Reincarnated as the Last Villain

The fires were gone, but the smoke lingered.

Ravengarde's walls were scorched, its gates broken. Bodies — theirs and the enemy's — were being burned in silence. Survivors moved like ghosts. No cheers. No songs. Just breathless endurance.

Kael sat inside what used to be the war room — now a makeshift infirmary.

His shoulder was wrapped in cloth soaked with dried blood. Duran, despite the gash across his eye, stood by the window, sharpening his blade.

Across the room, Vaenira leaned against the far wall — silent, unreadable.

The room had four people, but a thousand suspicions.

Nilo was the first to speak what everyone thought.

"She fought with us yesterday. That doesn't mean she's on our side today."

Vaenira raised an eyebrow. "And you? You were once a court mage who served the same high priests who ordered Kael's execution."

Nilo's fist clenched. Serana stepped between them.

"Enough," she growled. "We don't have the luxury to bleed each other."

Kael looked at Vaenira.

"Why did you come back?"

Vaenira looked straight into him — not past, not through. Into.

"I'm not on your side," she said. "I'm not on his. I'm on my own. But I know Zerath better than you ever will. And I know what he's building isn't a kingdom. It's a cage."

Kael said nothing.

[Faction Update: Vaenira – Alignment Unknown]Status: Ally (Conditional)Trust Level: 28%

That night, Kael couldn't sleep.

He wandered Ravengarde's halls, limping, listening. Listening for secrets. Betrayal. Whispers in the dark.

Instead, he found Duran talking with someone in shadows — passing something wrapped in silk.

Later, he saw Nilo alone in the tower, burning letters before they could be read.

Even Serana — the one he trusted most — stood over a map of Aerith, tracing a path back to her homeland… as if planning something.

And when Kael finally stepped into the armory—

Vaenira was there.

Sword in hand.

Waiting.

Truth and Steel

"Followed me?" she asked without turning.

"You wanted me to," Kael replied.

Silence.

Finally, she spoke.

"I could have killed Zerath that day at the Skyvault. I had the blade. I had the opening."

Kael leaned against the wall.

"Then why didn't you?"

She turned. "Because I didn't know which version of him I hated more."

A long pause.

Then Kael spoke, low and tired:

"Are you going to betray us?"

Vaenira walked toward him, slow and deliberate, until they were face to face.

"If I do… you'll see it coming."

She walked past him.

And left him with no peace.

Only fire.