“But tonight—” he continued, his voice rising with triumphant certainty, “the reign of terror ends.Thanks to the unwavering efforts of Mathias Allistar, Lord Winston, and myself, we have captured the Black Wraith!”
He extended a hand toward me, a grand gesture to mark my fall.
“Tonight, you no longer need to fear this ghost.”
The crowd erupted into a tempest of sound—gasps, cheers, wild applause.Their hunger for spectacle twisted their faces into grotesque masks of glee and contempt as they pressed closer, the pulse of their collective malice swelling.
A few emboldened souls spat in my direction, their disdain flung through the air like venom.
Most missed.
One did not.
A wad of spit slapped against my cheek, wet and thick, sliding down my skin like an insult made flesh.
The roar of approval was deafening, their perverse pleasure swelling at the sight of my supposed humiliation.
But I did not move.
I remained as still as stone, my expression unreadable.
I let their hatred wash over me like rain against a mountain—irrelevant, passing, incapable of erosion.
This was not the time for anger.
This was the time to endure.To outlast.
A single word from Lord Alexander split through the cacophony.
“Silence!”
And just like that, they obeyed.
Every eye snapped back to him, every breath hitched in waiting.He held them in the palm of his hand.
“Now that he is caught,” he continued, “you will all partake in his torture and death.”
A new kind of stillness filled the crowd—one thick with anticipation.
Lord Alexander turned, his gaze flickering briefly to his daughter.Elizabeth.
His voice darkened, dripping with sick pleasure.
“My daughter, our next alchemist, has created something powerful.”
A murmur of intrigue swept through the gathering.
“We will watch as his skin melts away.And then?—”
He smiled.
“We will cut him apart.Piece by piece.”
The horror of his words settled deep into my bones, an echo of the depravity that had ruled this place for far too long.Yet outwardly, I gave them nothing.
These people—these monsters in silks and masks—knew nothing of justice.
They mistook cruelty for strength and savagery for power.
