Chapter 27 – The Chains of Heaven
The night sky above Zuvendis burned like a wound. The god's rift had not closed—it widened, spilling fire and shadow upon the ruins. Maniakes fought like a beast unchained, but the more he slew, the heavier the shadows clung to him, coiling around his arms and throat like living fetters.
Every heartbeat, the voice of his master grew louder.
"You are mine. Each life you take seals your soul."
Maniakes roared in defiance, driving his blade through a winged beast. Yet even as it fell, a spectral chain slithered from its corpse, binding itself around his wrist. He staggered, his breath ragged, realizing the truth: the battle was not meant to be won. It was meant to bind him.
On the palace balcony, Salera's tears blurred her vision.
"Do you not see? He is fighting them and himself!" she cried.
Arthelion clenched his jaw, hand tightening on his sword. "Every strike damns him further. If I must choose between my son and the kingdom, then—"
Salera seized his wrist. Her voice was sharp as steel.
"If you raise your blade against him, you will lose us all. I will not allow it."
Below, Maniakes fell to his knees, shadows dragging him down. His scream split the air as the god's laughter thundered:
"Kneel, Maniakes. Kneel, and ascend as my heir."
The chapter ended with Maniakes' eyes turning black as void, his blade trembling—not against monsters, but against himself.
Chapter 28 – The Mother's Bargain
Salera left the palace in silence, ignoring Arthelion's protests. She descended into the burning streets, her gown tattered by smoke and ash, her bare feet bleeding against shattered stone. Yet she walked with purpose, the cries of her people echoing like ghosts around her.
She found Maniakes amidst the corpses, kneeling in chains no mortal eye could see. His chest heaved, his voice a broken whisper.
"Mother… I cannot fight it."
Salera's heart broke, but she knelt before him, touching his face with trembling hands.
"You do not have to. Let me share your burden."
The shadows recoiled at her touch, hissing. The god's voice thundered:
"Foolish queen! His chains are not yours to bear."
But Salera did not waver. She pressed her forehead to Maniakes' and whispered words not of power, but of love—ancient lullabies, fragments of his birthright long denied.
For a moment, the shadows faltered. Maniakes gasped, and his eyes flickered—not black, but human.
"Mother…" he whispered, his voice that of a boy lost.
Arthelion appeared behind them, sword drawn, torn between striking and saving. His face was a storm of grief. But Salera raised her hand.
"Not steel, Arthelion. Not this time."
The shadows hissed louder, writhing like serpents, yet they could not break her touch.
The chapter closed with a chilling promise, whispered from the rift above:
"If love breaks my chains, then I shall bind her heart instead."
Chapter 29 – The Tyrant's Whisper
The fires dimmed, but not from salvation. They dimmed because a greater shadow spread across the city. From the rift descended a figure—neither beast nor god, but a shape cloaked in living darkness, its eyes burning like embers in a corpse.
The god's herald.
Its voice was silk and venom, carried on every wind.
"Maniakes… you were forged for this. But you cling to weakness. Shall I show you the truth of those who beg you to resist?"
The herald raised its hand. From the fire rose visions, cruel illusions:
Arthelion standing with a blade, ready to kill his son.
Salera kneeling, not as mother, but as queen bowing to save her throne.
The people of Zuvendis chanting his name, not in praise—but in fear.
Maniakes staggered, clutching his head, his scream raw.
"Lies! They are lies!"
Yet the herald's whisper slithered through him:
"Not lies, Maniakes. Truth. You will always be feared, never loved. Strike them down, and the world will kneel."
Salera's grip tightened on his face. "Listen not! My son, hear only me."
But Maniakes trembled, torn between her voice and the herald's temptation. His blade lifted, shaking, caught between salvation and damnation.
And as the chapter closed, the herald's final words rang through the night:
"Choose, Maniakes. One parent to save. One to slay. That is the price of your crown."