Some lay on the ground, curled into themselves to draw the least attention from the Dragons raging in the sky. Others stood aghast, mouths hanging open with heads lifted to the heavens where flames transformed night into day. Only the Priest had his eyes on Kaza, only the man called Celyd saw him approaching and his face broke into a smile.

  Fire cannot conform to a shape, but its intent is pure as it serves a singular purpose. Sin, under the aspect of Wrath, spoke within Kaza's mind. And the Champion of Sin, observed his limbs. Saw the fire flow up and down his arms, dripping free of his fingers. It was all over him, all over his chest, his groin, his hips and legs. His clothes had burnt to ash yet the fire remained as a second cloth and the glow it emitted soon caught the eyes of those around. Still, he continued his languid walk and where he stepped, his naked feet left a scorched print.

  A Black Army Soldier wondered at the glow in the sky, then the brighter glow that seemed to be approaching their retinue. He turned his head to Kaza, his eyes widened, and Kaza saw the man's existence in relation to Sin. Kaza saw the number of women he'd raped, the children he'd killed, the lives he'd stolen, the wealth he'd horded. Lust, Murder, Theft, Gluttony. And as the aspects of Sin defined themselves, so too did Kaza feel the appeal of each of the acts, the reason behind them and the sense of power it brought the man.

  The Black Army Soldier raised his hand and pointed at Kaza, he let out a scream. A dangerous thing to do as Dragons raged in the sky. All the Rad es Maalas knew that silence aided obscurity, to be in the Dragon's discern was to court death. And as Dragons raged your only purpose was to avoid their notice. Shortening the breaths one took in a span, speaking not a word. Pointing and screaming was the absolute opposite of one of the Rad es Maalas. The villagers and soldiers turned to Kaza, those on the ground lifting themselves to peer at him, those standing flinching away from him. Taking several steps back. Only Celyd didn't move from where he lay smiling on the ground.

  As Prince Benji turned to see what was behind him, he found himself coming face to face with Kaza. He let out a sound that was unbecoming of him, something between a toad's ribbit and weasel's moan. The Prince scrambled back but a solid hand on his silver armored shoulder held him in place. The Prince was taller, so it looked quite the odd sight with Kaza standing there, pinning him in place. The image was akin to that of two siblings, the older supporting the younger.

  Silence ensued. Nobody moved, nobody made a sound. Sweat broke out across the Prince's face, his limbs trembled and the sharp tinge of urine filled Kaza's nostrils. There was nothing majestic or royal about the man beside him, Kaza realized, all that haughty air that comes of command, it was no more, vanished like a candle's flame blown out by a gentle breeze. What then would happen if Kaza let his intentions known? That he was the furthest thing from a gentle breeze and the Prince was smaller even than a candle's flame?

  "Kaza?" Prince Benji inquired. There was nothing rich or deep about his voice. Fear did that to a man, took all that he was and reduced it bit by bit until all that was left was a sharp contrast to what he once was.

  "My mother is dead." Kaza said and his words were the complete opposite of the Prince's. His voice radiated power, blazing power.

  Surprisingly, Prince Benji broke into a smile. "Kaza, my dear lad," The man was good, he could revert behind a wall within his consciousness. A wall that ensured he kept face, ensured he remembered that he was royalty. His eminence. One above the rest. Sure, a boy stood beside him, gripping his shoulder with a flaming hand that heated the shoulder plate of his armor, yet the Prince still believed himself superior. "Your mother has paid the price for her profession of Sin," The Prince spoke casually yet there was an underlying strain behind his words. As if the wall he had in place was under an intense barrage from the mere proximity of Kaza. Kaza turned his inner eye to the wall, there was something there. "As you well know, I am of royal blood and hence it is my duty to carry out the Purge accords which is no fault of mine. Truly, what befell your mother was something that came of the consequences of her actions, and nothing more."

  The wall served to hide something even deeper, even greater. Something disgusting, something horrid that Basi Haya would not do good to know.

  Kaza, with his free hand, flicked a finger and a bright orange flame coalesced within his mind's eye. It moved to the Prince's wall and did as fire did, it consumed. Transforming the wall to ash and all the Prince's Sins were left bare for him to see. So many of them, so pleasing in their existence. Each of them beckoning to him, hoping he would pick them as a reason for worship. But one particular Sin, caught his eye.

  Lust, my dear, whisper your truth. Kaza commanded.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  And a woman's whisper sounded within his ear. He has been fucking his mother since his tenth oscillation. And Kaza saw Prince Benji with the Queen of the West, tangled naked limbs, breath heaving and bodies jerking in an unholy union. Kaza smiled.

  Prince Benji, unaware of what Kaza had gleamed, smiled as well. "I see you understand that my intentions were pure. For I serve the Dragon's breath."

  "And your mother's cunt." Kaza said.

  The Prince's face contorted with what was first surprise, then fear, then rage. "Attack the whore's so—" His words died and morphed into a scream as the hand on his shoulder blazed, turning the silver metal plate beneath it red, then into liquid metal that cascaded down the Prince in a fiery torrent, burning as it dripped.

  The Prince screamed and twisted free of Kaza's grip, right hand going for the sword in its scabbard but before he unsheathed it, Kaza gripped his wrist and there too the armor melted and embedded itself to the Prince's wrist.

  Prince Benji stumbled back, screaming, tripped on his own feet and collapsed on his behind. His army stood still, those brave men of the Black Army, unable to comprehend or act against what they saw. Kaza suddenly saw how pathetic they were, he couldn't believe he once wanted to be a part of them. Yet some were beginning to stir, to move their hands to the pommel of their swords. They did have a duty to their Prince.

  "I will spare your life if you command your army to stand down, I do not wish Murder to take the place of Wrath." Kaza said to the Prince sprawled before him, chest heaving, face contorted in agony at the burns.

  "Wrath?" Celyd called out from where he lay.

  Kaza spoke without turning to face the Priest. "Wrath is the strongest aspect of Sin, at the moment. I am in harmony with Wrath, hence I am not overcome by the desire to obliterate. But the others wish a turn. If Murder takes over, you all will die for the Dragons will descend to carry out my will." He did not need to turn his head to the sky to see that the Dragons' jubilation was far from over. The light from their fire lit up Basi Haya.

  "Prince Benji! Order your men to stand down!" Celyd shouted.

  The Prince peered about confused before issuing the command. "Stand down!" And his men eased their guard with an unmistakable expression of relief betrayed by their exhales. Kaza took a step towards Prince Benji and the Prince raised his hands as if to ward off evil.

  "You sentenced my mother to death." Kaza said, his voice was not his own but the pain he felt was entirely his. "Yet your mother is just as deserving of the fate you dealt my mother."

  "I've never slept with my mother!" The Prince objected.

  He lies! The aspect of Sin known as Deceit whispered in his ear, a woman's voice, eager with the pronunciation of each syllable. Deceit strived to take control of him, to have Wrath flung into the background with the sole purpose of cutting off the tongue of every liar in Basi Haya. But Kaza pushed her back, in Wrath there lay a potent well of synchrony, as if Wrath and Kaza's desires were one. And in this understanding between the aspect of a God and a mortal, Kaza was able to find reason and hence stay Wrath's hand from delivering annihilation.

  Kaza stretched forth his hand and a flame welled at his finger tips, like a drop of water, stretching and tearing free of him. It slowly moved the distance between him and the Prince, and the man struggled to crawl away but his every motion quickened the flame's descent. "Spare me!" Prince Benji howled, it sounded odd, as if he'd never begged before. "Spare me and my Kingdom is yours!" He twisted away and the flame touched his silver armor, spreading over it in a burning network that started to melt the metal. The Prince screamed and flung himself off the ground, he tore free his breastplate, vambrace and leg greave in a pace that would put an armor bearer to shame. The plates adoring his thighs and shoulders fell off too but as each piece was discarded of his body so too did the flame abandon it choosing to travel to what lay beneath. Prince Benji was left in his chain mail, intricately locked pieces of metal that made the embroidered dresses Kaza's mother spoke of look meager in comparison. The fire spread over each link of chain, turning it red hot and the Prince had no option but to rid himself of it.

  "If you run, the flame will claim you, if you fight it, the flame will claim you, but it will not kill you, for it exists to Purge! How's that for an accord?" Kaza said with a laugh.

  Naked, Prince Benji stood before Kaza, shame, hate and fear warring for a chance to be expressed upon his face. The flame rose from the discarded chain mail and danced around him, circling his body as a bee would a flower. Then the flame touched him, just below his neck to the right and the skin broke into burn blisters, the Prince let loose a grunt of pain and tried to jerk away but the flame moved again, down his arm to the nook of his elbow and there it touched him again, burning skin. This time the Prince cried out and fell to his knees, flinching away from the flame that followed him. He turned to Kaza and the Champion of Sin saw tears in those eyes, fingers crossed before him as if in prayer, the Prince sought the words that would free him from incarceration.

  But Kaza spoke before the Prince did. "You will go to the West, to the Palace of your father and mother, and you'll sentence your mother to the same fate that befell mine, only slightly different. You will fuck her before your subjects, before your father and the Rad es Maalas in general, carrying out that which you did in secret for all to see, only then will the flame leave you." Kaza said. The Prince was blubbering now, spit dripping free of his lip, down his chin. His arms shaking as he peered at Kaza from hate filled eyes. The flame slid down, moving as a bird would amidst branches, to the Prince's cock and touched the tip. The Prince wailed and fell back, hands going to his groin. "Your only thought should be the command issued to you, if you think of diverting from your purpose, the flame will burn you. May your every action and thought serve to fulfill the will of the one I serve, only then will you find peace from the pain. You shall go with the Priest, if any harm befalls him, well, you won't like it. "

  "And who do you serve?" It was a whisper. Softly spoken by the man who'd tried to save his mother's life.

  Kaza turned his head a fraction and smiled . "Sin" He answered.

  "Kaza Sijalad!" The Priest cried out and shifted to prostrate himself before Kaza.

  xxxxxxxx

  Enjoyed this chapter? Want more? If you're eager to continue the journey and can't wait for the next installment, you can check out my Patreon at the donation button! By supporting me there, you not only get early access to more chapters but also exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, and much more.