The woman clucked her tongue in mock pity. "Such a bleak existence. How have you survived so long without joy?" Her voice dropped, growing sultry. "What about women? Look at these girls. Their skin is soft, their bodies eager. They long for you, Kayvan. They ache for your touch. They’ll let you do anything—anything—to them. Or perhaps..." Her smile turned wicked. "You prefer men? I offer you them as well. Their bodies, their moans, their submission—all for your pleasure."

  "Shut your mouth, you wretched creature," Kayvan growled, his gaued hands g. With a metallic click, razor-sharp cws extended from his gloves. "Your twisted offers are wasted on me. I have no i in your lies or your perversions. Stop stalling and pick up your on."

  The woman sighed, her expression momentarily mournful. "Not ied, are you? Such a shame." She seemed to think for a moment, then cpped her hands. "Ah, I know!" she excimed, her face lighting up with cruel delight. A figure stepped out from the shadows behihrone. "What about her, Kayvan? Your old lover. You’ve missed her, haven’t you?"

  Kayvan froze, his breath catg in his throat. The woman tinued, her voice soft and venomous. "How many times did you watch her, w what was hiddeh her robes? How many nights did you lie awake, ed by thoughts of her? Wasn’t that why you left her—to escape the temptation? Because you knew, deep down, you couldn’t trust yourself? And now, here she is. She’s waiting for you, Kayvan. She wants you. Take her."

  For a long moment, Kayvan stood motionless, his face a mask of horror. His expression twisted into despair, then fury. Finally, he shrough gritted teeth, "No. This is yame, daemon. You’ll get nothing from me."

  The woman in the bck robe spoke with words sharper than any bde, her voice effortlessly pierg through Kayvan’s defenses.

  "Look at you, poor child," she said, desding from the throh an unnerving grace. Her feet barely seemed to touch the crystal steps as she approached him. When she reached him, she gently stroked his head, her voice soft and maternal, almost tender. "It’s heartbreaking, really. You’re so sad, and it’s no wonder. You already know, don’t you? What you saw—it’s all a lie, an illusion crafted to distract you from the truth. Your old lover is gone, Kayvan. She died a long time ago while you were out in the gaxy, fighting endless wars, exterminating xenos, destroying everything in your path to protect humanity. You were unstoppable in battle, but time… time doesn’t stop for anyone. Not for you. Not for her.”

  Her words hung heavy in the air as she crouched to his level, her tone almost soothing, like a lulby meant to break his spirit. “You are enhanced, a product of the Emperor’s will, untouched by time. But she wasn’t. She grew older, Kayvan. She aged. And then… she passed away. Alone. Do you know how much she loved you? Her entire life, she never married, never found happiness. She cried herself to sleep more nights than I t, dreaming of you. That was her only fort during her long, lonely nights.

  “She wao feel close to you, even if it was just in her mind. She’d y in bed and imagine you there beside her. That fantasy was her only soce. But when she’d open her eyes, all she found was emptiness. And now, that’s all you have left of her—emptiness a. Her once radiant skin withered, her ughter faded, and she died lonely, thinking of the man who was here.”

  Kayvan, the t giant who had always been calm, strong, and untouchable, suddenly crumbled. He dropped to his knees, his hands trembling as his crow’s cws fell to the ground with a hollow g. The unyielding man who had never known fear now shook like a leaf in a storm.

  “No… no! You’re lying! Lies!” His voice cracked, and the power armor that once shielded him began to peel aiece by piece, revealing the vulnerable mah.

  The woman’s lips curled into a twisted smile. “You know I’m not lying, Kayvan. You know my power; you know I only speak the truth. This is the reality you’ve been running from—a tragedy of two souls who loved each other but were kept apart by meaningless rules ay morals. What’s s about love? Even forbidden love? It’s society’s s that made you suffer, made her suffer. And for what? Those same noble lords you fought to protedulge in far worse behind closed doors. Some even take their thralls to bed.” Her voice turned honeyed, almost seductive. “So why shouldn’t you indulge in what brings you happiness? Why torment yourself for rules that only serve to hurt you?”

  Kayvan’s breathing grew shallow, his chest heaving as the weight of her words sank deeper into his mind. “No… no… it’s my fault… all of it…” he whispered, his voice hollow. His once-mighty frame seemed to shrink uhe crushing burden of guilt and despair.

  From his vantage point in the air, Joe watched helplessly. He tried to scream, to warn Kayvan, but no sound escaped his lips. His mind raced back to Kayvan’s words before the battle began. Kayvan had known this would happen. This was his fight, and no one could interfere.

  The woman in the bck robe pressed on, her voice dripping with false passion. “You see now, don’t you? The so-called morality, justice, and ws—they’re nothing but shackles. You’ve givehing, Kayva you’ve bee with nothing. Why not take what you deserve? Why not embrace the pleasure and freedom you’ve denied yourself for so long? You’ve sacrificed everything, but it’s time to let go. Enjoy life. You’ve earhat much, haven’t you?”

  Kayvan’s head hung low, his hands clutg the ground as though he might fall through it. Then, his shoulders shook—not with despair, but with a deep, guttural ugh. Slowly, he raised his head, his eyes bzing with defiance. “You know… you almost had me,” he said through gritted teeth. “But unfortunately for you, it’s all nonsense.”

  With a burst of strength, Kayvan sprang to his feet like a coiled spring. His power armor was gone, his ons stripped away, but his faith was unshaken. The crow’s cws, hidden within his very beied from his fists, tearing through his skin and gleaming with deadly i.

  Before the woman could react, Kayvan shed out. One cwed hand sliced through her neck, sending her head flying. His other hand plunged into her chest, the cws ripping into her heart and twisting mercilessly. He stirred the an like a wild animal tearing apart prey, redug it to pulp.

  In the span of seds, the bck-robed woman’s body crumpled to the ground, lifeless. Kayvan stepped back, yanking his blood-soaked cws free and kig her body away with disgust. “I told you,” he snarled, his voice low and venomous. “Your little tricks don’t work on me. Now, tell me your name, daemo’s see just how ‘close’ you want to get.”

  However, as if nothing had happened, another identical woman in a bck robe emerged ohrone. She looked down at him, her voice dripping with mockery. "What an ued result. He truly lives up to his reputation as one of the Raven Guard. You are not to be uimated. But tell me, Kayvan—don’t ynize who I am?"