England Era 321
Final Echoes of the Mask – The Fall of Hilmes
"Only one fire shall remain beneath heaven."
🏰 Hidden Base – "Ashspire Bastion"
In the scorched mountains of former Lusitania, carved deep beneath the volcanic cliffs of Ashspire, lies the hidden fortress of Hilmes—a forgotten ruin turned into a war temple. Massive black statues of ancient gods line the crimson-lit corridors. His soldiers, once proud nobles of Pars and zealots of Yaldaboath, now reduced to fanatics—broken, masked, and filled with blind hate.
Hilmes stands at the peak of his tower, overlooking the ash-flooded valley. He wears his bloodstained silver armor, and the obsidian mask fused into his face, now cracked. His once-gleaming sword is rusted from the countless corpses he's cut through.
"I gave them fear," he whispers. "Arslan gave them hope. But both burned kingdoms to ashes."
⚔️ Arslan's Arrival
Without warning, the winds split the sky.
A divine silhouette descends from the heavens—Arslan rides Dragonstorm Tempest alone. No army. No backup. Only him.
"I've come to bury what remains of the past."
Hilmes meets him atop the tower, sword drawn. His final soldiers kneel or flee. Even they know what's coming is not a duel—but a reckoning.
🗡️ The Confrontation
Hilmes:
"So, the crowned savior comes to kill a broken ghost?"
Arslan:
"Not broken. Useful. You destroyed Maryam and Pars for me—shattered them so thoroughly that I didn't need to lift a hand. You made me the hero."
Hilmes: (bitter smile)
"So I was your villain all along…"
Arslan:
"Yes. And for that, cousin… thank you."
Arslan walks forward. No magic, no wind blades—just a single long sword at his back.
Hilmes:
"What is this, mercy?"
Arslan:
"No. Mercy would be to let you live and fade into madness. I offer you meaning. You'll be remembered as the last threat that died for peace."
⚔️ The Final Duel – Blade vs. Blade
A silent, deadly sword battle begins—no spells, no divine powers. Only skill, history, and hatred.
Hilmes fights with fury, his cursed mask leaking red mist.
Arslan fights with precision, every strike laced with silent fury.
They clash for minutes that feel like hours—on the tower's edge, with lava boiling below.
At the end, Arslan shatters Hilmes' sword with a divine strike—then stabs him cleanly through the heart.
💀 Hilmes' Death & Legacy
Hilmes falls to his knees, coughing blood.
"You… You really became what I never could. A king not of blood—but of vision."
Arslan: (quietly)
"You were never born evil. Just misled… by fire."
He gently removes the broken mask from Hilmes' face—for the first time, his cousin's scarred human face is revealed.
Arslan:
"Now rest. There will be no statues. No stories. But there will be peace."
Arslan burns Hilmes' body in the Ashspire lava. The last symbol of the Old World—nobles, slavery, vengeance—is erased.
📜 Aftermath: The Silence of the Mask
The Lusitanian remnants disband or surrender.
Ashspire Bastion collapses into the volcano.
Arslan names the region "The Valley of Silence." A sacred land where no king, priest, or soldier may ever rule again.
He returns home, solemn. His people ask if the war is finally over.
"Yes," Arslan says. "The last ghost of the past has been laid to rest."