Valery

"You resisted for a long time, [darkness]," Valery's voice sounded like the grinding of stones. "Your people screamed while you prayed to useless luminaries."

Valery roughly grabbed the prince/ess by the chin, forcing him to raise his head.

"You may chain my body, but you will never force my light to serve rot," [name] croaked, spitting out blood.

Valery merely grinned. All he wanted was submission. He raised the crown above the prince/princess's head.

"I don't need your will," Valery began slowly lowering the crown onto the captive's brow. "I need yours. The needles will reach the bones, becoming channels through which I will drain your holiness."

As the crown touched their skin, [name] let out a hoarse cry. Blood trickled down the prince/princess's pale face. The thorns dug into their scalp, the lead magic extinguishing the prince/princess's radiance.

"You are just an instrument," Valery whispered. "A living light in my darkness. You will exist forever between life and death, until the last drop of light is squeezed out."

The Shadow King released the prince/princess. They fell to their knees, the obsidian embedded in their skull. Now only darkness reigned in the hall, the only source of glimmer coming from the exhausted prince/princess. The light had not triumphed; it had become a slave to the darkness.