The door of the third circle gave in a metallic crash.
A cold, almost sacred breath, slipped into the corridor.
Ashen crosses the threshold, his boots leaving behind a drag of blood which was not his.
The great Haut-Temple room opened in front of him.
A ceiling so high that he disappeared in the shadows.
Columns of white marble engraved with old prayers, some still smeared with red.
The ground, polished like a mirror, reflected the brilliant stained glass windows which dominated the room: scenes of holy wars, kiss kneeling in front of the light, and in the center ... a throne of gold and ivory.
On the throne steps stood two men.
KAEL.
Polished black armor, scarlet cape. His cold eyes stared at Ashen with sharp intensity. In his hands, the sacred sword of Velyar, a long blade with the worked guard, whose blade seemed to vibrate under the light.
To his left, the high priest Maerthis.
Old man with a perfectly cut white beard, dressed in a white dress embroidered with gold. In his hands, a long stick engraved with runes, surmounted by a crystalline shine that pulled like a living heart.
"So, Kael whispered, you survived the circles.
- And you came to die here, added the high priest, in a soft, almost paternal voice.
Ashen advanced, the bass dagger, his steps resonating in tense silence.
- Die ? He had a dry smile. I have already buried my death a long time ago ...
Kael went down, raising the sword.
- So I'll give it to you again.
The high priest raised his stick slightly.
- Stay behind, Kael. The blood of a madman does not deserve your blade.
Ashen Ricana.
- A crazy? Maybe. But a madman who arrives so far ... deserves to be listened to.
Kael hugged his sword.
- I have nothing to hear from you.
Without warning, he melted on Ashen, blade forward.
The sacred metal whistled in the air. Ashen droops justly, the point touching his cheek and drawing a line of hot blood.
The following shock was brutal: Kael struck again, but Ashen para, his dagger creeping against the divine power of the sword.
- Always so predictable, spat Ashen.
- Always so pathetic, replied Kael.
The high priest remained motionless, observing. His eyes followed each movement as if he read a book.
Kael struck again, faster. Ashen pulled, slipped, used a column to rotate and knock on the hip.
Kael blocked, but the point of the dagger healed the joint of her armor.
- Do you plan to scratch me until death? GROGNA KAEL.
- If enough, Ashen replied, straightening up.
The high priest advanced, his stick gently striking the ground.
A subtle wave spread in the room, making air heavier.
-Have fun ... while there is still time.
The shock of the metal against the metal resonated throughout the room, bouncing against the columns and the stained glass as an echo of ancient war.
Kael attacked tirelessly, each blow heavier than the previous one.
Ashen blocked, dodged, the dagger still in motion, taking advantage of the slightest opening to retaliate.
Kael raised the sword with two hands and struck from top to bottom.
The shock folded Ashen, who dropped three steps, the knees folding under force.
The ground of the ground fled where the blade had struck.
- Blade against dagger ... You can't win, Kael launched.
"I don't need to win," replied Ashen, a carnivorous smile on his lips. I just have to survive long enough ... for you to lose.
Kael took a step aside, changing rhythm.
A series of fast feints, as if he were dancing. Ashen dodged the first, blocked the second, but the third reached him in the shoulder.
The burn of the sacred metal tore a groan.
The high priest, still motionless, gently struck the ground with his stick.
A gentle light spread in the room, but it was not a blessing: Ashen felt his muscles stretched out, his breath growing, as if each movement cost him double effort.
- Is that your role, old man? Ashen said, staring at it. Hold his hand?
"I don't hold anyone," replied the high priest calmly. I guide the light to those who are worthy of it ... and I consume others.
Kael took advantage of the distraction to attack.
The sword whistled again.
Ashen rolled on the ground, got up behind a column, then leap, targeting the throat.
Kael deviated the dagger, but this time Ashen took an additional step and sent him a knee in the coast.
The impact made the knight back up two steps back.
- Not bad ... for a condemned, spat Kael, resuming his breath.
- Not bad ... for a larbin, replied Ashen.
The high priest took a second step forward.
The crystal at the top of its pulsating stick, projecting a rain of golden sparks.
Some fell on Kael, who seemed to straighten more vigor.
Others touched Ashen ... and the burn they left on his skin was worse than any blade.
- This is only the beginning, said the high priest. When paradise goes down, you will understand your place.
Ashen sneered despite the pain.
- Paradise? Let me guess ... A nice lie to cover a massacre?
Kael attacked again, but this time Ashen grabbed him with the wrist of the free hand, blocking the blade between them.
Their faces were only a few centimeters.
- Do you know what I see when I look at you? blowing Ashen.
"Death," replied Kael.
- No… Ashen hugged the catch. A man who will lose everything, and who already knows it.
A well -placed kael kicking to get out.
They resumed their circle, each watching for the slightest misstep of the other.
The metal sound of Kael's footsteps resonated in the nave as the death knell for an execution.
He had changed posture: the sacred sword was now held in one hand, the tip slightly turned towards the ground.
It was no longer an endurance duel.
It was a killing.
Ashen, he wiped the blood that was flowing along his cheek.
His breathing was jerky, but her eyes ... always shone with this dangerous light.
-It looks like you want to end it quickly, he said.
- I just want to show you what a real weapon is worth, replied Kael.
The high priest advanced a step, placing the end of his stick on the ground.
A circular halo deployed around him, extending to the columns.
Golden light rose like a mist, filtering through broken stained glass.
Ashen immediately felt the change:
His muscles weighed twice as heavy, his dagger seemed to be pulling towards the ground.
Kael, on the contrary, moved faster, more fluid.
"Blessing from the first heaven," said the high priest, as if he recited a prayer.
- And that is supposed to be fair? GROGNA Ashen.
- You talk as if the world had ever been, retorted Kael, before throwing himself forward.
The attack was dazzling.
Ashen did not have time to dodge completely: the blade bordered on his chest, drawing a burning line on his skin.
He fell, swivel on himself to avoid the next blow, then retaliated with a dagger setback.
Kael para without effort.
- You hit quickly, said Ashen. But not fast enough to kill me.
- It's just a matter of time.
Kael jumps again, this time chaining three vertical strikes.
The first Ashen avoided it.
The second, he blocked it with the custody of his dagger.
The third touched him in the forearm, tearing out a muffled cry.
The high priest did not take his eyes off him.
- Every second that you are standing, you suffer a little more. Abandon, and I will offer you a clean death.
Ashen burst out laughing, a hoarse voice.
- Clean death? I died a hundred thousand billion times ... And believe me, old, none was clean.
Kael hugged his jaw and planted the sacred sword in the ground.
A shock wave spread, lifting dust and stone shards.
Ashen was screened back, rolling up to the foot of a column.
- Is that what you want to see? Haleta Kael. Raw power?
"No," replied Ashen, getting up. I want to see the moment when you understand that even with all this ... you're going to lose.
He recovered, the blood dripping with his fingers.
Kael raised the sword, the high priest tightened the halo of light ...
And the large room became a closed field, a stone and prayer cage.
Kael spun the sacred sword, and the air vibra.
The stained glass broken above them allowed a raw light that mingled with the golden aura of the high priest.
The whole nave seemed to breathe at the rate of their steps.
-I underestimated you, admitted Kael, advancing.
"Classic error," replied Ashen, eyes folded. But continue, I'm curious to see how far you can go before regretting.
A slight smile passed on Kael's face.
- It's not me who will regret.
He leaps.
The first strike was horizontal, of surgical precision. Ashen is just him.
The second came from bottom to top, drawing a line of fire on its thigh.
The third ... Ashen could only raise his dagger to intercept.
The shock made its teeth cringe.
The sacred metal of the sword vibrated against the worn blade of its dagger, sending a painful wave to its shoulder.
-It's like hitting a living wall, he thought, hugging guard.
The high priest raised his stick and whispered a prayer.
Light rings were formed around Kael, each engraved with ancient symbols.
- Divine increase.
The old man's voice resonated like a verdict.
Kael moved even faster.
His assaults became a rain of blows, each impact leaving behind a trail of light.
Ashen fell, para, dodged, but each gesture cost him.
The ground was cracking under his supports, and he already felt his breath becoming shorter.
- You tire, said Kael between two strikes.
- And you ... you're talking too much.
Taking advantage of a minimal opening, Ashen allowed himself to slide on the side and attempted an estoc at the throat.
Kael para with a dry movement and retaliated by hitting him from his sword's guard, sending him to strike a column.
Ashen spat blood.
- Not bad ... but I knew worse.
The high priest advanced a step.
- You waste time, Kael. The king did not send us to play.
- I know, replied Kael without taking his eyes off him. But this man ... deserves an end to his measure.
Ashen straightened up, wiping his mouth.
- Perfect ... because I don't intend to die quickly.
Kael Poita the sacred sword towards him, and the golden aura concentrated on the blade.
The high priest began to trace complex circles in the air with his stick.
The nave vibrated, the shadows curled up against the walls.
Ashen felt the moment approaching.
The real attack was going to start.
Silence lasted only a heartbeat.
Then Kael moved.
A golden light springs from the sacred sword, forming around it a flamboyant circular arch.
Ashen had only a fraction of a second to understand that it was not a classic attack.
-Cup-cup.
The soil broke out under the pressure of the strike.
A sharp wave split the nave of the temple, spraying the benches and the statues in its path.
Ashen rolled on the side, feeling the heat pass a few centimeters from his face.
He landed heavily, his breath short.
"Not bad for a courtyard," he said, breathing.
- And you ... always this arrogance.
Kael threw himself on him again, but this time Ashen moved instead of retreating.
The dagger got up, touching the guard of the sacred sword, barely diverting.
They found themselves a few centimeters from each other.
- You're just a puppet, whispered Ashen.
"And you," that a death that refuses to fall, "replied Kael," glanced.
Behind them, the high priest had not remained inactive.
Its luminous circles turned into each other, creating a spiral that seemed to suck the light in the room.
-Kael, move away. Let me purify this soul.
Ashen felt a thrill running along his neck.
He knew this tone.
That of those who believe they act in the name of a God ... and who no longer see the men they kill.
"I advise you to put your stick, old man," he said, "he diverted Kael's eyes.
- And I advise you to make your last prayer, replied the high priest.
Kael attacked again.
This time, the sacred blade aimed low, seeking to decide the tendons.
Ashen jumped, gripped a column, Pivota in the air and fell behind Kael.
He tried a dagger towards the kidneys, but Kael had already anticipated, blocking with a circular movement.
The metal shouted.
- Your dagger will give in, warned Kael.
-Maybe ... but not before you.
The high priest finally raised his stick.
Thousands of light points appeared around him, forming like a stars ceiling inside the temple.
- Let us invoke a fragment of paradise.
The temperature fell.
The stones of the ground covered with a thin layer of frost, and the air became heavier.
Ashen took a step, evaluating.
Kael seemed galvanized by the presence of this light.
- You won't get out of it alive, assured Kael, sure of himself.
- That's what I have been told ... a hundred thousand billion times, "replied Ashen, smiling.
The light fell.
Not like a ray of the sun.
Rather like a rain of translucent blades from an invisible sky.
Ashen rolled on the side. The first flight crashed on the marble, breaking the slabs in sharp shattering.
A biting heat rose in the air, mixed with a cold that burned the skin.
It was a light ... that injured.
Kael took advantage of the opening.
The sacred sword drew a golden arch, targeting Ashen's throat.
The dagger narrowly intercepted, but the impact vibrated his whole arm.
"You can't fight two enemies at a time," Kael said.
- Do you think? So look good.
Ashen grabbed a piece of broken column and threw him towards the high priest.
The latter simply raised the stick. The stone is disintegrated before reaching it.
- Impur… your very existence offends the heavens.
A second circle of light appeared under Ashen's feet.
He jumped, and the slab exploded behind him, sending sharp fragments that opened his back.
The fight became controlled chaos.
Kael struck quickly, precise, relentless.
Each blow was looking to close the duel in a single gesture.
The high priest struck less often ... But each invocation changed space.
The columns were twisted, the nave was lie down or contract as if the temple was breathing.
Ashen was advancing, however.
Not in a straight line - it would be suicide - but in a spiral, forcing Kael to move to stay between him and the priest.
- You will not arrive at him, Ashen, whispered Kael, taking over a moment.
- And you, you still don't understand ...
He leaned over to avoid a radiance of light and added, ... that it is not him that I aim.
Kael frowned, but already Ashen had turned suddenly on the left, sliding under a burning beam to arrive at the range of the high priest.
The stick dropped.
Ashen raised his dagger.
The impact did not come.
Instead, a column of light enveloped it entirely, suspending each movement.
The high priest smiled.
- Paradise cannot be touched by soiled hands.
Light held him like a giant hand.
Each muscle refused to move.
His breath was cut net.
The high priest advanced slowly, his sandals striking the marble with a funeral bell.
Kael, behind him, wiped the sword of blood which already stained her.
- It's over, said the priest.
- Yes ... replied Ashen in a strangely calm voice.
Then he added, ... but not for me.
He slowly raised his head.
The madman's mask slipped from his round, as if he had always waited for this moment.
Kael took a step back.
- Nope…
- Yes, Ashen whispered.
Light cracks around him.
Not because he had resisted.
But because the mask laughed.
A dry, metallic laugh, which resonated throughout the nave.
It was not just Ashen.
It was something else.
Something that had nothing to lose.
- Do you think you invoke paradise ...?
He leaned his head on one side, a distorted smile under the mask.
- I'm going to show you hell ... and I'm going to laugh while you're burning.
The halo of light broke out like glass.
Ashen fell on his feet, but his body no longer followed human movements.
His gestures were broken, unpredictable, each attack from an impossible angle.
Kael para in time a dagger targeting his throat, but the strength behind the impact made him go back several steps.
Ashen burst out laughing, a laugh that turned into a cry, then became a murmur again:
- Do you know what it does to die a hundred thousand billion times, Kael?
Each death ... removes a piece of you.
And me ... I have nothing more to remove.
The high priest hit the ground with his stick.
A golden circle opened under Ashen, but instead of retreating, he threw himself inside.
The celestial flames licked his arms to him ... and he continued to move forward.
- Pain?
He laughs, a broken laugh.
- I ate it. I made it my bread.
Kael tried a counterattack, but Ashen slipped behind him, tracing a bloody line on his armor with the dagger.
The priest took a step back.
For the first time, there was a shadow in his gaze.
Ashen straightened up, hands covered with blood, the mask leaning towards them.
- Now ... we play.
Kael wiped the blood net that flowed from his temple with the back of the hand.
The high priest tightened his catch on the stick, as if the divine weapon could still be enough to contain what ASHEN had become.
But the problem ... It was he was no longer only Ashen.
The mask seemed to breathe.
Whenever he laughed, the air twisted around him, and his movements became even more unpredictable.
- I'll tear you away ...
His voice was low, hoarse.
- ... until the last heartbeat.
He melted on Kael in a broken line, sliding under his sword, hitting his left coast with the dagger, then swivel to lacerate the right leg.
Kael managed to counter the third blow, but his breath was short.
- You have lost the reason! spat Kael.
"I swapped it against certainty," replied Ashen, leaning so close that Kael could see his eyes burn behind the mask.
The high priest then killed his stick.
Light chains sprang from the ground, wrapping around the ankles of Ashen.
They burned in contact, but he did not go back.
- The channels?
Ashen burst out laughing.
- I lived more lively lives than free. Do you think it brakes me?
He fired at a dry blow, the channels rushed.
Then he jumped towards the priest, dagger forward.
The stick blocked.
The shock vibrated the entire nave.
- You can't touch the anointed paradise, said the priest, relentless.
- So I'm going to dirty your heavens.
With a gesture, Ashen pushed the stick and attempted an estoc towards the face.
Kael intervened, sword raised, crossing the dagger in a steel crash.
The three found themselves in a circle.
Kael, breathless.
The priest, ready to knock on a distance.
Ashen, motionless, the mask turned slightly aside.
Then he laughed again.
- Do you know what it is, die a hundred thousand billion times?
You lose the taste for rest ... but you gain that of destruction.
And he attacked the two at the same time.
The ground cracked under their steps.
Not because of the weight, but the pressure.
Each of their gestures resonated like a war drum.
Kael moved down, a sacred sword Brandie.
The high priest raised his stick, a golden halo already forming above him.
Ashen… leaned his head.
Like a predator who observes his prey preparing to bite.
- You will pray, both.
- For your soul? spat Kael.
- No ... so that I will end you quickly.
He rushed.
The sacred blade whistled, bordering on her shoulder.
Ashen did not seek to avoid it completely: he cashed the cut, leaving the blood to mack his coat ... then used this proximity to plant his dagger in Kael's armor.
Kael rumbled in pain, but did not give in.
The priest took advantage of the opening to hit the ground with his stick.
A luminous circle deployed, and pillars of light gushed, forcing Ashen to leap back.
- Flee ?
- No, said Ashen, sneering. I just choose the best angle.
He rushed to the priest, slipping between two pillars before they close.
The dagger slammed against the stick, sending a wreath of sparks.
- Do you want to defile the stick of the gods? howled the priest.
- I want your gods even to remember my hand.
Kael returned to dance, chaining quick blows.
Ashen blocked, seems, dodge rightly.
His breathing became a chopped, almost inhuman laugh.
At one point, Kael and the priest attacked together.
The blade descended from the right.
The stick struck by the left.
Ashen lowered at the last moment.
The two weapons talked about a deafening noise.
He jumped, pressing the stick to pass behind Kael, and pushed his dagger between two armor plates.
Kael yelled.
- How many times do you think I have killed a man like you?
Kael Groupea:
-How many times do you think that I have prevented a monster from breathing?
They recovered, each out of breath, but no ready to give in.
The halo above the priest grows.
Light doors were starting to take shape in the air.
Ashen leaned his head, fixing these forms.
- So ... we're here.
He smiles under the mask.
- Open your paradise. I'll set it on fire.
The metal noise of the celestial hinges filled the room.
The doors of the high priest "paradise" opened slowly, letting a warm and fragrant wind escape.
An unreal light invaded the place, softening each shadow ... except that of Ashen, which remained black like a chasm.
Kael raised his sacred sword with two hands.
Vibra steel, exhaling a pure gold light.
His already imposing armor seemed to be covering a veil of energy that strengthened each movement.
- Ashen… I'm going to cut you in half. And when you fall, I will seal this mask with your skull.
Ashen burst out laughing.
- Do so, Kael. But remember ... I have already fallen a hundred thousand billion times. And I always come back.
Kael charged.
Not as before.
This time, each step sprayed pieces of paving.
Ashen was just the first blow, but the strength projected him against a pillar.
For a moment, the cracked stone revealed the golden structure behind the wall.
Kael did not give him a respite: a second blow split the air, horizontal this time.
Ashen rolled on the side, cutting Kael's thigh of a dagger backhand.
- You hit faster ... but you breathe less well.
- And you, do you still breathe? Kael replied, pivoting to strike behind his back.
The shock of the sword and the dagger sent a shock wave through the room.
The high priest, without diverting the eyes from his ritual, murmured:
-Keep it again. The doors are almost open.
Divine light springs more.
We distinguished behind the doors a landscape of marble and clouds, winged silhouettes that were slowly approaching.
Ashen fixed this vision.
Her hands were shaking ... but not fear.
- Is that it ... your paradise? I will repaint it with your bowels.
Kael attacked again, chaining vertical and diagonal strikes.
Each blow was heavier, faster, more precise.
Ashen was just dodged, sometimes letting his dagger bite the sword to divert the blow.
But Kael was no longer the man he had faced before.
He was ... a moving wall.
And behind this wall, paradise continued to open.
Ashen suddenly planted his dagger in the ground to block a blow and project himself forward, slipping under the arm of Kael.
He struck, deeply cut the man's forearm.
Kael went back, creaking his teeth.
- Even with your madness, you will not win.
Ashen leaned his head.
- Madness is not a defect ... It's a weapon.
Behind them, the high priest raised his arms.
The doors were wide open now.
A powerful breath fills the room.
And from the sky ... descended the first column of light.
The ground is shy away.
Not in a cracking of stone ... But as if the reality itself was crumbled under their feet.
The air was lighter.
The high-temple walls dissolved in the light.
In their place, an infinite sky, crossed by marble bridges and suspended waterfalls.
Under their feet, more slabs: a circular platform floated in the void, connected to others by golden arches.
Ashen folded his eyes.
- They really released the full decor ...
Behind the high priest, the winged silhouettes advanced.
Not graceful angels as in legends: their faces were smooth, without lines, and their wings, covered with burning scriptures.
Each beat diffused a wave that vibrated the platform.
- Here ... announced the high priest, ... the heralds of paradise.
Kael, bathed in this light, seemed even more imposing.
His armor sparkled, his wounds closed slowly.
The sacred sword vibrated as if it were fed on this energy.
Ashen tried to move forward, but invisible pressure crushed her on the spot.
The air weighed now, each movement required twice as much effort.
A herald lifted the hand: long light chains arose from a vacuum and wrapped around his ankle.
He cut them clearly, but already Kael arrived.
- Do you feel? Kael launched, striking of Estoc.
- Yeah ... it stinks of the cheap deity.
Ashen pa it, but the strength behind the sword made him go back to the edge of the platform.
One more step, and he fell into the endless vacuum.
He attempted a feint, but Kael, boosted by the power of the place, deviated his blade from a specific reverse.
The dagger flew with her hands ... and disappeared in a vacuum.
A moment, Ashen remained motionless.
His fingers cried into the void.
The madman's mask contracted, as if he was breathing.
He smiles.
A dangerous, but trembling smile.
- Do you think ... what's over?
Kael did not answer.
He advanced, pointing the sword to Ashen's throat.
Behind him, two heralds landed, their wings deployed forming a living barrier.
The high priest raised his stick.
The sky above them was torn apart, revealing a city of light suspended in ether.
- May paradise consume him.
Ashen threw himself on the side, rolling to avoid a light column that sprayed part of the platform.
But it was slow.
Too slow.
Kael struck him on the side, sending him crashing against a gold pillar.
An iron taste fills his mouth.
His breath was chopped.
For the first time since the start of this massacre ... He felt that he was losing.
The sky was just a abyss of light.
Each wings of the herald wings made the ground vibrate under it like a drum skin.
They had no eyes ... but Ashen felt their eyes.
A pure, cold judgment, which was not trying to understand - only to crush.
Kael advanced step by step, his sacred sword drawing a burning line on the ground.
The high priest remained behind, the stick raised, chanting in a language that looked like a prayer ... or a condemnation.
Clac.
Something slammed behind Ashen's ear.
A voice, low, almost amused:
- Did you have a lot of fun, huh? But it's over.
Ashen hugged his teeth.
- Shut up.
- Oh no. You put me ... here ... for that. To massacre them all. And you waste your time breathing.
The mask vibrated against his skin.
Her eyes were starting to peck, as if thousands of little hands were trying to spread them by force.
Kael raised the sword.
A ray of light fell from the sky, guided by the blade.
Ashen threw himself on the side, but two heralds landed in front of him, blocking the flight.
Behind, a third slammed his wings and sent a wave that projected him on his knees.
The voice of the mask was harder.
-Look at yourself. Pathetic. Do you still want to play man, or do you want to win?
Ashen's breath was heavy.
He knew what the mask asked.
And he knew what it was going to cost him.
- If I let you do it ... you won't stop.
- Exact.
A smile split her lips despite the pain.
- Perfect.
The mask tightened.
Burning heat invades its skull.
His pupils dilated to blame completely.
He straightened slowly, his body shaken with spasms, and looked Kael straight in the eyes.
- I hope you prayed enough, because even your paradise will not save you.
The heralds held.
Kael frowned.
The high priest interrupted his prayer for a moment.
And then Ashen moved.
Not quickly.
Not like a warrior.
But like something that no longer needed muscles to kill.
He walks straight to the heralds, his hand bare.
When the first raised his weapon, Ashen grabbed him by the throat ... And his light went instantly, like a candle in a hurricane.
The herald collapsed in a matte noise.
His golden armor, emptied of all light, crackled like an empty shell.
Ashen did not stop.
A second beaten wings to gain height, but the mask turned his head slightly, and an invisible force pulled him towards the ground.
The bones cracked even before he touched the stone.
Kael folded his eyes.
- ... he's no longer the same man.
The high priest tightened his grip on the sacred stick.
- No. He's no longer a man.
Ashen moved.
Each step resounded as if the stone itself protested.
The mask seemed to expand, its engraved lines twisted, changing every second.
A fine dark mist was formed around him, bordering on his shoulders like curious fingers.
- Kael… murmured the high priest. It must be contained before the sky opens.
Kael spun his sword, a circle of pure light forming around him.
- I don't intend to contain it. I'm going to break it.
Ashen broke out with dry, almost childish laugh.
- Break? Kael, Kael ...
He looked up towards the room ceiling.
We do not break what has already been broken since one hundred thousand billion times.
His words sounded strangely, as if they came from a much deeper place than his throat.
Kael leaps.
The sword described a flamboyant bow, but Ashen simply raised his dagger.
The meeting of the two weapons produced a rumble which made the pillars vibrate.
The sacred light broke out in sheaves ... and Ashen pushed it from a dry movement, sending Kael back several meters.
- Do you think you hold the god's blade? blowing Ashen. I hold my throat in the world.
The high priest began to recite faster, the runes on his stick light up.
A golden circle appeared under his feet, widening in sight.
Above, the ceiling seemed to dissolve, revealing ... a fragment of paradise.
Golden columns.
Infinite gardens.
Winged silhouettes that observed.
Ashen looked up at this opening.
He smiles.
- Pretty… very pretty. Open again. Let me enter. I want to see how many wings I can tear before I get bored.
The high priest frowned.
- Kael, protects the circle. He should not cross the border before the full anchoring.
Kael rengated his fear and faced Ashen.
The two gauge themselves like two animals at the edge of a precipice.
The golden circle under the feet of the high priest Pulsa.
Each beat vibrated the stone and distorted the air.
The walls were gradually covered themselves with moving engravings, representing angels with a veiled face.
The light that fell from the celestial opening was not soft: it burned the retina and the skin.
Ashen ignored everything.
His eyes - or what was left behind the mask - remained fixed on Kael.
Kael moved down, the sacred sword in hand.
The blade radiated, but its light now mixed in the dense shadow that emanated from Ashen, creating almost liquid reflections.
- I saw you fall, Ashen, said Kael, low but firm voice.
- I fell much further than you can imagine.
- And you never went up.
- No ... I came back to train with me.
Kael leaps.
Ashen took a step aside, the dagger lifted.
The two weapons talked about, a flash spurted, followed by a rumble that made the vault tremble.
Kael struck in burst, each precise, methodical blow.
Ashen para, dodged, stepped back ... Then appeared forward like a distorted shadow.
The dagger's tip bordered on Kael's cheek, drawing a red line.
- You bleed, whispered Ashen, almost amused.
- And you, you still breathe.
The high priest, behind them, intensified his incantations.
The golden circle dilated, tearing the stone from the ground.
Fragments of paradise already fell into the room: pieces of white marble, snatches of distant songs, and even a rain of luminescent petals.
But these petals, in contact with Ashen, blacked and consumed instantly.
Kael attempts a feint, swiveling on himself, and killed the sword diagonally.
Ashen blocked, but the strength of the shock projected him back, his heels leaving two long traces in marble.
He laughs.
A hoarse, strangled laughing, which rose hysterical.
-Yes ... Yes, show me everything, Kael. Give me your light ... and I will eat it.
The room was still transformed.
The pillars became translucent, as held in living crystal.
The ground was covered with moving symbols that were trying to hang on to Ashen's ankles, but he was tearing them away from a dry movement.
-Kael, he said, advancing, every step I take here ... I also do it in your grave.
Kael rumbled and struck again, the speed of his dubbing blows.
Ashen, instead of retreating, entered the danger zone, approaching each blow to place the dagger a few centimeters from the throat or the heart of Kael.
The high priest looked up to the gaping sky.
Paradise was approaching, and with him ... something even Kael did not seem ready to face.
Heaven ... opened.
Not the sky of Edelstadt - the real sky.
A vertical tearing split the space above the large room, revealing a pure abyss.
Not a gentle and reassuring light, but a clarity that judged, which dissected the soul.
Invisible trumpets resonated.
Then, one by one, the heralds went down.
They had no wings as in tales: only bodies covered with ivory armor, and eyes without eyes, where a unique black hole turned slowly.
Ten ... twenty ... fifty ...
Ashen stopped counting at the hundredth silhouette.
Kael took a step forward, and his aura exploded.
The light of her sacred sword became a torrent that split the room, sweeping pieces of marble as if it were dust.
-Quite played, he said, the voice more serious than before.
His armor was covered with fiery symbols, and his eyes became two golden shards.
The high priest raised his stick to the celestial fault.
The golden circle at its feet is still widening, to the point of swallowing the entire surface of the room.
The walls themselves began to twist, changing in columns of a living white marble.
His lips murmur, but the words echoed in the air as an order to the whole universe.
- by the will of the seven, by the crown and by the blood ... that paradise comes entirely.
Ashen laughed behind his mask.
A laugh that echoed against the walls, mixing with the songs of the heralds.
- Do you give me reinforcements? Oh, kael ... oh, old man ... you don't know ... that I dance better surrounded by corpses.
The first heralds struck.
Their weapons - spears, swords, whips of light - spilled over him.
Ashen was just dressed, but a point chopped his shoulder, leaving a burn that sank to the bone.
Kael took advantage of the opening to load, hitting in synchronization with two heralds.
Ashen para the sacred blade barely with his dagger, but the impact projected him against a column.
The high priest hit the ground with his stick.
A wave of light springs, repelling Ashen over several meters and forming around Kael a protective dome.
The Mask du Fou Vibra.
Ashen looked up at the dozens of heralds who surrounded the room, towards the high priest whose face was bathed in light, and towards Kael, standing like a rampart impossible to cross.
Then he whispered:
- So, it's now that you show me ... What you are really worth.
The white marble of the ground crashed under their steps, but it was no longer marble.
It was ... flesh.
A soft and cold flesh that throbbed under the feet, as if the whole high temple had become alive.
Columns stretched towards the torn sky, binding to the arches of light from which the herald fell.
Each step resounded like a death knell.
Each breath felt the ash and the mixed incense.
Ashen… laughed.
Not a punctual laugh.
Not a mockery.
A continuous torrent, which did not stop, even when a blade of light pierced the thigh.
He tore off the blade from his own body and threw it in the face of a herald.
-"Again! Show paradise to me ... so that I can destroy it!"
Three heralds attacked together.
One in stung, the other laterally, the third from a distance with a golden arc.
Ashen turned on himself, his dagger tracing a black arc which cut the wrist of the first and the throat of the second, while a luminous arrow crossed his left shoulder.
He collapsed half ... Then laughed again.
- It burns ... it burns so much ... I love it!
Kael entered the fray.
The sacred sword yelled in the air, each stroke projecting golden waves that tears the flesh of the heralds as much as those of Ashen.
- "Stop smiling!" Rumait Kael, striking with all his strength.
- But I don't smile for you ... replied Ashen, blocking the blade a few centimeters from his mask. ... I smile because I know I'm going to tear you away here, or in another world.
In the background, the high priest extended his arms.
The sky of light expanded, revealing unreal gardens, suspended in the void.
Angelic silhouettes walked there, and each step they made changed the room: the floor swept, the walls began to sing, the air became so dense that he stuck to the skin.
- "When paradise will be completely descended," said the high priest, "you will no longer laugh."
- Oh, if ... Ashen leaned his head, a net of blood flowing under his mask. … I will even laugh in your grave.
Kael chained a series of quick blows.
Ashen fell, slipped on a soil that became sticky, received a kick in the thorax which breathed his breath ... And yet, he always laughed.
The more he was bleeding, the more his laughter became sharp, almost childish.
Two heralds tried to hug him on each side.
Ashen jumped, rolled into the blood that was already flooding the room, and planted his dagger in the neck of one of them before tearing him off to throw him on the face of the second.
The high priest raised his stick.
A massive ray fell from the sky, hitting the center of the room and destroying what remained of the columns.
Marble-chair shards flew everywhere, some hanging on Ashen as living suction cups.
And him ...
… He stretched his arms, letting himself be covered, while bursting with a laugh that resounded like a war cry.
- "Come on! Bring your paradise to go! I want to hear it scream!"
The sky was torn apart.
Not like a thunderstorm.
Not like a storm.
Like a page that is slowly tearing, revealing what is hidden below.
And below ... there was paradise.
Suspended gardens, covered with liquid gold rivers.
Trees with white leaves that whispered prayers.
Living statues, half-bird half-birds, eyes closed, but which knew where to strike.
The light fell on Ashen.
Not soft, not warm - sharp, like an invisible blade that cuts his skin.
Each ray burned his muscles, each breath he took seemed to tear off a piece of his lungs.
And he was still laughing.
- "This is it ...? The promised place? It stinks ... and pretension."
Ten elite heralds arose, all dressed in translucent armor, the shiny weapons of an unreal sparkle.
They placed themselves in a circle around him.
Kael and the high priest closed the loop.
- "You are surrounded."
Kael spoke calmly, like a man sure of himself.
- No.
Ashen took a step forward, his tilted mask.
- I'm in the center.
The first herald attacked.
Ashen dodged, planted his dagger in a joint of armor, and drew violently.
The blood of the angel flaked up his gloves, but it was not red blood - it was a burning light, which gnawed at him.
He gave his teeth, laughs even stronger, and pushed the body to the ground.
Two other heralds came to him.
Ashen rolled under their blades, straightened up, and used the corpse of the first as an improvised shield.
The light crossed him right, but it gave him enough space to slide on the side and cut the leg of an opponent.
- "You bleed like us ... You are not godsJust well -dressed butchers. "
Kael struck.
The sacred sword descended like a judgment.
Ashen the paradescent para with the custody of his dagger, but the impact made his bones crack.
He retreated, a net of blood flowing from his mouth.
- "You weaken." spat Kael.
- I break. Ashen replied, ... and it is in pieces that we cut best.
Behind, the high priest raised his stick.
A door of light opened above him, and this opening now fell from massive, winged silhouettes, holding larger spears than Ashen himself.
The celestial songs were deafening.
The walls of the room no longer existed: all around, there was only infinite sky and gardens.
Ashen inspired.
His body was shaking.
His knees folded.
But his laughter ...
… Did not weaken.
- "So ... descend allBring me your kings, your saints, your gods ... I want to slaughter them one by one. "
The light was no longer only around him.
She was in her skin.
She was burning, she infiltrated, she twisted in her veins like steel snakes heated to white.
The heralds advanced.
The circle closed.
Kael and the high priest did not move, observing, as safe hunters that the prey would eventually fall.
Ashen tilted his head.
A pure madness of madness crossed his eyes behind the mask.
- "Do you believe ... that I'm afraid of a wall of lightYou believe ... that I have not already died a thousand billions of times? ... "
A herald leaps.
Ashen did not go back.
He threw himself into the attack, the enemy blade cutting his shoulder from him right through.
He yelled ... but laughing.
Then, with a dry movement, he planted his dagger in the angel's throat.
Light blood exploded on his mask.
-"So ... open the door to me."
He ran.
His boots slammed on the marble which has become almost translucent.
Another herald tried to block the road to him: Ashen plunged under his spear, rolled, and sharp the tendons behind the knee.
The angel collapsed, screaming a prayer.
Ashen no longer listened.
He only heard the hammering of his own heart ... and a laugh that had nothing more human.
The sacred barrier of paradise stood in front of him, immense, pulsating, like a frozen sun curtain.
He stretched his hand.
His skin started to smoke in contact with light.
The flesh melted.
The smell of burnt invades the air.
-"Still ... again ..." he whispered.
And he passed.
On the other side ...
It was no longer the Haut-Temple room.
Gold cobblestones.
Liquid light rivers.
Infinite arches, under which prayers were floated on fire.
And in the distance ...
Kael and the high priest, already there, as if they were waiting for him.
Dozens of heralds fell from the sky.
Their huge wings projected blinding bursts.
They brandished impossible weapons: crystal halberds, whips of pure wind, hammers forged in thunder.
Ashen hugged his dagger louder.
His fingers were almost tense to break.
-"Come on ... Show me ... what the anger of a God looks like."
And he charged.
The ground vibrated.
Each step that Ashen made on the gold cobblestones sounded like an insult to this place.
The heralds were close in silence, their weapons ready, but none seemed to want to attack the first.
Ashen leaned his head, the crazy madman mask under an invisible grin.
- "So ... nobody?" Are you afraid of dirtying your sky? »»
A beat of wings.
Then a herald loaded, sword of lifted light.
Ashen Pivota, leaving the blade to split the air, and pushed his dagger into the angel's armpit, where the armor was deviated.
The light gushes like a burning geyser, splashing his hands.
- " A… "
He was counting. Like a child plays a hobby.
Two others arrived, a thunder hammer and a wind spear.
Ashen leaps back, dodged the hammer, but launched it brushed him into the thigh, opening a bloody groove.
He laughs. Strong. Too strong.
- "It stings! Continue… Continue! »»
He planted his dagger in the hammer chain, pulled with all his might, and the celestial weapon stayed in his hands.
With a brutal gesture, he shattered the carrier's head, gold staining with glowing light.
The floor began to change.
Cracks appeared under the violence of the fight, letting a blinding glow come from the depths.
Each drop of blood - red or golden - seemed to absorb a little of this perfection.
The heralds hesitated.
Even them ... seemed to fear what he became.
- "I'm going to repaint your streets with your bowels ... and dance on your wings!" »»
A group of five attacked in tight training.
Ashen received the first strike on his already injured shoulder, tilted in their rank, and tore the throat of the closest before using his body as a shield.
The celestial spears pierced the dying angel.
Ashen took advantage of the opening to cut, cut again, until the training collapsed.
The gold cobblestones were now marbled by incandescent red and white.
In the distance, Kael observed.
His sacred sword was still in the scabbard.
Besides him, the high priest closed his eyes ... as if to listen to something that only he could hear.
Ashen, breathless, the tips of the finger.
- "I come for you. And nothing ... neither heaven nor God ... will stop me. »»
And he recovered to move forward, leaving behind a trail of celestial corpses.
The sky of paradise no longer had the purity of a dream.
The white clouds had taken dark shades, striated with red, as if Ashen's blood had contaminated until the air.
He still walks.
His boots sank into a gold and corpses carpet.
Some celestial bodies lay, still hot, others burned like torches, giving off the smell of iron and mixed incense.
Then ... a sound.
Not a bell, not a cry.
A pure, long note, which vibrated in the bones.
At his echo, twenty heralds appeared, but this time, they did not come one by one.
Their training was perfect.
A wall of translucent shields at the front, two rows of spears behind, and in the center ... a standard carrier.
The standard itself shone with an unbearable white light, and around it, the air was bent, as if the paradise wanted to tighten.
Ashen stopped.
He looked up, and behind his mask, his smile twisted even more.
- "Oh ... well a little seriousness. »»
They put forward together, each step hammering the ground of the same rhythm.
The first impact was brutal: Ashen attacked the shield line, but the energy that emanated from it several meters.
He rolled on his back, laughs like a possessed, and returned to the charge.
A herald tried to pierce him with a spear, but Ashen grabbed the bare hands.
The light burned his skin, the smell of cooked flesh rose, but it did not let go.
He fired suddenly, tearing off the soldier out of formation, and slaughtered him.
- " A. "
They retaliated.
Divine flashes sprang with spears, striking Ashen to the chest.
He staggered, blood came out of his mouth, but he planted his dagger in the ground to stand up.
- " Two… "
He began to move forward, step after step.
The ranks tightened.
Ashen jumped over a shield, planted his dagger in the neck of the standard bearer, and the standard collapsed with him.
The brilliant light vacillated ... and paradise seemed to darken a little.
He tore off the white fabric, lifted him above his head, and threw it on the flames of a celestial corpse.
- "Three ... and your God is starting to box. »»
There were eight heralds left.
They threw themselves on him all together, a torrent of metal and light.
The blows were raining, cutting his flesh, breaking his ribs.
Each injury would have killed a man ... but Ashen did not fall.
He laughed between every hayling.
When the last herald raised his sword, Ashen turned the blade with his bare hand and returned it against him.
Golden blood flowed on his mask.
- " Twenty. »»
And he spat on the ground.
Further on, on the steps of the sanctuary, Kael finally drew his sacred sword.
By his side, the high priest raised his stick to the sky.
Above them, the doors of the great room opened in a rumble.
Ashen, covered with human and divine blood, looked up at them.
- " Finally… "
Her voice was just a groan ... But his eyes burned with an intact madness.
The ground vibrated.
Not under the footsteps of Ashen ...
Under pressure from paradise.
The high priest raised both hands, and the sacred stick began to turn on himself, releasing arches of light that struck the pillars, the walls, and even the air.
Everything became white, warm, oppressive.
Each breathing was a burn.
Kael advanced, the sacred sword by hand, his eyes fixed on Ashen as a predator on a wounded prey.
Ashen planted his dagger in the ground to stand, but his legs trembled.
Each priest's step reinforced the pressure.
His lungs closed, her muscles were screaming.
His thoughts became slow.
Is it like that ... that I die?
Again ?
Here ?
He fell on his knees.
His vision was blurred.
An iron taste filled his mouth.
And then ... nothing.
He opened his eyes.
Not in the temple.
In an empty, black space, lit by a single lantern hanging in the void.
In front of him ... the seer.
Always sitting in his chair, his hands crossed, almost amused.
- "You held up well, Ashen. But you are at the end. »»
- "... am I dead?" »»
- " Not yet. But that will not be long ... if you continue to play the victim. »»
- "Why are ... are you there?" »»
- "Because you have to know before your eyes close: Caldor ..."
The seer leaned, his gaze piercing.
- "... was killed by Kael and the high priest. Together. »»
A thrill traveled ashen.
Not a thrill of fear.
A thrill of absolute anger.
The emptiness around him cracks, letting out images of images:
Kael, the sword in hand, striking.
The high priest, his hands on the book, reciting a blessing that looked like a conviction.
And Caldor, falling, open eyes ... lifeless.
- "Now you understand why you are fighting?" »»
- " … Yes. »»
His voice had changed. More serious. More sharp.
-"And what are you going to do?" »»
Ashen looked up.
A smile ... no. A grimace. A fracture on his face.
- "I'm going to ... bring them to my theater. And there, I will close the curtains ... on their bodies. »»
The light fell in the shadows, and his voice echoed one last time:
-"Then get up, crazy. And play your last room. »»
Ashen reopens his eyes.
Always in the temple.
Always on his knees.
Kael already raised his sword to complete him.
But something changed.
His hair, black black, began to pale ... to shine.
A golden light ran from the root to the tips.
His eyes opened in large, and a laugh shook his body.
Not a human laugh. A laugh of pure madness.
The temple soil began to deform.
The walls trembled, covered with black curtains.
The celestial flames move into bloody spotlights.
The still standing heralds were caught in the shadows, their stifled cries as if an invisible audience applauded their agony.
- "Welcome ... in my theater. »»
Kael took a step back.
The high priest frowned.
Ashen got up, right, holding his dagger as a feather ready to write the last scene.
- "You ... go die here. Together. »»
The golden light that radiated Ashen hair turned the room into a brilliant hell.
His eyes, two cracks filled with storms, stared at Kael and the high priest as if they were already dead.
Behind him ... A shadow moved.
Then an entire orchestra took shape in darkness.
Twenty masked silhouettes, dressed in dark velvet, holding ancient instruments.
The bows got up.
The horns simmered.
The drums swelled like hearts ready to burst.
And the music began.
A slow waltz.
A funeral rhythm.
Each note vibrated in the walls of the high temple, as if the stone itself trembled under the anger of Ashen.
He advanced a heavy step, dagger in hand.
- "You killed him! He yelled, his voice broken by rage and exhaustion.
Kael hugged his sacred sword, his hard look.
-"Who are you talking about?" »»
- "Caldor!" My master! »»
The high priest frowned, pressing his knotty hands on his sacred stick.
- "This name ... is not familiar to me. »»
- "Don't lie!" Rumait Ashen, advancing with a jumper.
- "I don't lie," Kael replied calmly. "We do not know this man. »»
- "So you don't even know the name of the one you have erased ..."
The theater changed.
The columns of the high temple rose and disappeared.
In their place extended a red grass field, lit by a gigantic moon.
The wind wore muffled whispers, such as dying prayers.
Kael observed the decor, suspicious, but remained concentrated on Ashen.
- "Whatever you think ... you're wrong. »»
- "I'm never mistaken about the blood. »»
The orchestra accelerated.
The strings were crying, the drums beat like fists on a coffin.
Ashen attacked.
The dagger split the air, blocked by the sacred blade of Kael in a metallic grinth.
Their faces were a few centimeters.
- "You say not to know him ... But every gesture, each breath ... Crieted that you lie. »»
-"Or maybe you are inventing a ghost to justify your massacre. »»
The high priest added, his voice resonating like a sermon:
- "Madness eats away, Ashen. This master only exists in your head. »»
The scene tilted.
The red grass field became a hanging wooden bridge over a chasm.
Downstairs, thousands of hands were stretched out in darkness.
Each step made the boards moan.
Ashen broke out with a denied laugh.
- "You can deny as much as you want ... But here, in my theater, each note is a truth. And you're going to dance until your bones crack. »»
The orchestra struck a heavy agreement.
Shards of light tore the dark sky, illuminating the scene as an apocalypse in miniature.
The curtain fell.
Then got up, revealing the next phase of the confrontation.
The music exploded.
The violins snatched the ropes, the drums rumbled like cannons, the Cors were howling to split the sky.
In this chaos, Ashen moved ... no, danced.
Each step was a feint, each rotation a blow.
Kael para a lateral assault, but the dagger of Ashen shounded his flank.
A dash of blood broke out on the red grass.
Kael stepped back, heavy breath.
-"Fast ..." he scolded, tightening the custody of his sacred sword stronger.
- "Fast, crazy, and immortal. "Ricana Ashen.
The high priest hit the ground with his stick.
A halo of light springs, projecting Ashen back.
But he rolled up, recovered on his feet and melted on the church man.
The dagger pierced the stick of the stick and deeply cut the forearm of the old man.
A dry cry.
Blood fell on the plates of the theater.
The scene changed.
The red field disappeared, replaced by a cathedral in ruins.
The stained glass broke out each shock of weapons, projecting multicolored bursts in the air.
Ashen burst out laughing.
- "You already bleed ... and the show has only just begun!" »»
Kael charged, blade lifted, but Ashen slipped on the side and traced a bloody line on his left shoulder.
- "Still ..." whispered Ashen, breathless, shiny eyes with almost childish pleasure.
- "You are sick ..." Grogna Kael.
- " No. I am free. »»
The high priest tried to incant, but Ashen leaps over him, his knees on his chest, and planted his dagger in his left thigh.
The old man's voice broke into a howl.
Kael wanted to intervene, but Ashen tilted, using the priest as a living shield.
The decor changed again.
Now they were on a real theater scene, with red curtains and an invisible audience that applauded in the shadows.
Each injury, the orchestra played faster.
The percussion had become a heartbeat.
Ashen took a step, wiping the blood on his cheek with a finger.
Then he brought him to his mouth.
- "Mmmh ... the taste for truth. »»
Kael hugged his teeth.
- "Do you think it will bring you closer to your nonexistent brother?" »»
Ashen yelled with laughter, a laugh that echoed against each wall of the theater.
- "Even if you forgot it ... I remember each drop of his blood. »»
The short breath, Kael went back.
His boots slipped on the scarlet floor, and he glanced at the high priest.
He pressed his thigh in blood, his sacred stick trembling under his weight.
- "We have to fall back. »»
Kael's voice no longer had the same insurance.
- "Yes ..." replied the priest, half breathless. "We will resume this confrontation ... when the heavens answer our call. »»
They took a step back.
The theater reacts.
The curtains fell from the heights, not in fabric, but in rusty chains and bloodwood walls.
The backstage closed like jaws.
The invisible public began to applaud in cadence.
A childish laugh, everywhere at the same time, enveloped the scene.
Ashen appeared in the shadow of a curtain, leaning forward, the mask of the inclined madman.
- "Oh, no, no, no ... The play is not over. »»
His voice crumbled like a blade on a plate.
Kael hugged his sword.
-"Let us pass, Ashen. »»
- "Why do it?" So that you were going to cry under the skirts of a god who will not come? »»
He burst out laughing, advancing slowly.
- "You didn't understand ... Here, I am the god. »»
The decor changed suddenly.
Under their feet, the floor became a viscous black marsh, where skeletal hands were trying to catch their ankles.
The air was heavier, saturated with an iron and rotten flowers.
The high priest raised his stick and a blinding light pushed the shadows.
- "Enough of your illusions!" »»
Ashen bowed slightly, as if to greet.
- "Illusions?" No, father ... it's reality that lies. I just get her mask to tear her off. »»
Kael leaps.
His sacred blade split the air, tracing a bright arc.
Ashen Para with his dagger, the impact resonating like a gong.
Then he pivoted Kael with an elbow and deeply cut his already injured flank.
Kael Gronda, staggered ...
The blood flowed faster.
The high priest took a step towards Ashen, raising his stick as if to strike.
Ashen grabbed him by the Channel and, with a fluid gesture, planted his dagger in the forearm, exactly where he had injured it earlier.
The cry of the old man mingled with the thunder of the percussion of the orchestra.
- "You see ... we advance. Each act is better than the previous one. »»
Ashen was still laughing, eyes shiny with pure madness.
-"And at the end ... Oh ... the end will be a masterpiece. »»
The decor was shaking.
The boards cracked under the hesitant steps of Kael and the high priest.
Blood was dripping on the ground ... and disappeared immediately, as drank by the scene itself.
The orchestra played a slow, dismal march.
Drums resounded like heartbeat ready to stop.
Kael, the low shoulder, the whistling breathing, once again raised his sacred sword.
The high priest tried to invoke the light ... But this time, she fragmented herself, trapped in the black curtains that had closed around them.
- "Do you still think you can escape the end?" »»
Ashen advanced, the tilted mask, the dagger in hand.
His voice brought throughout the theater.
- "The play always ends with the death of the main actors. »»
The ground was torn apart under the feet of the high priest, revealing a black abyss filled with hand and howling faces.
Kael threw himself forward to save him, but Ashen grabbed him by the throat and pressed him against a stage pillar.
- "You first. »»
The dagger slid under the left coast of Kael, penetrating to the guard.
Ashen looked at him straight in the eyes, and behind the mask, a huge smile distorted his features.
- "Curtain for you, hero. »»
He removed the blade.
Kael collapsed, the blood splashing the red boards.
The high priest tried to strike with his stick, but Ashen grabbed him by the beard, led him to the center of the scene and the force of force.
The orchestra changed tempo: a quick waltz, denying.
- "And you, old lie ..."
He raised his dagger and cut the priest's throat in one precise gesture.
The blood sprang in arc, splashing the curtains which seemed to absorb it.
Ashen fell back, leaving the two bodies cheese on the ground.
He raised his arms to the sky.
The invisible public broke out in furious applause.
Ashen also applauds, slowly.
- "Ladies and gentlemen ... Thank you for witnessing the death of the lie. »»
The curtains fell, engulfing the scene.
The theater died like a candle that we breathe.
There was only Ashen, alone, standing in the middle of an empty room ... and silent