The Last Confession

I never meant to become the thing I swore to destroy. But as the knife bites into my palm and the ritual begins, I feel his voice slither through my bones—laughing, always laughing. He made me orphan, then made me weapon. Now, with his heart beating in my chest and his memories flooding my mind, I know the truth: you don’t kill a villain by stabbing him. You kill him by becoming him… and refusing to stop. This is not redemption. This is recursion. And the final move was mine all along.

The Last Confession

I never meant to become the thing I swore to destroy. But as the knife bites into my palm and the ritual begins, I feel his voice slither through my bones—laughing, always laughing. He made me orphan, then made me weapon. Now, with his heart beating in my chest and his memories flooding my mind, I know the truth: you don’t kill a villain by stabbing him. You kill him by becoming him… and refusing to stop. This is not redemption. This is recursion. And the final move was mine all along.

The knife slips between my ribs like it belongs there—because it does. Blood steams in the cold air as I chant the Binding Reversal, my voice cracking under the weight of two souls screaming in unison. Malakar laughs inside my skull, warm and familiar, like a father watching a child fail. 'You think this hurts?' he whispers. 'I carved kingdoms from flesh. You’re just a boy with a blade.'

But he doesn’t see what I’ve hidden—the locket around my neck, pulsing with my mother’s last breath. The one he took. The one I kept.

The ritual reaches its peak. My vision fractures. One path leads to the Heartforge, where I can purge him forever. Another leads to the Citadel, where I can use his knowledge to prevent a war. The third… the third lets him take control, just for a moment, so I can learn his final secret.

My hands shake. The blood spreads. And Malakar waits.