Veylon slept with one eye open.
The city was quiet at night, but never peaceful. Doors barred, windows shuttered, footsteps hushed. Ren walked with Kael and Aria down a narrow street, the moon casting long shadows. His Black Celestial pulsed faintly, warning him.
He stopped. "…We're being watched."
Kael's hand went to his sword instantly. "Assassins?"
Aria whispered, "The Blades of Veylon. They don't forgive survivors."
The silence shattered.
From the rooftops dropped masked figures, their daggers gleaming with Celestial light. Shadows moved like liquid, surrounding the three. The Blades had come.
"Run and you die slower," one assassin hissed, his mask splitting into a grin. His Celestial flared — Celestial of Whispered Blades, making his strikes silent even through steel.
Kael smirked, drawing his longsword. "Guess we're not running."
The battle erupted.
Kael charged first, his Crimson Vow blazing. His sword carved arcs of flame through the dark, scattering assassins with sheer force. He laughed as he fought, wild and alive.
Aria spun her staff, chains of fire snapping across the rooftops, wrapping around two assassins at once. They shrieked as the flames constricted, bursting into embers.
Ren darted forward, his Black Celestial burning hotter with every strike aimed at him. An assassin slashed from behind Ren turned in time, his blade catching the strike, black fire flaring. He countered, his blade tearing through the man in a burst of shadowed flames.
But they were outnumbered.
Dozens more poured onto the rooftops, their Celestials igniting in sickly hues silence, poison, illusion. Daggers whistled through the night.
Ren's Black Celestial seared his arm. Every betrayal every feint, every strike meant to deceive burned into his body, feeding him. His vision sharpened. His body moved faster.
One assassin lunged, disappearing mid-strike illusion. But Ren felt it. He turned, catching the invisible blade with his own. "Too slow." His black fire erupted, cutting through the false shadow.
Kael fought back-to-back with him, parrying two blades at once. "Not bad, kid. Try not to get yourself gutted."
Ren grit his teeth. "Worry about yourself."
Aria cried out, staggering as an assassin's dagger grazed her leg. Blood stained her cloak. Ren's chest flared with heat his curse feeding on the betrayal of the strike. His blade lashed out, cleaving the attacker with black fire.
But the Blades pressed harder.
The leader stepped forward at last taller, wrapped in crimson cloth, dual sabers glowing with Celestial markings. His voice was calm, cold. "The Black Celestial belongs to Veylon. You will surrender it or bleed out under the moon."
Ren's mark flared violently. His instincts screamed.
"Try me."
The leader lunged his sabers a blur. Ren caught one strike, but the second slashed across his chest, blood spraying. He staggered but his Black Celestial roared, drinking in the betrayal. His body steadied, black fire igniting across his blade.
The leader's eyes widened. "Impossible…"
Ren surged forward, every betrayal tonight carved into his soul. His strike clashed with both sabers, black fire colliding with crimson sparks. The rooftop cracked under the force, tiles shattering, sparks raining into the streets below.
Kael leapt in, his Crimson Vow blazing, striking the leader's flank. Aria, bleeding but unbroken, unleashed chains of fire that bound the sabers just long enough.
Ren roared, driving his blade through the leader's chest. Black fire consumed him, his scream echoing across Veylon's rooftops.
The other assassins faltered, their formation breaking. Shadows fled into shadows, retreating into the night.
Silence returned.
Ren stood panting, his chest bleeding, his Black Celestial throbbing like a second heartbeat. Another scar burned across his arm. Another betrayal consumed.
Aria leaned against her staff, pale but smiling faintly. "You always… burn brighter when you're bleeding."
Kael sheathed his sword with a grunt. "And you always make it out by the skin of your teeth. One day that curse of yours is going to eat you alive, Ren."
Ren said nothing. He only stared at the moon above, black fire still smoldering on his blade.
In Veylon, knives in the dark were endless. And his curse demanded they all be fed.