Chapter 49 — Thrones of Ash and Shadow
The Obsidian Throne stood broken yet reborn beneath a sky that had finally remembered the color of night.
Dawn bled across the volcanic valley in hues of deep crimson and molten gold. The battlefield was a graveyard of golden armor, shattered celestial constructs, and the bodies of the fallen. Pyres burned high as demonic warriors dragged away the corpses of paladins and traitors. The air tasted of victory, but also of uncertainty.
Cairis Vaelthorn ascended the cracked steps with Liora at his side. He moved like a king who had walked through hell and returned stronger. Yet his hand never left hers — a silent acknowledgment that he had not won this throne alone.
The grand hall was filled with hundreds of lords, warlords, and survivors. But the atmosphere was far from unified.
Three distinct factions had already begun to crystallize in the aftermath of victory.
