Rain did not stop falling over Darkheart City.
It never did.
But now it felt different.
Heavier.
Almost suffocating.
As if the sky itself had leaned closer to watch what was about to happen.
Inside the shattered remains of House Mason's estate, silence was no longer possible.
Only fear existed there now.
Sirius stood at the center of the broken entrance hall.
The front gates had been reduced to fragments of iron and stone. Dust still drifted in the air like ash from a dying fire. The cold wind from outside entered freely now, carrying the sound of distant screams through the mansion corridors.
Behind Sirius, Executioners moved like a spreading shadow.
They did not rush.
They did not hesitate.
They simply advanced.
Every step meant ownership.
Every step meant the end of something.
Merion Mason stood several meters away, breathing heavily.
Not because he was weak.
Because he finally understood what weakness truly meant.
Aurelia stood behind him.
Still.
Silent.
But her hands were trembling now.
Not dramatically.
Not visibly at first.
But enough for someone who knew her to notice.
Sirius tilted his head slightly.
"Merion Mason."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"The kingdom does not require your explanation."
A pause.
"It requires your end."
Merion's jaw tightened violently.
"So that's it?" he growled. "No trial? No judgment?"
Sirius looked at him like one would look at something already dead.
"You sold information regarding the royal bloodline."
A second pause.
"To the werewolves."
His tone changed slightly.
Not emotion.
But weight.
"That is not a crime."
"It is contamination."
Aurelia flinched slightly at the word.
Merion stepped forward.
"I did it to protect my house!"
Sirius's eyes narrowed faintly.
"That is what all traitors say before they die."
The silence after that sentence felt absolute.
Then...
A distant scream echoed deeper in the mansion.
Followed by another.
And another.
The Executioners had begun clearing the estate.
Room by room.
Life by life.
Merion's breathing became uneven.
"You're slaughtering innocent people."
Sirius did not respond immediately.
Then...
"Innocence is irrelevant to the law you broke."
Merion's hands shook now.
Not fear alone anymore.
Anger.
Desperation.
"You don't understand what I did!"
Sirius finally took a step forward.
One step.
The air around him tightened instantly.
"Then explain."
Merion froze.
Because for a brief moment...
he almost did.
Almost spoke about the battlefield.
The wounded commander.
The cursed deal.
The poison god.
The fear that drove him.
But then he realized something.
Sirius did not ask to understand.
He asked to finish the sentence before death.
Merion exhaled sharply.
"…I had no choice."
Sirius's gaze hardened slightly.
"That is not an answer."
Then he moved.
Fast.
No warning.
No preparation.
Just motion.
Steel flashed.
Merion barely reacted in time.
CLANG!
His defensive barrier shattered instantly as Sirius's blade struck.
The impact sent him sliding across the floor.
Wood cracked beneath him.
Aurelia screamed.
"MERION!"
She ran forward instinctively...
but stopped immediately when an Executioner stepped in front of her.
Blade drawn.
No expression.
Only silence.
Aurelia froze.
For the first time, fear entered her completely.
Not for herself.
For everything she had never said.
Merion coughed violently as he pushed himself up.
Blood.
Dark.
Thick.
Sirius walked forward again.
"You are not strong enough to justify betrayal."
Merion's eyes widened in fury.
"I didn't betray the kingdom!"
Sirius stopped.
For the first time, his voice changed slightly.
Not louder.
Colder.
"You do not decide what you betrayed."
Then...
he vanished.
Merion barely had time to widen his eyes.
CRACK
Sirius's kick hit his stomach.
The impact shattered the floor beneath him.
Merion was thrown backward into a pillar.
BOOM!
Stone exploded.
Dust filled the air.
Aurelia screamed again.
"STOP!"
But no one listened.
Because Execution did not listen.
It only proceeded.
Aurelia's Collapse
Merion struggled to move.
His body was already breaking down.
Not just from damage...
but from realization.
He was not fighting a man.
He was fighting an outcome.
Sirius walked through the dust calmly.
Unbothered.
Unhurried.
"You still do not understand" Sirius said.
Merion coughed blood.
"Understand what…?"
Sirius stopped in front of him.
"Your death is not punishment."
A pause.
"It is removal of risk."
Merion laughed weakly.
"Risk…?"
Then his voice broke.
"You're killing my entire family for risk?"
Sirius's eyes hardened slightly.
"Yes."
Silence.
That single word destroyed more than any blade could.
From the side...
Aurelia suddenly moved.
She broke free from the Executioner's presence for a brief second and rushed forward.
"Merion!"
She dropped beside him, holding his face.
Her hands were shaking violently now.
"No… no no no…"
Merion looked at her.
For the first time...
he looked afraid.
Not of death.
But of leaving her behind.
"Aurelia…" he whispered.
She shook her head.
"Don't you dare close your eyes."
Her voice cracked.
"Don't you dare leave me here alone because of your mistake."
Merion tried to speak.
But no words came.
Sirius watched them.
Quietly.
Then raised his sword slightly.
An Executioner behind him spoke softly.
"Shall we proceed with her?"
Sirius looked at Aurelia.
For a moment.
Just a moment.
Something almost human passed through his eyes.
Then it disappeared.
"No."
Aurelia looked up sharply.
Sirius continued.
"She is not the target."
Merion's breath trembled.
"Then… why…?"
Sirius answered without hesitation.
"Because she will suffer more if she lives."
Aurelia froze.
That was worse than death.
Sirius turned slightly.
"Take him."
Two Executioners stepped forward.
Merion tried to resist weakly.
But his body failed him.
As they lifted him, he looked at Aurelia one last time.
"Aurelia… run…"
She grabbed his arm desperately.
"I'm not leaving you!"
Merion smiled faintly.
A broken, dying expression.
"…you already have no choice."
Then...
he was dragged away.
Aurelia screamed.
But it did not matter.
Because the mansion was already collapsing into silence.
The Burn Order
Outside, rain intensified.
Sirius stood at the entrance.
Watching the estate.
Then he spoke.
"Burn it."
A moment passed.
Then flames were set.
Not chaotic fire.
Controlled destruction.
The mansion began to ignite slowly, deliberately.
Like a ritual.
Inside, screams echoed.
But they were not loud enough to reach the city beyond.
Darkheart was used to silence like this.
Aurelia was still inside.
Alive.
Watching the fire approach.
Not running.
Not resisting.
Just kneeling beside where Merion had been taken.
Her eyes were empty now.
Not broken.
Empty.
Because something inside her had already died first.
The flames crept closer.
Warm.
Final.
And then...
a shadow appeared behind her.
An Executioner.
Blade raised.
But before it struck...
Sirius spoke from the entrance.
"Stop."
The Executioner paused.
Sirius did not turn.
"She is not required to die here."
A pause.
"She will be delivered."
Aurelia did not react.
She simply whispered into the burning air:
"…Lucian…"
Sirius heard it.
But did not respond.