King Sable stood on the balcony of his castle, overlooking the courtyard below.
Hundreds of villagers were forced into the square, surrounded by armored guards.
The king smiled.
A real smile.
"Bring out the traitor."
Chains rattled.
The crowd murmured with fear.
Sataro Aoyami was dragged forward—
shirt torn, blood dried on his face, wrists chained behind him.
He walked, but barely.
Every step left a smear of red on the stones.
Haruto, Lira, and Ren were dragged behind him, forced to kneel in front of the stage.
Haruto cried out, voice cracking.
"S-Sataro! Sataro, get up!"
Sataro lifted his head just enough to meet Haruto's eyes.
He tried to smile.
"…I'm okay, idiot."
Haruto sobbed harder.
Lira clutched Haruto's hand so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Ren trembled in rage, fists clenched so hard his nails drew blood.
The King's Speech
King Sable stepped forward, elegant and cruel.
"People of the kingdom," he announced, arms open,
"today you witness the end of a traitor…
and the punishment for all who defy me."
He gestured lazily toward Sataro.
"This boy… believed he could escape his role.
He believed he could hide.
He believed he could protect his brother."
Sable smiled wider.
"But he failed."
Sataro spit blood at the ground.
"You'll never win," he rasped.
"You'll fall. I swear it."
Sable laughed in his face.
"How brave of you… for a dead man."
The Execution
The Dreaded Knight stepped onto the platform, sword in hand — a massive obsidian blade that seemed to swallow the light.
He placed the tip against Sataro's chest.
Haruto screamed.
"NO! NO! STOP! PLEASE! PLEASE!!"
Lira was sobbing into Haruto's shoulder.
Ren fought his guards until they hit him repeatedly.
Sataro didn't look at the Knight.
He looked ONLY at Haruto.
His voice was weak… but steady.
"Haruto… listen…"
He struggled for breath.
"You're strong. Way stronger than me. Don't… don't let him… control you…"
Haruto shook violently.
"Sataro please… please don't— PLEASE DON'T DIE—"
Sataro closed his eyes.
"…I love you, little brother."
Haruto screamed until his voice broke.
The Knight raised the blade.
And drove it straight through Sataro's heart.
Haruto's Breakdown
Haruto's scream shook the courtyard.
"SATAROOOOOOOOO!!!"
Lira grabbed him, sobbing hysterically.
Ren collapsed to the ground in pure shock.
Sataro's body fell to the stone with a dull, final thud.
King Sable stepped forward, grinning.
"And that," he said to the crowd,
"is the fate of all who resist me."
He pointed at Haruto, Lira, and Ren.
"Throw them back in their cells."
The King's Cruelty
Back in the dungeon, the guards dragged Haruto by the chains and shoved him into his cell.
He hit the floor, crying silently, shaking uncontrollably.
Then—
Sataro's lifeless body was thrown in after him.
Haruto's breath stopped.
The guards laughed.
"Enjoy the company."
The door slammed shut.
Lira screamed from her cell.
"NO! NO! TAKE HIM OUT! PLEASE! PLEASE!"
Ren kicked his bars until his foot bled.
Haruto crawled to Sataro's body and held him—
hands shaking so violently he could barely touch him.
"Sataro… get up… please… get up…"
But Sataro was cold.
Haruto pressed his forehead against his brother's chest and cried harder than he ever had in his life.
Nova Returns
Hours passed.
Footsteps echoed in the corridor.
Haruto didn't look up.
He didn't care anymore.
But then—
A soft voice whispered:
"Haruto…"
Haruto froze.
He lifted his head.
Nova stood outside the bars, hood over her head, eyes swollen from crying.
Lira gasped from her cell.
"YOU—!! You betrayed him!! YOU KILLED HIM!!"
Nova flinched but didn't deny it.
Ren growled from the shadows.
Haruto said nothing.
He just stared at her with empty eyes.
Nova knelt down in front of his cell.
"…I was wrong," she whispered.
"About everything."
Haruto swallowed, voice dead.
"What do you want?"
Nova reached into her cloak…
…and pulled out the Book.
She slid it through the bars.
Haruto stared at it with trembling hands.
"Why… why give this to me?"
Nova's tears fell onto the stone.
"Because the king lied to me…
just like he lied to you."
Haruto blinked.
Nova's voice cracked.
"My parents…
He told me they were alive…
That if I delivered you… they'd be freed…"
Haruto's heart raced.
Nova continued, shaking.
"But when I reached the castle…
their room was empty.
The guards looked at me like I was insane."
Her voice broke completely.
"They were dead long before I ever met you…
and the king used me."
Haruto's breath stopped.
Lira covered her mouth, crying.
Ren whispered, "Damn… she really didn't know…"
Nova pressed the book urgently into Haruto's hands.
"Listen… this book… it's magic.
Forbidden magic."
Haruto stared at the strange symbols on the cover.
Nova leaned closer, whispering:
"To use it…
you have to bleed."
Haruto blinked.
Nova continued:
"Cut yourself…
And let a drop of your blood fall on the page.
The book will open…
and it will show you what you desire most."
Haruto's hands shook violently.
He looked down at Sataro's dead body.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"I know… what I desire…"
Nova nodded.
The torches flickered.
The dungeon went silent.
Haruto opened the book.