Venom, spite unmatched by the most bitter feud. Aiko felt the rage; she burned with it daily, even if under an ice-cold facade. The King was a husk of the man he used to be, the man her father had fought decades under. It was startling to think how low he truly had fallen.

"Did you not hear me? Your father will be here shortly, we have civil matters to discuss before the ceremony..." The King mumbled, bitterness taking over his blade-like tongue.

Aiko had not seen her father in years, a fully concerted effort on her end after her training at Frost Academy. Her own excuse was that she no longer viewed him as the Titanium Hawk that used to dog-fight the skys almost weekly, his excuse being that he now feared her; the woman that returned being wholly new than the girl he had sent away.

"I heard you--How long till you think he will arrive?" Aiko's question matched the King's poisonous tone he used before.

The response made the King quickly turn, his face astonished at how she had chosen to speak to him. His crimson eyes squinted, turning fiery as they glinted past his heavy lids. "Have you lost your sanity?! Do not think that your time in that frozen wasteland changes your loyalty...Or have you forgotten your place with the months spent with those filthy rebels?"

He paused, feeding glances into the stonewall that stared back at him; Aiko was unflinching, a primed bullet ready to be fired. "Begone from my sight, you are an annoying little cur..." The king flicked his wrist toward the exit of the empty court.

"That would be my pleasure." Aiko bit her tongue, wanting to mock the man in his final hours but thinking better of it.

She instead left quietly, unfortunately, silent enough to hear the words the kind mumbled beneath his gout-ridden breath. "Your mother wasted her womb, you are no better than Huck...Lacking structure and system."

Aiko gripped her hand into a fist, feeling the surge of power that coursed through her veins. It was that, the boiling hate that bubbled to the surface. She turned with enough speed to make the king step back, hand gripping the golden claw that rested on his belt.

"I will break every bone in your body; you are going to suffer far worse than the others, they will only know instant and molten death--" Aiko closed the door she was inches away from exiting moments before.

She rolled her sleeve up, revealing the cursed glowing mark of Du'Esh."You...are going to die like you let my mother and sister be TORTURED to cover up your secrets."

The King yanked a pistol from his belt, instead of his normal claws. Firing straight into the blitzing form that crushed ebony tiles under its attack, Aiko was no longer even the human that left the Mauve Palace years ago.

She dodged the bullet without effort, perceiving quicker than it was able to make its path at 15 or so feet. No further words were given, every second lethal. Aiko turned her foot and pivoted; Aiming to crescent kick the pistol from the trembling hand of the king.

He was able to dodge, shooting true and letting lead rip through the side of her face. Aiko's body flew back from the .45 caliber impact that ripped through her brain matter just as fast as she had crossed the room.

A searing puddle of crimson quickly formed under her, leaking a deluge from the gaping hole she sported from the back of her head. "Infernus Sanctum..." The king whispered.

As the king's bullet that tore through Aiko's skull was still clattering against the stone of the palace, her body collapsed to the ground. The monarch's labored breathing filled the room as he stared at the motionless form before him.

His moment of relief was short-lived.

A blue glow emanated from Aiko's cursed mark, spreading across her body like veins of ethereal light engulfing the heavens. The wound on her head began to close, flesh and bone knitting together with an unnatural speed that crunched with its reformation. In mere seconds, Aiko's eyes snapped open, glowing with an otherworldly intensity.

"What manner of demon are you?" the king gasped, stumbling backward. "Dhira's Flames!"

Aiko ascended, her movements fluid like lapping currents. "I am the vengeance of Du'Esh, the goddess of Buriti. And you, 'Crimson Monarch', are about to learn the true meaning of misery."

The king fired again, but Aiko was already moving with high velocity. She closed the distance between them in an instant, her enhanced strength allowing her to move with inhuman speed. Her fist connected with his slack jaw, the impact reverberating through the room.

Despite his age, the king was no pushover. His armor absorbed much of the blow, and he countered with a swipe of his golden claw; his motions were honed by years of training and Searing rituals. The enchanted gleaming weapon sliced through Aiko's arm, but the wound sealed almost instantly as she flared her teeth.

"Impossible," he muttered, eyes wide with disbelief. "The Claw of Dayus..."

Aiko's lips curled into a snarl. "You've lived too long, old man. It's time to pay for your sins. No mortal weapon can slay a god!"

The brawl spilled out into the hallway, their struggle echoing through the palace but finding none to listen; Aiko had already made sure the most loyal of the ShadowGuard already moved everyone far enough away from the court.

The king's massive seven-foot frame gave him reach, but Aiko's newfound agility allowed her to dance around his attacks. She led him towards the slave tunnels, using the narrow passages to negate his size advantage.

The king unleashed the full might of his Svetlan-gifted weapons. His freshly pulled sword crackled with electricity, his shield deflected Aiko's blows with bursts of light, and his claw dripped with palpable malice. Each strike should have been fatal, but Aiko's curse kept her fighting, healing every wound almost as fast as it was inflicted.

Aiko's fury grew. With each regeneration, her attacks became more brutal, yet more precise. She began targeting the king's weapons; knowing he was nothing but a man, without his "gifts".

First went the sword, knocked from his grasp and clattering into the darkness of the tunnels as sparks flew wildly in every direction and illuminated their struggle. Then the shield, crushed under Aiko's heel as she pinned the king against a wall in an explosion of light that blinded the man's remaining eye.

Finally, the claw was torn from his hand, along with several of his fingers. Blood showered her face as he uselessly slapped at her with the wounded hand.

Piece by piece, Aiko dismantled the king's legendary protection. She smashed in his blessed armor, leaving him motionless and crushed under its new jagged formation. The once-mighty ruler was reduced to a quivering mass of flesh and bone, cowering before the vengeful warrior he had underestimated for so long.

Aiko stood over him, her eyes blazing with righteous anger. She looked down at the pathetic figure before her, she felt no satisfaction. Only disgust.

"Look at you," she spat spitefully. "The great King of Vasca-minor, Emporerer of the Old World and beyond...trembling like a child. Do you know why I haven't killed you yet?"

The king whimpered, unable to form words through his pain and fear.

"Because death would be too merciful," Aiko resumed. "You need to understand the full weight of your crimes before you die." She crouched down, her face inches from his. "I know everything, Hinler. Every dirty little secret you thought was buried."

The king's eyes widened as Aiko began to speak, each revelation like a dagger to his heart.

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"I know about my sister. Your daughter. The product of your sick desires. And I know you let Aygu murder them both to hide your shame while letting the mines collapse as a front for more war."

The king tried to protest, but Aiko silenced him with a backhand that sent piss into the armor he now was pinned inside instead of wearing.

"Don't bother denying it. I've known for years now. Just like I've known about all those missions you sent me on. Did you really think I wouldn't notice you were trying to get me killed? That I wouldn't see through your thinly veiled attempts to remove the last threat to your rule?"

"How many thousand died in the battle for the Basks...Just for you to re-ally with Svetlan months later?!" She raised her voice to insane decibels, almost shaking the very foundations of the Palace itself.

Aiko paced around the king, her voice dripping with malevolence. "But that's not even the worst of it, is it? No, your greatest crime, the one that truly damns you, is what you did to your own wife and concubine...You never cared for anyone but the country to try you for the rampant genocides--but that--"

The king's face paled, a look of genuine trepidation crossing his features for the first time.

"That's right," Aiko nodded. "I know about Marna and Bala. How they started questioning your decisions after you lost the empire. How they dared to demand rights and a say in the governance of the kingdom. And I know what you did in response."

She leaned in close, her words barely above a whisper. "You sent the acting Kingmaker. The mother of a very good friend of mine, and lackey of the Saxun bloodline. " Aiko quickly thought of her time at frost academy; then forced it from her mind as she continued her tirade.

"An assassin with the same training and curse as me. You had her slaughter them both, your own wife and the mother of your children, all to maintain your grip on power." Her hand gripped till it drew blood.

The king's body shook with sobs, the weight of his exposed sins crushing down upon him after years of unchecked power.

"Eighty years," Aiko said, standing up straight. "Eighty years you've ruled through dread and manipulation. You've torn this country apart with your covetousness and paranoia. But it ends today--It all ends today!"

She turned, looking down the dark tunnel. "As we speak, your capital is going to burn. The Old Guard, the Vascan nobility, all of them will be reduced to molten bone. Your reign of terror is over."

The king managed to find his voice, croaking out a question. "And... Huck Surely you have a soul?" A rare crack of compassion seeped through the kind, one that had not even been expressed toward the man he exiled who called him father.

Aiko's expression softened slightly at the mention of the prince. "Huck is... complicated. He'll have a choice to make. Either he becomes the commander this fatherland deserves, or he'll share your fate. But unlike you, I believe he has the potential for redemption..."

She started to walk away, leaving the broken king in the darkness of the tunnels.

"Wait," he called out weakly. "You can't just leave me here. To ROT, like garbage! Kill me; send me to Dhira that I may be blessed."

Aiko paused, not bothering to turn around. "No. These tunnels, the ones your father used to terrorize servants for years, will be your crypt. You'll die isolated in the darkness, just like all those innocent lives you've destroyed over the decades call for from the Doutros' den."

As she walked away, Aiko felt a weight lift from her shoulders. The civil war that had plagued the country for so long was now beginning to end. The corrupt regime that had oppressed her people for generations was pulverizing.

She emerged from the tunnels into the chaos of the burning palace; having waited till the first bombardment began but losing track of time.

Explosions rocked the city center, and screams filled the air. But amidst the destruction, Aiko saw the opportunity for rebirth; this was all necessary in her plan.

She had been trained for this moment, sanctified by the gods to carry out this sacred duty. Aiko would lead her country to greatness, no matter the cost. The reign of the old king was over. A new era was dawning, and Aiko would be its architect.

As she strode through the flames, forgetting her father even drew breath or lay in soot.

The curse mark on her arm pulsed with power, a reminder of the divine mandate she carried. Aiko looked out over the burning city, fearing that Yana had not escaped in time.

Aiko raced through the superheated streets of the capital, her heart pounding with urgency. The confrontation with the king had taken longer than expected, and now time was running dangerously short. She had to reach Yana and Princess Kasiha before it was too late.

As she rounded a corner, she spotted them huddled in the shadow of a crumbling building that was told to them by one of the Palace's hidden ShadowGuard agents. Relief washed over her, finally able to breathe for a moment.

"Yana! Kasiha!" Aiko called out, sprinting towards them.

Yana's green eyes widened as she saw Aiko approaching. "Aiko! What's happening? The city is in chaos! I thought--"

"There's no time to explain," Aiko declared, her voice tight with tension. "You two need to leave. Now."

She gestured to two figures emerging from the shadows –--rebel agents she had positioned for this very purpose that had kept tabs on their location in case a bomber went off course. "These men will escort you to safety. Go with them, and don't look back."

Kasiha clutched at Yana's arm, her young face pale with fear. "But what about my Mother and father!? Uncle Tariq And Dennis!?"

Aiko's expression hardened. "Your father is no longer a concern. As for Dennis... his fate is sealed--There was no room for Aiyadasha either...She's an Old-blood, no one wants them around."

Yana's eyes narrowed as understanding dawned. "The coronation...You did this?"

Aiko nodded grimly. "In less than ten minutes, this entire area will be reduced to rubble. You need to be far away when that happens."

As the rebel agents began to usher Kasiha away, Yana stood her ground. "Wait. What about Huck? Where does he fit into all of this?"

Aiko's jaw clenched. This was a conversation she had hoped to avoid, but Yana deserved the truth. "If he's smart, he'll fall in line with the new order. If not..."

"If not, what?" Yana pressed, her voice rising. "Aiko, you can't seriously be considering... He's been through so much already! All those murders since his exile, the betrayal, the isolation. How can you expect him to just 'fall in line' after all that?"

Aiko's eyes flashed with a mixture of pain and resolve. "I don't expect anything. I hope. But the good of the nation comes first, Yana. Always."

"The good of the nation?" Yana scoffed. "Huck is barely holding onto his sanity as it is! How can you think he'll be able to rule a country in his state?" It was a valid concern; one that Aiko felt anger that she even felt the way she did for the dangerous lunatic that wore a Prince's skin.

"Because he has to!" Aiko snapped, her composure cracking for a moment. She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "Because... because I love him."

The words hung in the air between them, heavy with the weight of unspoken history. It was the first time Aiko had ever admitted her feelings out loud, and the shock was evident on Yana's face.

"You... love him?" Yana repeated, stunned. "I thought--Dennis and you seem..."

Aiko's expression softened slightly. "Which is why I have to believe he's strong enough for this. Yana, listen to me carefully: I will do anything – anything – for the good of this nation. Even if it means sacrificing my own happiness. Or Huck's life. "

Yana opened her mouth to argue further, but a distant rumble cut her off. The bombs were already falling. "Go!" Aiko shouted, pushing Yana towards the waiting agents. "There's not much time!"

With a last, conflicted look, Yana allowed herself to be led away, disappearing into the smoky haze with Kasiha and the agents of the ShadowGuard posed as rebels.

Aiko turned back towards the palace, her steps quickening as she raced against the falling bombs. The grand building loomed before her, its once--majestic facade now scarred by battle once again. She could see the coronation ceremony through the shattered windows, Dennis standing proudly as the crown was lowered onto his head as if nothing was happening.

Her agents most likely convinced the assembly that the rebels would be quickly picked apart by anti-air guns that were conveniently unmanned for this sullen occasion. Dennis had even rushed the acting Popa to proceed without the King, a brazen act that would cost him his life.

She burst through the doors just as the first bombs hit the mosaic tiled roofing. Detonating chaos around her, the air filled with screams and the deafening roar of collapsing debris.

Aiko's cursed mark blazed to life, her body regenerating even as it was torn apart by the blast's shrapnel. Through the dust and debris, she saw Dennis, his face frozen in a scream of terror as the ceiling came crashing down upon him and his brand-new crown.

In that moment, something unexpected stirred within Aiko. Pity. This man, for all his faults, was as much a product of the corrupt system as she was. And unlike the old king, he had never personally wronged her--Only showed her Kindness.

Acting on instinct, Aiko lunged forward. She reached out and grabbed Dennis, channeling the energy of her curse into Dennis's broken body. As the last of the palace crumbled around them, she poured her strength into him, willing his flesh to knit back together, his bones to mend as she shielded him with her body.

The world went dark as the rubble buried them both. For long moments, there was nothing but stillness and the crushing weight of stone as the coronation laid in carnage.

Then, slowly, light began to filter through the cracks of the ruined building. Aiko pushed upwards, her enhanced strength allowing her to shift the detritus. She emerged into the remains of the throning room, pulling Dennis's unconscious but breathing form behind her like it weighed nothing.

As she stood amidst the devastation, Aiko surveyed the scene. The capital state building was gone, reduced to a smoking crater. Most of the palace lay in ruins on the horizon.

The old order had been wiped away in fire and destruction.

Yet even as the dust settled, Aiko could see people emerging from the rubble. Survivors, looked to her for guidance as they saw her still standing strong.

The real work was just beginning.

She glanced down at Dennis, still unconscious at her feet. His survival complicated things, but perhaps it was for the best. A reminder of the past, and a chance for redemption. The future of Vasca hung in the balance, and she would do whatever it took to see her vision realized.

No matter the cost.