Vol.4/ Chapter 2: Punishment (I)

Third Person POV, in Castle Atilla:

Castle Atilla loomed dark beneath a brooding sky, its black spires piercing the clouds like daggers. The once-celebratory halls of the Inquisitor’s domain were now choked with an air so tense it seemed to shrink the very walls. Whispers of failure clung to the stone like mold.

The Six Rings had returned.

Their cloaks dripped with rain and disappointment as they entered the grand vestibule. Jade walked ahead with her usual silence, but even her cold demeanor seemed brittle tonight. Sapphire’s jaw was clenched, her hooked scythe dragging behind her like a burden. Diamond moved like a shadow, quiet and tense. Opal and Onyx were silent at the rear, their faces pale—haunted not just by failure, but by something deeper. Something darker. A sickness, perhaps, not fully seen by mortal eyes.