Chapter 555
"You could have stood beside us when this moment came," Vellok said, voice low and sharp. "But you wouldn’t listen. And now—now your grand ideas, your noble little crusade, it’s all turned against you. Instead of shaping the war, you’ll be its instrument. A pawn, dancing across the battlefield for the glory of others."
He tapped the iron shackle clasped around Kaelen’s wrist. A small clang echoed through the room. Reflexively, Kaelen tensed, his muscles coiling but instinct took over immediately as he calmed down. Sweat clung to his back, cold and sudden, as his gaze locked with Vellok’s.
Golden light pulsed from Vellok’s eyes—unblinking, alien, and full of quiet fury. Kaelen held the gaze for only a moment before looking away. He hated himself for that.
The Emperor stepped forward, resting a hand gently on Vellok’s shoulder as if to steady a weapon not yet unsheathed. His expression was composed, almost weary, as he regarded Kaelen.
"We were never the brothers we should have been," the Emperor said softly. "But part of me hoped... perhaps foolishly... that someday, we would stand side by side. If you had waited just a little longer, Kaelen, that future might have been real."
A low, bitter laugh escaped Kaelen’s throat. It wasn’t joy. It wasn’t even mockery—it was disappointment, wrapped in exhaustion.
"If either of you had listened to me—if you had just considered what I said—we wouldn’t be scrabbling to salvage what’s left of our legacy." He looked between them. "The ogres, the ratfolk... they were willing to stand with us. But you—your pride couldn’t make room for the idea that anyone outside your bloodline deserved a seat at the table."
Vellok snorted, rising to his feet with slow contempt.
"We are the superior race," he said, each word deliberate, etched with conviction. "This world is our rightful claim. Why should we beg for favors from rodents when we have the power to take what we want? You think they’d have simply handed it over? You’re a fool, Kaelen. Kindness doesn’t forge empires—strength does."
The Emperor turned without another word. His robes whispered across the stone floor, the faint shimmer of power that had clung to the room dissipating with each step he took. And just like that, his presence was gone—like a shadow retreating with the dawn. The weight he left behind, however, remained like a storm cloud pressed against Kaelen’s chest.
Only Vellok lingered now.