The sky was gray when it happened. Like it knew.
Lin waited by the hidden tunnel behind the palace, just as Shen told him to. Time ticked like a slow heartbeat. Minutes. Then hours.
No one came.
He returned to his cell, invisible to the world again.
But the next morning, everything shattered.
The guards dragged him outside. He was shoved to the ground, forced to kneel. In the front stood Shen, bound , bruised and his head bowed
One of the generals barked, "This man betrayed the kingdom. He fed the monster. He let the curse live.
Lin's blood went cold.
Shen looked up and smiled at him quite and peaceful.
"I'm sorry" he whispered.
They slapped him, punched him in the face and laughed.
Lin tried to free himself from the handcuffs to help but Shen but it was too late.
The blade came down.
Lin's eyes wide, he didn't moved. Not even when Shen's head fell.Not even when his blood stained the snow and the crowd cheered.
But something inside him cracked, too deep to name.
They threw Shen's body out near the cliffs as a warning.
Lin went there.
He buried Shen in silence, digging with frozen hands until his knuckles bled. He left no marker. Only a single stone pressed into the earth.
It was snowing again.
As Lin stood up, he stared at the sky, trembling.
Something whispered again, not from the wind but from deep within.
Not your choice, it said. But now it is.
And he walked away from the grave.... with a dagger Shen had once given him.
A gift. A promise.
And the beginning of a storm.