THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 341: 341. FIRST TO DIE

Then the dance ended.

Sagiri’s final step carried him to stillness, and for the first time since he had risen into the sky, he stopped moving.

The desert answered immediately. The roaring winds weakened and subsided. The towering vortex unraveled. Rivers of sand drifted gently back toward the earth, spilling across rooftops, streets, and walls before settling into silence.

Zaira’s massive coils slowed and came to rest behind him like a mountain of living darkness. Yet the blades did not fall. Thousands upon thousands of black blades remained suspended in the sky. They hung motionless above the inner city, above the fortress, above the execution square.

More stretched beyond the walls into the outer city until it seemed as though a storm of steel had frozen in place over all of Thazir. Every person who looked up found a blade pointed somewhere in their direction. The sight stole the breath from the city.

Warriors stood rigid, afraid to move. What could they possibly do against a shower of blades?

The council platform had gone pale. The executioners no longer held their weapons. Azir stared upward with wide eyes, unable to decide whether he was terrified or amazed.

Even those in the distant outer districts had witnessed the dance. They stood upon rooftops, walls, and streets staring toward the skies where the countless blades blotted out portions of the evening sky.

The chants were gone. The anger was gone. What remained was something far older than either. Fear. Not the fear of death. The fear of realizing that the man you had condemned possessed the power to carry out the sentence instead. The fear of knowing that they had been mistaken. And in the silence that followed, with the desert finally still and the sea of blades hanging over the city like unmoving rain, every person in Thazir understood the same thing.

They were surely going to die.

The silence stretched across the city.

Then Sagiri looked down. The moment his crimson eyes settled upon the square below, the killing intent returned. This time it was worse. Deeper. It did not explode outward like before. It descended. Heavy and relentless, like the weight of a mountain settling over the city. The Warriors found it difficult to breathe.

Several members of the crowd lowered their heads instinctively. Even the council platform grew noticeably quieter. Above them, the thousands of suspended blades remained perfectly still. Sagiri began to descend slowly and deliberately.

His cloak drifted behind him while Zaira watched from above, its massive red eyes fixed upon the city. The distance between him and the execution platform gradually closed. Fifty feet to forty to thirty. Then he stopped.

Hanging motionless in the air, the square. His gaze swept across the council, the executioners, the warriors, and finally the platform where his companions had nearly been put to death. The city held its breath. Not a single person spoke, but their fear was loud. It rivaled Sagiri’s killing intent. Sagiri remained suspended there, crimson eyes glowing against the darkness, while the storm of steel hung above Thazir, waiting for a command that had not yet come.

”Now then, why don’t we all die together?” He announced.

Then his gaze settled upon the council platform.

”But first... Who ordered my death?” His voice was not loud, but every person in the city heard it.

No one answered, and the silence only deepened.

Sagiri’s eyes narrowed slightly.

”I asked a question.” A blade shifted somewhere above the city.

Just one.

The metallic sound echoed like a thunderclap through the stillness. Several council members visibly flinched.

”Who ordered my death?” Sagiri repeated. ”Who decided that while I was risking my life for this city, my companions should be dragged onto an execution platform?”

His gaze swept across the platform. The killing intent pressing upon the city grew heavier.

The tip of the blade pointed toward the council platform.

”Answer.”

No one answered. Sagiri’s expression did not change, however. One of the countless blades hanging above the city suddenly disappeared in the next moment. A sharp whistle split the air. The Mazuku Chief’s body jerked violently in his seat before a black blade burst from his chest. He was the one who had been sitting on the N’folu seat for years.

Blood spilled from his mouth as he stared down in disbelief. Then he toppled from his chair and crashed onto the stone below.

Dead.

Gasps erupted throughout the square before an eerie silence swallowed the city once more. Sagiri lowered his hand slowly, his crimson eyes fixed upon the fallen chief.

”That is for sitting on a chair that isn’t yours for a year longer than you should have...” he said calmly.

His gaze swept across the frozen council.

”... and for sending killers after the City Lord.” The blade dissolved into darkness moments later. No one dared move. Above them, thousands of blades remained suspended in the sky, waiting.

”Now,” Sagiri said, his voice carrying across the silent city, ”who else would like to pretend innocence?” He snarled

Silence

”My patience runs thin. Everyone has a minute before they die.”

”Fifty-nine...” Sagiri counted, and the pressure rose. Everyone trembled.

”Please don’t!” Azir’s voice rang across the square. The young city lord had fallen to his knees, tears streaming freely down his face once more. He looked up at Sagiri, desperation written across every feature.

”Please, Big Brother! Don’t kill them!” His voice cracked. ”Please! I know they’re bad! I know they did wrong! But please don’t kill everyone! I am their city lord, and I am responsible for how badly they welcomed you. I am the one who led them by bad example and tried to kill you first.”

The sight stunned the city almost as much as the execution itself. Then another figure stepped forward. Kai dropped to one knee beside Azir and lowered his head.

”Lord Sagiri,” he said quietly, ”I ask the same. Mercy.” More gasps rippled through the square. Above them, Sagiri remained suspended in the air, surrounded by a sky full of blades. His crimson eyes settled first on Kai, then on Azir.

For a long moment, he said nothing. Then he finally spoke.

”I will not let people live merely because you ask, Azir.” The words struck hard. Azir visibly flinched. Sagiri’s gaze swept across the council platform. ”The dead chief sent assassins after a child.” His voice remained calm. The killing intent surrounding him remained suffocating.

”Mercy is not the absence of consequences.” His eyes returned to Azir. ”Nor is justice something that can be bought with tears. If so, where is my justice?” The thousands of blades above the city remained perfectly still as everyone waited to hear what he would say next.

”If you have to kill the people of Thazir, then kill me too!” Azir said in a stronger voice this time.

”Oh... then I will make you watch before I kill you,” Sagiri said in a cold voice, and Azir gasped.