THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 336: BORROWED TIME

Kiuga remained where he was as the hours crawled by, watching the unrest swell like a living thing. What had begun as scattered gatherings had become a flood. Every street visible from the rooftop was packed shoulder to shoulder with people. Balconies overflowed.

Windows were thrown open.

Rooftops held spectators and agitators alike. The chants rolled through the city in waves, rising from one district before being taken up by another until the entire inner city seemed to be speaking with a single voice.

Death. Death. Death.

Kiuga knew the words weren’t directed towards him, but as the hours went by, he had grown more and more depressed just listening to the hate. The hate had grown so thick he could smell it and even touch it. So the north had spied on him, and his own people would dare put him in bed with the same people who tried to kill him.

"You unlucky child." Kiuga sighed, feeling that an emotion was not allowed to have. He wanted to wail and cry at the injustice. A tear built in his eyes, but he remained still. He would not ruin Sagiri’s image by even raising a hand to wipe a tear.

The word echoed endlessly between the stone walls. Some sang it. Some shouted it. Others beat drums and metal plates to its rhythm. Banners demanding executions hung from buildings while crude effigies swayed above the crowd. Warriors struggled to keep order as more and more citizens poured into the streets, but the tide had long since grown beyond anyone’s control.

From his vantage point, Kiuga could no longer find a single plaza, avenue, or courtyard untouched by the chaos. Everywhere he looked, there were people. Angry faces. Raised fists. Voices hoarse from hours of chanting. The city seemed to have forgotten everything else. Trade had stopped. Markets stood abandoned. Even the council district was surrounded by a sea of bodies pressing against every barrier. Looking down upon it, Kiuga had the unsettling impression of watching a giant beast slowly awaken beneath the city. The anger had become too large to belong to individuals anymore. It belonged to the crowd itself now, feeding upon its own momentum and growing larger with every passing hour.

At the moment, the council was in as much trouble as Zifara was. They were both now the enemy of the people. If it persisted without bringing out Sagiri, then things were only going to go from bad to worse. They would be lucky if the inner city districts were not torn to shred themselves by the time it was nightfall.

"Where are you, Sagiri? I don’t even want you to come out and see this. You should just come with me to Lofekeni so I can marry you off to my sister." Kiuga lamented, and Kaka snickered from behind him.

"Don’t even ruin Sagiri’s image by saying stupid nonsense," Kiuga said from a position far back where he had been standing with Banga, conveniently out of sight.

Kiuga watched the sun sink toward the horizon and knew things were getting out of hand. The inner city had been bad enough, but now the unrest was spreading outward. From his position atop the roof, he could see fires being lit across the lower districts as more people poured toward the center of Thazir. The chants had not died. They had multiplied.

Every hour brought new rumors, new accusations, and more anger. It was as if someone was fanning them himself to make sure there was no end to it.

The streets below were packed shoulder to shoulder. Even the outer city had awakened to the crisis. The noise carried all the way to the rooftops was a constant roar of voices demanding answers, punishment, and blood. Kiuga exhaled slowly and looked toward the distant fortress. Barely an hour remained until dusk. That had been the agreement.

The General had delayed the execution of the captured squad until sunset to give Sagiri time to return. One hour. After that, the delay would end, and events would begin moving without him. Kiuga tightened his grip on the rooftop ledge. He had spent the entire day pretending to be a man who should have been here. Yet the real Sagiri was still missing. The city was reaching a breaking point, the crowd below growing larger by the minute, and for the first time all day, Kiuga found himself staring toward the horizon, hoping to see a familiar figure walking back before the last light disappeared.

"Tell me he is here somehow." A voice interrupted from further back.

It was Zifara.

Kiuga’s hands tightened on the edge of the platform. He had never felt so defeated before. He was going to watch his squad die and then die, and there was nothing he could do about it. But even angry he felt so weak that he could not do anything to save anyone. He had always thought he was smart enough to get out of every situation, but now he was beginning to think real battle was nothing he could easily predict.

Kiuga could not even answer. His back remained still as he watched the ground below.

"I can’t hold the council back anymore. I have been trying to argue with them to do it out of the city to buy time, but I have been overruled.

"Guess then it is time to die. It is never too late to die." Sagiri said in an icy tone. He had never felt whatever feeling was inside of him as he watched the new development.

Kiuga’s gaze settled on the execution grounds below. Workers and soldiers had spent the entire afternoon preparing it, and now, as the sun slowly descended toward the canyon walls, the final touches were being made. The large square at the center of the inner city had been cleared completely. Barricades surrounded it on every side while rows of armed warriors stood shoulder to shoulder to hold back the swelling crowds.

A raised platform dominated the center of the square, its dark wooden surface stained by the fading light of evening. Torches were already being lit around its edges despite the remaining daylight, their flames flickering in the growing shadows. More soldiers arrived every few minutes, taking positions along rooftops, walls, and intersections overlooking the square.

The city expected trouble. Everyone knew it. Kiuga watched his squad being brought into holding tents nearby while officials moved between groups of officers making final preparations. Beyond the barricades, the crowd stretched as far as he could see. Thousands upon thousands of people pressed against one another, their voices rising into a restless roar that drifted across the rooftops.

The setting sun painted the square in shades of red and gold, giving the entire scene the appearance of a battlefield waiting for the first strike. Kiuga leaned against the edge of the roof and checked the horizon again. The sun was sinking quickly now. Every passing minute made the platform below feel more real. More permanent. And still there was no sign of Sagiri.

"I am ready to die with my men. Take me down." I heard all he said after a long while before he turned around, face hard and expression cold. "Thank you for buying as always.