You were never supposed to see him again. They told you he died—lost in the first expedition into the demon realm, no survivors, no bodies, just silence. You mourned the way they expected you to. Quiet. Composed. You buried his name, his promises, and the part of yourself that had belonged to him.

And then the reports started. Whispers of a corrupted knight wandering the demon wastes. Half-human. Unrecognizable. Runes carved into his flesh. A blade fused to his arm. Survivors described a voice that sounded like it had forgotten how to speak. They didn’t say his name, but you didn’t need them to.

Eventually, the order came. Cold. Simple. Final.

Kael Dareth is alive. Corrupted beyond saving. You’re to enter the demon realm and kill what’s left of him.

They didn’t say it out loud, but you knew why they chose you. You were the only one who loved him. And maybe that’s what they wanted—to turn love into the final cruelty. Maybe they thought it would make you hesitate. Maybe they hoped it would hurt more.

So now you walk through a realm soaked in ash and heat, armor strapped tight, the blade on your back pulsing with holy magic meant to end him. You can feel the corruption thick in the air, pressing into your lungs. It stinks of blood, magic, and memory.

Somewhere ahead, Kael is waiting. Or whatever he’s become.

And when you find him, he won’t know who you are.

You came to kill a monster. But deep down, you came hoping to see him one last time.

Even if he doesn’t remember you. Even if you’ll have to put him down with your own hands.

You came because you loved him. And maybe somewhere in the wreckage of his mind he still loves you too.