Morning mist clung to the banks of the Tiber, shrouding Rome's battered outskirts with a pale veil that might have been woven for a funeral. The night after the battle, scavengers searching the muddy shallows found something that snagged their gaffs and dulled their courage. They called for the soldiers on watch. Rhine legionaries waded in, boots sucking at river mud, and heaved a sodden corpse onto the bank. The body was armored in imperial purple, gilded tunic clinging to flesh bloated by river water. The head lolled to the side, lips parted, eyes wide and sightless. All majesty was gone, replaced by the swollen horror of defeat.
Constantine came down to the embankment, his cloak wet from the morning dew. He stared at Maxentius, this final adversary, and found nothing of the ancient rivalry between kings and usurpers. There was only a problem solved, a threat neutralized. He studied the face for three long breaths, then raised his right hand.