The whispers had reached their peak.
By the time the week waned, Viscount Daren Vellor's household was unraveling. Merchants refused his coin. Fellow nobles declined his invitations. Servants left without farewells.
And still, Vellor raged within his marble halls.
Kael stood within the shadows of the viscount's study, unseen, as the man paced in circles. Papers lay strewn across the desk, ink stains smeared where his trembling hands had scrawled half-finished letters.
"Liars," Vellor hissed. "All of them! They think me weak? They think me—" His voice broke, slipping into a whisper. "—replaceable."
Kael's lips curved faintly. Not think, viscount. Know.
The door burst open. Selene Varadis entered without ceremony, her silver hair catching the lamplight like cold fire. Two crimson-cloaked guards trailed behind her, their eyes sharp and silent.
Vellor spun, his face pale. "Lady Varadis—I, I—"
Selene silenced him with a glance. She moved to the desk, sifting through his scattered letters as though they belonged to her.
"You are collapsing, viscount," she said calmly. "And your collapse endangers the Veil."
Vellor fell to his knees. "Please! I've done all you asked! I—"
Selene's eyes narrowed. "Your name is no longer weight. Your halls are no longer shield. You are a liability."
Kael's shadows stirred faintly. He leaned against the wall, silent, savoring every word. Yes. Break him further.
Vellor wept. "Then—then replace me! Just don't—"
Selene crouched, her voice low, soft as a blade's whisper. "You misunderstand. You will not be replaced. You will be erased."
Her guard drew a knife.
Kael moved.
The room dimmed instantly, shadows pouring from the corners like a flood. The guards stiffened, blades raised, but too late—the darkness swallowed them, pulling them screaming into silence.
Selene spun, her blade already in her hand, crimson flaring along its edge. Her eyes narrowed as the study melted into violet gloom.
"So it is you," she whispered.
Kael stepped from the darkness, cloak whispering against the floor. His violet eyes burned faintly beneath his hood.
"Erase him if you wish," Kael said, his voice calm, deliberate. "But do not pretend it is your choice. His strings have been mine for days."
Selene's lips curved faintly, though her blade remained steady. "So it was you. The rumors. The merchants. The whispers."
Her gaze sharpened. "You dismantle, piece by piece. Efficient."
Kael's shadows shifted, looming tall behind him like a silent legion. "And you gather fragments, burning lives as fuel. Messy."
For the first time, her smirk faltered.
"You've been watching me," she said softly.
"And you me." Kael tilted his head. "How curious, that we both play in shadow. But only one of us can remain unseen."
The air between them thickened, shadows pressing against crimson light.
Selene did not strike. Neither did Kael. Their eyes locked, words sharper than blades.
"You believe yourself the Monarch," Selene said. "But I see only a pretender clutching a crown too heavy for his head."
Kael's smile was razor-thin. "And I see a hand without a mind, waiting for orders from masters too cowardly to stand here themselves."
Her blade twitched. Just slightly. Enough.
Kael knew then he had struck true.
He stepped closer, his voice a whisper meant for her alone. "Tell me, Selene Varadis. When you claim these fragments for your Veil, do they reward you? Or do they watch you the way I do—measuring, waiting to replace you?"
Her eyes blazed, but not with certainty. With anger. With doubt.
Good.
At their feet, Vellor sobbed. Forgotten by both, he crawled toward the desk, clutching at papers as though scraps of ink could restore his power.
Kael glanced down at him once. Just once.
"Look closely, Selene. This is the fate of pawns who mistake themselves for kings."
His shadow stretched. Tendrils coiled around Vellor's throat. The viscount screamed once before darkness swallowed him whole. When it receded, nothing remained but ash scattered across the marble floor.
Selene's lips parted, her composure cracked for the briefest heartbeat.
Kael turned back to her, calm once more.
"Your puppet is gone. And now your mask slips."
Her blade trembled faintly. Not from fear. From fury.
But before she could strike, Kael's shadows surged, filling the study with violet flame. When it cleared, he was gone.
Selene stood alone amid the ashes of her pawn, her blade humming, her chest rising and falling.
And though she would not admit it, his words lingered.
High above the estate, crimson eyes gleamed in the night.
Cid lounged on a rooftop, lips curling into a grin. "Oh, that was perfect. A duel of words, puppets breaking, masks slipping. The stage couldn't be better."
He leaned forward, eyes narrowing with amusement.
"But tell me, Shadow Monarch… are you a rival?"
The night swallowed his laughter.