Silence fell.
Rigorus breathed slow. One hand tightened on his sword. The whispers of the Mourning Halo lingered faint now. Fading.
Across from him, Kaelen Vorath Nemoran stood tall. Silver armor gleamed like frozen time. No helm. Just eyes sharp, cold, eternal.
The world held its breath.
No roars. No crowd. No sound.
Only memory.
Steel remembers.A man does not swing for glory, but for the weight of the dead who cannot.
Rigorus saw mud. Bare feet. Bleeding palms wrapped around a wooden stick. Elders drilling him until his bones screamed.
Naelira's smile. Twin blades placed in his hands.
Liora's corpse. Broken beneath Nemoran cruelty.
His grip tightened.
Kaelen's voice cut through memory. Calm. Cold.
"You stand here not because of strength, but because of chance. You are not the saint. You are not the heir. You are only a shadow."
He raised his hand.
The air fractured.
The coliseum froze.
A grain of sand stopped mid-fall. Rigorus felt eternity press down. His blood slowed. Muscles locked. The time-field wrapped around him like a vice.
Kaelen moved. Slow. Each step echoed like thunder.
"I am the Imperial Protector. Nemoran's hand. Every swing you make I've already seen. Every breath you've already been judged. Struggle if you wish. It will amuse me."
Rigorus roared. His sword tore through air but dragged like it was mired in tar. The slash landed seconds late.
Kaelen sidestepped. His gauntlet smashed into Rigorus's ribs.
The delayed force detonated.
Rigorus stumbled. Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Gasps. Nobles rose.
"The Protector has him!" "He cannot resist time itself!"
Kaelen pressed. Each strike prophecy fulfilled. His aura spun like clockwork. Cogs of light turned in the air.
Rigorus parried one blow. The next came from a future he couldn't follow.
Cuts opened. A rib cracked. His knees buckled.
But his eyes didn't lower.
So this is inevitability? This is the destiny they chained us with? To kneel? To break?
Another strike. His shoulder tore open. Bone glinted white.
The Mourning Halo flickered. Weak. Fading.
Kaelen's lips curved.
"You bleed well. But you bleed in vain. You are not the saint. They only ever birthed sinners."
Rigorus collapsed to one knee. His sword dug into the sand.
Far away, beneath a dim lantern, Naelira pressed her hand to her belly. Her lips trembled.
"Rigorus…"
Celestia leaned against the wall. Eyes glistening.
"He's faltering. His aura flickering. Strangled."
Morda clenched his fists. Knuckles cracked.
"He carries the clan on his back… and they cheer like it's entertainment. If he falls here, Draeven bloodline dies."
Naelira closed her eyes.
"He cannot fall. Not now. Not when he carries all of us."
Back in the coliseum
Kaelen raised his hand.
Time warped. The clockwheel spun faster. The arena bent to his dominion.
Rigorus's body locked. His blade grew heavy. He tried to lift it.
It refused.
Then he remembered.
Blood is the oldest covenant. Not prayer. Not hope. Blood. When you've nothing left—give it.
He looked down. At his hand. At the blood dripping onto the sand.
Slowly, he lifted his hand to his mouth and bit.
Flesh tore. Blood flowed.
Crimson ran down his arm. Dripped onto the blade.
The steel drank.
The Mourning Halo vanished.
Screams. Awe. Terror.
"What happened to his halo?!" "He's forsaken it he's not a saint anymore!"
Rigorus rose. Slowly.
Broken body. Swelling aura.
A grin carved itself onto his bloodied lips.
Not holy. Not divine.
Dark. Hungry.
The blade pulsed. Black and white light spiraled. Crimson veins fed it.
Kaelen's eyes narrowed.
"…What have you done?"
Rigorus's voice low. Calm. Venomous.
"If holiness chains me… then let sin be my crown."
He stepped forward.
The time-field cracked.
Another step.
Shattered.
Kaelen swung. Time rippled to halt the sinner.
Rigorus's sword carved through it.
Sparks of blood-red lightning roared from every strike.
Chaos erupted. Nobles screamed. Soldiers dropped to their knees.
"He's broken time…" "He's not a saint. He's a devil in scripture."
Rigorus lunged.
Every strike carnage orchestrated. A hymn turned execution.
His blade blurred. Crimson arcs tore through Kaelen's barriers.
Steel rang. Flesh split.
Kaelen bled.
Blood dripped from his lip. Eyes narrowed.
"You are no saint. No king. You are a mistake."
Rigorus grinned. Aura spiraling higher.
"Then I am the mistake that will end you."
Their blades locked.
Time shattered. Blood dripped.
Kaelen's clockwheel spun faster. Preparing collapse.
Rigorus's blade screamed. Blood-forged aura reaching critical mass.
The arena shook. Sand rose.
The crowd fell silent.
Two forces stood ready.
Eternity against sin.
They roared.
They struck.
And the chapter ended in the clash.