The floor beneath his former companions dissolved into light. Not killing them. Not punishing them. Just… choosing them. The light wrapped around Lyra’s shield and made it a cage. It wove through Torvin’s fingers and turned every blade he touched against his own shadow. It entered Marduk’s mind and showed him every future where his greed consumed him—and then made him live in all of them at once.
That’s when Marduk had drawn his blade.
“What did you do?” Marduk whispered, his spell unraveling in his fingers. The floor beneath his former companions dissolved into light
Bootsteps at the entrance. Three silhouettes.
Shinjiteita nakama. The ones he had believed in. Just… choosing them
He pressed his bleeding hand against the altar socket.
The air in the chamber tasted of rust and old betrayal. It entered Marduk’s mind and showed him every
Now he understood. Betrayal was the real prison.