They found refuge within the old church—its stone walls etched with fading runes that still held against the corruption outside. The doors were barred, but the sounds of the city pressed in from all sides—screams, laughter, and the endless, maddening music.
Wnea stood at the center, her staff dimly glowing as she steadied herself.
"This will not end unless we destroy the Altar," she said, her voice firm despite the exhaustion in her eyes.
The Captain looked at her sharply. "Altar?"
Wnea nodded. "It anchors her here. As long as it stands, HEN exists in this world… and through it, she controls them." Her gaze hardened. "Destroy it, and the hold breaks. The town can be freed."
Kael clenched his jaw. "Where?"
"Beneath the plaza," Wnea answered. "Deep. It's the source of everything you've felt."
Silence fell.
They all knew what that meant.
The Captain straightened, bloodied but unbroken. "Then we cut the heart out."
He turned to the remaining knights. Fewer now. Wounded. Shaken.
But still standing.
"We move as one. No breaking formation. No hesitation."
A murmur of agreement followed.
The doors were thrown open.
The city screamed as they advanced.
Lust-born poured from every street, every shadow—twisted bodies lunging, masked faces splitting into rows of teeth. The ground itself seemed to pulse beneath their feet as they pushed toward the plaza.
The angel led the charge, a blazing spear of light cutting through the swarm. Each strike carved space where there was none, wings scattering enemies like ash.
Kael fought beside the Captain, hammer rising and falling with desperate strength. Every impact sent jolts through his wounded body, but he didn't stop.
They couldn't stop.
More knights fell.
One dragged down, screaming.
Another turning mid-fight, eyes glazing before striking at his own brothers.
"Keep moving!" the Captain roared.
They reached the plaza.
And there—
The ground had split open.
A mass of flesh and stone twisted together, forming a pulsing altar deep below, veined with dark light. It throbbed like a living heart, each beat sending waves of madness through the city.
The moment they saw it, the whispers returned.
Stronger.
Closer.
"Come…"
Kael staggered.
"No—don't listen!" he growled, forcing himself forward.
The Captain raised his blade. "With me!"
They charged.
Halfway down the broken descent, Wnea froze.
Her breath caught.
Something shifted.
She turned sharply to the angel, fear flashing across her face for the first time.
"She's noticing us," Wnea whispered. "If we stay… she'll manifest fully. We won't just lose the town—we'll lose everything."
The angel stood still for a moment, wings flickering.
Then it looked back at the knights.
At Kael.
At the Captain.
A silent understanding passed.
"We have to go," Wnea said, her voice breaking. "Now."
Kael stared at her. "What? No—we're almost there!"
"If we don't leave, none of this will matter!" she snapped. "You must finish it!"
The angel stepped back, light beginning to gather around it.
"No!" Kael shouted.
But it was already happening.
In a flash of radiance, both the angel and Wnea vanished—leaving only fading light behind.
And silence.
For half a second.
Then the altar pulsed—
And everything came for them.
The remaining knights stood alone.
Surrounded.
The Captain didn't hesitate.
"Forward!" he roared.
They plunged into the abyss.
Lust-born swarmed from every side, throwing themselves at the knights in a frenzy. Steel clashed, bodies collided, screams echoed against the stone.
Kael was knocked to the ground, barely rolling aside as claws tore into the earth where his head had been. He swung his hammer blindly, feeling it connect with something that shrieked and collapsed.
Nearby, a knight fell protecting another.
Then another.
"Captain—!" someone cried.
The Captain didn't look back.
He fought like a man already dead.
Each step forward cost blood. Each strike bought inches. His armor was shattered, his blade chipped, his body pushed past its limits.
But he kept moving.
Toward the altar.
Toward the beating heart of it all.
A creature lunged—
He cut it down.
Another—
He drove through it.
Hands clawed at him, dragging him back, tearing at his armor, his flesh—
"No!" Kael screamed, forcing himself up, charging forward through the chaos.
The Captain reached the altar.
Up close, it was worse—flesh shifting, something inside it watching, breathing.
Smiling.
The whispers became a voice.
"Stay…"
His hand trembled For a moment—He almost listened. Then he remembered The men who fell The silence of the town The look in Kael's eyes With a final, broken roar, he raised his sword—And drove it deep into the core.
Light exploded.
Not gentle.
Violent.
The altar shrieked—an unearthly, tearing sound as cracks of pure light spread through its mass. The pulsing stopped.
Then it shattered A wave surged outward The creatures froze Then collapsed All at once.
Silence returned to Argentis.
Real silence.
The remaining knights stood frozen, breathing hard, surrounded by still bodies.
Kael staggered forward. "Captain…"
The man stood over the ruined altar.
Then slowly—
He fell.
Kael caught him before he hit the ground.
"It's done…" the Captain whispered faintly.Above them, the sky began to clear And for the first time The city felt alive again.
Dawn came slowly to Argentis.
Not with birdsong or warmth—but with silence.
The kind that settles after something terrible has passed.
The streets were filled with bodies.
Lust-born lay twisted and still where they had fallen, their forms already beginning to decay into blackened residue. Among them were the townsfolk—many naked, many unmoving. Too many.
The survivors stirred in confusion.
Men and women woke where they had collapsed, gasping, clutching at themselves as awareness returned. Some cried out in horror, trying to cover their bodies. Others didn't move at all, staring blankly at the ground.
A woman stumbled forward, her voice shaking. "It's… over?"
No one answered at first.
Then the memories came.
Not as fragments—but whole.
A man fell to his knees, retching. "No… no, I saw it… I saw everything…"
Another clawed at his face. "We were there—we were inside—but it wasn't us! We couldn't stop it!"
Panic spread.
"We tried to scream—"
"It made us smile—"
"It made us—"
The words broke into sobs.
Kael stood among them, silent, his grip tightening around his hammer. He couldn't meet their eyes.
He had seen it too.
The way they moved.
The way they watched.
The Captain, barely able to stand, forced himself upright with Kael's help. His armor was ruined, his body barely holding together—but his voice still carried.
"Enough."
It wasn't loud—but it cut through the chaos.
The survivors turned toward him.
"You were not in control," he said, steady and firm. "Whatever held this town… it is gone now."
A man looked up, tears streaking his face. "Then why do I remember it?"
The Captain didn't look away. "Because it happened."
Silence fell again—heavier this time.
Not panic.
Grief.
He turned slowly, taking in the ruined streets, the dead, the broken remains of what had once been a living city.
Then he faced his knights.
What was left of them.
"We do not march," he said.
A few looked up in surprise.
"We stay."
Murmurs spread.
He continued, voice unwavering despite the exhaustion. "This town stands because we broke what held it—but that does not mean it can stand on its own. Not yet."
He gestured to the survivors—shaking, grieving, lost.
"They will need time. Order. Protection."
He drew a slow breath.
"And we owe them that."
One of the knights stepped forward. "For how long, sir?"
The Captain looked out over Argentis—over the ruined plaza, the broken homes, the people trying to piece themselves back together.
"For as long as it takes," he said quietly.
Nearby, Kael watched as Sara knelt beside a survivor, offering what little comfort she could. His chest tightened.
This wasn't victory.
But it was something.
Above them, the clouds finally parted.
And for the first time since they arrived—
Sunlight touched Argentis.