Chapter 15: The aftermath

Empire of Sylvaris

The empire had yet to recover.

Not truly.

The echoes of that night had not faded. The city’s grand streets, usually bustling with life, now carried a strange, uneasy silence.

People still spoke of it in hushed tones, as though afraid that even mentioning it too loudly would summon the wrath of the empire’s rulers.

A whole bloodline had been erased.

Not just any bloodline.

The Ignis.

The Children of Fire.

And now, where once stood a great house—an unshakable pillar of power—there was nothing. Only charred ruins and scorched earth where the estate of House Ignis once stood.

The consequences of the battle between four Saint Realm experts did not stop at the Ignis territory. No—its devastation stretched far beyond.

The land itself bore the scars.

Poisoned by the darkness of the Noctis.

Severed by the blade of the Sword Saint of Sylvaris.

Burned to nothing by the flames of the Ignis.

The destruction was so great that nothing would grow there again.

Even the air had changed.

The burning stench of death still lingered, days after the flames had died.

Some called it “The Night of Purge.”

A name spoken with pride by those who worshipped the empire’s strength—the ones who saw it as a necessary purge of rebellion.

But others...

The ones who understood.

The ones who saw the truth.

They called it “The Night of Slaughter.”

For in a single night, an entire family was erased.

And now—

The Citizens Speak

“Did you hear?” whispered a woman in the market square, her voice barely above a breath. “Not a single one survived. The entire Ignis family ... gone.”