Page 185 - B. Ing_Antologi Cerpen Xl-6

exhaustion. But the fog was gone. The sky over

Tristram was clear for the first time in weeks. He
returned to the palace in silence. Antonina awoke not

long after, her eyes bright again. The sickness had left
her with the breaking of the stone. When Tornike

entered her chamber, she reached for his hand. Her

voice was faint, but warm. She asked if he had slain the
darkness. He did not answer at first. Then, softly, he

told her the truth that he had not slain it, but given it
peace. The caves were sealed once more, their haunted

silence no longer one of malice, but of rest. Rhahzadh’s

story became legend not of a villain, but of a man
whose grief nearly devoured a kingdom, and of a knight

who reminded him of the light he once carried. And
beneath the golden towers of Tristram, peace returned

for now.

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