The chamber had barely settled from the king's revelations when the doors thundered open. Then came the sound.
Heavy.
Measured.
Inevitable.
A cadence of ruination.
Each footstep boomed like a war drum. Gradual, deliberate, and unbearably loud. The ground itself groaned with each step. Vibrations crawling into the bones of those present. Dust drifted from the ceiling, disturbed by the sheer presence of the one who entered.
A mountain carved into a man, his body a grotesque fusion of muscle and stone. He moved as if the air was bent to let him pass. The torchlight fractured against the jagged lines of his skin. Highlighting his thick veins. Shadows clung to him, draping his frame in darkness.
In one hand, he carried a royal guard like a rag doll.
Without ceremony, he hurled the limp body across the chamber. The man's armor clattered like broken pottery. He skid across the floor before rolling to a stop near the far wall.
Two guild members followed behind. They were leaner, faster-looking. Sharp eyes and sharper smiles, but their presence barely registered. They drifted like parasites orbiting a much larger predator. Their confidence, second-hand, inherited from proximity to something far greater.
The king didn't speak right away.
His fingers twisted the ring on his hand, the metal pressing deep into his flesh. Heat radiated from it. Not from fire, but friction.
The pressure of restraint.
His lips curled inward. Bit down. Silencing the first words that nearly escaped.
The insult.
The threat.
He looked once at the unconscious guard. Then at the Titan.
Despite that, he said nothing.
A bead of sweat slipped down his temple. It ran toward the edge of his cheekbone before vanishing into the collar of his robes. The only hint.
His grip on the throne's arm tightened, fingers twitching once, then again. The faint tremor betrayed what his face would not. His anger wasn't rising.
It was already here.
He inhaled slowly, the breath sharp, almost painful in its restraint. Then let it go, steady. Weighted.
"Titan of the Chronus Guild," the king said finally, each word heavy with disdain. "I believe it's not your guild's turn yet."
The Titan didn't flinch.
He grinned. Sharp and slow.
"Turns? Hah!"
"I think we're beyond turns now, don't you?"
Another flick of his wrist, and another guard scraped further across the floor.
His hand dropped to the hilt of the massive sword strapped across his back.
Unrefined.
Brutal.
Shaped not for beauty but for war.
Slaughter.
The council stiffened. Their eyes flicked between the Titan and the king. The breath in their lungs thinned by the sudden shift in pressure.
Elois took a small step back, barely noticeable. Her hands clenched at her sides, nails digging into skin as she tried to slow her breathing.
Lady Kiara didn't move. Her eyes tracked every motion the Titan made, cold and razor-sharp.
He stepped forward. The tremor followed.
"You know why I'm here, Kael." His voice dropped, the rumble tightening into something colder. "The Dragon Lord's share. I've waited long enough for this ridiculous game of yours. It's time you handed over what's mine."
The king's knuckles squared on the throne's edge.
"Your guild's part has already been decided, and you'll receive it after the council meeting, as agreed." His voice was calm, but the steel beneath it was unmistakable.
"But this display," his eyes slid to the fallen guards, "don't you agree is unnecessary? You will get what you're owed, but you'll do so with respect."
The Titan laughed. Low and hollow.
"Respect?"
"You dare speak to me of respect after making me wait like some common errand boy?"
The air thickened.
"No, Kael. I've indulged your games long enough. You'll give me what's mine now, or I'll carve it out of your kingdom myself."
A sharp intake of breath followed. But not from the king.
Lady Kiara stood. Smooth. Controlled. Her voice rang out like cold steel drawn in darkness.
"You would do well to remember where you stand, guild master. Your power may be recognized here,"
"but it does not grant you the right to make demands like a petulant child."
The Titan turned to her lazily, and for a brief second, something like interest flickered in his eyes.
"Ah, Lady Kiara. Still sharp as ever, I see."
His grin widened. Not friendly. Not amused. Dangerous.
He looked back at the king.
"But you misunderstand me,"
"I'm not here to ask anymore. I'm here to collect."
Another step forward.
The king didn't flinch.
His breath escaped in a long, silent exhale. His eyelids lowered for a moment, as though the weight of his crown had doubled in an instant. When they rose again, the warmth was gone.
Only silence remained behind his eyes.
He stood slowly.
"Your rudeness has reached its limit."
"Perhaps it's time I remind you why I'm called the king."
The words landed like a verdict.
He reached for the blades. Twin hilts resting against his armor like sleeping serpents. His fingers closed around them, slow and steady, as though drawing from memory.
The swords slowly slid free.
A whisper of steel against scabbard, clean and cold.
The kind of sound that marked the end of negotiations.
The air shifted.
Listened.
The council didn't move. But something in them braced.
Even the Titan's grin faltered, if only for a second.
Then the Aurora Paladin stepped forward.
Her silver-plated boots clicked once against the floor. A crisp sound in the heavy stillness.
She didn't speak yet. She moved.
Her griffin let out a low growl, feathers rippling. In one motion, it padded across the room. It hooked its talons beneath the unconscious guards and lifted them with quiet strength.
The council members parted. They watched in silence as the creature glided back across the floor. Stashing the man safely beyond the confrontation.
Only then did she speak.
"Behind me," she said.
No panic. No hesitation. Her voice wasn't loud, it didn't need to be.
The council obeyed.
Then her arm rose. One gauntleted hand extended, and with it, the magic flared.
Light gathered.
A magic circle bloomed in the air above her palm. Runes spinning outward, forming intricate layers like petals unfolding in motion. The light pulsed, growing stronger.
Then a shield emerged.
A radiant wall of power unfurled before her, as tall as the room and twice as wide. The light warped through it, bending at impossible angles. Silver veins twisted across its surface, like roots of lightning embedded in crystal. In its center, a pulsing heart of energy beat with celestial rhythm.
The chamber was drenched in its glow.
The ground beneath her cracked, unable to fully bear the force of the barrier's presence. Air pressure surged inward. Some shielded their eyes. Others simply stared.
The Titan watched it all, no longer smiling.
The king stood there, blades drawn, gaze level.
Unshaken.
Unyielding.