The council chamber was silent as the assassin's corpse lay on the holo-table. Its pale features reflected in the glass, too close to Kael's own to ignore.
Joran stood with arms crossed, scowling. "Bastard fought like you. Nearly killed half my squad before you put him down."
Councilor Venra recoiled, her face twisted in fear. "You expect us to believe this… this thing is not of your making? It carries your face, your movements, your shadow. How are we to know you are not one of them?"
Kael's jaw clenched. He wanted to lash out, to silence her accusations, but Lyra's voice echoed in his mind: Unbreakable.
He forced calm into his voice. "It was Taren. He's creating them—constructs, clones, whatever he calls them. He wants to fill your ranks with shadows of me until you can't tell truth from lie."
Elder Rhoran leaned forward, his weathered face grave. "And what if he already has?"
The question struck like a blade.
Within hours, every unit of Havenreach's defense forces was called to muster in the central plaza. Soldiers lined the square, thousands of armored figures standing at rigid attention under the glow of arc-lamps.
Kael stood before them, flanked by Rhea and Joran. The crowd's whispers were a storm.
"There he is.""Which one's the real Ardyn?""Could be any of them."
Venra seized the moment, stepping forward with a voice that carried sharp and cold. "Soldiers of Havenreach! The Ghost Admiral has unleashed his shadows upon us. Duplicates. Monsters bearing the face of Kael Ardyn. How can we trust the man who claims to lead us, when his likeness may already stand among us?"
Murmurs turned to shouts. Suspicion spread like wildfire.
Kael raised his hand. Silence fell—not out of respect, but tension.
"If you doubt me, then test me," Kael said, his voice like iron. "Test every soldier here. I will stand in line with them. If I bleed, I bleed beside them. If I fall, then let my death prove your fear true. But until then, fight me, not each other."
His words rippled through the ranks, calming some, unsettling others.
Rhea whispered under her breath, "You're playing with fire, Ardyn."
Kael didn't look at her. "Then I'll burn before I bend."
The test began. Medics and scanners swept through the ranks, searching for the sigils burned into the assassin's veins.
For hours, the soldiers stood under scrutiny. Tension thickened with every cleared unit.
Then a scream erupted.
A soldier convulsed as the scanner touched his arm. Veins flared with the same ghostly glow, eyes blackening. He drew his rifle, firing wildly into the crowd.
Two more soldiers followed, their skin marked with sigils, their voices chanting:
"Ghost Admiral lives. Ghost Admiral commands."
Panic spread, soldiers shouting, weapons raised. Dozens pointed rifles at each other, unsure who was friend or shadow.
Kael's voice cut through the frenzy like thunder.
"Stand down!"
But the zealots surged forward, blades flashing.
Kael leapt into the fray, his blade cleaving through the first zealot's rifle. He spun, driving his knee into another's chest. Joran crashed into the third with brute force, his vibroblade splitting the zealot's helmet in two.
The plaza became a battlefield—soldiers firing at shadows among them, cries of betrayal and fear echoing against the towers.
Kael fought to control the chaos. "Don't fire blindly! Check the veins—look for the sigils!"
But fear was a stronger commander than discipline. Blood sprayed across the plaza as soldiers turned on each other, suspicion igniting like wildfire.
Rhea grabbed Kael's shoulder, her eyes fierce. "If you don't end this now, Havenreach tears itself apart!"
Kael's mind raced. He couldn't kill every shadow himself. He couldn't silence every whisper. But he could do what Taren couldn't.
He could lead.
Kael leapt onto the barricade, raising his bloodstained blade high. His voice boomed across the plaza, cutting through the chaos.
"Look at me! Look at my face! If you doubt me, if you think I am one of them—then strike me down now!"
The plaza froze. Guns and blades turned toward him. Even the zealots hesitated.
Kael's voice thundered on. "But hear me first. The Ghost Admiral doesn't need ships to break you. He needs your fear. He wants you to see my face in every shadow, to spill your own blood until Havenreach falls without a single shot from his fleet. If you give him that, then you are already his."
He slammed his blade into the stone, sparks flying.
"I am Kael Ardyn. I bleed for this world. I fight for you—not as a shadow, not as a ghost, but as a man. If you would follow me, then follow. If you would doubt me, then kill me now. But do not destroy yourselves for him."
Silence followed. The soldiers stared, breaths held, weapons trembling.
Then, one by one, rifles lowered. Blades sheathed. The zealots hissed and lunged, but now the soldiers moved with unity, overwhelming them in disciplined volleys.
The plaza was secure again.
For now.
Afterward, the plaza lay strewn with bodies—zealots and soldiers alike. Smoke curled into the night sky.
Venra's face was pale with fury. "You see? Already he has poisoned us. Already his shadow breeds chaos. This will not end until Kael Ardyn is gone."
But Elder Rhoran shook his head. His voice carried weary strength. "No. You saw what happened. He is the only one who can turn the tide. Without him, Havenreach falls to its own fear."
Venra's eyes burned with hate, but she said no more.
Kael left the chamber in silence, his steps heavy, his heart heavier.
Lyra was awake when he returned, her voice faint but steady. "I felt it… the fear in the city. He's already inside their hearts, Kael."
Kael sat beside her, his blade still stained with blood. "They nearly tore each other apart. My face was on both sides. And Venra… she won't stop until I'm gone."
Lyra reached for his hand, her grip weak but sure. "Then hold on. Be unbreakable. Every shadow he casts, you burn away with truth. That's how you win—not just with the sword, but with who you are."
Kael bowed his head, tears burning his eyes. He wanted to believe her. He had to.
Because if he faltered, Havenreach would collapse from within long before Taren's fleet returned.