The night air was thick with silence.
Kira knelt in the shadow of a withered shrine, deep in the Forgotten Wastes. Ash drifted like snow around her, catching in her long raven hair. She wore no armor. Only the tattered remnants of a red sash bound across her chest. Her blade lay on her lap, gleaming faintly in the moonlight, whispering with the voices of her ancestors.
Velarion stood a few paces away, watching her.
"This is where it happened, isn't it?"
Kira nodded. Her voice was low, jagged. "They burned my clan alive. Said we harbored heretics. My father… he was a martial sage, a protector of our land. But the Light Faction called him corrupted. Their Inquisitors came with fire and hymns. My mother died shielding me."
She looked up at Velarion, and for the first time, he saw the shadow of that child still behind her crimson eyes.
"I ran. I hid under corpses to survive."
Velarion's gaze softened. "And the priest who led the purge?"
"Still alive."
Temple of Dawn's Mercy
It was a pristine place. Marble columns. Choirs singing eternal praises. But tonight, the air crackled with unease.
Kira walked through the front doors as if they weren't warded against evil. The holy symbols flickered at her presence but did not repel her.
She had outgrown their fear.
The priest—High Purifier Tarlan—emerged, now old and bloated with sanctified power. His eyes widened when he saw her.
"By the Light... Kira of the Vermillion Blade? You should be dead."
"I was," she said. "Now I live for vengeance."
Tarlan raised his staff, summoning divine fire. "You walk with corruption."
"No. I am corruption."
Their duel shattered the temple.
White fire met blood-red steel. Choirs screamed. Statues wept molten light.
Tarlan struck with holy chains. Kira shattered them with a roar, her sword growing longer, darker. Blood runes etched themselves along her arms.
> [Sync Boost Triggered: Kira – 20% Bonus] [Demonic Emotion Surge Detected]
She disarmed him.
Then she carved the truth into his chest.
"For my clan. For the dead."
Outside the ruins
Velarion leaned against a cracked pillar, watching the flames engulf the temple. Kira emerged, drenched in blood, her eyes gleaming with purpose.
"It's done."
"How do you feel?"
She sheathed her blade slowly. "Not whole. But closer."
Velarion stepped forward, brushing ash from her cheek. "You are more than a sword. You are fury incarnate."
Her breath hitched. She looked up at him—then without warning, she kissed him.
It wasn't gentle.
It was the kiss of a warrior, desperate and raw.
He pulled her close, and for the first time, Kira allowed herself to fall.
---
> [Affection: 88% | Corruption: 92%] [Status: Infernal Sword Maiden Achieved] [Permanent Sync Boost: +20% Enabled]
As the flames behind them died, Velarion took her hand.
"Come. There is a war to fight. And I want my Sword Maiden beside me."
She smirked. "Always. And I want more blood."
They vanished into the dark, leaving behind only cinders and ruin—and a name whispered by the wind:
Kira, the Blade of the Ash King.
The next morning, crimson banners fluttered in the wind over the ruins of Dawn's Mercy. What had once been a bastion of Light now stood hollow, its walls blackened by infernal residue, its clergy scattered or dead.
The world noticed.
> [System Broadcast: High Purifier Tarlan – DECEASED] [Public Sentiment Shift: Light Faction – -4%] [Fear Index: +9% – "Ash King's Sword Maiden Spotted Near Sacred Site Destruction"]
Kira watched from a distant cliff as news crystals shimmered with the fallout. Whispers echoed even here, spoken by frightened merchants, rogue sects, and petty nobles:
"She walks the path of vengeance." "They say she cannot die." "She killed a High Purifier... with style."
Kira scoffed. "Style, huh?"
Velarion approached behind her, folding his arms. "You're becoming a legend. One more tale in the empire I'm building."
"I'm not a tale," she replied. "I'm the ending."
He liked that.
Still, something in her tone was hollow—like an edge that hadn't fully found its sheath.
"You still feel it, don't you?" he asked. "The weight?"
Kira was quiet for a long time. "I thought vengeance would fill the hole. But I just feel... colder."
He didn't try to fix her. He just stood beside her.
That's why she trusted him.
Hours later: Demon Flame Encampment – Inner Sanctum
The core members of the Demon Flame Sect gathered in a ritual circle.
Selene stood in full Blood Sigil Queen regalia, arms crossed. Nyx lingered in the shadows, cleaning her blades. Luxia, the Dungeon Core Maiden, projected dungeon-growth analytics into the air with a shimmer of mana-light.
Kira entered last, clad in new armor forged from temple remnants—blackened angelsteel laced with infernal markings. Her presence silenced the room.
Velarion rose from his obsidian throne and raised his hand.
"Step forward."
Kira obeyed.
"Before us stands a blade sharpened by grief, tempered in fire, and forged in rebellion. You have shed Light and carved fear into the righteous. I name you—formally—as Infernal Sword Maiden. My right hand in blood."
Flames erupted behind her.
A brand ignited across her shoulder—sigil of the Ash King, fused into her flesh.
> [Title Confirmed: Infernal Sword Maiden] [Passive Skill Gained: Bladeburst Aura – +15% AoE Damage / Causes enemies to hallucinate flames during melee clash] [Aura Effect: Nearby allies gain +10% Aggression during skirmishes when Kira leads]
Selene stepped forward first, offering a rare nod. "Welcome to the front."
Even Nyx offered a sly smirk. "About time someone else did something publicly insane."
Kira smiled faintly. "Glad to disappoint expectations."
Velarion descended from his throne.
He reached for her hand—and before the full Demon Flame gathering—he pressed a kiss to her knuckles.
"I don't want just warriors," he said. "I want symbols. You are the fury of the forgotten. Let the world tremble."
And it did.
Elsewhere: Light Faction Sky Bastion – Inner Tribunal Hall
Saintblade General Liora slammed her gauntlet against the crystal table.
"They desecrated Dawn's Mercy. They assassinated High Purifier Tarlan. And the people call her a hero?!"
A trembling steward read from a scroll. "Citizens in four sectors are calling for inquiry into past purges. Some are comparing Kira to… to Saint Ariselle the Fireborn."
Liora's face twisted in rage. "She is no saint. She is a demon's whore wielding a cursed blade!"
She turned toward the Tribunal priests.
"We must authorize Heaven's Wrath Protocol. The city must see fire fall."
But some of the elders hesitated.
"The people are questioning us," murmured one. "What if... she has a point?"
Liora's glare could have shattered stone.
But doubt had been sown.
Final Notice
> [Affection: Kira – 92% | Corruption: 94%] [Reputation: Infernal Sword Maiden – Feared in 8 Zones | Revered in 2 | Idolized in 1 (Sector 12)] [Demon Flame Subfaction Created: Crimson Vow Vanguard – Led by Kira] [Velarion Harem Sync Efficiency: 84% – War Buff Activated] [Next Objective: Consolidate Support in Sector 13 – Rumors of Paladin Deserters Abound]
As Velarion, Selene, Nyx, and Kira prepared their next move, the drums of war began to echo louder.
And in the hearts of the oppressed, a name began to rise—etched in ash and blood:
Kira, Blade of the Ash King.