The chamber doors sealed with a deep, resonant boom, muffling the outside world. Only the crackle of candle flames and the faint scrape of chairs being drawn back filled the space as the council gathered around a long obsidian table. High-ranking priests, commanders, and nobles took their places — but even here, there wasn't a single elf or beastfolk among them.
Elara and Lumi stood out like blood on white cloth.
Renar remained standing at the head of the table, both hands resting on its surface as he spoke. "The Upper Demons have begun to stir. Villages razed. Temples defiled. And their commanders — abominations once thought sealed by our ancestors — now walk freely in the Isles again."
A map was unfurled before them, marked with dark sigils in spreading patterns.
"But that is not our only threat," Renar continued, his voice low, threading through the chamber like a coil of smoke. "Traitors linger in our cities. Foreign blood conspires against the sanctity of the human kingdoms."
Elara's jaw clenched. Lumi's fingers brushed the hilt of her dagger again, but Tsukasa reached out subtly, brushing her arm. Not yet.
Renar's gaze met his. The room seemed to tilt, the candlelight reflecting in his cold, calculating eyes.
"Which is why," Renar went on, "we cannot allow sentiment or superstition to cloud judgment. All non-human enclaves within Havenmere's walls will be… relocated. Temporarily, for their protection, of course."
A lie so thin it was an insult.
Elara's voice was like ice on glass. "You mean camps."
Renar smiled, that perfect, saintly expression never faltering. "A necessary precaution. One the people demand. After all…" His eyes glinted. "Who knows what allegiances might surface when the demons come calling?"
The nobles murmured in approval. The priests murmured prayers.
Tsukasa stepped forward, hands in his pockets, a lazy grin on his face. "I've seen a lot of ugly things," he said casually. "But it takes a special kind of coward to stab your own people in the back while you're busy pretending to save them."
The room stilled. All eyes on him.
Renar's pleasant mask cracked, just a fraction. "You forget yourself, stranger."
"Do I?" Tsukasa's grin widened. "See, I've fought your 'Upper Demons.' And you know what I didn't see? Them giving a damn about ears or tails or bloodlines. Just death. Maybe you should worry about what's coming for you, instead of caging up the people you don't like."
The words hung heavy.
Elara placed a hand on Tsukasa's arm. Not to stop him — but in solidarity.
Renar's gaze flickered between them, his tone smooth but laced with venom. "You'll find this city… less forgiving than whatever lawless wastes you crawled from, magenta one."
"Good thing I'm not looking for forgiveness," Tsukasa shot back, leaning closer. "And you might wanna watch the color you paint your world with, Vaelion. Sooner or later, blood tends to stain everything."
For a long, suffocating heartbeat, no one moved.
Then Renar straightened, chuckling softly, the sound devoid of warmth. "Very well. We'll speak again when the sun rises. I imagine… tonight will prove illuminating."
He gestured to his guards. "Show them to their quarters."
As the group was led away, Elara's voice was a whisper only Tsukasa could hear. "He's planning something."
Tsukasa's eyes gleamed. "Good. So am I."
Because one way or another, Havenmere's shining walls were about to drown in shadow.
And when the time came, the so-called hero of the Isles would bleed like anyone else.
Night bled over Havenmere like a thick shroud. The city's alabaster spires glimmered under moonlight, but the streets below were restless. Guards doubled their patrols. Beastfolk and elves shuttered their homes. And in the deeper alleys, shadows moved with purpose.
In a small, dimly lit chamber within the guest quarters, Tsukasa sat perched on the windowsill, one leg dangling over the edge, watching the streets like a hawk. Elara paced, while Lumi tended to Lira's lingering wounds.
"He's going to make a move tonight," Elara growled. "I can feel it. That snake isn't going to wait."
Tsukasa smirked faintly. "That was the plan. Let him make the first mistake."
The High Priest, seated near the hearth, shook his head. "You don't understand the depth of his reach. Renar controls more than just soldiers and priests — the very air here listens to him. If we stay, we're signing our own death warrants."
Lumi glanced at Tsukasa. "So what do we do?"
Tsukasa's gaze never left the window. "We let him think he's already won."
A knock sounded at the door — two sharp raps, then silence.
Elara's hand was on her dagger in an instant. Tsukasa simply called out, "Come in."
The door creaked open, revealing a young human acolyte, pale and sweating. He stepped inside, shutting the door behind him quickly.
"I… I bring a message," the boy stammered, glancing around nervously. "From someone who doesn't wish to see you dead before morning."
Tsukasa arched a brow. "Well, aren't you a brave one. What's the message?"
The boy swallowed hard. "There's a gathering in the lower sanctum. Lord Vaelion and his inner circle. They plan to move against you — tonight."
The room went still.
"Where?" Elara demanded.
"The crypt beneath the cathedral," the boy whispered. "It's not just a place of prayer. They've turned it into a… a prison for anyone not loyal to the Purity Doctrine. Beastfolk, elves… anyone who questions them."
Elara's eyes darkened. Lumi bit her lip.
Tsukasa rose from the windowsill, his grin sharp as a blade. "Now we're getting somewhere."
The High Priest frowned. "You can't simply storm the cathedral. It's sacred ground—"
"It's corrupted ground," Tsukasa cut in coldly. "And I'm about to cleanse it."
He looked to the others. "Get your things. We move now."
Elara's daggers were in her hands before he finished speaking. Lumi helped Lira to her feet. The High Priest hesitated only a second longer before nodding.
The acolyte trembled. "If they find out I told you—"
"They won't," Tsukasa said, stepping past and pressing a strange, rectangular card into the boy's palm. "Stay out of sight. You'll know when it's over."
The boy looked down at the card, its magenta surface reflecting the candlelight. A symbol he didn't understand etched into its center.
By the time he looked up, they were already gone.
Beneath the cathedral, the sanctum stank of blood, incense, and old stone. Torches lined the walls, flickering against ancient statues of long-forgotten saints.
Renar stood before a gathering of his most trusted — black-robed priests, armored knights, and a few hooded figures whose allegiance was whispered about but never named.
"The time has come," Renar announced. "The stranger dies before dawn. And the filth he travels with is caged or buried beside him."
The gathered men and women bowed.
From the shadows, a cloaked figure spoke. "What of the demon threat?"
Renar's expression twisted. "Let the monsters come. Once Havenmere is purged, we'll raise walls of flame. This world belongs to man. It always has."
A cruel chorus of assent rippled through the chamber.
And not far above them, in the rafters, a pair of magenta eyes watched.
Tsukasa's smirk returned.
"Time to crash the party."