Kaelen didn't use the stairs. He descended upon my dungeon like a falling star, smashing through the earth and stone of the ceiling in a catastrophic explosion of white light. I was thrown back by the pressure wave, hitting my throne with a bone-jarring thud.
Kaelen landed in the center of the room, the dust of my ceiling settling on his glowing, silver plates. He looked like an archangel of vengeance.
"I will peel your soul from your skin," he said, his voice terrifyingly calm.
He moved. I didn't even see the strike. I felt a colossal weight slam into my chest, sending me through the stone wall behind my throne and deep into the obsidian bedrock. I coughed, my lungs filling with blood, my vision swimming.
[Warning: Health at 10%]
I scrambled to my feet, but he was already there. He grabbed me by the hair, his gauntlet crushing my skull as he slammed me back into the jagged stone. He raised Soul-Light, the tip of the blade glowing with enough heat to melt iron.
"Wait!" I wheezed, my hand clutching the Wife-Stealing Rod like a lifeline.
"There is no waiting for monsters," Kaelen growled, the blade descending.
I threw the Rod upward, blocking the strike. The divine steel hummed against the dark wood, sparks flying like stars. "Look at the Grail, Kaelen! Look at it!"
He hesitated for a microsecond, his eyes darting to the pedestal where Elara's blood pulsed with a sickly gold light.
"If you kill me, the link snaps back," I spat, blood spraying from my lips. "All the energy I've poured into her—every jolt of lust, every drop of corruption—will dump into her nervous system in a single millisecond. Her heart will explode. Her brain will turn to mush. You'll be standing over my corpse, but you'll be the one who killed her."
Kaelen's grip tightened, his gauntlet creaking. "You lie."
"Test it," I grinned, a jagged, bloody smile. "Through the link, I've tied her life to mine. I am the only thing keeping the Taint from consuming her completely. If my heart stops, her soul shatters."
Kaelen roared in frustration, a sound of pure, helpless agony. He slammed his fist into the stone wall next to my head, the impact causing a localized earthquake that collapsed the far side of the chamber. He pulled me up by my collar, his face inches from mine.
"I should burn this entire forest to ash with you in it," he hissed.
"But you won't," I whispered, feeling the power shift. "Because you love her. And that love makes you my most loyal servant. Now... put down the sword. We have a lot to discuss about your new duties."