Sarhita's hands trembled as she began speaking, describing the attack in detail.

The arrival of the flying machine. The initial demands. The casual murders of warriors who'd tried to resist. The explosive device they'd threatened to use if full cooperation wasn't provided.

"We evaluated our options," Sarhita said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Fight and likely die, everyone in all three settlements, or surrender two individuals to save hundreds. The facts were clear. Two lives versus hundreds."

"The facts ignored that those two lives were my members," Jorghan said.

"That protecting them was a matter of honor, not arithmetic."

"We had no obligation to die for alien creatures!"

Sarhita protested, some defiance finally entering her tone. She wasn't the obedient woman whom he tamed and shared a bed with.

"Grace and Scarlett were humans, not elves. They came from another world, another culture, another species entirely. Why should we sacrifice our people for them?"

"Because I brought them here," Jorghan replied, his voice becoming quieter, more dangerous. "Because I claimed them as Sol'vur, placed them under my clan's protection, and made their safety my responsibility. When you surrendered them to save yourselves, you didn't just betray them. You betrayed me. You announced to everyone watching that Sol'vur protection means nothing, that threatening enough collateral damage will make my people surrender anything I claim to value."

He moved closer to Sarhita, his crimson eyes reflecting the evening light filtering through the trees.

"You were afraid. That's understandable. The Terraspers were powerful, well-armed, and willing to massacre civilians. Fighting them would have cost lives. But you know what else costs lives? Demonstrating that we're weak. Showing that we can be intimidated. Teaching our enemies that taking hostages and threatening civilians is an effective strategy against us."

"What would you have done?"

Sarhita asked, and the question carried genuine confusion.

"If you'd been here, faced with that choice, what would you have chosen? Death for everyone, just to preserve your honor?"

Jorghan's smile was cold and absolutely terrifying.

"I would have killed every single Terrasper, dismantled their explosive device, and made it clear that attacking this settlement was the last mistake they'd ever make. Then I would have hunted down whoever sent them and destroyed them so thoroughly that no one would ever consider trying this again."

"You weren't here," Sarhita said.

"And we aren't you. You can fight armies. We can't fight people without losing everything."

Her voice was steady, but it cut deeper than anger, and Jorghan felt it.

"We made the best choice we could with the information available. I'm sorry it wasn't what you would have chosen, but we did what we thought was necessary to preserve our people."

Jorghan stared at her for a long moment, and Sarhita found she couldn't meet that gaze, couldn't bear the weight of judgment in those crimson eyes.

"I'm going to Terrasper," Jorghan said finally.

He sighed heavily; he very well knew that Scarlett was dead and wouldn't come back and knew that her words were true.

But a part of him wanted to blame them for not being able to protect them.

Too many emotions surged through him in a matter of seconds.

Then he said.

"I'm going to find Grace and kill whoever took her. While I'm gone, you're going to fortify these settlements, train every warrior in how to fight Terraspers, and prepare for the possibility that they'll return. Because if they come back and you surrender again, I'll kill you myself.

All of you. Is that clear?"

Sarhita stared at him, and she didn't say anything.

He turned to leave, then paused.

"One more thing. The Terraspers were really strong, you said. Stronger than our warriors. Equipped with weapons and abilities we couldn't match."

"Yes," Sarhita confirmed.

"Then when I kill them, when I bring their bodies back and throw them at your feet the way they threw Scarlett's ashes, you'll understand exactly how much stronger I am than you. You'll understand what you should have been able to do if you weren't cowards.

Remember that when you look at their corpses."

He left the council chamber, Sigora following close behind.

Swana tried to apologize again, her voice breaking, but Jorghan didn't acknowledge her.

Sigora caught up with him near her residence.

"Jorghan. What you said to them—about going to Terrasper, about killing the Terraspers—you're serious."

"Completely serious," Jorghan confirmed.

"Scarlett deserves justice. Grace deserves punishment. And everyone involved needs to learn what happens when they attack my people."

"How will you even get to Terrasper?" Sigora asked.

"We don't have a portal. The Empire controls the few gates that exist, and they're heavily guarded."

Jorghan looked up at the sky, at the stars beginning to appear as twilight deepened.

"I'll find a way. I always do."

Sigora studied his expression, seeing determination that went beyond rationality, beyond caution, beyond any consideration of personal safety.

She understood just how greatly he valued his people and also could see the maturity of accepting what's in front of him. He may have been harsh towards Swana and Sarhita, but he could have done worse, and they may not have been able to stop him.

"Promise you'll come back to me."

"I promise," Jorghan said.

"I'll come back when this is finished. When Grace gets what she deserves and Scarlett is avenged. Then we'll build the Sol'vur into something so powerful that no one will ever dare attack us again."

He looked back at the floating island, at the settlements spread across the dunes, and at the three clans living here in relative peace.

"And we'll make sure everyone here understands what protection actually means. Not surrender disguised as pragmatism, but absolute commitment to defending what's ours regardless of cost."

Sigora wrapped her arms around him from behind, holding him close, providing comfort and support without trying to change his mind. She knew him well enough to recognize when his decision was final.

*

Sigora helped him gather Scarlett's remains, helped him prepare a proper burial site away from the scorched ground, and helped him perform the simple ceremony that honored fallen warriors.

They worked in silence, the moon providing light, the settlement bearing witness to their grief.

When Scarlett's remains were properly buried with a marker stone bearing her name, Jorghan stood before the grave for several minutes, his head bowed, saying whatever private farewell he needed to say.

He remembered her face and the way she opposed him killing innocents, and the way she always cared about others' emotions. But in the end, the others just let her die.

What an unfair world it is.

***

Jorghan was standing on the destroyed canyon floor. He watched the destruction he unleashed and was lost in thought for a moment.

Then he raised his hands, and the red sigil appeared on his palm, and the transformation began.

His body expanded, muscles growing denser and more defined. His skin darkened to deep crimson, blood essence manifesting not just around him but throughout his entire form. His height increased to nearly eight feet three, his frame becoming broader and more powerful. His eyes blazed with red light that seemed to burn rather than simply glow.

But he didn't stop there.

Usually, this was as far as the transformation went: enhanced strength, speed, and durability, all wrapped in the Berserk Lord's characteristic crimson appearance.

This time, Jorghan pushed deeper.

His blood essence expanded outward like a second skin, creating a barrier between his body and the environment. The crimson energy solidified into a protective shell that would shield him from the vacuum and cold. Internal systems adjusted automatically, his bloodline's adaptive capabilities preparing for conditions no elf had ever deliberately subjected themselves to.

His breathing slowed. His heart rate regulated to a rhythm that could sustain him with minimal oxygen. His blood carried an essence that could substitute for normal biological processes if necessary.

He was ready.

Then he launched himself skyward.

*

The initial ascent was familiar.

Jorghan had used blood essence for enhanced jumping before, propelling himself higher than should be possible. But this time, he didn't stop. He channeled essence continuously, creating thrust that carried him upward at accelerating speed.

The settlement fell away below him.

Brownhill Dunes became a small cluster of structures, then a barely visible dot, then nothing as clouds swallowed his view of the ground.

He burst through the cloud layer into clearer sky, stars becoming brighter as atmospheric interference decreased. The air grew thinner and colder, each breath requiring more effort as oxygen content dropped.

His blood essence barrier responded automatically, sealing more completely, creating an environmental bubble that maintained pressure and temperature. His lungs adapted, drawing what little oxygen remained and supplementing with essence-generated substitutes.

Higher.

[BLOODLINE ADAPTATION ACTIVATED]

[VOID BLOOD CIRCULATION: COMPLETE]

[BLOOD ESSENCE SHIELD: ACTIVE]

The sky changed from dark blue to black. Stars became brilliant points of light unmarred by atmospheric distortion. The curve of the world became visible below him, a vast sphere of land and water that looked both impossibly large and somehow small from this perspective.

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