The air was thick with tension in the rebel camp. Though the kingdom had been spared from the monstrous creature, there was no sense of celebration. Kael's actions, his past, weighed heavily on the minds of all those who had fought beside him. He had been both the cause and solution to their greatest crisis, and now, as the days passed, the question lingered in the air: What would be done with him?Kael sat near the edge of the camp, staring into the flickering flames of a small fire. His body was still sore, and his magic reserves depleted, but it was his mind that bore the heaviest burden. The faces of those he had wronged haunted him—the people whose lives he had ruined in his quest for power. No amount of heroics could erase the blood on his hands.Footsteps crunched in the dirt behind him. He didn't need to look to know who it was."Enjoying your final moments of freedom?" Seraphine's voice was cool, devoid of the warmth they once shared.Kael didn't answer at first. He tossed a branch into the fire, watching it catch and spark before crumbling into ash."What happens now?" he finally asked, his voice hollow. He already knew the answer, but hearing it from Seraphine would make it real.Seraphine stepped closer, her gaze piercing. "The others want to bring you back to the capital. You'll stand trial for what you've done."Kael let out a bitter laugh. "A trial. As if there's any doubt about the verdict.""They have to make it official," she said. "Even if everyone already knows what you did."He glanced up at her, the weight of the past pressing down on him. "And you? What do you think should happen to me?"Seraphine's expression hardened, but there was a flicker of something beneath the surface—something she had been struggling with since the moment they'd closed the portal. "I think you deserve to be punished, Kael. For everything. For the lives you destroyed, for the chaos you unleashed. But..." She hesitated, her fists clenched at her sides. "But I also know that, without you, we wouldn't be here. That monster would've killed us all."Kael met her gaze, surprised by the conflict in her eyes. He hadn't expected this from her—not after everything he'd done. "I never wanted to hurt anyone," he said quietly. "I just… I thought I could control it. I thought I could make things right by using the darkness. But I was wrong."Seraphine took a deep breath, turning away from him to stare into the fire. "You weren't just wrong. You were reckless. And now we all have to deal with the consequences."A silence fell between them, broken only by the crackling of the fire. Kael knew there was nothing he could say to change what was coming. His fate was sealed. The trial was merely a formality. The people would demand justice, and justice would demand his life."I'll go with you," Kael said at last. "To the capital. I'll face whatever punishment they decide."Seraphine glanced back at him, her expression unreadable. "Are you really ready to die for this?"Kael's heart pounded in his chest, but he didn't hesitate. "I deserve it."