Knight's Sacred Burden
Beneath the rhythmic thrum, there was something else—a faint, rhythmic scratching on the other side of the door, like someone trying to write a message in the dark.
Julian pulled his hand back as if burned. He looked at his palm. There, etched into his skin by the freezing touch of the obsidian, was a small, glowing violet mark—a constellation of light that mirrored the night sky.
"He isn't gone," Julian whispered, his voice filled with a terrifying, beautiful realization. "He’s just waiting for the city to need him again."
"And when will that be?" Bernard asked, his voice trembling.
Julian looked up toward the palace ceiling, toward the world that was currently busy celebrating its freedom,