Two Hours Later - Capital Outskirts
Draven arrived on horseback. Seven-hour ride from Ashen Fields. Forty kilometers per hour sustained pace. Two hundred eighty kilometers covered.
He dismounted at capital's eastern approach.
What he saw stopped him completely.
Sixty percent of capital destroyed. Eastern quarter: gone. Government district: rubble. Residential sprawl: partially collapsed, fires still burning.
One hundred twenty thousand survivors gathered at western edges. Traumatized. Shell-shocked. Staring at ruins.
And in the center, kneeling in massive crater: Malvorn. Twenty-five stories tall. Unmoving. Head bowed.
"Gods above. One hundred eighty thousand dead. He killed so many"
***
Through Codex, distant connection to pack:
Zor's voice: *Bearer. Can you reach him now?*
"I do not know. But I have to try"
Deeper inside Codex, Worldroot Dragon stirred.
"Now is the moment, Bearer. Rage has exhausted itself. Grief is present. Awareness has returned. He is ready—or he never will be ready"
Draven touched the Codex briefly. Drew strength from it. Then began walking.
***
Through the Ruins
Five hundred meters from city edge to where Malvorn knelt. Draven walked slowly. Carefully picking path through rubble.
Survivors watched. Who was this man? Walking toward god? Was he insane?
One survivor—merchant who escaped the stampede—whispered to another. "Is he trying to get himself killed?"
"Maybe. Or maybe he is only one who can do something"
***
Draven reached one hundred meters from Malvorn. Called out. Voice carrying across devastation.
"Malvorn! The Shatterlord! I see you!"
Malvorn's head lifted slowly. Painfully. Molten gold eyes focused downward. Saw human. Small. Insignificant compared to Overlord scale.
But something familiar. Resonance familiar. Where had he felt that resonance before?
***
Draven moved closer. Fifty meters now.
"I am Draven. Fragment-bearer. I freed you. My people broke your shackles at Ashen Fields. You are free because we chose to free you"
Malvorn's voice rumbled. Confused. Magnitude-three tremor with each word.
"You freed me? Why would you do that?"
"Because slavery is wrong. Because two hundred years was long enough. Because you deserved choice. Deserved to live unchained"
Malvorn looked at ruins surrounding them. Bodies visible beneath rubble. Smoke rising. Destruction everywhere.
"And I chose this. Destroyed entire city. Killed one hundred eighty thousand people. That is what freedom means?"
***
Draven took breath. Spoke painful truth.
"Yes. Freedom means you can destroy. Can kill. Can make terrible choices. That is what choice is. Power to do right or wrong. Both options exist when you are free"
"You chose wrong today. Killed innocents who did not deserve death. That is monstrous. I will not lie to you. One hundred eighty thousand people did not chain you. They did not hurt you. They just lived here"
Malvorn's voice broke. Anguished.
"Then why free me at all?! If I just destroy?! If freedom means I kill innocents?!"
Draven moved closer still. Thirty meters. Looking up at massive beast kneeling in crater.
"Because you can also choose right. Today you chose wrong. Tomorrow you can make different choice. Freedom means learning. Growing. Becoming more than what chains made you"
"You are Overlord. God-level power. But still a person underneath that power. Still capable of change. I have seen this before. Freed four point eight million beasts. Many killed after freedom—did not know how to stop killing, did not understand peace. But they learned. Over time, they learned. You can too"
***
Malvorn stared down at small human speaking to him. Processing words. Processing possibility.
"I do not deserve mercy after this"
"No one deserves anything," Draven replied firmly. "Mercy is not earned. It is given. I am giving it. Question is whether you will accept it"
Long silence. Tectonic rumbling—Malvorn's indecision made audible through earth.
"What are you offering?"
***
The Offer
Draven spoke clearly. Every word measured.
"I cannot undo one hundred eighty thousand deaths. Neither can you. Those deaths are permanent. That grief you will carry forever. I will not pretend otherwise"
"But I can offer you purpose. Reason to keep existing. Path forward beyond destruction"
"Come with me. Let me show you freed beasts who learned peace. Cities where slaves became citizens. Proof that freedom actually works—when taught, when guided, when given time to understand it"
"You were not taught. Your chains broke violently during battle. You had power but no wisdom. That is my failure. I freed you wrong. Let me fix that mistake. Let me teach you what freedom truly means"
***
Malvorn hesitated. Struggled with concept.
"Why would you help me? After I killed so many? I am monster"
Draven's voice carried conviction earned through years of freeing slaves.
"Because I have seen worse than you become better. Because two hundred years of slavery does not end with single day of freedom. Because I chose to free you. And I do not abandon what I free. Ever"
"Three months. That is our deadline. Other Overlords—Raziel the magma drake, Frostina the wyvern—they gave me three months to calm you. After that, they will kill you. Mercy kill to stop continental threat"
"I will use those three months. Teach you control. Teach you peace. Teach you that freedom does not require destruction. Are you willing to try?"
***
Malvorn looked at ruins again. At bodies. At death he caused.
Looked back at Draven. Small human offering something. Hope? Redemption? Could such things exist for him?
"If I refuse?"
"You wander alone. Destroy more. Eventually Raziel or Frostina ends you. Two hundred years slavery, few months freedom, then death. That is all you get. Your entire existence: suffering, brief rage, execution"
Draven's voice softened slightly. "Or you accept. Learn. Grow. Actually live. Experience real freedom—not just rage and destruction. The choice is yours. That is what freedom means. Your choice"
***
The Decision
Malvorn was silent for long time. Processing. Struggling with concept of redemption after massacre.
Finally spoke. Voice still carrying magnitude-three tremor but quieter now.
"I do not deserve mercy"
"No one deserves mercy," Draven repeated. "That is why it is mercy. It is given freely. I am giving it. Will you accept?"
Another long pause. Tectonic rumbling. Earth responding to Overlord's internal turmoil.
Then:
"Yes. I accept. Teach me. Show me that freedom does not have to mean this"
***
Departure
Draven nodded once. "First lesson starts now. We leave this place. Capital needs to grieve, rebuild. Your presence here prevents that healing. We go east. Wilderness beyond mapped territories. Space for you to learn without threatening anyone"
Malvorn stood slowly. Twenty-five stories tall. Towering over ruins. Over Draven. Over everything.
"Where exactly?"
"Eastern wilderness. Beyond settled lands. Where Overlord can exist without crushing people underfoot accidentally. Where you can learn control without risk. Come"
Draven turned. Began walking east. Away from capital. Away from death.
Malvorn followed. Slowly. Carefully. Aware now of his size. Trying not to cause more destruction with each step.
***
Survivors Watch
One hundred twenty thousand witnesses. Watching small human lead god away from ruins.
Merchant who survived earlier spoke quietly. "Who is that man? Leading Overlord away from us like that?"
Refugee—woman who fled village when Malvorn passed through—answered. "That is Warden Draven. Fragment-bearer. He freed four point eight million slaves over past months. Now he is freeing Overlord. From himself"
"Can he actually do it? Teach Overlord peace?"
"I do not know. But if anyone can, it is him"
***
Eastern Horizon
Draven walked steadily. Malvorn followed behind. Each step carefully placed now. Aware of ground beneath him. Aware of potential for harm.
They disappeared into eastern sunrise. Small human and massive beast. Teacher and student. Bearer and burden.
Journey beginning. Three months deadline. Redemption path uncertain.
Behind them: capital ruins. One hundred eighty-five thousand dead. Chainkeeper organization decapitated. Empire's heart destroyed.
Ahead: wilderness. Learning. Growth. Possibility of change.
Whether Malvorn could actually change—whether two hundred years of slavery and thirty minutes of rage could be healed—remained unknown.
But Draven would try. That was Bearer's burden. That was his choice.
Three months. Starting now.
***
Notes:
Draven's Arrival: Seven-hour horseback ride from Ashen Fields at forty kilometers per hour, arrives to sixty percent destroyed capital with 185,000 dead, 120,000 survivors traumatized at western edges, Malvorn kneeling in crater unmoving.
Three-Month Timeline: Worldroot Dragon's estimate based on historical Overlord behavior patterns, not formal communication from Raziel/Frostina. Represents typical observation period before stable Overlords intervene with unstable ascensions. Other Overlords monitoring independently but haven't contacted Draven directly.
Worldroot Confirms Timing: Rage exhausted, grief present, awareness returned, moment for connection has arrived, ready or never will be ready, three-month window beginning.
Approach Through Ruins: Draven walks five hundred meters through rubble, survivors watch thinking him insane, calls out to Malvorn from one hundred meters, moves closer to fifty then thirty meters showing courage.
First Contact: Malvorn recognizes familiar resonance, confused why anyone would free him, Draven explains slavery was wrong and two hundred years was enough, Malvorn looks at ruins questioning if this destruction is what freedom means.
Painful Truth: Draven acknowledges Malvorn chose wrong, killed 180,000 innocents monstrously, does not sugarcoat or excuse massacre, explains freedom means power to choose right or wrong, today was wrong but tomorrow can be different.
Teaching Offer: Cannot undo deaths but can offer purpose, will show freed beasts who learned peace, admits he freed Malvorn wrong by not teaching first, takes responsibility for failure, offers to fix mistake through three-month teaching period.
Three-Month Deadline: Raziel and Frostina gave deadline before mercy kill, Draven will use time to teach control and peace, alternative is wandering alone until execution, choice between learning or death.
Malvorn Accepts: Struggles with deserving mercy, Draven explains mercy is not earned but given, accepts offer to learn what freedom means beyond destruction, first genuine choice made.
First Lesson - Departure: Leave capital to allow grieving and rebuilding, go to eastern wilderness where Overlord can exist safely, space to learn without threatening civilians, walking away from death toward possibility of redemption.
Survivors' Reaction: 120,000 witnesses watch Bearer lead Overlord away, refugee woman recognizes Draven as one who freed 4.8 million slaves, now freeing Overlord from himself, uncertainty whether teaching can work but recognition that only Draven could attempt it.
Journey Begins: Draven and Malvorn disappear into eastern sunrise, teacher and student, small human and massive beast, three months to learn peace or face execution by other Overlords, redemption path uncertain but attempted.
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