Chapter 52 – Echoes of Betrayal: The Hunters Reawaken

The world didn’t just watch Ren’s return…

It remembered him.

And not all memories were kind.

Deep within the ruins of Draventh Spire, buried beneath layers of collapsed steel and ash, a massive cryogenic vault cracked open. Ice hissed as pressure valves burst, releasing plumes of mist.

Inside, a man floated in stasis—his body scarred, armor embedded in his flesh, and a broken Hunter insignia hanging from his neck.

A low ping echoed from the console.

[Void Monarch Signature Detected – 9.2 km Radius] [Subject Reawakening…]

His eyes shot open—one golden, one pitch black.

“…Ren,” he rasped, rage surfacing instantly. “You left me.”

In the shadows of the Midnight Barrens, where light barely touched the ground, a group of cloaked figures gathered around a flickering bonfire. Their leader, a woman with crimson tattoos and void-burned eyes, lifted her head as the wind changed.

“Do you feel that?” she asked.

Another nodded slowly. “He’s back.”

The woman’s lips curled into a cruel grin. “Good. I never got my revenge.”

She pulled a cracked photo from her cloak—a picture of her old team.

All dead.

Except for two.

Her… and Ren.

Meanwhile, Kael was leading Ren and Aelira through a long-forgotten ruin, half-submerged under violet mist. Ancient glyphs glowed under their feet.

“This place used to be a Celestial Armory,” Kael explained. “We can’t face what’s coming unless you reclaim what was once stolen from you.”

Ren paused.

“What do you mean stolen?”

Kael’s golden eyes dimmed. “…Your power. The Monarch System was never meant to be incomplete.”

Aelira blinked. “Wait—what?”

Kael turned toward Ren with the weight of a thousand truths.

“You were betrayed. Not just by the world…”

He looked at the sky.

“…but by someone who wore the title of Monarch before you.”

[System Notification: Memory Fragment Detected] [Would you like to recover Monarch Archive – ‘The First Betrayal’?]

Ren narrowed his eyes.

“…Yes.”

As the glyphs beneath them flared, visions exploded in his mind—battles long past, a war among Monarchs, and at the center of it all… a familiar face.

One that shouldn't be there.

“Wait,” Ren muttered. “That's…”

His eyes widened.

It was Ryze.

His old comrade.

His first mentor.

And the man who was supposed to be dead.

Next up: Chapter 53 – Ryze the Fallen Monarch 😮‍💨🔥