A king's forced deal

Lilia was loved.
The people of the village called her their blessing.
They smiled at her.
Gave her gifts.
Treated her like something precious.
She never had to fight for food, never had to worry about a place to sleep.
It was a perfect life.
Until she learned the truth.
The Night of Betrayal 
The night before her sixteenth birthday, she overheard a conversation.
She wasn’t supposed to.
She had only been walking past the elder’s house when she heard her name.
"Tomorrow night, the ritual must be completed."
"We have waited sixteen years for this."
"Lilia's life will grant the village another century of peace."
Her blood ran cold.
Her perfect life?
A lie.
She wasn’t a blessing.
She was a sacrifice.
Her body would be offered to the gods.
Her life would end at midnight.
And the people who had smiled at her—who had loved her—
Would watch her die without hesitation.

She did not wait.
The moment the sun set, Lilia ran.
She didn’t pack. She didn’t think.
She just ran.
Her heartbeat pounded in her ears.
Behind her, the village bells rang.
They had noticed.
"Lilia has escaped!"
"Find her! She cannot leave!"
The voices chased her.
Torches flickered in the distance.
She ran faster.
The forest was dark, and the roots clawed at her feet.
Her breath came in ragged gasps.
But she didn’t stop.
Couldn’t stop.
She had to live.

Then—
The ground beneath her disappeared.
Lilia fell.
She tumbled down a hidden slope, crashing into darkness.
Pain shot through her body.
But when she opened her eyes, she was somewhere new.
A cave.
The walls were covered in ancient symbols.
A strange coldness filled the air.
And in the center—
A floating cube-shaped stone.
It hovered, glowing faintly.
Something about it called to her.
A whisper in her mind:
"Touch it."
Her fingers trembled.
Then—she did.


The moment her skin touched the cube, the air changed.
It became heavy.
Crushing.
As if something enormous had awakened.
Lilia’s knees buckled.
Her vision blurred.
She gasped for breath, but the air was too thick to breathe.
Then—
A voice.
Cold. Deep. Amused.
"You finally found me."
Her body froze.
The world around her vanished.
The cave, the stone, the cold ground beneath her feet—
Gone.
She was now standing in an endless white void.
And in front of her—
A man.

He stood tall, his black hair falling over his sharp red eyes.
His presence was overwhelming.
Like an emperor gazing down upon an insect.
Lilia couldn’t move.
Her body refused to listen.
Her breathing was shallow.
It felt like her lungs would collapse.
The man smiled.
It was not a kind smile.
It was the smile of a predator.
A King.
"Shall we make a deal?"
His voice made the air tremble.
Lilia’s heart raced.
Her instincts screamed at her to run.
But there was nowhere to go.
She swallowed, forcing herself to speak.
“W-Who… are you?”
The man chuckled.
"Ah… you do not know? Then allow me to introduce myself."
The pressure around her increased.
She felt like she was drowning.
"I am the King of the Kingless World."
His eyes glowed red.
"And you… are here to set me free."

Lilia trembled.
She had made a mistake.
A terrible, terrible mistake.
Ren took a step forward.
The white void shook.
"You ran, didn’t you?"
Lilia’s breath hitched.
He knew.
"You seek freedom."
Ren lifted his hand.
The air grew heavier.
Lilia fell to her knees, gasping.
"But freedom comes with a price."
His crimson gaze pierced through her soul.
"Shall we trade, little sacrifice?"
He extended a hand toward her.
"Your freedom… for mine."
Lilia hesitated.
If she took his hand—
What would happen?
She didn’t know.
But the villagers were still out there.
Waiting to kill her.
She looked up at Ren.
His smile remained.
Unwavering. Unshaken.
He was certain.
Because he already knew.
Knew that she had no choice.
Lilia’s fingers shook.
Then—
She took his hand.

A glow surrounded Lilia.
The white void shattered.
For a brief moment, she felt like she was falling—
Then—
She was back in the cave.
The air was thick with dust, the torches on the walls flickering weakly.
But something had changed.
Lilia gasped, looking around.
And then—
She saw him.
Or rather, a piece of him.
Ren.

He was not whole.
His body was faded, translucent, as if he were a ghost.
Only Lilia could see him.
His crimson eyes burned in the darkness, watching her curiously.
"Ah… it has been a long time since I could breathe in this world."
His voice was still powerful.
Even though his form was only a fragment.
Lilia swallowed hard.
“Y-You’re…”
Ren’s lips curled into a smirk.
"Disappointed? You freed me, but I am not truly free."
He stretched his hand forward, but it faded before it could touch the ground.
"My body is still sealed. What you see now… is merely a shadow of what I once was."

Lilia shivered.
She had made a deal with him—
But she had no idea what that actually meant.
She took a step back.
“…What do you want from me?”
Ren’s smirk deepened.
"Isn't it obvious?"
The air around them tensed.
"You will become my hands and feet."
Lilia’s heart pounded.
Ren continued, his voice smooth yet commanding.
"My body remains locked away, my power still sealed. But you—"
He tilted his head, watching her like a curious predator.
"—You are free. For now."
Lilia's breath caught in her throat.
"I require a vessel. A messenger. A servant who will prepare the world for my return."
His red eyes gleamed.
"And that person… is you."
Lilia froze.
“…No.”

The moment the word left her lips—
The cave shook.
A wave of invisible force crashed onto her shoulders, forcing her to her knees.
It was like the very air had turned against her.
Ren did not move.
He simply watched.
"Freedom for freedom."
His words echoed in her mind.
"You are mine now, Lilia. You cannot escape it."
Lilia clenched her fists.
“…You tricked me.”
Ren laughed.
"No. You simply didn’t listen."
His voice was amused.
But beneath that amusement, there was something else.
Something ancient.
Something merciless.
"Did you really think freedom was free?"

Lilia’s chest burned.
She let out a cry, clutching her shoulder.
Something was appearing on her skin.
A mark.
Dark, jagged symbols etched themselves into her flesh.
A curse.
A binding.
Ren's seal had been passed to her—a piece of it.
"From now on, you carry my name."
Ren’s figure flickered, but his smirk remained.
"You cannot run, little sacrifice. You are my first step toward freedom."
Lilia’s vision blurred.
Her body trembled.
She had escaped one fate—
Only to fall into another.
But even through the pain, even through the fear—
She could not ignore the voice in her mind.
A whisper.
A single thought.
"What if I don’t want to be free anymore?"
Lilia lay on the cold stone floor, gasping for air.
The mark on her shoulder burned, its dark symbols pulsing with an eerie glow.
She clutched at it, eyes wide with fear.
"What… did you do to me?"
Ren stood over her, his fragmented form flickering like a dying flame.
His crimson eyes stared down at her, unreadable.
"I have given you a purpose."
Lilia trembled.
She tried to stand—but her legs refused to move.
The weight of his presence still pressed down on her, like an invisible chain wrapped around her body.
"You belong to me now, Lilia."
His voice was calm—but beneath it lay an unshakable finality.
"And I will not waste my first command."
Lilia swallowed hard.
“What… do you want me to do?”
Ren’s smirk deepened.
"Leave this place. Go to the nearest town."

Lilia clenched her fists.
"He’s making me leave?"
She had just escaped her village.
Now, she was being forced to enter a new one.
But before she could protest, a new sensation surged through her body.
Something awakening.
Her mark flared, and for a brief moment—
She felt it.
The weight of a name.
A title.
It rang in her mind like a bell:
Right Hand of Death.
Her breath hitched.
A Title Unlike Any Other 
In this world, titles defined everything.
They were given at birth.
They shaped a person’s life, their abilities, their worth.
But this title—
It was not one she had been born with.
It was forced upon her.
By him.
Lilia stared at her trembling hands.
"What… does this mean?"
She felt it deep inside her.
A power unlike anything she had ever known.
Something ancient.
Something terrifying.
Ren watched her reaction with amusement.
"You feel it, don't you?"
Lilia slowly lifted her gaze.
“…What did you do to me?”
Ren chuckled.
"I gave you a title fitting for my right hand."
Lilia’s heart pounded.
"Right Hand of Death…"
She could feel its weight in her very soul.
A title that did not come with birth—
But with ownership.
Ren stepped closer, his form flickering.
"Do not think of it as a curse, Lilia."
His voice was smooth, almost gentle.
"Think of it as a gift."

Lilia gritted her teeth.
Every fiber of her being screamed to fight back.
To resist.
To run.
But she couldn’t.
She could already feel it—
The command sinking into her bones, deeper than any words could reach.
Her body obeyed before her mind did.
"Leave this place. Go to the nearest town."
Lilia staggered forward.
Against her will.
Against her fear.
Her feet moved, taking slow, shaky steps toward the cave’s exit.
Ren’s smirk never faded.
"Good girl."

The night air was cold as Lilia stepped out of the cave.
The world outside was silent.
She turned her gaze toward the distant glow of lights—
A town, just beyond the forest.
Her destination.
She wanted to turn back.
To scream.
To refuse.
But the command in her soul would not let her.
She had to obey.
With every step she took, the reality of her new existence sank deeper.
She was no longer just Lilia.
She was Right Hand of Death.
And she belonged to Ren.