The skies above the Citadel burned red.
A thousand mage-lights blinked like dying stars, flaring and falling as the great towers crumbled under the weight of betrayal. Smoke curled through the air like serpents. The air itself screamed—cracked open by Rift magic no mortal was ever meant to wield.
In the heart of it all stood Kael Ardyn, the Flame of the Empire, cloaked in torn robes scorched black at the edges, his eyes glowing with raw, untempered power.
And in his hand, the ancient blade Solbrand, split down the middle like a broken promise.
Across from him stood the High Arcanist Council—twelve of the most powerful mages in the Empire—arrayed in judgment.
"Kael Ardyn," one of them boomed, his voice magically amplified. "You stand accused of treason, consorting with Rift-beings, and unleashing forbidden magic within the sacred bounds of the Citadel."
Kael's laughter echoed through the ruined hall, bitter and tired. "You arrogant fossils opened the gate. I tried to stop it."
"You breached containment yourself!" another spat. "You killed our own to cover your tracks."
"They were already dead the moment you bound the Rift to our world," Kael growled. "I watched them unravel."
Flames danced around him—not conjured by spell, but summoned by fury. They twisted in chaotic spirals, not red or orange, but the color of molten obsidian.
"I warned you," he said quietly. "You ignored me. So I did what I had to."
"You betrayed the Empire."
Kael looked up at the sky, where a tear in reality still bled starlight and madness. "No," he whispered. "I saved it."
The sentence was delivered immediately.
Exile.
Not death—not yet. That would've made him a martyr. Instead, they cast a binding spell so ancient even the spellweavers forgot its origin. His magic was sealed. His name struck from history. His achievements—burned, erased, vanished.
Kael Ardyn ceased to exist.
Ten Years Later
A man with a long coat and tired eyes drank in the corner of a nameless tavern, pretending he wasn't once the Empire's brightest flame.
Outside, the world had moved on.
Inside, he waited for the spark to return.