Chapter 944 — The Razor's Edge
The council chamber was still when Kael spoke, his voice carrying low but firm through the vaulted stone room. The pulsing shard sat in its containment case at the center of the round table, its faint red glow casting shifting shadows across the faces gathered there—Lyria, Varik, Selina, Fenrik, and Zerathis.
"The daemon inside told Selina what we feared," Kael began, his hands braced on the table's rim. "The Church isn't working on a single weapon—they're producing many. Each powered by a chaos core, each one alive."
The words hung like iron in the air.
Lyria's brow furrowed. "If they're mass-producing chaos cores, the balance between us and the Church will break. Even the Hollow's walls won't hold against an army wielding that kind of power."
Zerathis folded his arms, his tone a deep growl. "Then we end it before they're ready. March south, raze their sanctums, and scatter their ashes."
Kael looked up sharply. "And start another war? You think the people will survive another crusade? The Hollow has barely begun to heal."
The daemon warrior's jaw flexed. "So what then? Sit here while they build weapons to burn us alive?"
Kael's stare was cold steel. "You think I don't feel the same rage you do, Zerathis? You think I don't want to crush the Church under our boots for what they've done to our people?" He slammed a hand on the table, the sound echoing like thunder. "But rage doesn't win wars—it buries kingdoms."
Eris's voice flickered in the back of his mind. You're torn, Kael. Every path ends in blood.
He didn't deny it.
"There's no clean solution," Kael continued after a moment, his tone measured but heavy. "If we wait, the Church will finish their weapons and flood the world with chaos. If we strike first, we risk starting the war again—one that might never end this time."
Silence fell again, broken only by the faint pulse of the shard's inner heartbeat.
Then Kael straightened, his expression shifting from weariness to resolve. "So we find another way. A sharp strike—fast and focused. We take out their research and development facilities, destroy their chaos production, and leave before they can react. No prolonged engagement, no mass slaughter."
Varik frowned. "A strike like that would need allies—resources, mobility, and intelligence. We'd have to coordinate perfectly."
Kael nodded. "Exactly. Thalren still owes us for saving his borders during the southern campaign. Alaric commands the skyship fleets and has the best intelligence network in the west. And Greystone's artificers could sabotage the Church's equipment from within."
Lyria tilted her head. "That would mean reaching beyond the Hollow again—showing the world we're back on the board."
"That's the point," Kael replied quietly. "The Church's strength lies in their secrecy. If the world knows what they're doing, they lose control of the narrative. They lose fear."
Zerathis's eyes narrowed. "And if they retaliate? If the Church sends their armies in holy retribution?"
Kael met his gaze without flinching. "Then they'll be fighting an army that stands united. Not fractured, not uncertain. The Hollow, our allies, and every soul who still values freedom over faith."
Lyria smiled faintly. "You sound like the Kael I remember—the one who believed he could save everyone."
He gave a small, dry laugh. "I don't believe that anymore. I just believe we can stop the wrong people from destroying what's left."
When the council dispersed, the chamber fell silent again, leaving only Kael and Selina. The daemon scholar stood by the shard's containment field, watching its pulse.
"You heard what it said," Kael murmured. "Three more shards, all in different corners of the world."
Selina nodded. "The Church is close. Too close. If they connect the cores, they'll have an endless source of chaos—pure energy to reshape the world."
Kael rubbed his jaw, eyes distant. "Then we strike before they finish it. Alaric, Thalren, Greystone. If they move with us, we end this before it begins."
Selina hesitated. "And if they refuse?"
"Then we do it alone."
She studied him for a long moment, her crimson eyes unreadable. "You're willing to risk everything on a single strike?"
He met her gaze evenly. "I'm willing to risk myself if it means no one else has to."
The words hit her deeper than she expected. For a heartbeat, she felt that strange warmth again—that irrational pull she'd begun to recognize as emotion.
But behind it, something darker stirred. The shard pulsed faintly, almost like laughter.
"He speaks like one of us," the voice whispered in Selina's mind. "A king ready to destroy himself for balance. Tell me, sister—when he falls, will you still serve him?"
Selina's lips tightened, her claws curling against her robes. She said nothing.
Kael, unaware of the voice that haunted her, turned toward the chamber doors. "Send a raven to Thalren and Alaric. Tell them the Hollow is ready to move."
"As you command, my lord," Selina said softly.
And when he was gone, she stared at the shard again—its faint heartbeat in sync with her own—and wondered just how much longer she could pretend she wasn't one of them.