The invitation came sealed in gold wax, as if time had not shattered their past.
To Her Imperial Highness,
Lady Ashara Vael, Empress in Shadow
Come to the Glass Garden, on the night of the blood moon. Come alone. Let us speak, if only once, before the war between us becomes history's regret.
—Kallad of Eldros
It was signed not as crown prince, but merely Kallad.
Ashara had stared at the letter for several minutes before folding it without expression.
She knew this trap. She'd written ones like it in her former life.
And yet… she would go.
Because Kallad did not waste his power on illusions. If he sought parley, it meant the tides of court were shifting. Or worse: he knew her secret and had come to play.
The Glass Garden lay at the edge of the palace's forbidden quarter—a dome of mirror and vine, abandoned since the Old Emperor's funeral. Only ghosts and spies walked there now.
Ashara entered in a plain cloak, armed only with a stiletto in her boot and the system pulsing faintly beneath her skin.
EVENT TRIGGERED: THE STAG MEETS THE SERPENT
Danger Rating: Moderate
Potential Outcomes: Alliance, Betrayal, Blood
Branches Available: 3
Kallad was already there.
He stood beside a marble fountain where vines choked a stone stag. Silver hair slicked back, his embroidered tunic loose around the throat. The image of ease, of princely charm — but she knew better.
His eyes were too still.
"You came," he said.
"I was curious how cowardice tastes when dressed in silk," she said, voice cool.
Kallad smiled faintly. "Still thorns, I see."
Ashara said nothing.
He offered a goblet. "Wine? I had it brought from Luthien — your favorite."
She raised a brow. "Still poisoning your guests, Kallad?"
"If I were, would you drink it anyway?"
She took it. Drank.
He blinked. "You've changed."
"No," she said. "You just forgot who I was before you murdered me."
Kallad's jaw flexed. "You weren't supposed to die."
Ashara laughed softly. "You sold me to the Council. You watched as they stripped my name, my power—my magic. Did you think your guilt buys forgiveness?"
"I came to stop what's coming," he said, suddenly sharp. "If you bring the northern lords to your side, if you align with House Seranis—"
"I am House Seranis now," Ashara said. "They crowned me in blood and salt. The North is mine."
Kallad stepped closer. "Then take me too."
Ashara's breath caught. "What?"
"I was your shield once. I know the court, the Council, the games they'll play. You can't win without allies."
She narrowed her gaze. "You offer yourself as a traitor."
"I offer myself as atonement."
The system flared:
FATE FORK UNLOCKED
▸ [Accept] Kallad's loyalty
▸ [Use] Kallad as a double agent
▸ [Reject] and begin political assassination route
Risk Assessment: High
Romance Path Potential: Dormant
System Influence: +12% if used strategically
Ashara's fingers twitched. She wanted to kill him. Gods, she wanted to. And yet—
"You're too clever to beg," she said slowly. "So what is it you fear more than my wrath?"
Kallad met her gaze. "The same thing you do."
And in a rare moment, she saw it—real fear behind his prince's mask.
"The blood moon isn't just a symbol," he said. "The Seers believe a god sleeps beneath the palace. One who wakes when fate is defied."
Ashara stiffened.
He didn't know it, but he was talking about Azareth—the sealed dark entity she had once written into her unreleased game's final twist. The system had mirrored that code, even after her death. It was waking now. Early.
"How long?" she asked.
"Less than a month. The cult that backed your fall—they're preparing a ritual. And without you, no one's strong enough to stop them."
He took a deep breath.
"I thought removing you would end the threat. But I see now, it unleashed something far worse."
Ashara stared at him, silent.
The stag statue behind him had cracked down the middle, vines bursting through like veins.
"This isn't just about the crown anymore," she whispered. "It's about the end of the realm."
And suddenly, she felt it—like cold fingers brushing her spine. The system interface flickered.
DIVINE THREAT DETECTED
Azareth's seal is weakening.
New System Objective:
Prevent Full Awakening by Cycle 18
Bonus Objective: Gain full loyalty of 3 key players before Cycle 12.
She exhaled shakily.
That meant Ezekiel… Kallad… and someone else.
"You're playing with something you don't understand," she told him, voice softer.
"So teach me," he said. "Let me be part of undoing what I helped cause."
Ashara walked slowly around him, her cloak brushing the marble floor like smoke.
"I'll decide," she said finally. "You'll hear from me before the blood moon rises again."
"And if you choose vengeance?"
"I won't need to poison you," she said. "I'll let your fear do it for me."
That night, Ashara returned to her chamber to find Ezekiel already waiting, his sword half-drawn and a deep frown on his face.
"You were gone longer than planned."
"I wasn't followed," she said, tossing the damp cloak aside. "But we may have a problem bigger than the throne."
Ezekiel stiffened. "You spoke to him."
"I did."
He didn't ask what was said.
Instead, his voice dropped. "Tell me you didn't trust him."
Ashara turned to him, firelight casting her face in gold and shadow. "I trusted what I needed to. That's all."
Ezekiel stepped forward, jaw clenched. "He betrayed you once. He'll do it again."
"I know," she said. "Which is why I'm going to use him."
The silence between them was dangerous.
Ezekiel's voice lowered. "And if he still wants you?"
Ashara tilted her head. "Are you asking as my general… or as my lover?"
He didn't answer.
She closed the distance between them. "You knew there'd be others. Paths. Risks."
"I'll kill him if he touches you," Ezekiel said, voice like iron.
"I'll kill him if he thinks about it," she said, and reached for him.
They kissed—not as tenderness, but as fire. As promise.
And in the corner of her mind, the system whispered:
Romance Path Locked: Ezekiel vs. Kallad
New Variable: Jealousy Modifier
Fate Threads in Flux
Ashara pulled away, heart thundering.
She was balancing on a blade now. And it wasn't clear whether it was love or war that would cut deepest.