The marble halls of the Sanctum Council echoed with whispers.
Serian stood before the Twelve. Regal. Calm. But their eyes no longer held trust—only doubt.
> "You ignored protocol in Vernas," said the High Seer.
"No support. No backup. And yet you returned… untouched."
Serian didn't flinch.
> "There was no threat. The city was already abandoned."
A lie.
But a calculated one.
He wasn't ready to reveal the Demon Lord.
Not yet.
Not until he understood what they were.
And what he was.
---
A Watcher in the Shadows
Outside the chamber, an assassin trailed Serian's steps. One hand on her dagger, one scroll in her cloak.
> "The Hero has deviated," she whispered into a hidden crystal.
"Requesting permission to observe… or eliminate."
The Council did not respond.
But someone else did.
> Malveth.
---
Malveth's Stirring
In the forbidden realm between worlds, Malveth watched through shattered mirrors.
Her second clone—the Demon Lord—had broken pattern.
He disobeyed.
He hesitated.
He dreamed.
> "He's remembering," she hissed.
"No… they both are."
She clenched her fist.
> "This experiment ends now."
---
The Awakening
That night, the Demon Lord meditated atop a cliff, wind tugging at his cloak.
And for the first time… he did not pray to Malveth.
Instead, he whispered to the stars:
> "If I'm just a weapon… why do I want to protect them?"
His children—orphans, broken, forgotten—slept peacefully behind him.
He would kill for them.
Burn for them.
But the question still lingered.
> "Am I becoming something else?"
And in the back of his mind, a second voice stirred.
> One that didn't belong to Malveth.
---
The Web Tightens
Back in the Council's inner sanctum, a vote was cast.
> "The Hero must be tested," one elder said.
"Or replaced."
They would send him on a suicide mission.
Not to kill the Demon Lord.
But to kill himself.
---