Devoured by Vengeance
Episode 5 of 5 - Scars of Betrayal
Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Epilogue
|| recap ||
Deep within the labyrinth, Cygnus and Shade discover a cage holding Periphas and a glowing pedestal bearing the scepter Cygnus has sought. As Cygnus reaches for it, Leda emerges from the shadows, revealing herself as Shade’s sister and exposing that Shade has led him here with hidden motives. The tension mounts as Cygnus faces the betrayal and the temptation of the power he’s desperately pursued.
Cygnus’s eyes burned with rage as Leda’s mocking challenge hung in the air. The scepter pulsed on its pedestal, calling to him with a power that thrummed in his bones. Without hesitation, he surged forward, his movements driven by a mix of desperation and fury.
Shade darted to block Leda, their blades clashing in a flurry of sparks as Cygnus reached the scepter. The moment his fingers closed around it, a surge of energy coursed through him, electrifying and resolute.
“You think that will save you?” Leda sneered, parrying Shade’s strike and whirling to face Cygnus.
“It’s not about saving,” Cygnus growled, his grip tightening. “It’s about ending this.”
With the scepter in hand, he turned to face her, the air around him crackling with barely restrained power. The flickering light of the glowing runes cast jagged shadows across the walls, their glow intensifying as if responding to Cygnus’s rage.
“It’s been a long time, Zeus,” Leda said, her voice cutting through the silence like a blade.
The name echoed in the chamber, reverberating off the stone walls. Cygnus stiffened, the scars on his face seeming to burn anew. Zeus. The name felt foreign now, a ghost of the god he had been, stripped of his divinity, exiled to this mortal shell.
“You don’t get to call me that,” Cygnus growled, his voice a low rumble of fury. “You destroyed that name when you betrayed me.”
“And yet, here you are, clutching at the scraps of your former glory,” Leda replied smoothly. Her gaze flicked to the scepter. “Tell me, my love—does it make you feel like a god again? Or is it just another reminder of what you’ll never be?”
Shade shifted at Cygnus’s side, his hand gripping the hilt of his blade. His usual stoic demeanor cracked slightly, tension rolling off him in waves. “Leda, don’t do this,” he said, his voice quiet but firm.
She turned her gaze to him, her smile faltering. “Oh, brother, must you always ruin the fun? You’ve chosen your side, haven’t you?”
Cygnus glanced at Shade, a fresh wave of distrust surging through him. “You knew?” he spat. “You knew she was here all along?”
Shade’s jaw clenched. “I didn’t bring you here for her. I brought you here to destroy her.”
But Cygnus was no longer listening. His gaze returned to Leda, his grip on the scepter tightening. “You lied to me,” he said, his voice trembling with rage. “You betrayed me, stripped me of everything I was.”
“And you would have done the same,” Leda retorted, her tone sharp as broken glass. “You think I enjoyed watching you fall? No, Cygnus, I did what I had to do. For survival. For power. Something you’ve always understood.”
“Enough,” Cygnus snarled, raising the scepter. Energy rippled along its length, the runes glowing with an unearthly light. “You don’t get to justify this. Not to me.”
Before Leda could respond, Cygnus unleashed a bolt of raw power, the air screaming as it tore through the space between them.
Leda barely managed to deflect it, her own magic flaring in a shield of shimmering energy. The chamber erupted into chaos.
Periphas swooped down from above, his massive wings stirring the air into a storm. The eagle let out a piercing cry, talons slashing toward Leda. She spun, a whip of flame erupting from her hand, and struck Periphas mid-flight.
“NO!” Cygnus roared, his voice a thunderclap that shook the cavern.
The scepter pulsed violently in his grip as his fury boiled over. He unleashed a torrent of energy, the raw force of his anguish and anger cascading outward in a blinding wave that consumed everything in the cavern.
Leda screamed as the magic engulfed her, her shield shattering like glass under the relentless assault. Shade lunged toward her, his sword raised, but the wave consumed him as well, throwing him against the far wall with bone-shattering force.
The chamber fell eerily silent. The glowing runes faded to darkness, leaving only the flickering light of the dying torches. Cygnus looked around, the weight of the devastation settling over him like a suffocating shroud.
Shade lay still, his blade clutched in lifeless fingers. Leda’s body was a broken silhouette against the far wall, her beauty marred by the violent end she’d met.
Cygnus’s gaze fell to Periphas. His loyal friend, the one constant in his life, lay motionless, his feathers singed and broken.
“No,” Cygnus whispered, sinking to his knees beside the eagle’s body. His hands trembled as he reached out, brushing the lifeless feathers. “Not you. Not you too.”
The scepter, its runes now cracked and dim, slipped from his grasp and clattered to the stone floor. It shattered on impact, fragments scattering across the chamber. With its destruction, the last vestiges of Cygnus’s divinity slipped away. The power that had once defined him, that had burned so brightly in his veins, was gone.
Cygnus knelt amidst the carnage, his scarred face etched with grief. “What have I done?” he whispered, his voice breaking, then the cavern was silent once again. The weight of his choices pressed down, heavier than any mortal burden. He’d sought vengeance, sought justice for his betrayal—but he had destroyed everything—his divinity, his loyal companion, even the fragile alliance he had forged with Shade. All gone, consumed by his rage.
He rose slowly, his body aching, and turned toward the cavern’s exit. Winding his way back through the maze, he somehow arrived at the exit. The air outside was cool and sharp, the faint light of Ebonreach visible in the distance.
As he stepped into the twilight, the enormity of his loss settled over him. He was no longer a god. He was no longer Zeus. He was Cygnus—a mortal man, broken and alone.
The city loomed before him, shrouded in mist and shadow. Its dark streets offered no comfort, no promise of redemption. Cygnus walked on, his path uncertain, his soul weighed down by the price of his choices. The fallen king, stripped of his power, was left with nothing but the bitter remnants of what might’ve been.
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Oooh. And with fire too!