Stoneheart Horde, Stoneheart City.
Orion had signed a contract with Torin. While it wasn't a master-servant bond, it was enough that when Torin died, Orion felt it. He pulled out the scroll they had both signed. With one of the signatories gone, the contract was now void; half of the parchment had already crumbled into fine ash.
"So, if a survivor doesn't grow strong enough, they just die," Orion mused to himself.
It was a truth he had understood for a long time. Still, having witnessed Torin's rise and fall firsthand gave him pause, a stark reminder of the stakes.
"What a waste."
And it truly was. In Orion's grand design for the future, Torin was meant to be a stepping stone for his son, Kronos, in his eventual conquest of the human kingdoms. He was a pig being fattened for a specific purpose.
The clown's interference had ruined that plan, force-growing Torin so rapidly that he was destined to burn out.
"So where does the opportunity lie now?"
