Chapter 13: The Swordsman Who Should've Betrayed Me
Third Point of view
The prison stank of blood, rot, and something fouler—the scent of hope long since strangled. Iron bars framed rows of cells carved into stone, and the silence screamed. It was late; the guards were half-asleep, their armor dulled, their footsteps lazy.
Leon moved like a shadow. Hooded, cloaked, silent. A pouch of gold had bought his way past the outer gates, but this last part had to be done alone.
He reached Cell 17. The man inside looked nothing like the assassin from his past life.
Riven. Once the most feared swordsman in the empire—now a gaunt prisoner, wrists shackled, lips split, eye swollen shut. But Leon knew the truth. Riven's betrayal had once ended his life. The man had slit his throat and left him to die.
Leon pressed a finger to the iron bars. "You don't remember me, do you?"
Riven stirred, lifting his head. Recognition sparked, but dim. "I don't forget eyes like yours... but I slit a lot of throats."
Leon smiled coldly. "Yours was the last one I saw."
The chains rattled as Riven tried to rise. "Then why are you here? To kill me back? Fair. Do it quick."
Leon unlocked the door.
Riven froze. "...You're letting me out?"
"You're going to do something for me first. Then you'll earn your life."
Leon handed him a wrapped cloak and a dagger. "A caravan leaves at dawn, cloaked as grain delivery. We'll ride inside. If you make a sound, I'll kill you myself."
Riven said nothing. Just stared. Then he laughed. Bitter, sharp. "I liked you better when you were bleeding."
---
They rode through the wastelands as the first fingers of dawn touched ash-colored clouds. The wagon rocked, creaked, and trembled over cracked soil. Inside, silence hung heavy between them.
Leon broke it. "They say you killed Lord Amhurst."
Riven scoffed. "I did. But not the way they claim. He was gutting orphans in his cellar. Said it kept his youth."
Leon raised a brow. "So you grew a conscience?"
"No. I grew tired of pretending men like him deserved to breathe."
Leon studied him. In his past life, Riven had been loyal—until he wasn't. Until he was offered a price too high to refuse. But Leon had learned something about fate: it can be broken. If pressed hard enough.
"You still kill for coin?"
Riven looked at him. "Not anymore. I kill for something else."
"What?"
"Regret."
Leon let the silence answer.
---
The caravan reached the Duchy of Drayven by midnight. Leon's fortress loomed like a jagged fang, its spires knifing the sky. Riven stared at it with something akin to awe.
"That yours?"
Leon nodded. "Inherited. Cursed. Depends who you ask."
Riven smirked. "You build this from blood or bones?"
"Both."
Riven was given new clothes, a room with no windows, and a sword. Not the finest—not yet. Trust had to be earned.
By the third night, Leon found him training in the courtyard. Alone. Shirtless, sweat-drenched, swinging the blade with relentless precision. It was hypnotic. Violent. Beautiful.
Leon waited until the last swing before stepping forward.
"You're still sharp."
Riven didn't look at him. "Sharp enough to stab you again, if that's what you fear."
"Not fear. Expect."
Riven finally turned. "Why did you really let me live?"
Leon's voice dropped. "Because I remember the night you killed me. And I remember the look in your eyes. You didn't want to do it."
Riven tensed. "You think you know me?"
"I know the guilt that comes with murdering someone you respected."
Riven's laugh was hollow. "I respected the man I killed. Until they showed me his sins."
Leon's gaze sharpened. "Did they show you mine, too? Or did they make you imagine them?"
Riven fell silent.
---
That evening, Leon sat alone in his war room. Maps. Reports. Movements. The Church was stirring. Cain—the Hero—had been seen near the Holy Border. Rumors swirled of a mobilizing army.
And yet what troubled Leon most was the letter he received just hours ago.
No sender. No seal. Just a line:
"The swordsman remembers the knife he never buried deep enough."
Leon turned it over again. Paper laced with divine residue. Holy magic. A Church agent had written this.
Which meant one thing:
They had already contacted Riven.
---
Leon found Riven in the stables, brushing a horse. Odd. Out of character. Purposefully calm.
"Did they reach you?" Leon asked without preamble.
Riven didn't stop brushing. "Who?"
Leon stepped closer. "You know who."
Riven turned slowly. "If they did... what would you do?"
Leon stared into his eyes. "Give you one chance to tell the truth."
Riven held up a letter. Burnt at the edges. "They have my sister. Said they'll burn her soul until it forgets her name."
Leon's jaw tightened. "And the price?"
"Your head. Delivered before the next crescent moon."
Leon stepped back, just slightly. "So... what will you do?"
Riven looked down at the sword in his hand. Then dropped it.
"They took everything from me once. I won't let them take you too."
---
That night, Riven sat alone in his quarters, the letter burning in the fireplace. He didn't hear the door open.
He didn't see the black-gloved figure until the blade was pressed against his throat.
A whisper. "You had your chance."
Riven struck out—too late. The intruder plunged a dagger into his shoulder, twisted, and fled into the shadows.
Riven collapsed, blood dripping onto the stone.
Leon burst in seconds later, sword drawn.
"Who did this?!"
Riven gasped, "They're already inside..."
Leon cursed, spun, and called for the guards.
But the damage had been done. The Church knew. And they had infiltrated the duchy.
---
In the dead of night, as medics worked to keep Riven alive, a child crept into the war room. Not just any child.
Vex. Eyes too old for his face. Fingers trailing flame.
"Duke Leon?" he whispered.
Leon turned, weary. "What is it?"
The boy lifted a torn piece of parchment. "I found this in the garden. A message."
Leon took it. Read it.
Then froze.
"You are the end. But we are the beginning. We have your name, your face, your flame. And we will wear your skin."
The parchment bled red across his fingers.
A divine sigil flared. A curse. A mark.
From the shadows, a voice echoed:
"Final Boss Candidate: Awakening Phase Initiated."