Save me!

Kaari Aethelgard tapped her heel as she looked out the window of the carriage. She fiddled with the sleeves of her red dress and breathed heavily.

“Everything will be fine, Your Highness,” said Cornwald, the elderly and loyal butler who accompanied her.

The princess returned a look filled with worry and feigned pride, but did not reply. She felt the rattle of the wheels hitting the bridge’s pavement and let out a shriek, which she quickly suppressed out of embarrassment. Cornwald merely smiled and then glanced outside.

“Oh, it seems we’re almost there, and from what I can see, the director is waiting with an exemplary entourage.”

Fabulous.

Kaari bit her lower lip.

The carriage stopped gently a few minutes later. Cornwald opened the door and waited outside with his hand extended toward the princess. She swallowed hard and nervously interlaced her fingers. She sighed after a brief moment and took her assistant’s hand.

The sun forced her to squint, and the wind ruffled her long golden hair. She shielded her eyes with her hand to gaze upon her destination after a week-long journey and found a building more imposing than she’d imagined: Meredis Prison. The place where the worst scum on the continent were locked away. And of course…

Him.

She shook her head to stem the tide of thoughts and walked toward the entrance.

In front of the grand portal stood the prison warden, Krennek Shein, a stocky man in his fifties. He sported an enormous mustache that barely revealed his mouth, making it seem as though he spoke without opening it—a fact the princess found quite amusing. Behind him was a line of guards and warriors, arranged in a military formation. A small army to keep such dangerous criminals in check.

Three more carriages following the princess’s came to a stop, and from them stepped a small escort of knights and additional servants. They all formed ranks behind Kaari.

“Your Highness,” Krennek began with an exaggerated smile, “congratulations on your eighteenth birthday. We have prepared the facilities according to your wishes, I hope.” He gave a deep bow.

“Thank you, Mr. Shein. I’d like to get started as soon as possible.” The princess replied politely, but made no pretense of happiness or enthusiasm. The warden nodded and led her into the prison, flanked by warriors from both sides. Cornwald stayed very close to her, much to Kaari’s relief.

The enormous iron gate slammed shut behind the procession with a crash that echoed throughout the hall. Kaari couldn’t help but turn around for a moment. The light from outside vanished beyond the bars, replaced by the faint glow of the torches lining the interior of the fortress.

Meredis was much more than a prison.

Beyond the entrance lay a small underground city for those who kept it running. Scribes hunched over mountains of documents recorded the arrival and departure of supplies. Blacksmiths hammered away at suits of armor as the sound of striking steel filled the air. Several cooks pushed carts laden with bread, salted meat, and barrels of water toward the lower galleries, escorted by armed soldiers.

Kaari watched it all with curiosity. She had never imagined how many people were needed to keep a few hundred criminals locked up.

“Meredis is home to nearly three hundred permanent workers,” Krennek explained, noticing her gaze. “Guards, doctors, blacksmiths, scribes, priests… We even have our own stonemasons. A prison like this is constantly undergoing repairs.”

The princess nodded silently.

The warden led them to a large circular gate guarded by four soldiers. Beyond it lay the prison proper.

The smell of coal and food vanished, replaced by dampness and cold stone.

The first corridors were lit by long rows of torches. On both sides stood dozens of cells with thick bars. From them came insults, laughter, and metallic clangs that echoed throughout the gallery.

“The first level houses common criminals,” Krennek explained without raising his voice. “Thieves, robbers… people capable of getting along with one another.”

A prisoner spat through the bars as the soldiers passed. Another began shouting obscenities at the princess. Before Kaari could react, several guards struck the bars with the butts of their spears. The clatter was enough to restore silence to the entire gallery.

“Brave souls like that don’t usually last long,” Krennek remarked with absolute calm as they continued walking.

Kaari chose not to respond.

At the end of the corridor, a massive staircase spiraled downward into the depths of Meredis. Krennek rested a hand on the stone railing.

“If you’ll join me… we’ll begin the descent.”

The second level was very different from the first.

There were no longer any insults or banging on the bars. The few prisoners who remained behind the reinforced doors barely looked up as the princess passed by. Some stood motionless in the darkness of their cells; others simply watched with curiosity.

Kaari appreciated that silence much more than the commotion at the entrance.

“How many levels does Meredis have?” she asked as they descended another spiral staircase.

“Five,” Krennek replied without stopping. “Although we’ve only been using the first four for years now.”

Kaari looked up slightly.

“I imagine the fifth…”

“Yes, it houses only him.”

Kaari lowered her gaze; sooner or later she would have to walk that stretch.

The sound of their boots echoed with an almost solemn rhythm. After a few moments, Cornwald discreetly approached the warden.

“HIs Majesty asked me to relay a question to you.”

Krennek immediately understood who he was referring to.

“I figured it would happen sooner or later.”

He descended one more step before answering.

“He hasn’t changed.”

Cornwald waited.

“The Pact remains stable. The bonds hold just as they did a year ago.”

“And he?”

The director was silent for a few seconds.

“He still shows no hostility. He stopped asking about dates years ago.”

Kaari waited a few steps behind, and Cornwald turned to seek her assessment. The princess nodded.

Cornwald pressed on.

“Has there been any trouble?”

Krennek shook his head.

“None.”

“Has he tried to break the chains?”

“Never.”

The old man nodded slowly.

“Then the report will be the same.”

Krennek gave a weary smile.

“I’m afraid so. I understand that Her Highness will verify that information.”

They continued descending without saying another word.

The third level had hardly any cells. Large steel doors, separated by long stretches of bare wall, lined both sides of the corridor. In front of each one stood three motionless soldiers, armed and clad in full armor.

Kaari couldn’t remember ever seeing so many guards for so few prisoners.

“Each level requires twice as much security as the one below it,” Krennek explained, reading her mind. “Not because there are more prisoners…” He paused for a moment. “But because it only takes one to escape to cause a mess.”

The princess stepped away from the group toward a heavy stone door marked with ancient symbols carved into the frame. She didn’t want to imagine what kind of creatures might be locked away below.

A dull thud made the floor vibrate. Everyone stopped. Dust fell slowly from the ceiling. A second impact, much louder, reverberated through the tunnels. The soldiers exchanged glances. Krennek frowned.

“That didn’t come from inside…”

A guard came running down the stairs, gasping for breath.

“Director!”

He leaned against the wall to catch his breath.

“They’ve broken through the north wing!”

A deafening roar shook the entire prison. The torches swayed violently, and a tremor ran through the floor beneath their feet. Fragments of stone began to fall from the ceiling.

“Your Highness! We must turn back!” Cornwald shouted.

Another impact shook the foundations. This time, it was much closer. The tunnel erupted into chaos. Soldiers ran toward the stairs while Krennek shouted orders. All the guards rushed toward the surface.

“The demons have breached the wall! Defend the entrance!”

A roar shook the tunnels. Then came the screams. They weren’t coming from the soldiers, but from the cells.

The collapse had shattered several walls and steel doors. Dozens of prisoners were escaping amid the dust and darkness.

“Run!” Cornwald ordered, pushing Kaari toward the stairs.

They had barely gone a few meters when an even louder crash caused the floor to vanish beneath their feet.

The staircase gave way. Kaari fell several steps before managing to grab hold of the stone railing. She coughed through a cloud of dust and looked up; a wall of rubble completely blocked the way back.

“Cornwald!”

All she heard was silence. Then she heard footsteps. Getting closer and closer.

The prisoners from the fourth level were emerging from the dust, staring at her with a blood-curdling gaze. They weren’t human.

Kaari couldn’t hold back a scream of fear and sprinted down the stairs—her only option.

She left the fourth level behind without even realizing it and finally reached a massive cell covered in ancient inscriptions. The chains running along the bars glowed with a faint golden light.

The royal seal. The very thing she had come to reinforce.

The footsteps were already echoing on the other side of the corridor. They were enormous, slow footsteps. They had no hurry at all and seemed to be enjoying it.

Kaari rested a trembling hand on the runes as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Forgive me, father…”

The glow faltered. The door began to open.

She turned her gaze toward the hallway, and when the shadows of her pursuers appeared at the far end of the gallery, fear completely overcame her reason.

“Save me!”

She didn’t see what happened next. Several loud crashes rang out near her, causing her to stagger toward the ground. An arm gently caught her from behind before she could collapse. Kaari slowly opened her eyes.

She saw neither the fangs, nor the horns, nor the monstrous silhouette she had imagined her entire life. Standing before her was a young man.

His long black hair fell in disarray over shoulders marked by countless scars. His bare torso revealed old wounds, some so deep that it seemed impossible he could have survived them. Thick chains extended from his wrists and ankles, disappearing into the darkness of the cell.

Their gazes met. His eyes were a deep red. They didn’t radiate anger. Nor hatred. Kaari had never seen a face like that before. There was something about him that was impossible to describe: a serene, almost unreal beauty, as if time had forgotten to wither him.

And yet… two tears trickled slowly down his cheeks.

Something caught the girl’s attention again.

The monsters chasing her had vanished. All that remained was a handful of ashes that the air in the gallery was slowly scattering across the stone floor.

That man had just reduced her pursuers to nothing.

And yet, the man the world called the Demon King...was crying.