Pain exploded through Kael's body as the execution blade tore through his neck.
But death did not come immediately.
Time slowed.
In that frozen instant, memories flooded his mind—clearer than they had ever been.
He remembered the first betrayal.
A battlefield drowned in blood. His sworn brother stood behind him, smiling, as a poisoned blade slid between Kael's ribs.
"I'm sorry," the man had whispered. "The world offered me too much."
The second betrayal followed.
His most talented disciple, the one he had raised like a son, activating the ancient formation beneath Kael's feet.
"Master," the boy had cried, "this is for the greater good."
Then came the final one.
The woman in white.
The night she had pressed her forehead to his chest and promised to stand beside him, even if the heavens fell.
The same woman who now stood above him, eyes cold, hands steady, delivering judgment.
"So this is justice," Kael thought.
The crowd below blurred into a sea of twisted faces. Every scream of hatred felt heavier than the blade at his throat.
They feared him.
Not because he was evil—but because he was free.
The execution blade completed its descent.
Darkness swallowed his vision.
His body disintegr