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In the subterranean vaults of the High Sanctum, Zakner sat on the edge of a meager cot, letting out a long, ragged breath. These chambers had been prepared for just such a crisis—stocked with minimalist furniture, emergency rations, and a cache of weaponry.
How many times did I stare into the eyes of death today?
Wiping the sweat from his brow with a trembling sleeve, Zakner pried open the locket he wore around his neck. Inside was a portrait of a red-haired woman—a childhood friend he had once promised his future to. But she had been butchered by bandits on a pilgrimage to spread the faith of Aztla.
Without law, humans are nothing more than beasts.
From that day on, Zakner’s conviction had calcified: only law and absolute order could save humanity. And for the sake of that order, he would sanction any sacrifice, no matter how bloody.
“Oh? Your own private room while the city burns? How very like you, Zakner.”
A voice drifted from the shadows. A candle flickered to life. Sitting on a stone bench against the far wall was a woman, her legs crossed with an air of casual arrogance.
“You…!? God, don’t scare me like that.”
Relief washed over Zakner as he looked up. The voice was dangerously seductive; the woman possessed a dark, lustrous complexion that seemed to glow in the candlelight. It was Gilzenth , the Head of State of the Varney Republic and the sovereign of its Holy Maidens.
“Why are you here? How did you even bypass the—”
“Does it really matter?” Gilzenth interrupted, stretching her arms with a look of profound boredom. “Everything went exactly as planned thanks to your… ‘cooperation.’ I simply came to offer my thanks.”
Days before the assault on Batlig, Zakner had received a quiet request from Gilzenth. Following her lead, he had diverted the majority of the Kingdom’s Holy Maidens to the offshore sea fortresses. The result: Batlig had been left defenseless.
“I was never told there would be an invasion!” Zakner hissed, his anger flaring despite the stature of the woman before him. “I was a hair’s breadth away from being decapitated by that Linkaje brat’s blade!”
“Oh, I didn’t know either,” Gilzenth chuckled, a low, throaty sound. “The girl must have acted on her own little whim.”
She smiled—a predator’s smile that suggested every “accident” was a move she had anticipated.
“The Hierarchs are all dead. Your fighting force is crippled. The Ezaris Kingdom is a hollowed-out shell.” Gilzenth licked her lips, her eyes dancing with malice.
“The agreement, Gilzenth . You remember the price. I expect my reward to be… substantial.”
“Of course. Gold, jewels, and all the women your withered heart desires. However—”
A sharp crack echoed through the vault.
A bullet, fired from a floating pistol-type Blitz, tore through Zakner’s skull.
“I have no intention of paying.”
A giggle escaped her, followed by a fit of uncontrollable mirth. Her shrill, mocking laughter filled the chamber, echoing off the stone walls now painted with the remains of the man who thought he was a mastermind.
NEXT PHASE 02
