The Return of a King

A deafening roar of war horns echoed across the land.
The ground trembled as thousands of soldiers marched toward the town, their armor reflecting the last rays of sunlight before the sky began to darken.
The banners of the great kingdoms fluttered in the wind. Knights, crusaders, mages, assassins—every force the world could muster had come for one reason.
To ensure Ren never returned.
At the town’s center, Lilia stood amidst the chaos, her breath heavy, her hands trembling.
The people under her control had formed a protective circle around her, their bodies acting as a shield against the advancing armies.
But it was no use.
They were outnumbered.
The soldiers pushed forward, cutting down those who stood in their way.
Cries of pain filled the air as metal clashed against flesh, and blood stained the cobblestone streets.
Lilia's mind raced.
Ren… He’s not here yet. I need more time.
A knight in golden armor rode forward, his spear aimed at Lilia’s heart.
She barely had time to react before a villager threw himself in front of her, impaled instantly.
"Tch—" Lilia gritted her teeth.
More of the controlled villagers fell, their bodies hitting the ground lifelessly.
She was surrounded.
Her title, Right Hand of Death, had already taken effect.
Her voice was a melody that seeped into the minds of those who listened.
The soldiers hesitated.
Their hands trembled on their weapons.
But it wasn’t enough.
There were too many of them, and they were trained to resist magic.
Lilia’s heartbeat pounded in her ears.
This is it. I’m going to die here.
Then, suddenly—
A note filled the air.
Soft at first.
A distant, sorrowful melody played by unseen hands.
A single stringed instrument, its tune weaving through the battlefield like a whisper from another world.
And then—
More followed.
The sound of flutes, lutes, and harps rose in harmony, creating a haunting symphony that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once.
The wind howled.
The sky darkened.
A suffocating pressure blanketed the battlefield.
The soldiers looked up, confusion flickering in their eyes.
The sun, once shining brightly above them, was now covered in a veil of darkness.
A voice, smooth and chilling, echoed through the battlefield.
"I see you've all come to witness your own destruction."
Lilia's breath hitched.
It can't be…
A laugh—low and filled with amusement—echoed across the battlefield.
"You sealed me away for centuries… And now, you've come back, thinking you can do it again?"
A deep, hollow crack rang through the air.
The ground beneath the cave where Ren had been sealed shook violently.
The soldiers turned toward the distant mountains where the seal lay hidden.
A second crack.
Then another.
The murderer, perched atop a nearby rooftop, grinned.
She clutched the hilt of her blade, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"He's back."
Her voice was soft, almost loving.
"My love is finally back."
The Seal Shatters 
The cave where Ren had been imprisoned collapsed inward.
The very air trembled.
The temperature dropped.
The last rays of sunlight disappeared entirely, plunging the world into an unnatural eclipse.
And then—
A pair of red eyes opened in the darkness.
The seal—once thought unbreakable—was no more.
From the ruins of the cave, black mist poured out like an endless tide.
It twisted and curled, forming eerie shapes that slithered across the ground.
A single figure stepped forward.
His silhouette was not complete, his form still flickering, not yet fully returned.
But his presence alone sent a wave of terror through the battlefield.
Ren was awake.
He raised a single hand, fingers curling slightly.
The mist responded instantly, slithering forward like countless black serpents, coiling around the soldiers.
A knight screamed as the mist latched onto him, dragging him into the darkness.
Another tried to run—his body froze mid-step before suddenly twisting at unnatural angles, his bones snapping.
Panic erupted.
The soldiers, who had marched with confidence, now screamed in horror.
The war they had come for—
Had already been lost.
Lilia’s Struggle 
Lilia gasped for breath, her knees hitting the ground.
Ren’s presence was overwhelming.
She had only ever felt fragments of it before, but now—
This was different.
She could feel him everywhere.
In the air.
In the shadows.
In the very fear crawling down her spine.
But it wasn’t just terror she felt—
It was something else.
Something deeper.
For a brief moment, as the battlefield drowned in screams, she saw a glimpse of his past.
A time when Ren was not this… this monster.
A time when he had been kind.
Before everything had been taken from him.
Before the world had turned him into this.
A faint whisper echoed in her mind.
"Lilia."
Her breath hitched.
He had never spoken her name before.
She looked up.
Ren’s eyes—cold and red—met hers through the mist.
"You did well."
A strange warmth filled her chest.
But before she could respond—
The battle reached its climax.

The last of the high-ranked title users made their move.
A knight, wrapped in golden flames, charged forward.
A mage, lightning crackling in her palms, unleashed a storm.
An assassin, moving faster than the eye could follow, vanished into the shadows.
The strongest warriors of the kingdoms had come to put an end to Ren’s return.
But he did not falter.
He did not even move.
He simply spoke.
"Kneel."
And the world obeyed.
The soldiers dropped their weapons.
The knights collapsed to their knees.
The mages lost control of their magic.
Even the strongest among them—those with titles that once made them feared across the land—
Were powerless before him.
The battlefield fell silent.
Ren looked down at his own hands, flexing his fingers.
"It's been a long time."
The mist swirled around him, taking on shapes of wings and twisted faces.
His body was still incomplete, but it didn’t matter.
He was back.
And he would not be sealed again.
Slowly, he turned his gaze toward the armies that had come to destroy him.
And he smiled.
"Now… where were we?"
Ren stood amidst the chaos, breathing in the air of his return.
It had been centuries since he last felt the world move around him—since he last felt at all.
The battlefield was silent now.
Only the wind whispered through the broken town, carrying the faint cries of those who could no longer stand.
Ren let the moment sink in.
He was not whole.
His body still flickered between existence and nonexistence.
But he was here.
And that was enough.
He lifted a hand, fingers curling slightly.
The mist that coiled around the battlefield tightened its grip.
The soldiers he had commanded to kneel—
Their fate was already sealed.
A fate of no return.
Their bodies convulsed, their eyes widened in silent screams, and one by one—
They vanished.
Not a single trace of their existence remained.
No corpses.
No blood.
No ashes.
Just… nothing.
Lilia, still kneeling on the ground, watched in horror.
These weren’t simple deaths.
This was erasure.
The soldiers who had once marched with pride were now gone.
As if they had never existed.
Her fingers trembled as she clenched her fists.
Ren… Just what are you? 
A single figure remained standing in the distance.
Unlike the others, she did not fight back.
She did not run.
Instead, she walked forward.
Her boots stepped over the broken ground with purpose, her long black cloak trailing behind her.
She stopped only a few feet away from Ren—
And then, with graceful precision, she knelt.
Her head lowered in deep reverence, her voice calm yet unwavering.
"You have returned at last, my Lord."
Ren’s eyes flickered toward her, a trace of amusement in his cold gaze.
"And you are?"
The woman lifted her head slightly, revealing sharp violet eyes that gleamed with absolute devotion.
"My name is Seraphina Vaelthorne."
Lilia stiffened at the sound of that name.
She had heard whispers of it before.
A ghost. A shadow. A killer without remorse.
Seraphina was no ordinary woman.
She was a legend of loyalty.
A sword that belonged to none but one.
And now, she had found her master.
"You saved me once, my Lord," she continued, her voice carrying an eerie softness.
"And so, I am yours—forever."
Ren regarded her for a long moment.
Then, a small, cruel smile touched his lips.
"Forever? Do you understand what that means?"
Seraphina did not waver.
"I do."
There was no hesitation in her voice.
No doubt.
Only loyalty.
Lilia, still recovering from everything that had happened, could barely understand the situation.
Ren’s influence had already begun spreading before he had even fully returned.
And now, before her, was another who willingly offered her life to him.
Seraphina…
Lilia knew that name now.
But something deep inside told her—
This woman was not like the others.
She was different.
And perhaps… dangerous.
As the last remnants of the battlefield settled, a new presence arrived.
A blinding light split through the darkened sky, descending like a falling star.
The temperature shifted.
The air became heavy.
A messenger.
A being wrapped in golden radiance, neither human nor god, hovered above the broken town.
Their voice echoed, reaching every corner of the land.
"To the kingdoms of the world—prepare yourselves."
Their words carried a divine weight.
"For the destruction of the world is upon us."
A chilling silence followed.
The kingdoms—those who had sent their forces—those who had tried to stop Ren—
Now faced a warning from the heavens themselves.
The world would soon burn.
And the one who would bring its end had just awakened.

Ren stood amidst the chaos, his expression unreadable as he watched the golden figure fade into the sky.
The words spoken by the celestial messenger should have shaken the world.
A divine decree.
A warning of doom.
Yet, Ren remained still—unfazed.
"The kingdoms will prepare," he murmured, his voice almost amused.
"It won’t change their fate."
His words carried absolute certainty.
He had seen this all before.
The desperate scrambling of rulers. The futile gathering of armies.
The fear.
It always ended the same way.
With him standing atop the ruins of their efforts.
His crimson eyes flickered as he turned his gaze toward Lilia.
She stood there, frozen in place, her face pale.
She had witnessed the impossible.
The erasure of men.
The blind devotion of a killer.
The heavens themselves acknowledging Ren's return.
And now, as the weight of it all crushed down on her—
Doubt crept in.
For the first time, she questioned herself.
Did I make the right choice?
She had taken Ren’s hand, sworn herself to him in desperation—
But now, standing in the presence of something far greater than she could comprehend…
She wasn’t sure anymore.
Her fingers trembled at her sides.
Her breath came shallow.
Ren noticed.
And for the first time—
He spoke to her gently.
"Lilia."
She flinched at the softness in his tone.
"You look scared."
Of course she was.
But before she could even think of responding, he continued.
"Good."
His smile was almost comforting.
Almost.
"It means you're still human."
Her breath hitched.
"And yet," Ren added, stepping closer, his cold presence washing over her, "despite your fear, you are still here."
Lilia’s eyes widened.
"That is why," Ren said, his voice quieter now, "you are mine."
Her heart pounded violently in her chest.
She didn’t know why, but those words—
They shook her to her core.
And for just a moment—
The doubt wavered.

Seraphina had been watching quietly, standing just a few steps behind Ren.
But she was not the only one devoted to him.
As the tension settled, another presence moved closer.
A woman—graceful, elegant, and strikingly beautiful.
Her long violet hair cascaded down her back, shimmering under the faint moonlight.
Her blue eyes held a sharp, knowing glint, as if she saw through everything.
And her lips—full, soft, curved into a smile that was neither kind nor cruel, but something in between.
A smile that promised devotion yet hinted at something dangerous.
She had an hourglass figure, her movements smooth and deliberate, exuding an air of effortless grace.
Her presence alone was captivating.
The kind of beauty that demanded attention.
And it belonged only to Ren.
"My lord," she said, her voice like silk, laced with something undeniably yandere in nature.
"It has been far too long."
Lilia turned, startled by the sudden appearance of the woman.
Who was she?
Ren barely reacted, only shifting his eyes toward her.
"You never left, did you?" he said, his tone unreadable.
The woman smiled, taking another step closer, completely ignoring everyone but him.
"I couldn’t bear to, my love."
Her fingers gently brushed against Ren’s arm—an action so casual, yet carrying an intensity that made Lilia uneasy.
Ren allowed it.
And that alone spoke volumes.
Lilia clenched her fists.
Who was this woman?
And why did she feel like she had always been waiting for Ren’s return?

As the night deepened, the world beyond them was already moving.
The kingdoms were preparing for war.
The armies were mobilizing.
The heavens had issued their warning.
And at the center of it all—
Ren remained still, unfazed, watching the pieces of fate align exactly as he had always intended.
But Lilia?
She could no longer tell whether she was standing on the right side of history.
And as she glanced toward the mysterious woman, standing so close to Ren, her mind filled with questions.
Because somehow—
She knew this was only the beginning.