Chapter 109: The situation in Daewyth
Daewyth’s dawn bled through the sky in streaks of red and gold, casting long shadows across the obsidian pillars of the citadel. The city was just beginning to stir, but inside the high chambers of the Inner Council, Marsai hadn’t slept in hours.
Her communication device buzzed relentlessly, ping after ping — messages, reports, emergency requests — all reflecting the same impossible truth.
He was alive.
She stood by the balcony, her sharp silhouette outlined by the soft morning glow. Below her, the city buzzed with uncertainty, though the citizens didn’t yet know it. Not yet.
She’d spent the night in command, orchestrating responses, silencing leaks, reviewing satellite footage, and confirming intel from the Blackroot Archives. But no matter how many confirmations came in — Nioh had returned.
The boy she once marked for elimination. The threat she buried under ash and conspiracy. Now... walking openly on Daewyth soil again, as if death itself had given him leave.
Behind her, the high council gathered in strained silence.
The two dukes, Duval and Tush, had come out of their decade-long seclusions, robes of war draped over their regalia of peace. Their sons — Cohen and Jubilee, the Wardens of opposing bloodlines — stood behind them, tense with restrained disbelief.
Jubilee was the first to break the silence.
"I thought you said he perished in that explosion." His voice had a slight edge, like a blade being unsheathed.
Cohen, his cousin, didn’t even flinch.