The attack on Aethelgard was not a charge, but a silent plague. The Queen of Cinder had expected internal chaos, and when the Citadel's portals opened, the Shadow faced not a united army, but defense cells disorganized by the fall of Valerius.
Zylpha led the vanguard, her whip resonating with the Shadow's most brutal discipline, subduing the Paladin barracks. Lysandra, with her Dark Arcanists, set about corrupting the communication nodes, sowing panic and disorder.
Kaito moved in the center of the action, but his objective was not the battle. Using Ren's knowledge, he headed directly for the heart of the city: the Cathedral of the Forged Light.
Infiltrating the Sanctuary
The Cathedral was a colossus of white marble, radiating a Forged Light so dense that it instinctively repelled Chaos. Kaito covered himself with his Infiltration Cloak, assuming the signature of a low-ranking priest, trusting that panic would render him invisible.
He descended into the catacombs, following the route Ren had sworn to protect with his life. The path was a maze of sanctity runes and forgotten altars. With every step, Kaito felt his brother's residual agony through the Lasso, a map of Ren's faith.
Finally, he reached an octagonal underground chamber. In the center, there was no altar, but a complex mechanism of crystals containing the Oath of the Eternal Flame. The mechanism was waiting to be activated by a Sacrificial Core.
Just as Kaito pulled out the Confinement Rune (the catalyst to disarm the Oath, rather than activate it), a voice echoed in the chamber.
"I knew you would come to desecrate this place."
Captain Vorlag was waiting for him. The Captain's face, hardened by Valerius's distrust and betrayal, burned with absolute and desperate loyalty to the Light. He had anticipated the Shadow's move and gotten ahead of it.
"You are the reason Valerius betrayed the Conclave. You are the demon who destroyed Paladin Ren and blinded us all," Vorlag said, drawing his Lightforged sword.
"I am only the result of his weakness," Kaito replied coldly.
Confrontation in Faith
Vorlag attacked with unrelenting fury. His Lightforged was pure, unbroken by doubt, fueled by his pain and his sense of duty. Kaito had to drop his Cloak of Infiltration.
The fight was uneven. Vorlag used the offensive power of the Light; Kaito used the defensive perfection of Zylpha and Tactical Chaos.
Kaito wasn't seeking close-quarters victory; he needed time to disarm the Oath. He launched blasts of Controlled Chaos, which Vorlag neutralized with shields of Light.
"You will take my faith, but not my life," Vorlag swore, launching a final, desperate attack.
At the last instant, Kaito used his secret weapon. He attacked not Vorlag's body, but his mind. Using the Lasso, Kaito projected onto the Captain the most painful image from Ren's memories: the moment Valerius exiled his son.
"Your hero has betrayed you for his family. Your faith is a lie," Kaito relayed, instilling betrayal in Chaos.
Vorlag stopped, the projected memory of Valerius's betrayal hitting him harder than any weapon. The Captain staggered, his shield of Light flickering with doubt.
That was the only second Kaito needed.
Kaito threw himself at the Sacrificial Core. He pressed the Rune of Confinement against the crystals. The Oath, designed to be sealed by the Light, could not withstand the Precise Chaos. A wave of dark energy expanded, but not destructively; it was a wave of total negation of the runes.
The Fall of Aethelgard
The Oath of the Eternal Flame dissolved.
At the same moment, on the surface, the sky above Aethelgard rent. The city's spiritual defense barrier had evaporated.
The Queen of Cinder sensed the release and unleashed her power. A triumphant cry echoed over the city, and the Shadow plummeted through the skies.
Kaito stood, looking down at the Vorlag Captain, who was kneeling, his faith and his mission shattered.
"Take your life, Captain," Kaito said, his voice monotonous. "Live and watch what you once worshipped turn to ash."
Kaito left the chamber, leaving Vorlag alone with his failure. He had fulfilled his duty to the Queen. He had used his brother's last secret to ensure victory.
Emerging from the Cathedral, Kaito encountered the Ash Queen, already in the heart of the city. She regarded him, her expression one of deep, proud possession.
"The Light is dead, Kaito. Now, the Shadow is the law," the Queen declared, and Chaos covered the capital.
Kaito had risen to the top of the Shadow hierarchy. He had conquered the Light and his own morality. But victory would bring a new set of challenges and power pacts with his inner circle.