Chapter 46 – The Cost of Mercy
Dust settled across the shattered ruins. The only sound was the crackle of fading aura around Luxclade and the faint rasp of Orion's breath.
He knelt amid the rubble, his broken glaive at his side, silver hair matted with sweat and ash. Whitney stood between them now, teeth bared but silent, waiting for Jean's decision.
"Do it," Orion said, voice quiet. "Strike me down. Claim my relic. That's what they trained you for."
Jean stood over him, her blade gleaming with the fire of her will.
But she didn't move.
"I didn't come here to collect trophies," she said. "I came for truth. And I got it."
Orion looked up, disbelief flashing in his eyes. "Mercy? You think mercy will save this world?"
"No," Jean said. "But it's the only reason it's worth saving."
She lowered Luxclade. Whitney gave a low whine of approval.
Cassien stepped from the shadows, his crossbow still aimed. "You're letting him live?"
Jean turned to him. "He didn't fall. He broke—because the gods abandoned him. I'm not here to finish their failure."
She turned back to Orion. "You're not my enemy. But if you cross that line again, I won't hesitate."
Orion let out a faint laugh, bitter and broken. "You remind me of someone… once. Before I lost her to the fire."
Jean didn't ask who. She only turned and walked away.
"Take your broken glaive," she said over her shoulder. "And find something worth fighting for."
As they left the ruins, the skies above darkened. A strange pressure settled over the land—a warning from the east.
Whitney's ears twitched.
"The dragons are moving," he murmured.
Jean nodded. "Then we move faster."
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