Howlers rampaged through Valdorne's streets, their piercing shrieks bouncing off scorched walls as they lunged at fleeing citizens. Blood sprayed across shattered cobblestones, the air thick with the stench of charred flesh and sulfur.
In the central plaza's smoldering ruins, the Fourth Talon stirred, groaning and bloodied. Their memories flickered, hazy, until they locked eyes on Captain Rorick's monstrous, barely human form, horror dawning on their faces.
"What happened to you, Captain?" Olga's voice trembled, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Laverna landed beside them, breathless, her jamadhars dripping black ichor. She glanced at the stunned Talon. "Do you remember anything before you were knocked out?"
Olga shook her head, her movements slow. "He called a meeting, said he was the new captain. We gathered in the courtyard, then... nothing but darkness."
Mira pressed a hand to her throbbing temple, trembling. "It wasn't just darkness. It felt like a dream, watching myself obey him, touching him, doing things I'd never..." Her voice broke, shame flooding her eyes.
Tove hugged herself, shivering. "I saw it too, felt everything. I couldn't stop it, gods, I couldn't stop it."
Lyssa collapsed to her knees, her voice hollow. "I begged him to stop inside my mind. But my body just smiled, laughed, like it was normal."
Father Grent stood pale, sweat beading on his brow. "I executed dissenters, their screams haunting me. Rynn and I thought it was policy, that we were maintaining order."
Rynn's eyes were vacant, her voice flat. "I knew something was wrong. I just didn't want to lose my rank."
Dalen's fists tightened, knuckles white. "I locked families in their homes and set the doors ablaze. I watched them burn, all because he said we had to purge the 'infected.'"
Laverna's breath caught as the truth clicked into place. "He's controlled you for a long time, trapping you like a two-way mirror. You could see, maybe feel, but you couldn't act."
Olga's tear-streaked eyes hardened with resolve. She stood, wincing from bruises but unyielding. "Then we'll make it right. Valdorne needs us to evacuate every last citizen."
Laverna moved to follow, but Olga gripped her arm. "You've done enough here. Shin needs you more. Go. We'll handle this, I swear."
Laverna met Olga's gaze, then nodded sharply. She vanished in a swirl of shadow, leaving only silence.
Across the city, Shin clashed with the grotesque fusion of Rorick and the Howler Falzath. Their duel shattered the plaza, blades sparking as spells erupted, collapsing buildings into clouds of dust and splintered stone.
Rorick's strikes grew heavier, infused with the malice choking the air. Shin's movements slowed, his strength ebbing as the ground quaked beneath their ferocity.
Rorick's blade-arm slashed, catching Shin's shoulder and sending him crashing through a market stall, splintered wood flying. The wolf-like beast stalked forward, demonic eyes glowing, as flames from nearby ruins cast eerie shadows across his twisted form.
"You want to know why I'm like this?" Rorick's growl rumbled like thunder. "I was born in a pit, no coin, no bread, just fists and blood. My father drank himself dead, my mother sold herself so I could eat."
He swung again, his blade carving a gash through a stone fountain, water spraying wildly. Shin rolled aside, blood dripping from his shoulder, as Rorick's strike cratered the ground, sending cobblestones flying like shrapnel.
"When I joined the Imperial Crown, it was my escape," Rorick snarled, his claws raking through a merchant's cart, scattering barrels. "But my father learned what my mother did and slaughtered her. I was twelve. I slit his throat and watched him choke on his own blood."
Shin staggered to his feet, Yoshimatsu flaring in his grip. Rorick towered over him, the air crackling with dark energy.
"I swore I'd never be hungry again," Rorick roared, his next blow toppling a charred lamppost, which crashed into a storefront with a deafening clang. "I cheated, stole, crushed anyone in my way. The King made me his dog, and I played loyal to rise. You think I care who I hurt? I survived."
Shin parried a crushing strike, the force sending him skidding across the plaza, his boots sparking on stone. The fox spirit within him blazed, its power surging through his veins.
"You're no soldier," Shin spat, lunging forward, his blade slicing through a hanging banner, which ignited in a burst of flame. "You're a parasite, feeding off the system while pretending to protect it."
Their blades met in a blinding clash, the shockwave shattering nearby windows, glass raining like glittering shards. The sky above split with jagged lightning, as if the heavens mourned the chaos below.
Rorick roared, his form swelling with dark power, and charged, his claws ripping up chunks of the plaza's stone. Shin ducked, countering with a slash that sent a gust of spiritual energy ripping through the air, toppling a burning scaffold with a fiery crash.
They traded blows, each strike reshaping the battlefield—crumbling walls, uprooting trees, and igniting debris. The plaza became a maelstrom of fire, dust, and fractured earth, their duel a cinematic storm of destruction.
Far behind, the Fourth Talon guided civilians through Laverna's shadow corridors. Screams faded into distant echoes as hope flickered faintly.
The true storm, however, was only beginning. Shin, bloodied but unbowed, faced Rorick head-on, ready to end the nightmare.
Shin's strength faltered, his body weakened from sharing his ki and mana with Laverna through the crest. Even in this limited state, his resolve burned fierce to protect the people of Valdorne and those he held dear.
He would not die here. His grip tightened on Yoshimatsu, the fox spirit's glow pulsing faintly.
Rorick charged, his movements sharper, the demonic eye on his chest glinting with feral intelligence. With every strike, the Howler's essence adapted, anticipating Shin's dodges and counters, gaining a relentless advantage.
The plaza trembled as Rorick's blade-arm slashed, splintering a stone pillar, dust clouding the air. Shin stumbled, his reflexes dulled, blood streaming from fresh wounds as Rorick pressed his assault.
Laverna emerged from the shadows, her heart pounding as she reached the battlefield. Her eyes locked onto Shin, her pillar, her hope, her light, just as Rorick's blade plunged into his chest.
Laverna's scream tore through the chaos, raw and horrified. Shin's body slumped, blood pooling beneath him, as Rorick's eyes gleamed in triumph, grinning as he pulled his blade from Shin's chest.