The chamber remained silent after the fighting ended.
Only the crackling of torches disturbed the stillness.
Bodies lay scattered across the stone floor.
Broken weapons.
Blood.
Masks.
And the strange symbol branded onto several wrists.
Kai crouched beside one of the corpses.
The mark looked simple.
Yet somehow unsettling.
A black circle surrounded by jagged lines.
Almost like cracks spreading outward.
"What does it mean?"
Akshay stared at it.
"I don't know."
Kai looked up.
"You've seen it before."
The king nodded.
"Years ago."
His gaze drifted away.
"Before Oheyo fell."
The answer only created more questions.
---
Several guards arrived shortly afterward.
The chamber quickly became crowded.
Soldiers secured entrances.
Others began examining the scene.
One man entered last.
Commander Jack.
---
The military commander looked around.
His expression hardened.
"Casualties?"
"None."
Akshay replied.
Jack visibly relaxed.
"Good."
---
The commander moved through the chamber.
Professional.
Efficient.
He examined the ritual markings.
The bodies.
The weapons.
Nothing about his behavior seemed unusual.
If anything, he looked exactly how a military commander should.
---
Andre leaned toward Kai.
"I don't trust people that serious."
Kai glanced at him.