"WEAK!"
The Duke yelled again as he stepped towards Riven in anger, before clutching his robe near the chest as he pulled the boy closer to his face and stared straight into his green eyes.
"House Dawnriver does not look kindly upon weakness, boy.
Since you call me Father, I will forgive your transgression just this once.
But know that if you disappoint me again, it won’t be forgiven so easily."
He warned, as Riven immediately lowered his eyes in subservience.
As though taking a man’s life had not already left his conscience in turmoil, he now found himself burdened by an entirely different shame.
He had disappointed the one man that the Hypnotist had instructed him to impress at any cost.
And so, in the end, he had neither the comfort of believing he had done the right thing nor the satisfaction of having fulfilled his Father’s expectations.
Instead, he stood trapped somewhere between the two, condemned by his own conscience while still falling short of the standards House Dawnriver demanded of him.
"Yes, Lord Father."
He replied meekly, as although the shame burning within his chest was already overwhelming, he dared not offer a single excuse in his own defense.
"Mmm..."
Drew mumbled in response, as he finally released his grip.
Then, without wasting another glance towards him, Drew slowly turned to face the guards standing behind him.
"Finish up the rest, and burn the lab down." the man ordered, as his tone became completely indifferent once more.
"There should be no survivors left capable of attesting to how exactly the boy came to possess this body.
But before you burn it down, gather every research manual, journal, diagram, and record connected to the Section Carving process, so that we can pass it on to our own loyal doctors."
He instructed, as the guards immediately drew their weapons at every researcher present within the room, with the sole exception being the Hypnotist.
Unlike the other, he was allowed to leave freely with the Duke, while the rest were slaughtered one after another.
"But why? What have we ever done to wrong house Dawnriver?"
"Please forgive us my lord, we won’t ever tell a soul about how Riven came to be....
Please, don’t kill us."
They begged, as until that moment, many of the researchers and assistants had still clung to the desperate hope that, although the Imperial Anatomist had been sacrificed, their years of loyal service would somehow spare them from sharing his fate.
However, that illusion shattered instantly.
"My Lord... please have mercy!"
"Take my tongue, but please spare my body."
They begged, as voices filled the laboratory from every direction as panic spread through the remaining staff.
Several researchers instinctively fell to their knees, while others desperately attempted to explain their loyalty, believing that years of service surely counted for something in the Duke’s eyes.
However, unfortunately for them, it did not, as Drew regarded every plea with complete indifference.
"Loyal servants can always be replaced.... But secrets cannot."
He declared coldly before turning away, as behind him, the laboratory descended into chaos as the guards carried out the order they had been given without hesitation, while terrified cries for mercy echoed through the building before gradually falling silent one after another.
Not once did Drew slow his pace.
Not once did he look back.
To him, the lives behind those walls carried no greater significance than dust upon the floor.
.
.
Meanwhile, Riven watched the scene unfold before him in horror, as the Hypnotist quietly stepped beside him and gently placed a hand upon his shoulder.
"Come."
He said, as the subtle nudge was enough to bring the boy back to his senses.
Still shaken by everything that had unfolded, Riven silently obeyed.
Together, they followed behind the Duke, leaving the laboratory behind without uttering another word.
Several minutes later, the remaining guards emerged carrying heavy bundles of leather-bound journals, anatomical sketches, handwritten observations, experimental records, and countless years of painstaking research carefully secured beneath protective cloth.
As only after confirming that nothing of value had been left behind did they carry out the Duke’s final instruction.
By the time the group reached the outskirts of Stoneville, dark smoke had already begun rising from the old potion shop, steadily climbing into the afternoon sky before growing into a roaring blaze that drew the attention of the surrounding townsfolk.
People rushed towards the building with buckets of water, shouting desperately as they attempted to contain the spreading flames.
However, they were far too late.
Within the inferno disappeared decades of research, countless experiments, and every remaining trace of the Imperial Anatomist’s work.
Only the journals now travelling with House Dawnriver survived, while everything else was reduced to ash.
Outside the town walls, a lavish Dawnriver carriage already waited alongside a fresh team of horses.
"Come," the Duke instructed, as he climbed inside without sparing the burning town a single glance. "You will ride with me."
Riven entered immediately after him.
The Hypnotist followed, while the remaining guards mounted their own horses and formed a protective escort around the carriage.
Without delay, they departed Stoneville.
For a few more minutes, the procession travelled in complete silence until civilization gradually gave way to open wilderness, where another carriage awaited them within a secluded clearing hidden from every major road.
Unlike the ordinary carriage they had travelled in until now, this one was attached to multiple magnificent Pegasi whose brilliant white wings remained folded neatly against their sides while they patiently awaited their master’s arrival.
The Duke stepped down first before transferring directly into the waiting Pegasus carriage, while Riven quietly followed behind him.
Moments later, the driver snapped the reins.
The Pegasi spread their enormous wings in perfect unison before surging into the air, lifting the carriage smoothly away from the earth as Stoneville disappeared into the distance behind them.
Without another word being spoken, House Dawnriver began the long journey back towards the Valdrak Empire, leaving behind nothing except ashes, unanswered questions, and a past that no witness remained alive to tell.