale morning sun. The rasp of metal on stone filled the air — steady, cold, rhythmic.
"You already know," Kaen said bitterly.
Ragna didn't look up. "The Council wastes no time when they smell fear."
"They're calling it treason," Kaen spat. "They're going to kill him."
Ragna paused, steel whispering to silence. He looked up, eyes worn and tired.
"I spoke to them. They won't listen. They fear what he became."
"He became that to save us," Kaen said, stepping closer. "You saw it. He fought that thing — the corruption — every second of it. And they call that treason?"
Ragna sighed, his voice low. "You can't fight Eldoria's laws, Kaen. The Council rules by fear, not truth. To challenge them is to burn with him."
Kaen's eyes blazed. "Then maybe it's time someone did burn."
Ragna's lips tightened. For a moment, a flicker of something — pride, sorrow — passed across his face. But he said nothing.
---
Gathering Shadows
Back in the quarters, the squad gathered in tense silence.
The air felt charged — anger mixing with exhaustion, fear with loyalty.
Darren slammed his fist into the wall. "Execution? For saving us?! Those bastards wouldn't last a second out there!"
Riku rose, her arm still wrapped in blood-stained cloth, her eyes burning with defiance. "We can't let them do this. You all saw it. That wasn't corruption — it was control. He held it back."
Kaen nodded. "And they call it treason."
Draxion's calm voice cut through their fury. "Words won't save him. Only proof or power will. We lack both."
Kaen's voice hardened. "Then we stand. We face them. They'll see his truth — through us."
Riku's gaze met his. "And if they don't listen?"
Kaen looked toward the window, where dusk bled across the city's sky. "Then they'll remember us instead."
---
The Judgment Hall
By nightfall, the heavens burned crimson — the sky itself mourning what was about to happen.
The Hall of Judgment loomed over the heart of Eldoria — a monolith of black stone and molten glass, veins of light pulsing faintly within its walls like trapped fire.
Torches lined the long path, their flames white and cold, casting no warmth.
The streets swelled with murmurs.
Faces in the dark whispered venom.
"They should've burned him already."
"The beast who turned on his own."
"That whole squad's cursed.".
"Eldoria doesn't need monsters in human skin."
Kaen walked through the crowd, silent. Riku's hand brushed the hilt of her blade; Darren gripped his hammer until his knuckles went pale. Draxion's eyes scanned the mob like a predator, measuring every heartbeat of danger.
When the great doors opened, the sound rolled like thunder.
Inside, torches hissed along obsidian walls. The Council sat upon their thrones above the chamber, cloaked in gold and black, their faces hidden behind emotionless masks.
Chains rattled as Ryn was dragged forward.
His body was a ruin of scars and burns, but his back was still straight. His eyes glowed faintly amber — the same light that once turned the forest into a battlefield. When he raised his head, Kaen saw defiance in his stare… and pain, buried deep.
The High Councilor rose. His voice echoed cold and precise:
"Captain Ryn Kaelor. You stand accused of corruption by forbidden blood, destruction of sacred land, and betrayal of command. How do you plead?"
Ryn's voice was hoarse but steady. "I don't remember what I became. But I remember why. To protect them."
The crowd erupted.
"Lies!"
"Monster!"
"Burn him!"
The Councilor struck his staff against the floor — silence snapped back into place.
"You claim protection," he said, "yet you unleashed chaos upon the sacred forest."
Ryn lifted his head higher. "Then judge me as a soldier — not a beast. Because the beast didn't choose. I did."
The hall froze. Even the torches flickered uncertainly.
Kaen couldn't stay silent any longer. He stepped forward. "He's innocent!"
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Guards tensed, spears raised — but Kaen didn't stop. His voice thundered across the chamber.
"You call him a monster because you fear what you can't control! He bled for you! He burned so you could live!"
Riku's voice joined his — fierce and clear. "We all saw it. He didn't lose control — he fought it. Every breath was pain, and he still protected us!"
The Councilor turned toward them, masked face unreadable. "And who are you to speak before judgment?"
Kaen's reply came like a blade drawn in darkness. "Kaen. Shadow-Stalker of Ragna Squad. The man he saved."
Riku stepped beside him. "Riku of the same squad. The one who watched him fight alone while we ran."
Silence again. The kind that presses against the chest and steals the air.
Finally, the Councilor spoke, his voice low, heavy.
"Then bear witness, both of you. For when dawn comes, the fire will decide if he is man or monster."
Guards seized Ryn and dragged him away, the chains shrieking across the stone. His eyes — dim but burning with unspoken words — met Kaen's one last time before the doors slammed shut.
The echo lingered.
Kaen and Riku stood frozen, breaths trembling.
Outside, the city whispered like vultures circling a corpse.
Inside, judgment waited — sharp, silent, inevitable.