Episode Thirty-Nine: The Crumbling Sanctuary, the Queen Cloaked in Ash
In the Persian Market: The Roar of an Empire
Episode Thirty-Nine: The Crumbling Sanctuary, the Queen Cloaked in Ash
1. Rain of Fire, Tears of Stone
With a thunderous roar, the roof of the Hall of a Hundred Columns—the symbol of Persepolis—collapsed.
Sparks fell like snow. Marble lion statues, once emblems of imperial glory, split cleanly in two, unable to endure the heat.
“…Is this truly the end of the empire?”
Queen Nirfar, her face smeared with soot and covered in ash, looked back at the hell behind her.
The beautiful city she had loved had become a vast crematorium—where Alexander’s ambition and the people’s despair burned together.
“Don’t look, Nirfar! Keep moving—do you want to die?!”
Cyrus seized her arm and sprinted at full speed through the collapsing corridor.
2. The Companions’ “Procurement”
As Shahab secured the escape route, Macedonian heavy cavalry emerged from the flames before him.
“Cyrus, I’ll hold them here. …Go! If you die, who’s going to rewrite this country’s ledgers?!”
Shahab shoved his bloodstained flute into his belt and drew his final dagger.
“…Kabil. Get Lord Cyrus to the eastern hidden gate. …This is the last deal for us brothers.”
“Brother…! No—brother!!”
Leaving Kabil’s scream behind, Shahab vanished into the vortex of fire.
Elsewhere, Inaz and Danesh had finished their final task in the collapsing royal archives.
“…Danesh. Is it done?”
“Yeah. All the critical manuscripts are in Cyrus’s bag. …The rest—if they’re going to Alexander, they might as well turn to ash with this fire.”
Before the blazing shelves, the two quietly clasped hands.
The elderly men who had upheld the market’s wisdom chose to share the city’s fate—as guardians of knowledge, becoming its gravekeepers.
3. The Queen’s Resolve
“…Everyone… they’re dying so I can escape…”
Tears spilled from Nirfar’s eyes, dried almost instantly by the scorching wind.
Cyrus pulled her close and kept running, refusing to let her stop.
“Don’t cry. They invested their lives in the future.
You survive. You open another market somewhere. That’s the only dividend they wanted.”
In the bag on Cyrus’s back were ledgers stained with blood and sweat—and several precious manuscripts.
Heavier than imperial treasure, they were seeds of human wisdom.
4. The Great King’s Pursuit Through Ash
The palace’s rear gate—a secret exit leading east.
As they neared it, a single black horse tore through the curtain of ash before them.
Alexander.
Cutting the shortest path through the burning city, he had come alone—solely to prevent the escape of the soul of the market called Cyrus.
“…I told you I would not let you go, Cyrus.”
The Great King’s golden helmet was blackened with soot, his eyes filled with madness—and a strange respect.
“That wisdom you carry is necessary for my world empire.
Leave it behind. Otherwise, I will settle your life’s accounts here and now.”
5. Toward Episode Forty: The Fated Confrontation
Cyrus stepped forward, shielding Nirfar behind him, gripping the hilt of his broken dagger.
There was no one else left.
The inferno of Persepolis bathed the two men in crimson light.
“…Great King. I have no intention of selling you this wisdom.
You see—you can’t afford the price.”
〘
