The city of Solspire loomed before Lee Sung like a black mountain crowned in golden fire.
High walls, gleaming towers, and fortified gates — once a symbol of unity, now a bastion of tyranny under Helios's Solar Dominion. Banners bearing the radiant sigil of the sun hung from every parapet. Soldiers, clad in gold-etched armor, patrolled the ramparts with ruthless discipline.
But beneath the city's polished surface, cracks had already begun to form.
Lee Sung crouched on a rocky outcrop, surveying the city with cold calculation. Beside him knelt Malka, the scholar-turned-rebel leader, her sharp eyes scanning the defenses. Below them, hidden among the tangled outskirts and ruined villages, their ragtag army assembled — exiled summoners, disenfranchised scholars, and citizens who refused to bow.
It was not enough to crush Helios through sheer force.
Victory would require something far more dangerous: political collapse from within.
---
"We have three days," Malka whispered, her breath visible in the cold dawn air. "Before Helios completes the Solar Convergence. After that, the gods' blessings will be absolute."
Lee Sung nodded grimly. He understood the stakes. If Helios succeeded in fusing the mortal and divine realms through the Solar Convergence ritual, resistance would become meaningless. Every living soul would be bound under divine law.
Their rebellion would die in the cradle.
"How many are loyal inside the walls?" Lee Sung asked.
Malka grimaced. "A handful. Maybe. But they fear exposure. The Dominion's enforcers root out dissent like hunters culling wounded prey."
Lee Sung's hand tightened around the Sigil of Warding. The artifact remained warm against his skin, a shield against divine corruption — and a symbol of hope.
"We'll give them a spark," he said. "Something to rally behind."
---
The Plan
That night, in the secret caves just beyond Solspire's outer farms, Lee Sung outlined the assault.
"We cannot take the city through brute force," he said, voice steady as the gathered rebels listened intently. "But Solspire's heart is rotten. The people pretend loyalty out of fear. We expose the Dominion's lies, and the people will rise."
He pointed to a crude map spread across a stone table.
"We have three targets:
1. The Hall of Edicts — where Helios's new 'laws' are inscribed.
2. The Solar Bastion — the fortress where Helios's elite guard reside.
3. The Plaza of Concord — where the Solar Convergence will be completed."
Lee Sung met the eyes of each rebel in turn.
"We hit all three. At once."
Gasps of disbelief rippled through the cave.
Malka leaned forward, voice razor-sharp. "Coordinated strikes? Without secure communication? You're asking for disaster."
Lee Sung shook his head. "I'm not asking. I'm telling you: it's the only way."
"The Hall burns to show Helios's lies.
The Bastion falls to show his soldiers bleed.
The Plaza... the Plaza is where we end him."
He touched the Sigil of Warding to the map, its blue light casting eerie shadows across their determined faces.
"This will reveal the Dominion's hidden agents. Those infected by divine corruption will be forced into the open."
Murmurs of fear and excitement spread.
Malka finally grinned — a fierce, wolfish thing.
"Madness," she said. "But the kind of madness we need."
---
The First Strike
At dawn, the rebels moved.
Small bands infiltrated the city through hidden sewer entrances, crumbling aqueducts, and forgotten catacombs.
Lee Sung led the group targeting the Hall of Edicts.
As he moved through the tight stone corridors, he felt the Sigil hum louder against his chest. Divine corruption was thick in these halls.
Outside the Hall's gilded doors, two guards clad in shining armor barred their way. Lee Sung held up the Sigil — and its light flared.
One guard recoiled, skin burning where divine corruption festered beneath. The other shouted in alarm.
No time for diplomacy.
Lee Sung struck like a shadow. His dagger — blackened steel, designed to pierce divine wards — slid between the corrupted guard's ribs. Malka's summoned hound, a creature woven from smoke and blood, pounced on the second.
Moments later, they were inside.
The Hall was a cathedral of false justice — marble floors, golden scrolls etched with laws dictating every aspect of citizens' lives. Loyalty oaths. Worship mandates. Marriage decrees.
"This isn't governance," Malka spat, lighting a torch. "It's slavery."
Flames spread rapidly across the parchment scrolls and silk banners.
As smoke filled the Hall, Lee Sung climbed atop the central dais.
"This city is not theirs to rule!" he roared, his voice amplified by the burning chamber. "Helios and his gods are tyrants! Rise, people of Solspire — rise and take back your freedom!"
From the city streets, Lee Sung heard the first shouts of rebellion.
The spark had been lit.
---
The Siege Begins
Word of the burning Hall spread like wildfire.
The citizens, long cowed into obedience, began to gather — not to pray, but to protest.
At the Solar Bastion, Malka's forces struck hard. They overwhelmed the first wave of Dominion soldiers, leveraging their knowledge of forbidden magic the Solar Dominion had tried to erase.
Meanwhile, at the Plaza of Concord, Helios stood atop a massive stone platform, his arms raised high as he began the Solar Convergence ritual. His followers, cloaked in gold and scarlet, chanted in unison, weaving celestial energies into a glowing orb above the plaza.
Lee Sung knew they had minutes, maybe less, before it became unstoppable.
He raced through the streets, his loyal few at his side, the Sigil of Warding blazing in his grasp.
Helios saw him coming.
The so-called god-blessed warrior sneered down from his altar. His voice, amplified by divine magic, echoed through the plaza.
"Traitors! Blasphemers! You cannot stop the will of the gods!"
But Lee Sung did not slow. He vaulted over fallen barricades, his heart hammering, every ounce of grief, rage, and love for Akane burning in his veins.
As he approached the altar, the Sigil of Warding flared again — and the golden-robed priests around Helios shrieked, their bodies unraveling into monstrous forms. Divine corruption, exposed for all to see.
The citizens gasped in horror. Some turned to flee. Others — inspired by Lee Sung's defiance — picked up stones and shattered the priests where they stood.
The Solar Dominion's mask had cracked.
Lee Sung planted his feet at the base of the altar and shouted, "You see now! Helios is no savior — he is a tyrant!"
And the people answered.
Rocks, fire, and spells filled the air. Soldiers turned on each other. Civilians stormed the barricades.
The Siege of Solspire had begun in earnest.