[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/aS8kXYx.png[/img][/center]
[hr][hr][sub][b]Location:[/b] The Jail[/sub]
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Flynn stood motionless as Halcyon began his slow, deliberate theatrics—each finger raised with a reason, a warning, and a threat. He watched in silence, gaze level, jaw tight. Not once looking away.

One finger. The wolf.
Flynn said nothing, but his eyes narrowed slightly. 

Two fingers. The Aurelian king.
Flynn exhaled through his nose quietly. Rumors circled kings like vultures. His father was no exception. Flynn knew the lengths Auric would go to silence a whisper that spread too far, though they rarely carried enough weight to demand action. There was some truth buried in Halcyon’s words, but it did little to move him to mercy. 

Three fingers. A threat, and an offer.
This time, Flynn nearly scoffed. The idea of this man near Amaya—as a guide, no less—was absurd. He might’ve laughed, if not for what Halcyon had laid out moments before: that another lurked in Dawnhaven and carried the same mission, ready to act in his place. The thought twisted tight in Flynn’s chest. One more shadow to chase. Another threat to find. He filed it away.

Then, suddenly, Halcyon seemed to shift. His eyes glazed over, staring off at something unseen along stone walls. His tone shed its performance, slipping into something more solemn and philosophical. 

As Halcyon rose to his feet and flung a cracker against the stone wall, Flynn stiffened, but stayed still. He watched the crumbs scatter across the cell floor, then looked back up at the man behind the bars, eyes narrowing as Halcyon pointed at him.

Despite the outburst, Flynn felt it was the most honest and direct Halcyon had been yet.

[color=337d71]“I would not sacrifice the blight-born.”[/color] Flynn said when the opportunity opened, voice calm and measured, but cold. 

The thought of condemning every blight-born was abhorrent. He had his reasons. Dozens of them—Orion being among them—but Halcyon wasn't owed an explanation.

[color=337d71]“I’m not chasing the past, nor am I content with the present.”[/color] His voice lowered, solid and unwavering. [color=337d71]“The blight-born lived before the sun—Aelios—disappeared. Hidden. Active only at night, yes, but they lived. We can find another way for them to live when she returns.”[/color]

He paused, eyes locked on Halcyon’s, searching for the flicker of truth beneath all the posturing.

[color=337d71]“If you think we can survive in this rot forever, you’re delusional. Aelios must return—or none of us survive.”[/color]

As Halcyon continued on, Flynn’s brow furrowed. Then came the words—delivered like poison on a silver tongue:

[color=fff200][b]“Replace her as a god.”[/b][/color]

Sacrilege cloaked in philosophy. Madness disguised as vision. 

Flynn stilled, his blood running cold at the mere notion. 

It was impossible, and yet Flynn knew the Arch Priest would not take kindly to it all the same. He imagined the clergy would’ve liked to make an example out of a man like Halcyon. Turning him over to Auric might be a mercy by comparison.

As Halcyon launched into his strange hymn, Flynn looked down at the iron key in his hand, thumb brushing its edge, and for a second he didn’t see metal. He saw a door. One that opened not to hope, but something vast and uncertain. A future soaked in blood and built on ash. A path he had no desire to walk.

When Halcyon turned away and spoke of Amaya, Flynn’s heart sank at the reminder of her absence. He glanced down the hall where she had vanished with the Lunarian guard, unease prickling at the back of his neck.

He looked back at Halcyon one last time. Eyes lingering. Considering.

Aelios and the clergy had condemned him. Auric and Viviana had stood by and let it happen. Were they truly his enemies too? 

He didn’t know. Not yet.

Clenching his jaw, Flynn slipped the key back into his pocket.

[color=337d71]“I’m not here to become a god. Or a monster. The path you’re walking—whatever end you’re chasing—it’s not one I believe in. I have no intention of walking beside a man who sees divinity in destruction.”[/color]

Flynn turned from the cell and began walking down the corridor, following Amaya’s footsteps and the danger she might already have walked into—and didn’t look back.

[color=337d71]“Enjoy the cell.”[/color]

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[Sub][b]Interactions:[/b] Gadez [@Dezuel][/sub]