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The war drums had not stopped since dawn.
Seraphina stood before the city gates, the southern walls of the capital looming like a sleeping giant. The sky above was strangely quiet—clouds swirling in patterns unnatural, touched by magic. Her troops waited behind her, blades ready, eyes uncertain but loyal.
She inhaled deeply.
Everything—the blood, the betrayals, the unspoken truths—had led her here.
Suddenly, the gates creaked open with a sound that made her spine stiffen. Not because it was a trap. Because it wasn't.
The Empress was letting them in.
Vale rode to her side. "It's too easy."
"She wants me to come," Seraphina replied, her gaze never leaving the gate. "So I will."
The army surged forward. The divine beast let out a cry that echoed across the stone walls. But as they moved deeper, something felt wrong.
The capital wasn't burning. It wasn't even resisting.
It was empty.
"Where are the guards?" whispered one soldier.
No answer came. Only silence.
Then, out of the sky, something fell—a body. Still armored. His throat slashed.
More bodies followed, raining down from rooftops, tossed like discarded toys.
The Empress's voice rang out like a chorus of bells from nowhere and everywhere.
"So predictable, my darling."
Seraphina turned sharply.
"I wondered how long it would take you to follow the breadcrumbs," the voice continued. "But you've always been fast when it comes to stories. And slower when it comes to truth."
Then, in a ripple of shadows and light, the Empress appeared atop the palace gates.
Her veil was gone.
And Seraphina froze.
Because the Empress… had her face.
Not similar. Identical.
Gasps broke through the ranks. Even Vale flinched.
"What trick is this?" he growled.
The Empress laughed. "No trick. Just a little rewrite in the book you thought you knew. Did you really think you were the reader all this time?"
Seraphina's blood went cold.
"I was the author," the Empress said, her smile cruel. "You were just another character… until I gave you life."
And with a flick of her fingers, the sky turned black.
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