Chapter 11 – Unholy
The Queen swirled her hands again.
The projection's light flared, flooding the throne room with brilliance. It wasn't white anymore — it was crimson, wild and untamed, like a memory set ablaze.
Damon shielded his eyes for a moment. When he looked again, the vision had already begun.
"Gamishi met Saro at sundown," the Queen said, her tone carrying across the chamber.
"The sun wasn't the only thing setting that day… his peace was too."
Damon leaned forward, elbows on his knees. The dog stayed close, tail tucked, while Hazel hovered quietly near the Queen's shoulder.
"Is this the part with the creepy apple guy again?" the dog muttered, breaking the tension.
"No," Hazel whispered. "This one's worse."
The Queen's expression didn't change.
"Watch carefully, Damon."
The projection shifted.
Sand scattered beneath their feet. Gamishi stepped through a swirling gate of green light. Saro walked ahead, his pace calm but heavy with silence.
They emerged onto a wasteland. Once, it had been paradise — now, it was colorless. The air itself seemed dead.
Gamishi's breath caught. His eyes darted across the horizon: buildings hollow and broken, fields turned to ash, trees standing like black statues of what they once were.
"The Loirans…" he whispered. "What have you done?"
Saro stopped but didn't turn. Wind tugged at his cloak.
"Tell me there are still Loirans here," Gamishi demanded, voice cracking. "Tell me you didn't wipe out an entire species!"
"There aren't," Saro said flatly.
Gamishi's chest tightened. "Saro, open your eyes for once! Must you always be blind to your own wrongdoings? Even the land mourns their absence!"
Saro's shoulders twitched. His body stiffened. Then — he turned his head.
All the way.
A complete, slow rotation — his body facing forward while his head twisted in a perfect, unnatural circle.
The sound wasn't bone. It was something else. A scraping, like metal grinding against itself.
Gamishi froze. The sight sent chills down his spine. He'd heard stories of wars, monsters, men of power. But this—this was wrong.
He stepped back. Soldiers shifted uneasily behind him, hands hovering near their weapons, blocking his way.
Saro's face — still smiling — began to crumble like dust. His skin peeled away, revealing streaks of black and red light glowing inside his skull.
"By the Eternal One…" Gamishi whispered.
A sound like thunder split the air. Saro's body exploded into embers, and from within it, a dark orb emerged — swirling black and red, pulsing like a heart.
From the great hall ahead, another Saro appeared. The same thing happened again — his body collapsing, another orb drifting forward.
The two orbs collided.
The wind howled. Loira's land shook, the ground trembling beneath their feet as if the world itself resisted the transformation.
Gamishi threw up a barrier of eterna in fire, shielding himself and the guards. The force shattered against him like a wave.
Then came the light — red, blinding.
When it faded, a figure stood where the orbs had fused. Skin formed over a glowing skeleton, piece by piece.
It wasn't birth.
It was the spawn of something evil.
And when the light dimmed, he stood complete.
Kroxus. In person.
His presence crushed the air around him. The guards trembled, their weapons rattling against the ground. Even from within the projection, Damon felt his heart pounding too fast.
The dog whimpered and leapt into Damon's lap, claws digging through his trousers. Hazel didn't speak. She only crossed her arms, her tiny wings fluttering once — nervously.
Gamishi's voice broke through the silence.
"What… what are you?"
The creature smiled. Its voice was deep, like thunder echoing from a pit.
"I am what your kind uses to scare children."
Gamishi stepped back.
"Kroxus…" he breathed. "You're supposed to be a myth."
"Ah," Kroxus grinned wider, teeth too sharp, too inhuman. "You've heard of me. That saves us time."
Gamishi swallowed. "How… were there two Saro?"
Kroxus tilted his head, amused.
"For a mortal, you're asking the right questions." He walked forward, the ground burning with every step. "Let's say I duplicated my mind. Kalev was merely one of my parts. This"—he gestured to his chest—"is the original sin."
Gamishi summoned flame to his hand, its light flickering against the red glow surrounding Kroxus.
"The Eternal One will not allow you to harm us," he said through gritted teeth.
"Ah, yes," Kroxus sneered. "Your precious Eternal One."
Before Gamishi could move, agony erupted through his body. He doubled over, screaming — his insides twisting, veins pulsing like molten wires.
"What—what is this!?" he thought.
Kroxus raised a single hand. "A lesson." His voice deepened, each word a tremor.
"I AM YOUR NEW GOD. I DO NOT TAKE ORDERS FROM THE FRAIL. FROM THE LESSER. FROM YOU!"
The air vibrated. Soldiers behind Gamishi dropped to their knees, clutching their heads. Some bled from their eyes.
Gamishi fell forward, one hand pressed to the ground, gasping, barely able to speak. "If… if you love destruction so much—why us? Why not face the Eternal One himself?"
Kroxus's grin turned animal.
"Because there's fun in annoying him. Every scream, every death, every pain in his creation — it sickens him. That is my pleasure. That is my worship."
He clenched his fists. Lightning wrapped around his fingers like serpents.
Saro — the real one, dazed but alive — struggled to crawl away behind them. His mind fractured, his thoughts screaming for escape. He reached out, summoning a green portal, its light weak but flickering.
"If I can reach home—"
Red light flashed. The portal snapped shut with a sound like a whip.
Saro screamed. His arm fell through the rift — and didn't come back.
Damon flinched in his seat. "Pause it!" he called. The projection froze mid-glow.
He leaned closer. "Look at his forearm. Saro's. Were those words there before?"
Hazel's eyes widened slightly. "You really are King Thalor's son. Do you understand the words?"
"Yes. It says 'prepare for Kroxus.' But what do you mean King Thalor's son?" Damon asked.
"I mean," Hazel said softly, "you are truly the child of Thalor and Thessa."
Damon's head turned sharply. "Mom—your name's Thessa? And what does she mean by King Thalor's son? My father's not—"
"Damon," his mother said, voice steady but low. "Your father on Earth was not a king. But the man you were born from… was."
She looked away. "Please. Watch the rest. You must understand before I explain."
The projection resumed.
Kroxus's voice thundered across the wasteland.
"You think you can flee from me, mortal? I can smell the fear in your blood. It calls to me."
Saro turned to run. A whip of flame caught him mid-step, wrapping around his neck and dragging him back, slamming him to the ground.
"Gamishi!" Kroxus's laughter echoed. "I won't claim all the glory. Your friend's growing pride built my throne. His arrogance is my gift to the world."
He lifted Saro by the throat. The man kicked, choked — and turned to ash before Gamishi's eyes.
"NO!" Gamishi shouted, falling to his knees.
Kroxus frowned, almost puzzled. "You mourn him? The key to thousands of deaths? Mortals are… confusing."
Gamishi glared up, fire swirling in his iris. "We're not perfect. We sin, we falter. But we still choose to be better."
Kroxus smiled slowly. "Then choose your suffering."
He raised a hand. Flames burst forth, scarring Gamishi's face.
When the light faded, Gamishi was on his knees — wrists bound by molten chains, his breath shallow. Kroxus stood over him.
"Tell me," he said, almost conversationally. "What was on your friend's arm before he died?"
Gamishi spat blood onto the dirt. "You'll get nothing from me."
Kroxus crouched, smiling. "We'll see."
The chains blazed hotter.
Back in the throne room, the projection dimmed to a fading glow. The Queen lowered her hands.
"That was the beginning of the torture," she said quietly. "The moment Kroxus began to unravel the mind of a man who once believed in peace, but also carried the potential for evil."
Damon sat frozen, the glow of the fading vision still burning in his eyes. The dog pressed closer against his leg, claws twitching nervously, while Hazel hovered in silence, her wings dimming like candlelight.
The Queen lowered her hands, her voice steady but heavy. "Gamishi's faith was the last thing keeping him from surrender. And faith, Damon… is the first thing a devil always tries to break."
Her gaze locked onto him, sharp yet sorrowful. "If you haven't learned anything from Gamishi, understand this: you must always have hope. Without it, even the strongest will fall."
The chamber fell quiet. The dragon‑cross symbol above flickered faintly, its shadow stretching across Damon's face like a reminder carved into stone.
He leaned back slowly, his breath uneven, the weight of her words pressing harder than any chain. Hope. It sounded simple. But in that moment, it felt heavier than the throne room itself.
The Queen turned away, her silhouette framed against the stained glass. "Prepare yourself, Damon. What comes next will test more than your strength. It will test your will."
The projection shimmered once more, light gathering at her fingertips, ready to reveal the next ultimate fracture in the peace of existence.