Sapphrine's grey eyes studied her son's desperate, tear-streaked face.
His story was coherent. His terror was real.
But so was the blood on his robes.
So were the dead orphans.
Evidence does not lie.
"You had your chance to speak," Sapphrine said, her voice empty. Flat.
"Mother, PLEASE—" Darth begged.
"And your story..." she continued, as if he hadn't spoken, "...is exactly what a guilty man would say."
Lance stepped forward, his face the perfect mask of sorrow.
"My Queen, I tried to help him turn himself in. I hoped confession might bring mercy."
Sapphrine nodded. Cold. Logical. Loveless.
"No," Darth whispered. "No, Mother, please. I'm your son. I'm INNOCENT—"
The staff came down.
Harder this time. More final.
Because he had been given a chance. And his words meant nothing.
His mother—who once loved him more than life itself—felt nothing as she killed him.
This was worse than being executed without trial.
This was being heard... and still not believed.
But death was not the end.
Clandareth's corruption had touched Darth before his execution.
The blood on his robes. The murders Lance forced him to commit while his body was controlled.
That corruption lingered.
And when Darth died—not just executed, but unbelieved—the rage was even stronger.
The betrayal cut deeper.
She gave him hope... then killed him anyway.
Not as a Guardian. Not as human.
But as something new. Something twisted by injustice and unheard truth.
Eyes glowing red. Daemon magic coursing through him.
Power born from a mother who gave her son a voice...
...then refused to listen.
The Daemon Prince was born.
And his rage burned hotter than if he'd never spoken at all.
Darth stood, reborn. The cross shattered behind him.
The crowd screamed. The guards fled.
And Sapphrine... felt nothing.
Her staff glowed. Her grey eyes met his burning red ones.
"Mother," he said, voice layered with daemon echoes and infinite fury.
"You let me speak. You heard my truth."
"And you killed me anyway."
"I will make you FEEL that choice."
CONSEQUENCE: DAEMON PRINCE RISEN (GREATER RAGE)
Darth lives. But as something monstrous. His rage burns hotter because he was heard but not believed. The cruelty of false hope.