Days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, months turn into years. Through Calvion’s fear of failing the emperor and with his infinite patience he teaches Koronos and helps him learn various languages of the realm, and to read and write. The greatest fighters and generals in the land teach him martial arts, swordsmanship, tactics and strategy. Octavius weaponizes him and he goes along with it because he feels he lost his way and purpose, nothing matters anymore but his pride will not allow him to just lie down and die; so, he becomes a weapon, and the rugged mountainous homeland of Kazar becomes a distant memory, like a fading dream in the morning light. The cruelty of Octavius becomes more and more apparent as well, but he cares not.
One day, Cassi finds him intensely practicing his swordplay forms, as she’s observed him do so often, “why do you train so hard, Koronos?”
“I cannot live the life I want, so I will be what the gods have made me.”
“And, what’s that?” Cassi asks with concern in her tone, over time, she has grown fond of him.
“The greatest warrior the world has ever seen, the greatest warrior in the empire is not enough.”
Battle campaign after battle campaign, he carves through the enemies of the empire like a hot knife through butter, and his body count of fallen foes goes into the thousands, they all fall before him. As his reputation grows as a hero of the empire, so does the wedge drive between him and the emperor; for Octavius starts to become jealous of his fame and starts to see him as a threat to his power and throne.
Octavius decides it would be best to not just kill him outright though because Koronos is too popular, so he calls on a special session of his closest advisors. This is a shortlist comprising his three Everliving cohorts; Cassi with the power of telekinesis, Polaris the Seer with the power to see possible futures, Arcturus the Mindbender with the power to sway the weak minded, and the mortal Calvion the Sage that possesses more knowledge of Koronos than any man alive.
Calvion has ingratiated himself with the emperor, and is now one of his trusted advisors, and it is Calvion who ultimately comes up with the idea and devises a way to entrap Koronos. A cunning plan that will make Koronos an enemy of the state, through insubordination of a direct command of the emperor.
Cassi maintains her silence as she listens to them work out the details and concerns. She tries to mask her horror at the plan; however, she doesn’t mask it well enough because Arcturus the Mindbender senses her feelings.
After the meeting is adjourned Cassi tries to get to Koronos to warm him but it soon intercepted by Octavius and eight Elite Royal Guards and he says to her, “Where are you off to, my dear daughter?” Spoken with contempt dripping from his words. Shaking his head, he finishes with, “you’d dare defy me and betray me, your father, for a savage from Kazar!? You’re a disappointment, you’ve always been a disappointment! You should have been a son!”
She doesn’t answer him and lowers her head.
He and his guards personally escort her to her royal apartments, “Four of you will guard the princess to make sure she stays there until my Court is held tomorrow morning,” Octavius says to his guards.
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The next morning, Koronos is summoned to a special session of Court to discuss a new war campaign, which is odd to Koronos, that they aren’t meeting in the War Room with the generals, like usual. Once he reaches the Imperial Throne Room, he is disarmed as per usual, no one is allowed to be armed in the presence of the emperor except for the guards. Upon entering he notices that nearly all the Elite Royal Guards are present and all the most lords and generals that reside in the capital.
There is Emperor Octavius, seated on his throne like the day they first met. Calvion calls for Koronos to step forth. Koronos senses something is wrong, the way the Everliving are glancing at each other, and Cassi won’t even make eye contact. Then Octavius speaks, “You have become a great hero of our glorious empire, our greatest weapon. I have a task for you, one I can only entrust to you… given your particular heritage and intimate knowledge of the Kazarians. They are a thorn in our glory, they’re resistance defy our empire and I can no longer allow this. I need you to take a company of 500 of our most elite warriors into the Hellfire Mountains and beat them into submission or eliminate them if they will not submit.”
The entire court gasps as Octavius takes a long pause, weighing and watching Koronos, but he gives them nothing, no expression and stays stoic and proud. Then he finally continues, looking smug and haughty, “will you obey your emperor’s command?”
Koronos simply says, “no.”
The emperor looks at Calvion and nods, then Calvion says, “so you would defy your emperor’s command?”
Defiant as ever, the Kazarian spits on the floor at the base of the steps to the royal throne. Cassi covers her face with her hands, unable to emotionally process what is coming next.
The room gasps again, even louder than before as Octavius stands and shouts while pointing at Koronos, “Seize this savage!”
The guards move in to take him since ranged weapons are not permitted in the Throne Room, but the first one is met with a bone shattering fist from Koronos into the front of his neck, crushing his throat and snapping his neck instantly. The second one is quickly disarmed and picked up like a doll and dropped over his knee, breaking the guard’s back. Now Koronos has a sword, the Elite Royal guards quickly surround the emperor to protect him.
Four more guards close in on Koronos but they die so fast that it’s difficult to process what happened, what most people see is a spray of blood with heads, arms and legs being detached and bodies cut clean in half, guts and blood spattering across the pristine marble mosaics of the floor accompanied with the dying men’s blood curdling screams as they quickly perish.
Koronos begins to carve through the guards protecting Octavius, the guards try and try to stop him as they all die in blood spattered carnage. Ten dead, then fifteen, then twenty. Finally the only thing between the emperor and Koronos is the captain of the guards and he’s the only one in the room with the skill to stop him, just as they are about to engage in mortal combat, Octavius pushes the captain aside and yells, “enough!”
Octavius displays his power for the first time in hundreds of years and shoots lightning from his hand, hitting Koronos in the chest, instantly burning and blowing the tunic clean off of him, knocking him back and down into a kneeling position on one knee. Koronos has the wind knocked out him and his chest is burned, his whole body smoking as more guards rush into the Throne Room and subdue him.
With Koronos finally restrained, Octavius continues, “what madness! The sentence for insubordination to the emperor is death, it is the law!”
Cassi quickly gets in front of Koronos. "Wait, please, I beg you, father, spare his life…” as she kneels in supplication.
Moments pass in total silence, Octavius looks around the room, everyone watching, waiting, he thinks maybe he should show mercy now, to look good. “Very well, I sentence Koronos to Life… of hard labor at Fort Blight, in the Valley of Death!”
“Life…” Cassi silently mouths.