( Part 1 )
The moon hung high in the sky, its pale light bathing the alleyways in silver, a soft reminder of the world we'd once known—a world before the flames, before the destruction, before everything had been shattered. But the world was still there, and I was still here, even if it sometimes felt like everything was slipping through my fingers.
The air was thick with the scent of burning wood, of scorched earth. The city had been shaken to its core, and there was no going back. The fire that had consumed Lord Verrian's mansion was only the beginning. It was a symbol, a flare to ignite a larger rebellion that would burn through the rot at the heart of the city.
I walked through the streets, the rhythm of my boots echoing on the stone. Lily walked beside me, her hand in mine, her footsteps lighter than they had been days ago. She was still recovering, still fragile, but there was strength in her eyes that hadn't been there before. She was alive. She was here.
"We've got to keep moving," I said, my voice low. "The city's not done with us yet."
She nodded without speaking, her eyes scanning the shadows. Every corner felt like a threat now. The city wasn't just a place—it was a trap. And every trap had its hunters.
We reached the abandoned building where we'd been told to meet the others. The rebels. The ones who were still fighting, still pushing back against the nobility's stranglehold on this city. They had a plan. I didn't know what it was, but I knew it was something big. It had to be.
The door creaked open as we approached, and I barely had time to react before someone pulled me inside.
"Careful," came a gruff voice. "We've got eyes on us."
I nodded and stepped inside, pulling Lily with me. The room was dim, lit only by a few flickering candles. Figures moved in the shadows, their faces hidden, their movements swift and silent. I could feel the tension in the air, thick and palpable, like the calm before a storm.
"We don't have time for this," I muttered, my hand still tightly gripping Lily's. "What's the plan?"
A man stepped forward from the shadows, tall and broad-shouldered, with a face marked by years of battle. His eyes were sharp, calculating, and he didn't waste any time.
"Glad to see you made it," he said, his voice low but steady. "We've been waiting."
I raised an eyebrow. "For what?"
"The rebellion," he said simply. "We're ready to take the fight to them. Lord Verrian's death was just the beginning. We need to finish what you started."
I met his gaze, feeling the weight of his words settle into my chest. We were already in this. We didn't have a choice. But was I ready for this? For what was coming?
"You're Ash, right?" he asked, his eyes never leaving me. "The one who killed Verrian?"
"Yeah," I said, my jaw tight. "That's me."
"Good," he said, a thin smile crossing his face. "Because we've got work to do. There's a lot more where Verrian came from."
I nodded, my mind already racing through the possibilities. The city was full of corrupt nobles, people who had made their fortune off the backs of the oppressed. But could we really take them all down? Was there even a way to topple an entire system?
Lily squeezed my hand, breaking me from my thoughts. I glanced down at her, and for the first time in days, I saw something like peace in her eyes. She trusted me. She believed in this.
And that was enough.
"What's the plan?" I asked again.
The man—whose name, I learned, was Kael—stepped to a table in the center of the room. He laid out a series of maps, each one detailing different districts of the city. The lines were drawn in red ink, marking the areas where the rebels had been making their moves, where the nobles had the most control.
"There are three key districts," Kael said, pointing to the maps. "We hit them all at once. The first is the Eastern Gate—secure the trade routes and disrupt their supply lines. The second is the upper district, where the city's wealthiest nobles reside. We'll make a statement there. And the third…" He paused, looking up at me. "Is Verrian's old district. We take that, and we send a message to the entire city."
I felt the weight of his words settle heavily in the room. This wasn't just about survival anymore. This was war. We weren't just fighting for our lives; we were fighting for the future.
"You said we," I said, my voice low. "How many of us are there?"
"Enough," Kael replied, his eyes gleaming. "But not nearly enough to go up against them head-to-head. We've got the numbers, but we don't have the luxury of a fair fight. We hit them where it hurts, disrupt everything, then fade back into the shadows."
"We're ghosts," I said, the realization dawning on me.
Kael nodded. "Exactly."
I looked over at Lily, who was listening intently. Her face was pale, but there was determination in her expression. She had been through enough already. She didn't need to be part of this. But as I looked at her, I knew that she was in this just as much as I was.
The room fell silent for a moment as the weight of our next move hung in the air.
"You ready for this?" Kael asked, his voice steady.
I took a deep breath, feeling the fire in my chest stir again. I had no choice. We couldn't go back. Not now.
"I'm ready," I said.
The others nodded, and the tension in the room began to shift, to settle into something more solid, more resolute.
This was it.
We were going to burn the city down.
( Part 2 )
The hours passed quickly as we made our final preparations. Every step we took, every word exchanged, felt like we were walking the line between life and death. But there was no turning back now. We had crossed the point of no return.
The sun was dipping low when Kael motioned for us to gather. The rebels had split into groups, each assigned a target, each moving silently through the city's dark veins. We were no longer just a handful of people; we were a movement. A wave of fire that would burn through the corruption.
Lily and I moved in the shadows, our cloaks tight against our bodies, blending with the darkness. I could feel the weight of the servant's badge in my pocket, its jagged edges pressing against my skin, a reminder of what we had left behind—and what we were willing to destroy.
We made our way to the Eastern Gate. It was the first target on Kael's list, the most vulnerable. The trade routes that ran through this area were the lifeblood of the city's economy, and cutting them off would cripple the nobility. We couldn't afford any missteps.
"Remember," Kael had said earlier, "we move fast, we strike hard, and we disappear. Don't let them know we're here until it's too late."
I nodded, but the unease in my gut gnawed at me. This wasn't the kind of fight I was used to. I had always fought alone, relying on my own instincts and abilities. But this? This was different. There were more lives at stake, more people depending on us. I wasn't just fighting for revenge anymore. I was fighting for everyone who had been crushed under the weight of the system.
As we neared the gate, I could see the soldiers stationed along the perimeter. They were casual, relaxed, unaware of the storm that was about to hit them. I knew what we had to do.
We struck without warning.
Lily and I moved in sync, stepping from the shadows with practiced ease. I gestured for her to stay low, and we both darted behind a stack of crates, watching the guards as they patrolled. I could feel the tension in the air, the anticipation before the storm. Every second counted.
I inhaled deeply, feeling the familiar fire flicker in my chest. There was no fear this time. Only focus. Only the mission.
I held up my hand, signaling Lily to stay put, and then I moved forward.
The first guard never saw me coming.
I was upon him before he could even register what was happening, a blur of motion, a punch that sent him to the ground in a heap. His weapon clattered uselessly on the cobblestones. He never had a chance to scream.
The second guard wasn't so easy. He raised his halberd as I lunged toward him, the sharp blade flashing in the dim light. I ducked, narrowly avoiding the swing, and in the same motion, I reached out, grabbing his arm and twisting. The sound of bone cracking filled the air, and he fell to the ground with a howl.
Lily was already on the move, too. She had been training with the rebels, learning to fight, to defend herself. I had never wanted this for her. I wanted to keep her safe, to protect her from the horrors of this world. But I couldn't protect her forever. Not from this fight. And now, she was fighting beside me.
She took down another guard with a swift strike to the throat, her movements fluid and graceful, like she was dancing. There was no hesitation in her eyes. She had grown stronger, not just in body, but in spirit.
We moved quickly, dispatching the remaining guards with the same deadly precision. I was surprised at how well we worked together. It felt almost like we were one entity, moving as one. And in that moment, I realized: this was why I fought. For her. For us.
But we weren't done yet. We had to make sure the gates were sealed, that no one could escape or alert the others. I turned to Kael's team, who had positioned themselves at key points around the gate.
"Set the charges," I said, my voice low but firm.
Bruk, the grizzled smuggler who had helped us escape from Verrian's mansion, nodded. "Got it," he muttered, his hands already working with the explosives.
I stepped back, keeping my eyes on the surroundings, watching for any sign of reinforcements. The last thing we needed was to be surrounded.
Lily joined me, her breathing steady, her eyes sharp. "Do you think they'll notice soon?" she asked.
"They'll notice soon enough," I said, my gaze never leaving the perimeter. "But we'll be gone before they can react."
I didn't know if that was true. But I had to believe it. We had no other choice.
The charges were set, and Kael's team retreated to a safe distance. I gave the signal, and the explosives detonated with a deafening roar. The blast shook the ground beneath our feet, and the gates were ripped from their hinges, crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust and smoke.
The way was open.
"Let's move," I said, and we all sprinted through the wreckage, disappearing into the chaos.
As we ran, I glanced back at the gate, now a smoldering ruin. The mission was a success, but the battle was far from over. This was only the beginning.
We had made our mark.
But there were still many more marks to be made.
And I would burn the city down, piece by piece, until there was nothing left but the ashes of the old world.
( Part 3 )
The city was alive with the sound of destruction. The gates had fallen, and now the chaos spread like wildfire. Smoke billowed into the night sky, lighting up the horizon with an orange glow. The walls trembled with each explosion, each act of rebellion that rippled through the heart of the empire.
We were in the heart of the storm now, and there was no turning back.
The streets were alive with rebels—some fighting, others setting fire to the merchants' stalls, and yet more moving through the shadows like ghosts, completing their missions. Each group had their own role, their own target, but the endgame was the same: to bring down the nobility, to make them fear the wrath of the people they had trampled on for too long.
We moved quickly through the winding alleys, using the same routes we had mapped out during the planning stages. Kael had been meticulous, ensuring that each rebel knew their position and what was expected of them. I didn't doubt his leadership, but something about the way the night was unfolding felt… different. The city was no longer just a battleground; it had become something more.
A symbol.
"Keep your head down," Lily whispered, her voice barely audible as we crouched behind a broken pillar. Her eyes darted around, alert to any movement in the shadows. She was a far cry from the scared girl I had rescued all those weeks ago. She had grown into someone fierce, someone who was unafraid of the consequences.
I nodded. I couldn't help but be proud of her. But pride wasn't enough to keep us safe. We had to stay sharp. If we failed now, there would be no one left to pick up the pieces.
Ahead of us, a patrol of soldiers marched down the street, their footsteps heavy and rhythmic, like a heartbeat. They were still unaware of the chaos unfolding around them. They hadn't yet realized that their world was beginning to crumble.
"On my mark," I muttered, my hand resting on the hilt of my blade.
Lily didn't need any further instructions. She was already poised, ready to strike. We had done this countless times before: move, strike, vanish. It was a rhythm we had perfected. But tonight, the stakes were higher. Tonight, every movement felt more important, as though the entire city was watching us.
"Now," I hissed.
We sprang into action.
I emerged from the shadows with Lily right behind me. The first soldier didn't even have time to draw his sword before I was on him. A swift motion, a cut across his throat, and he was down, his body crumpling to the ground with a soft thud.
Lily was just as fast, her movements fluid and lethal. She ducked low, sweeping the legs out from under one soldier while plunging her dagger into his chest with a grace that took my breath away. The last soldier hesitated, his eyes flicking between us.
I didn't give him a chance to decide.
A flash of fire, and the soldier was disintegrating, his body nothing but ash.
The streets were eerily silent for a moment after the battle. No more guards in sight, no more soldiers to stop us. But that would change. I could feel it in my bones.
"We move," I said, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through me.
Lily nodded, wiping the blood from her blade before tucking it away in her belt. There was no time for hesitation. We had to keep going.
Kael's team had split up to cover multiple fronts, but we had a specific mission. We needed to reach the merchant district, where the upper-class families and the nobility conducted their most lucrative trades. There, hidden beneath the opulence, was the real heart of the city's corruption. The merchants had always been the lifeblood of the nobles, feeding them, funding their wars, and turning a blind eye to the atrocities committed in the name of profit.
If we could disrupt their operations, we could choke the life out of the nobility. It was a bold move, one that would leave us exposed. But it was the kind of blow we needed to deal.
As we moved toward the district, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The city seemed too quiet, too still. It was as if we had walked into a trap, the calm before the storm. But there was no turning back. We had already set the wheels in motion, and nothing could stop us now.
We reached the district just as the sun began to set, casting long shadows over the cobblestone streets. The buildings here were tall, their windows darkened by thick curtains, the doors heavy and reinforced. Behind these walls were the men and women who lived in luxury, who had turned a blind eye to the suffering of the common people.
And behind these walls, we would find our next target.
We crept along the side of a building, our footsteps muffled by the stone. Lily's eyes were alert, scanning the surroundings for any sign of danger. I could see the tension in her posture, the way her fingers twitched, ready to draw her blades at a moment's notice. She was nervous, but she was no longer afraid. Not the way she had been when I first met her.
We reached the back of a large merchant house, the thick wooden door standing in our way. It was reinforced with iron and locked, but I had seen this before. I gestured for Lily to step back, and then I set to work.
My fingers danced across the lock, the cold metal responding to my touch. It didn't take long before the door clicked open with a soft creak. I motioned for Lily to follow, and we slipped inside.
The air was thick with the smell of rich perfumes and freshly cut flowers, a stark contrast to the smoke and grime outside. This was their world: a place of luxury, where power and wealth ruled. But it was also a world built on the backs of the poor, on the suffering of those like us.
The main hall stretched before us, gilded walls lined with paintings, expensive tapestries, and crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. But none of it mattered. We were here for one thing: the merchants who made the empire what it was. The ones who turned a profit from the pain of others.
I signaled to Lily, and we moved through the halls with the precision of hunters, our footsteps light and quiet. We had to make sure we hit them where it hurt.
We found them in the back, gathered around a long table covered in papers and gold coins. They didn't even notice us until it was too late.
"Time's up," I said, my voice cold and merciless.
Lily stepped forward, her dagger gleaming in the dim light. "This is for the people you've crushed underfoot."
The merchants froze. Panic flickered in their eyes, but it was too late for them. The fire had already spread too far.
( Part 4 )
The room fell silent in the wake of our threat, the air thick with tension. The merchants before us looked like deer caught in the headlights, frozen by the sudden presence of death in their midst. They were powerful men, each one dressed in luxurious fabrics, their fingers adorned with gold rings, their faces hard with the arrogance of their wealth. But in that moment, none of that mattered.
I could see it in their eyes—fear, the kind of primal instinct that didn't care how much gold you had or how high you stood in society. Fear, because they knew the truth: everything they had built, everything they had accumulated, could be taken away in an instant. And that instant was now.
Lily's sharp breath cut through the silence. She was standing to the side, her posture tense, her eyes locked on the merchants like a hawk about to strike. I could tell she was relishing the moment. The moment where the balance of power shifted, where the people who had suffered at the hands of these men could finally exact their revenge.
The leader of the group, a heavyset merchant with a slicked-back beard and an expensive suit, finally spoke, his voice trembling despite his attempts to maintain control. "What do you want from us?" he asked, his voice straining to sound confident.
"You know exactly what we want," I replied, stepping forward. I could feel the heat of my anger rising, threatening to burst through. "We're here to end the empire you've helped build. We're here to tear down the walls you've built with the blood and sweat of the people you've enslaved. Your time is up."
The merchant's eyes flickered with a mixture of fear and defiance, but his hands trembled as he reached for a hidden dagger on the table. It was a foolish move, one that would cost him his life.
Before he could even make a move, I lunged. My hand shot out, grabbing his wrist and twisting it with a quick snap. The dagger clattered to the floor, and I was on him, my other hand pressing the tip of my blade against his throat. His eyes widened, and for the first time, I saw something in them that had never been there before: vulnerability.
"Do you think anyone will come to save you?" I hissed. "Do you think your wealth will protect you from the flames of revolution?"
He swallowed hard, the fear in his eyes unmistakable now. "You… you don't know what you're doing. You can't destroy everything. You'll burn the city to the ground."
"The city was already burning," I said coldly. "It was just waiting for someone to light the match."
I released him, and he collapsed back into his chair, gasping for breath. The other merchants around the table shifted uncomfortably, their eyes darting between me and Lily, but none of them dared to make a move. The power had shifted; the rebels were in control now.
I could feel the adrenaline coursing through me, the rush of victory, but there was still work to be done. We weren't here to make threats—we were here to dismantle the empire piece by piece. These merchants were just one cog in the machine.
I turned to Lily, who was watching me with a look that could only be described as admiration mixed with something darker. "We need to get the vault," I said, my voice low. "If we can cripple their finances, it'll send a message they can't ignore."
Lily nodded, her eyes gleaming with a mix of determination and malice. "You think they'll just hand it over?"
"They won't have a choice," I said, my lips curling into a thin smile. "These men live for their wealth. If we take it from them, we take everything."
The merchant who had spoken earlier cleared his throat, his voice now shaking with desperation. "You don't understand. You can't just take from us. Do you know who we are? The Empire's—"
"I know exactly who you are," I interrupted, my voice cutting through the air like a blade. "You're the parasites that have been feeding off the misery of others. You're the ones who've helped keep the people in chains. You're not even worth the ground you stand on."
Lily's hand rested on her dagger, her fingers brushing the hilt as if she was eager to get this over with. But I could see that she wasn't just eager for blood—she was eager for justice. For the people who had suffered, for the families torn apart by the greed of these men.
"Let's get to the vault," I said, turning toward the back of the room. The merchants had made no move to stop us, their faces pale and filled with fear. They knew their wealth meant nothing now.
We moved swiftly, our footsteps muffled by the thick rugs on the floor. The hallways were quiet, too quiet, and for a moment, I wondered if we had walked into a trap. But the thought passed quickly. The traps that mattered had already been sprung. These men were too terrified to do anything but comply.
We reached a large wooden door, intricately carved with the emblem of the merchant guild. I reached for the handle, but before I could turn it, a voice called out from behind us.
"Stop right there."
I froze. My hand still resting on the door, I turned slowly, my eyes narrowing.
A woman stood in the doorway, her posture regal despite the dirt on her clothing and the blood staining her hands. She had long, dark hair that cascaded down her back, and her face was stern, yet there was something in her eyes—something that reminded me of the fire that had burned inside me when I first started this fight.
Her eyes locked onto mine, and for a moment, I felt a strange sense of recognition. But I quickly shook it off. There was no time for distractions.
"I told you to stop," she said again, her voice commanding but calm.
I took a step toward her. "And why should I listen to you?" I asked, my voice laced with contempt. "You're one of them. Another piece of the puzzle that needs to be destroyed."
The woman didn't flinch. "I'm not like them," she said, her voice soft but resolute. "I've been fighting this system for years. I've been trying to bring it down from the inside. If you want to do this right, you'll need my help."
I raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "And why should we trust you?"
"Because if you don't, you'll be walking into a trap. They've been expecting you."
I didn't move. I didn't trust anyone, especially not someone who had been part of the system we were trying to bring down. But something about her made me pause.
Lily shifted beside me, her hand still on her dagger, but she didn't speak. She was waiting for me to make the call.
The woman took another step forward, her eyes narrowing. "You can kill me, if you want. But I've spent years gathering information that will help you. If you really want to win this fight, you'll need to use it."
I hesitated. I wasn't ready to trust her, but I wasn't stupid enough to dismiss the possibility that she might be telling the truth. I glanced at Lily, and she gave me a slight nod. We were in this together.
"Fine," I said, my voice low. "Tell me what you know."