The news spread faster than fire.
Four royal assassins. One survivor.
And Selene Virellia — untouched.
The Capital – Imperial Court
Nobles argued. Voices rising like smoke.
"She was supposed to be dead!"
"She commands territory, troops, and terror. What does that make her if not a queen?"
Lucien sat in the Emperor's seat. Calm. Still.
He poured himself a glass of blood-colored wine.
"They've begun to whisper her name," he murmured.
"And what they whisper next will decide whether she rules… or burns again."
Virellia Stronghold
Selene stepped through the courtyard, surrounded by citizens and soldiers kneeling one after another.
Children placed charred flower crowns at her feet.
A merchant kissed her gloved hand.
"I never believed in anyone," he said, "until you showed me what a real ruler looks like."
[System Alert: Regional Loyalty Surpassed 75%. New Upgrade Available: Personal Guard Unit – Name Required.]
Her voice was calm. Sharp.
"Call them the Ashborn."
That Night – A Balcony of Two Worlds
Kaelion appeared just before the moon reached its peak.
No guards. No titles. Just him.
Selene stood in shadow.
"You watched," she said. "You always watch."
"I had to know," he replied. "If the girl I couldn't save… had become someone I couldn't stop."
She didn't look at him.
"I'm not her anymore."
"I know."
The silence between them stretched, intimate and devastating.
He took a slow step forward. "But I still want her."
Selene didn't move. "Wanting me and standing beside me are not the same."
Final Scene
Far from both, in a hall made of bone and silence, Lucien stood over an ancient altar.
He held a lock of Selene's hair in one hand…
And a drop of Kaelion's blood in the other.
"Let the gods decide," he whispered.
"Who gets the crown…
And who gets the grave."