Eight years ago

'The remaining Mages has been captured and imprisoned,' Cassius said, standing in an audience chamber, his back straight, his face impassive. 'There is still the matter of their punishment.'

'What other punishment do they need? Let them rot in the dungeons!' The King scoffed. He was sitting slump on his throne, which suddenly looked too big for the man. In the last couple of days, he went from his usual boastful self to a wreck of a man. His face was deathly pale, with deep dark circles under his eyes. His hands were shaking as if they didn't have enough strength to carry the weight of all those precious rings. The burden of what happened was heavy, even though he announced the Mages were responsible for this disaster.

'The people are restless,' Cassius said calmly. 'They need someone to blame for this calamity. Let's prepare for the public trial to ensure everyone knows who the perpetrator was. The mass execution is also an option worth considering.'

'You want me to execute all Mages?' The King raised his brows. 'They are the only advantage we have against Egraria. We can't just get rid of them!'

'Egraria has been affected the way we have,' Cassius replied patiently. 'We have reports from our spies saying their country is in utter chaos. They do not share our religion, and they have their own superstitions. Apparently, the fading sun is a clear sign of the inevitable end of the world, or so I've heard. It will be years before they get back to their feet.'

'Still, even if it takes them a long time, we will not have any Mages left!' the King scoffed.

Cassius gritted his teeth in frustration. 'The Mages are the reason it all happened. If you fail to punish them adequately, you will face riots in a matter of weeks, Your Highness. And the mob will blame you.'

'Then what do you want me to do?' the King asked with his brows raised.

'Give me the authority over City Guards and the Royal Army and put me in charge of Mages trials. I will make sure to deal with them properly while preparing this country for war, as it should have been done a long time ago.'

The King laughed. It was a shrilling, high pitched sound echoing off the walls in the large audience hall. 'You are ambitious. I give you that, boy!'

Cassius kept his face impassive, although it took him almost all his self-control to do that. 'I am the Grand Inquisitor, Your Majesty. But I cannot guarantee the safety of our country if I'm not allowed to do my job properly.'

'Right, that you are. Tell me again, what happened to your predecessor? It was rather sudden death, wasn't it?' the King asked, his bloodshot eyes looking at him intently.

'We lost many good people during the massacre that followed the Cursed Ritual,' Cassius replied flatly. 'Which, again, was Mages' fault, and they need to take responsibility. We can't risk anyone attempting this kind of thing ever again.'

'I tell you what, Grand Inquisitor,' the King said, his voice mocking. 'Focus on managing your Order. I've heard the Shadows are still going rampant outside Amberguard. Deal with that first, and then we'll talk again. You can leave running the country to actual King.'

'But Your Majesty....' Cassius protested.

'That's all. You are dismissed, Inquisitor.'

Cassius gritted his teeth, bowed his head slightly, then turned on his heel and left the chamber. He clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. He could hardly contain his fury at this point. It turns out his predecessor was correct – the King was a bumbling idiot. It was painfully obvious he put more effort into making sure his ego and pride were satisfied than actual ruling the country.

His feet carried him to the Inquisition barracks, but he stopped and took a good look. It was a rather pitiful sign. The building his Order claimed was old and cramped, with far too many people and too little room. Next to it was a small church that had been renovated recently. It was clear where the gold from the royal vaults went - for the upkeep of meaningless symbols of a god who could not help anyone.

A frustrated growl escaped Cassius's mouth as he turned on his heel and stalked away. The kingdom was ruled by weak and vain people who only cared for keeping their comfortable life, not willing to make an effort to change anything. There was no way they would ever recover from this disaster if they kept going like this. The Grand Inquisitor was so lost in his glum thoughts that he ignored where his feet carried him and were surprised to discover that he got back to the site of the Cursed Ritual. He frowned as he realised that he had been revisiting the area quite often. Whenever he needed time to think, he seemed drawn to this place.

The whole square was cut off from the rest of the city. The Inquisition kept guard around it to make sure no one was going in, or more importantly, nothing was going out. Cassius nodded to the knights on guard duty and entered the site. The Ritual not only damaged the Lord Sun but also ripped a hole in the veil between realms in the very centre of their capital. Cassius stopped at the border of the square and looked at the glimmering air in the centre There was darkness there, coiling and swirling constantly. They kept the fires roaring around it at all times, and for now, it was enough to prevent any more Shadows from slipping through, but it wasn't a permanent solution.

Cassius sighed and massaged his temples, frustration rising in him again. There must be a way to sway the King, to make this blasted man see reason. If they don't act now, they can't even hope to be prepared for what will inevitably happen once Egraria overcome their inner chaos and realises they caused all of it.

'Sssso much anger.'

Cassius jumped at the unexpected voice. He looked around, hand on sword's hilt, but there was nothing for him to see. Nothing but coiling darkness inside the tear.

'Wouldn't it be eassssier if they all ssssee the world the way you do?' hissed the voice again. It certainly didn't belong to a human. It sounded like a chorus of several voices mixed. Cassius wasn't sure if he heard it or the voice somehow echoed inside his mind.

'What are you?' he said through gritted teeth. 'Where are you?'

'We are right here. Ssssso closssse to you. We could almossst reach you if we wanted to.'

'Try it, and you'll taste my blade,' the Inquisitor growled, unsheathing his sword.

'Ssssuch hossstility,' chided the voice. 'We do not have to be enemiesss, human. We could be partnersss.'

'I want nothing to do with you, creature!' Cassius spat. He was sure the voice was coming from the tear now. He made a wary step towards it.

'And why not? Would you rather work with thossse foolsss that you? Weak and cowardly humans too ssscared to do anything? Too lazy and corrupt to prevent the world from collapsssssing around them? What if we tell you, we could help you bend them to your will?'

Cassius knew he was talking to some vile Shadow from the other world. And yet, all they said was true. He knew it deep down. He will get nowhere unless he has enough power to act on his plans. He narrowed his eyes and said, 'How could this be possible?'

'Oh? A human who lisssten to reassson. That isss rare indeed. You are ssstrong, Inquisssitor, but those around you are meek creaturessss. We have the meanssss to make them lisssten to you. We could give your wordsss power. If we were to be alliesss, we could grant it to you.'

'And what exactly would you like in exchange? I won't let you out to roam my kingdom.'

'We don't need much. Jussst sssoulssss of thossse you dessspissse ssso much. Humansss with bright light.'

'The Mages?'

'That'sss right. The Magesss makesss mossst deliciousss treat. You were planning to get rid of them anyway, weren't you, Inquisssitor? Why not give them to usss, and in exchange, we provide you with power to bent weak to your will. Isssn't that a fair deal?'

Cassius sheathed his sword. 'Tell me more. I'm listening.'

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