The Scourge of Time

The Unseen Threads

Tucan stood in the clocktower, silver blood dripping onto a time-lens that showed Kael's past—the exile of Lira, the murder of Verek, the burning hut. The truth unspooled like a rotten tapestry.

"Loyalty," Tucan whispered, his voice trembling with fury. "You called it strength. I call it rot."

He shattered the lens.

The Judgment of Blades

The Blades Clan assembled in their fortress, unaware of the storm brewing. Kael stood at the helm, his scar throbbing like a second heartbeat.

Tucan materialized atop the armory, his cloak billowing like a funeral shroud.

"General Kael," he said, the words echoing across the mountains. "You pledged loyalty. But loyalty built on lies is kindling."

Kael paled. "Your Eternity, I—"

Tucan raised his hand. Time rippled.

The Lesson

Kael's memories flooded the fortress—visions of Lira's exile, Verek's betrayal, the mixed-born child he'd slaughtered at Ravenscar. Clan members recoiled as their leader's sins painted the walls in spectral blood.

"You preach purity," Tucan said, descending like a vengeful god, "yet your bloodline is filth. Your strength is fraud."

Kael fell to his knees, clutching his axe. "Mercy—"

"Mercy?" Tucan seized his throat. "You showed none to your daughter. To your brother. To me."

He pressed his palm to Kael's chest.

The general's armor rusted. His skin withered. Age ravaged him—not swiftly, but deliberately, decades compressed into agonizing seconds. Kael's screams echoed as he crumbled to dust, his scar the last to dissolve.

The Clan's End

Tucan turned to the horrified Blades. "You followed a liar. Now follow him to oblivion."

He clenched his fist.

Time accelerated.

Warriors aged mid-swing, their weapons disintegrating. Blacksmiths withered at their forges. Children grew ancient, collapsing into skeletal heaps. The fortress itself rotted, iron supports rusting, stone crumbling to sand.

Only the mixed-born recruits—hidden in the barracks—were spared. Tucan froze time around them, his final act of twisted mercy.

"Tell the other clans," he said, his voice hollow. "Tell them this is the price of betrayal."

The Aftermath

Lira arrived too late. The Ironspire Mountains were a graveyard of rust and ash. Amid the ruins, she found Kael's axe—and a single time-lens, left by Tucan. It showed her mother's death, her own exile, and Tucan's cold gaze.

"You wanted fire," his voice echoed from the lens. "Now burn with the truth."

She shattered it, tears cutting through the grime on her face. "This isn't over."

The Fractured King

Tucan returned to the clocktower, his hands trembling. Hafa awaited him, her flames subdued.

"Was this justice?" she asked.

"No," he said, staring at his reflection in a frozen lens—a boy, a monster, a king. "This was fear."