The first tremor was so faint it barely disturbed the surface of a steaming cup of coffee sitting on a café table. A lone civilian, engrossed in the worn pages of his book, glanced up as the faintest ripple danced across the dark liquid. His brow furrowed, unease sliding up his spine like cold water. The vibration deepened.
Around him, the world changed.
The soft clink of cups rattling on saucers grew sharper. Chairs scraped across cobblestones. A spoon tipped over and spun once on a plate before falling still. The air itself hummed. Subtle, but wrong.
Murmurs spread through the marketplace like sparks on dry grass.
Startled, the man stood abruptly, gripping the back of his chair as if the ground might give way beneath him. His pulse beat faster. Around him, others were rising too. Faces drawn, eyes darting. Someone shouted a question. No one had an answer.
A woman grabbed her child and held her close.
Another tremor rolled through. Stronger. Windows shuddered in their frames. A low groan rose from the earth like a sigh torn from the depths of something ancient.
Market stalls quivered. The linen canopy of a spice merchant whipped free from its ties. A crate of oranges tumbled, bright and absurd, against the gray dust rising in the air.
Then came the first scream.
The castle loomed in the distance, black against a reddening sky. Its massive stone walls, proud and unmoving for generations, now groaned like a wounded beast. The sound carried.
Inside, within the grand hall, power strained against stone.
The Aurora Paladin remained firm, her shield a blazing wall of celestial light. It pulsed, alive with magic, anchoring her to fractured marble as hairline cracks spidered out beneath her boots. Her griffin growled low behind her, feathers bristling with tension.
Kael stepped forward. Twin blades held tight. The steel hummed, alive in his hands.
His every movement was measured, but beneath the control burned fire. The fury of a king forced to defend not his throne, but his people.
He stopped short of the Titan.
The behemoth met his gaze. That mocking grin still in place. His chest rose and fell with the slow rhythm of confidence. A predator measuring his kill.
"At last, King, we speak the only language that matters."
He moved.
The hilt of the colossal blade rose behind him, and with a deliberate motion, he drew it. Metal scraped stone, shrieking through the chamber like a scream held too long. The ceiling cracked slightly as the blade cleared its resting place.
He brought it down. Hard.
The tip slammed into the floor. The impact thundered.
A blast of force tore through the chamber. A shockwave that cracked the ground open and threw council members to their knees. Dust exploded outward. A column near the back groaned, then collapsed with a roar. Chunks of marble skittered across the floor.
The Aurora Paladin dropped to one knee, bracing with her shield as the impact roared through her bones. Her griffin yelped, wings flaring.
But the barrier held.
The Titan didn't pause. "Let's see if you're worthy of that throne, King."
Kael didn't blink.
This wasn't rage. Not anymore.
This was resolve.
He stepped forward again. Closer.
The Titan moved in kind, every motion heavier than the last. The air grew thick.
Charged.
Muscles tensed. Swords raised.
The Titan's massive frame coiled like a serpent, his sword grating free of the cracked stone. The castle doors groaned open from the force, their hinges screaming as though they, too, were unwilling to bear witness.
Then the attack came.
A downward swing, brutal and absolute, descended like the wrath of a mountain falling.
Kael moved.
His blades rose, crossing in a flash of silver and gold. They caught the blow mid-air.
The sound was unbearable.
Steel against steel. Power against power. The clash rang out like a god's verdict, ripping through the air. Light burst between them. Raw energy, shattering the stone beneath their feet and hurling debris across the chamber like shrapnel. Columns split. Chandeliers snapped from their chains.
Outside, the city screamed.
The shock tore through its bones. Buildings groaned and cracked. A tower collapsed, sending smoke pluming into the sky. Fires sparked from fallen lanterns. The streets flooded with dust and flame.
Kael's gaze flicked downward in a stolen breath between blows.
The devastation was spreading fast.
He saw broken streets, smoke rising like banners of surrender. Bodies half-buried beneath rubble. A child weeping beside a toppled market stall. Her mother, arms wrapped around her, shielding her from falling stone with a body that no longer moved.
The world blurred.
Kael staggered as another blow struck. The blades met again, but this time, the impact drove him back. His boots slid across fractured marble. Blood ran from his temple, stinging his eye.
He gritted his teeth. Held the line.
But it wasn't enough.
Another swing. Parried. Another. Parried. Barely.
The Titan didn't slow. Didn't tire.
Kael felt the weight of it all. His people, his failures, the very earth crumbling beneath their fight. He was running out of space. Out of time.
And still the blows came.
###
Far from the chaos, beyond the sound and fury, a room sat in silence.
Darkness hugged the corners. Only the glow of the screens offered light. Soft, eerie, flickering. They shifted constantly, showing fractured scenes of lives and loss.
And she watched.
The woman sat motionless, her face lit by pale flashes. Battles, deaths, choices. Her eyes never left the screen that mattered.
The king. The Titan's roar. The kingdom breaking in two.
Her fingers moved once. Then stilled.
She had seen cities fall. Had let them. Had watched as kings died and heroes were forgotten.
But not this time.
Something deeper pulled at her now. Not fate. Not duty.
Something quieter.
The flames on the screen cast red over her features. In one feed, a building collapsed. In another, a woman's scream was swallowed by smoke.
And still she sat.
Until she didn't.
A single word escaped her lips.
Soundless.
And the balance shifted.