His pupils dilated until his eyes were entirely black.
His mouth fell open, trembling so violently that his jaw clicked against his teeth.
The realization that his entire ancestral legacy, the thousand-year dynasty his family had hoarded power to protect, the children he had raised to inherit his hidden empire, had already been systematically exterminated. At the same time, he sat comfortably in the capital, fooling around, as the thought tore through his psyche.
"N-no..." Sariel whimpered. The aristocratic sneer was completely gone. Tears of pure, broken despair welled in his eyes, mixing with the dark blood streaming down his cheeks. "No... no, please... not the children... gods, please..."
"Your debt is settled," Ren said flatly.
SHING.
Ren withdrew the katana in a single, effortless motion. The crystalline blade cleared Sariel's back without catching on bone or stone, a fine mist of dark blood spraying across the marble floor in a perfect, horizontal arc.
