Seraphine stood before Darius, her sword steady in her trembling hands. Her breathing was ragged, her body battered, but her resolve burned bright. The once-proud guardian to her father knelt in the dirt, a man brought low by his own greed. His eyes refused to meet hers, staring instead at the blood-soaked ground beneath him.

    "Why did you do it?" Seraphine''s voice cracked, raw with pain. Her grip on the sword hilt tightened as she waited for his answer.@@@@

    Darius lifted his head slowly, his face etched with years of suffering and regret. "I- "

    He let out a deep exhale, his gaze locking with hers. In that moment, memories flooded his mind—his entire life flashing before him, every step that had led him here. He remembered the days spent in the capital, the towering halls, the weight of duty, and the quiet moments shared with her father. It all came rushing back, vivid and unrelenting.

    "I wanted power," he said hoarsely. "I was tired of being a slave, Seraphine. Forty years of my life... always serving, always beneath others. I had nothing."

    "Slave?" Seraphine''s voice rose with disbelief and anger. Her eyes flared with fury as she took a step closer, the blade''s tip trembling near his chest. "My father gave you everything. A house, a job, food on your plate, and a place in the parliament! He trusted you with his life, you filth—"

    "Enough!" Darius shouted, tears spilling from his weary eyes. "You don''t understand! I was grateful, yes, but it wasn''t enough. I was never seen as an equal, never respected. Your father... he was a great man, but I was just a tool to him. Nothing more."

    Seraphine''s sword wavered as her emotions surged. Tears threatened to spill, but she held them back. "You were his closest advisor," she said, her voice trembling. "He trusted you more than anyone else. You betrayed him, Darius. You betrayed my family, our kingdom, and for what? Power?"

    "I betrayed myself," Darius whispered, lowering his head. His shoulders shook as he wept openly, the weight of his actions crushing him. "I thought... I thought if I had more, I could finally be free. But all I did was shackle myself further in my greed."

    The silence between them was heavy, broken only by the distant cries of the wounded and the clash of steel in the background. Slowly, Seraphine wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Her eyes turned red, not from rage but from sorrow.

    "You took everything from me," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "My father... my mother... their love, their light. You destroyed our family. Our name..Damascus was looked as a blood of traitors. For that, I can never forgive you."

    Darius lifted his tear-streaked face to hers, his lips trembling. "Then end it," he said, his voice steady now. "I deserve it, Seraphine. Do what must be done."

    Seraphine raised her sword, her hands shaking as she stared at the man who had once been like family. She took a deep, shuddering breath and whispered,

    "May you meet my father and mother... and ask for their forgiveness for what you''ve done."

    Darius bowed his head, accepting his fate.

    A short distance away, the Queen kicked one of the bandits, sending him sprawling. Her eyes darted toward Seraphine and Darius. Realizing what was about to happen, she flew toward them.

    "Stop, Seraphine!" she shouted.

    I stepped into her path, smirking as I drew my sword. "Stop there, Miss Queen."

    "Move, Zero," she snapped, her tone sharp with authority. "This isn''t your call."

    And then his body went still, his eyes closing as the last remnants of life slipped away.

    Seraphine''s shoulders shook as she cried silently, the weight of her actions crashing down on her.

    The Queen lowered her sword, her face pale and stricken. I lowered mine with a quiet sigh, glancing at Seraphine with something that might have been respect—or pity.

    "Justice comes with a price," I muttered under my breath, my voice lost in the howling wind.

    Seraphine''s trembling hand moved to cover her eyes as tears spilled endlessly down her cheeks. Her sobs came in jagged gasps, the kind that tore through her chest like shards of glass. She swayed where she knelt, her strength crumbling under the weight of grief.

    "Mom... D-Dad..." she stammered, her voice breaking. Her words faltered as she tried to speak, but they dissolved into endless cries.

    "Ahh- huhh..."

    Her body gave out, collapsing onto the blood-soaked ground. She clutched her face with both hands, tears leaking through her fingers. Her wide, tear-filled eyes stared at the heavens, as though begging for an answer from the stars above.

    Then, as if the pain inside her was too much to contain, she let out a high pitched cry that echoed through the battlefield, raw and primal. It was the cry of someone who had lost not just a mentor, but a part of herself.

    She rolled on her side, curling into herself like a wounded animal, her entire being consumed by the storm of emotions. The anguish, the loss, the hollow realization that she was utterly alone—all of it weighed down on her like chains she could never break.

    In her mind, flashes of memories began to surface, breaking through the wall of despair.

    She saw Darius as he once was: a kind and fatherly figure. She remembered the warmth in his eyes when he would check her injuries after a training session. How he would sit beside her when she struggled with her lessons, his patience endless.

    She saw the nights he brought her hot broth when she was ill, the way he ruffled her hair and told her to be strong like her father. The lessons they shared as he taught her to wield a sword, his firm yet encouraging voice guiding her through every move.

    Her chest tightened as the memories burned brighter, sharper. These weren''t the actions of a monster. These were the acts of a man who had cared for her, raised her, and in some ways, had been a second father to her.

    "Why... why did you do this, Darius?" she whispered through her sobs, clutching her chest as if trying to hold her broken heart together. Her cries grew louder, raw and unrestrained, as the memories collided with the betrayal.

    Everyone around her stood frozen, their eyes on the broken Seraphine before them. The chaos of the battlefield had quieted, leaving only the sound of Seraphine''s sorrow to fill the air.

    She held herself tightly, her trembling hands grasping at her chest as though trying to rip out the pain. "You were all I had left," she choked out, her voice cracking. "You were supposed to protect me, to be there... why did you leave me like this?"

    For a moment, no one moved. Not the Queen, not I. The weight of Seraphine''s despair was suffocating, pressing down on everyone who bore witness to it.

    And yet, there was nothing anyone could say. No words could ease the pain of her heart.