CROWNED BY BLOOD
I whispered, loud enough to be heard but soft enough to carry no challenge, only invitation, "strike now. I will not resist. I will not defend. If my death is what the world needs to heal, then take it. I offer it freely."
For a moment, there was silence so heavy it felt divine. The storm itself seemed to hold its breath, crimson light frozen in the sky, wind dying to nothing.
Then came the thunder, not natural thunder but something deeper, more fundamental, the sound of cosmic machinery shifting into new configurations. It rolled across the sky like the voice of creation itself, shaking the ground and rattling teeth and sending shivers through every soul present.
No blade touched me.
Instea