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Chapter 17
Calvenne had become unrecognizable.
The streets, once alive with trade and chatter, had turned into corridors of suspicion and fear. Every meeting, every transaction, every glance carried the mark of growing distrust.
And Kael… Kael watched it all from behind his illusion.
His altered features, just subtle enough to render him unrecognizable, allowed him to walk freely even as wanted posters bearing his true face were plastered on tavern walls and guard posts.
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Power Without a Crown
He did not sit on a throne.
He wore no crown.
And yet, every decision in the city passed through him—directly or indirectly.
The captains of the guard followed his insinuations, believing they acted for their own survival.
The merchants, divided, launched into absurd price wars that drained their fortunes.
The guilds tore each other apart in the shadows, fueled by the suspicions Kael whispered into their ears.
Calvenne had become his chessboard, and every piece crashed against the others without ever seeing the hand that moved them.
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A Conversation With Selene
One evening, within the discreet cover of the shop that served as their front, Selene broke the silence.
> "Six months…" she murmured, her fingers playing with a dagger lying on the table. "Six months we've been here. And look at the city. It's crumbling… and we just stand by."
Kael lifted his gaze toward her, his expression unreadable beneath the veil of illusion.
> "We do far more than stand by, Selene."
"I'm talking about saving," she pressed, her tone firmer now. "Isn't there a part of you that wants to protect instead of destroy?"
A silence fell between them, heavy as a blade about to fall.
Then Kael spoke, his voice calm but merciless:
> "Save? This city doesn't deserve saving. It was built on lies, on rotting compromises, on broken oaths. All I do is hasten a fall that began long ago."
Selene looked away. She said nothing, but Kael caught the flicker in her eyes—the flicker of doubt.
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The Poison of Doubt
In the days that followed, Kael tightened his web.
He forced two merchant families into a poisoned alliance, one he knew would collapse into betrayal.
He spread false orders among the guard, throwing entire companies into confusion.
He orchestrated the disappearance of a key messenger, leaving behind the illusion of treachery within their own ranks.
Every step dragged the city closer to ruin.
But sometimes, behind him, he felt Selene's gaze.
Not the gaze of a loyal ally, but of a woman measuring the abyss ahead—and wondering if she had already fallen too far.
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The Promise in the Shadows
One night, as they watched flames rising from a merchant quarter rooftop, Selene whispered:
> "You'll never stop, will you?"
Kael didn't take his eyes off the burning skyline.
> "When you've tasted what it means to make a city bend to your will… why would you stop?"
His words fell like a sentence.
Selene lowered her eyes, clutching the dagger always strapped at her side.
And for the first time, Kael realized that while she had followed him this far, her heart no longer fully belonged to his cause.
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The game continued.
But now, Kael knew he wasn't playing against the city alone.
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