Chapter 17 – The Verdict of Fire and Steel~1,050 words
Chains bound his wrists and ankles, forged from soulsteel—an alloy that throbbed with ancient suppression glyphs. Erik could barely feel his connection to Veyrion, as if the blade had been muted by force.
His body ached. His head buzzed. And yet, it wasn't pain or exhaustion that gripped him. It was confusion.
They'd caged him.
His allies. His order.
The Azure Guards flanking him said nothing. Their eyes never met his. Their grip never loosened.
Erik sat in a floating prison cell, high above the central hall of the Azure Spire. Below him, the great amphitheater was packed. Instructors. Initiates. Mentors. Watching. Whispering. Judging.
Across from him, Arenya stood—silent, stoic, and unreadable.
She wasn't in chains.
But her eyes, though now dimmed from their crimson glow, hadn't softened.
And beside her stood Velkhar.
His expression betrayed nothing.
Not fury. Not sympathy. Just steel-eyed command.
"The Tribunal will begin," he said. His voice echoed unnaturally through the spire, amplified by runes carved into the very walls. "Erik Valen, initiate of the Azure Order, bearer of Soulflare, and wielder of the forbidden blade Veyrion… you stand accused of breaching the sacred vault, awakening a forgotten relic, consorting with traitors, and drawing the attention of forbidden entities into our realm."
A hush fell over the gathered crowd.
Erik stood, shoulders straight despite the weight of the chains.
"I didn't betray anyone."
Velkhar's gaze sharpened.
"You brought the Collector upon us."
"I fought it," Erik snapped. "And I survived."
"And in doing so," Velkhar replied coldly, "you tore a hole between realms. You drew the eye of the Seer. You fell into the Rift, unlocked a forbidden glyph, and returned with knowledge you refuse to share."
Erik's hands clenched.
"I didn't ask for this power. But I'll use it to protect people. You trained me for that."
Seris stepped into view from the side chamber. She wore ceremonial blue robes, face veiled like a judge. Her voice was neutral—but tight.
"You were warned, Erik. The Trial Mirror, the soul within you, even the sword—all of it was meant to test your restraint. And yet every choice you made brought us closer to chaos."
Erik's voice dropped. "And if I hadn't? What then? You'd have been blindsided by Collectors, by Seers, by traitors within your own ranks."
That landed.
A flicker in Velkhar's eyes. A shifting stance from Arenya.
But still, Seris replied, "Intent does not erase consequence."
Erik stared at her. Then at the crowd. Their faces blurred together—some uncertain, some afraid, some eager to see him punished. He was no longer a fellow initiate.
He was a question no one wanted to answer.
"I didn't want any of this," he said again, quieter now.
Arenya's voice, when it came, startled even the judges.
"You spoke with the First Seer, didn't you?"
Velkhar stiffened. Seris turned sharply.
Erik hesitated.
Then nodded.
"She said… the soul inside me isn't just some remnant. It was part of something else. Something that ended the last realm."
Velkhar's fist tightened.
"We've kept that buried for a reason."
"I deserve to know what I am!" Erik shouted.
"You're a danger," Seris said. "To yourself. To us."
Arenya didn't speak again.
She just turned… and walked away.
That hurt more than the chains.
Velkhar raised one hand.
"The verdict is exile."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Seris flinched. "Velkhar—"
"No," he said firmly. "Execution will only hasten the Collector's return. But we cannot allow him to stay. He leaves the Spire tonight. His bond with the sword remains sealed. He is to be watched, from afar, and never allowed to return."
Guards stepped forward.
But before they could grab him, Erik's chains shattered.
In a burst of soulfire.
Everyone froze.
Even Velkhar.
The chains lay in pieces. Veyrion hovered behind him, its second glyph glowing steadily—calling to its wielder.
"I didn't come here to be worshipped," Erik said. "Or feared."
He grabbed the blade, and it surged into his hand like lightning returning to stormclouds.
"I came here because I thought you'd help me control this. But now I see…"
He looked straight at Velkhar.
"You're afraid I'll become the thing you couldn't stop the last time."
Velkhar didn't deny it.
Erik turned.
"If you exile me, so be it. But I won't run. I'll face what's coming. And when it arrives… you'll need me more than I'll need you."
He walked past the stunned guards. Past the crowd that parted without realizing it.
And without another word, Erik left the Azure Spire.
The doors behind him sealed shut.
He didn't look back.
But as he stepped into the cold wind of the outside world—
He heard the voice again.
The Seer's voice.
This time, not in a vision.
But in reality.
"Now we begin."
And from the shadows beside the Spire's outer wall…
A girl stepped into view.
Her eyes were stitched shut. Her fingers bled runes.
And when she smiled—
The sky above cracked.
To be continued...