Kael's Choice – A Blade No Longer Willing to Obey
Kael's fingers twitched against the hilt of his sword.
His breath came in slow, measured inhales, though his chest felt too tight to expand.
The words still rang through the battlefield—louder than the howling wind, louder than the shifting of uneasy soldiers.
> "I choose myself."
The moment those words left his lips, something irreversible had happened.
A ripple. A shift.
Kael had disobeyed.
Not hesitated.
Not faltered.
Not waited for another order to dictate his next move.
He had chosen.
And in doing so—he had thrown away everything he was.
The response was immediate.
> "Traitor!" a noble shrieked.
"Arrest him!" another bellowed.
"He is no longer the Hand of the King!"
The words didn't sting.
They didn't hurt.
Not like they should have.
Kael's golden eyes flickered, watching the soldiers who had once followed him tighten their grips on their weapons.
They would come for him now.
He had trained them.
