Smoke still curled over the Cradle Market, a ghostly reminder of the inferno Kael and Celeste had unleashed. The acrid scent hung heavy in the air, mixing with the sharp tang of fear and anger that gripped Vireholm's streets.
Kael crouched in the shadows of an abandoned building, the rescued children huddled silently behind him. Their eyes were wide with shock and exhaustion, but alive—breathing proof that the ledger's horrors could be undone.
Celeste stood a few meters away, watching the city's response unfold like a storm.
"You think they'll come for us?" Kael asked, voice low.
She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she scanned the streets with a predator's gaze.
"They already are."
From the darkness, the distant wail of sirens and the heavy stomp of armored boots echoed closer. Varnel enforcers—merciless, relentless—were mobilizing. The city's elite had been humiliated. The ledger exposed. Their power threatened.
Kael felt a cold knot tighten in his gut.
He was still an outlaw. A ghost. The forsaken.
And now, a target with a price that would only grow.
Celeste's silver eyes met his, fierce and unyielding.
"We've lit the fuse," she said. "No turning back."
He nodded.
"Then let's make sure they regret it."
The children stirred behind him, fragile but hopeful. For the first time, Kael saw more than vengeance in their eyes—he saw a future.
Together, Kael and Celeste vanished into the maze of alleys, shadows among shadows, ready to fight the war their world had already started.