Steel screamed across the battlefield. Fahad's army was unstoppable, while the clone Revenants were unpredictable. They hesitated at nothing, cutting down Fahad's human army with mechanical precision.
Smoke bombs flew from the Russian soldiers, but they did nothing. The clones moved exactly as Siddik commanded. Fahad scowled, thinking fast. His magic wouldn't work on these inhuman soldiers.
Through the comms, Spiral Crown leaders reported the devastation.
Wendy: "Fahad, the south side is almost gone. Only a few remain."
Layla: "West side too. Ninety percent lost, and they're still multiplying!"
Fahad: "Noah, north side?"
Noah: "It's quite strange. The clones aren't advancing here – they're just standing and waiting. Face to face with us instead."
Fahad: "Send half of the reserved Spiral Crown soldiers to assist Wendy and Layla."
Noah obeyed swiftly.
Meanwhile, Siddik coordinated with his Governors.
Siddik: "Tayeb split into two teams. Enter the castle and rescue our people."
Tayeb: "Okay, Siddik."
Siddik: "And yes, keep them off the battlefield – they can't handle this chaos."
Tayeb: "Got it, buddy."
Zaber and Arthur received their own orders.
Siddik: "Arthur, head north. Face Elisa."
Arthur: "Siddik… I can't–"
Siddik: "You promised. We fight together, or not at all."
Arthur: "I'll try."
Siddik: "Zaber, cover me."
Zaber: "Cover you from what?"
Siddik: "From everything. We move forward."
Father vs. Daughter
Arthur cut through Fahad's soldiers toward the north. There, he faced Noah.
Arthur: "Elisa, stop. It ends here. I'm not here to fight you."
Noah: "Elisa is dead. I am Noah now – the warrior who can die for Spiral Crown."
Arthur: "You chose this path. I never questioned you."
Noah: "You sided with the murderer of my sister. Now you came here to claim me as your daughter?"
Steel clashed. Sparks flew. Arthur struck; Noah blocked. Again and again, the duel raged.
Finally, Arthur landed a hit. Noah fell, sword spinning away. Arthur pressed the blade against her chest.
Arthur: "You can defeat a father, not a warrior. I fell into this war when you weren't even born."
Noah: "I know… and I am also a warrior's daughter."
She didn't strike back. Arthur lowered his sword and whispered about Sophie's truth, leaving Noah steeling her for what was next.
The Battlefield Descends into Chaos
Samia reported that American cannons were thinning the clones. Siddik remained calm.
Samia: "Siddik, the Revenants 2.0 are decreasing so fast."
Siddik: "It's time for the show-off. Execute 'Plan Z'."
Samia: "What? Now?"
Siddik: "Yes, this is the right time for their comeback. Just press the Z button."
Samia hesitated, but still there was no option. She pressed the button.
All of a sudden, the battlefield once again trembled. Mutated, terrifying zombies emerged, charging toward Fahad's soldiers. Panic spread. Fahad smirked and struck back cruelly.
Fahad: "Yelena, throw them in the middle of their path."
Yelena sent quite a number of cargo trucks. They were full of protestors against Siddik. Their eyes were bound with black cloth.
Zaber informed Siddik, who didn't flinch. Samia kept telling Siddik to stop the clones and zombies. But Siddik had another plan. He commanded through the small device.
Siddik: "Soldiers, don't stop anywhere. Kill whoever blocks your way."
Samia: "Are you out of your mind, Siddik? They are innocent. They have nothing to do with this war."
Siddik: "In the battlefield, only one thing matters. Kill or die."
Arthur, Zaber, and Samia watched in disbelief. Siddik's tyrant side was finally visible – even to his own allies.
Zaber vs. Joseph
Zaber confronted Joseph.
Zaber: "You dared to go against a ghost, Joseph. What a fool you are!"
Joseph: "You still think you can stand against a sorcerer."
Zaber: "Your sorcerer is nothing but a black shadow, which disappears in the dark."
Joseph struck Zaber. Zaber blocked and struck back. Zaber double attack with his both sword and made Joseph fall to the ground. Before Joseph could wake up, Zaber hit again with his sword.
Joseph: "Zaber, please for…"
Before he could finish, Zaber finished him with one last strike.
Zaber: "No mercy for traitors."
The Duel for Dominance
They stood close enough to smell each other's blood. The battlefield burned behind them, but neither looked away. Brothers, bound by the same name, separated by anything else.
Fahad exhaled slowly, studying Siddik like a disappointment he had waited years to correct.
Fahad: "You know what hurts the most?"
(A pause)
"No matter how many bodies you stack… you're still the boy they pitied."
Siddik's jaw tightened. His grip on the sword didn't.
Siddik: "And you're still the boy who needed a crown to feel tall."
Steel met steel – slow, deliberate. Not a clash. A warning.
Fahad: "I ruled with vision."
Siddik: "You ruled with fear and named it order."
Their blades locked.
Faces inches apart.
Fahad: "They loved you once. Before you became this."
Siddik shoved him back hard.
Siddik: "They loved me until you taught them not to."
The fight escalated – controlled at first, then vicious. Fahad fought like a king defending his legacy. Siddik fought like a man erasing history.
Fahad circled him.
Fahad: "Look around. Nations stand with me. Armies kneel to me."
(Cold smile)
"What do you have, Siddik?"
Siddik wiped blood from his face.
Siddik: "Enough!"
The spell came without warning.
Air twisted. Pressure crushed Siddik's chest. He staggered – and pain exploded across his face. The world tilted. Darkness swallowed half of his sight. Siddik screamed – not from pain, but betrayal of his own body.
Fahad froze.
For one heartbeat, guilt flickered.
Then pride buried it.
Fahad: "Stay down, Siddik. Don't make me finish you."
Siddik laughed, broken, shaking, terrifying.
Siddik: "You think this ends with mercy?"
He stood. Bloodstreamed. Vision shattered. Still standing.
Fahad stepped back.
Fahad: "I won't hesitate."
Siddik: "If this is all you have… You already lost."
They collided again. This time it wasn't a duel.
It was slaughter.
Fahad abandoned elegance. Siddik abandoned defense. Just rage colliding with rage.
Another strike from Fahad. Siddik kneeled down. He lost his right hand's index finger. Siddik screamed from pain. And pain fueled his rage.
Siddik's heartbeat went fast. He was looking at the Spiral Castle. All of a sudden, he saw Tayeb signaling from the watchtower. They had saved Siddik's family and his people.
Fahad stepped in front of Siddik.
Fahad: "You're falling apart, Siddik. Your time is up."
Siddik looked at Fahad with one eye. He gave him a cold smile.
Siddik: "Still, you're afraid. And this fear gave Siddik the win he waited for years."
Fahad raised his hands and started to cast a spell. But before he could finish, Siddik punched him and threw him to the ground. Siddik sat on Fahad's chest and cut his tongue with the knife that Atiq gave him.
Fahad collapsed; blood came out of his mouth. His magic never answered him again. Siddik stood up. Fahad started to scream louder. His scream stopped the whole war. Fahad's people realized what Siddik did. Fahad was stripped of power, stripped of pride.
Siddik (softly): "You were never stronger. You were just louder."
Siddik turned away – ruined, bleeding, and breathing hard.
He looked around.
The soldiers were watching.
At the Governors.
At the silence he created.
Siddik: "Fahad, you know what? We have just one difference. You wanted to be the king, while I wanted to be a monster."
(A long breath)
"You know why? Because the world no longer needs heroes. What it needs is a monster."
Fahad just looked at him and screamed out of pain.
The whole battlefield saw Siddik not as a victor. But they saw someone who had crossed a line – and never intended to return.
He ordered his army to finish off the remaining enemies. He chained Fahad and dragged him to the royal court, bloodied and defeated. Siddik sat on the throne, lighting a cigar. Smoke curled around his scars. Everyone came and saw a one-eyed king. Then he ordered Zaber to connect to the world media.
Zaber connected the cameras to the world.
Siddik: "Without an eye, without a finger, I can still rule the people. But without a tongue, he can't even talk."
Siddik kicked Fahad aside and puffed smoke into the room.
Siddik: "From today, I, son of Hayder Ali, declare myself as the King of the Spiral Island. My words are my rules. From next week, the Governors will sit in their respective positions. And remember this moment. This is what it costs to stand against me."
The camera went dark. Silence fell. Everyone in that room, even Siddik's family got silent. The world leaders stared in fear. They realized what he would do to them.
Suddenly, Rehan came and threw Galib at Siddik's feet. Siddik opened the cloth from Galib's face. Galib was shocked to see everything. He turned to look at Rehan. Rehan gave him a smile.
Rehan: "Part-time Fahad's service, full-time Siddik's."
Galib pleaded.
Galib: "Spare me, Siddik. You are my son."
Siddik laughed. He ordered them to be thrown into the cell.
Siddik stood up and looked at everyone.
Siddik: "We'll meet at night. Zaber, tell Samia to be here by tomorrow."
Zaber: "Got it, Siddik."
Siddik: "Arthur, take Elisa to her room."
Arthur took Noah to her room.
The Cell
At night, the same day, iron chains scraped softly against stone as the door opened. Fahad and Galib sat shackled to the wall, wrists bound, heads lowered. Fahad's mouth was stained with dried blood – the price of losing his tongue. His breathing was uneven. Galib tried to look composed, but his eyes betrayed him.
Footsteps echoed. Siddik, his father and brother, Governors, Zaber, Rehan, Arthur, Darwin, Fakhrul, and Hridoy all came to the cell. Everyone waited outside the gate; only Siddik entered. No one spoke, no one moved. They only watched.
Siddik dragged a chair forward and sat down, directly in front of Galib and Fahad. He crossed his arms. His face was colder than ever, with one eye-patch over the lost eye.
Siddik: "How's the cell?"
Fahad tried to speak. Nothing came out. His throat trembled. His eyes filled with tears. Galib leaned forward, chains clinking.
Galib: "Siddik… you are like my son. We share the same blood. You can't do this."
Siddik tilted his head slightly.
Siddik: "I agree. But the man who could lock his own brother, how can I trust him now?"
Galib's eyes lit up for a fraction of a second. He looked at Siddik's father and Hasan.
Siddik: "But I'm not judging my family today. I'm judging the Spiral Crown leaders."
Galib: "I'm your uncle. He is your brother, Siddik."
Siddik: "Cousin. He is my cousin. You know, Uncle, why my father always feared? Because he knows what my anger can do to this island. I never loved this island, not even the people."
Galib: "Hayder, come and say something to him. I beg you."
Siddik: "He won't. Because he knows what you are. You dared to lock my family, my people. Your son made my brother bleed."
A pause.
Siddik: "My father and my brother are the heroes of our family. They can do anything for us. But I am the villain who can destroy anything for them."
Galib: "Then kill us."
Siddik laughed.
Siddik: "Killing you both is so easy. What about I show you my rules?"
Siddik raised two fingers.
Siddik: "One of you dies, while the other will watch the show."
Galib stiffened.
Fahad shook his head violently, tears spilling. He raised his chained hand and pointed – not at Siddik.
At Galib.
Galib's breath hitched. Then he smiled bitterly and shook his head.
Galib: "No… kill me. Let him live."
Siddik: "Oww… So much love. I respect it."
Siddik stood. He stepped closer to Galib.
Fahad tried to scream. Only air escaped his mouth.
Siddik: "I waited for fifteen years. Just for this day."
Galib looked up at him.
Siddik: "You taught me patience. Thanks for the lesson. Any last words with your brother?"
Galib: "Hayder, you don't know what is coming after your son. You can't save him. Mark my words."
Siddik raised his fist. He punched Galib several times. Fahad convulsed, chains rattling as he collapsed forward, his screams trapped inside his chest. No one outside the cell moved. They just kept watching Siddik's brutal rage.
Galib slid down the wall, unmoving. His chest no longer rose. The silence afterward was unbearable. Siddik turned toward Fahad.
Siddik: "I could have killed him the day he arrived."
A pause.
Siddik: "But I wanted you to understand."
Fahad beat his chained fists against the floor. Siddik walked toward the door. Before stepping out, he looked back once.
Siddik: "Why did I kill him this way, you know? Because I witnessed how much pain you gave my brother that day."
Siddik stepped outside. The Iron Gate slammed shut. Siddik turned to Darwin.
Siddik: "He eats twice a day. No medicines."
Darwin hesitated.
Darwin: "Siddik–"
Siddik: "Darwin, when I rule, there should not be any talkbacks."
Darwin lowered his head.
Darwin: "I understand, Siddik."
No one spoke as Siddik walked away. That night, something else died in the castle.
Not a man, but belief.
Night swallowed the castle before anyone spoke again. Siddik is sitting on the balcony and looking outside at the sea. Siddik is thinking about everything that has happened till now. Suddenly, his phone rang. He went to pick it. He saw that it was an anonymous number. He answered it.
Siddik: "Hello! Who's it?"
A female voice spoke.
She: "Congratulations, Siddik."
Siddik: "For what?"
She: "As you passed all the levels of the game."
Siddik: "So who's this?"
She: "The last boss you have to face."
Siddik: "Who are you?"
She: "The corpse you left behind that day."
Siddik: "Sophie?"
The girl started to laugh so loudly. Something inside Siddik quietly snapped.
Siddik: "Where are–"
The line went dead. Siddik's eye got big. He realized that Fahad and Galib were just scapegoats, nothing else. Siddik started to think about the future outcomes.
The story is not over. See you in the last phase, "Ashes of the Empire".