⚠️ Content Warning /
This story has graphic violence, scenes of torture, and disturbing material. As a dark fantasy, future chapters will delve into increasingly intense and mature themes. Reader discretion is advised.⚠️
📘 Chapter Length Notice/
Chapters in this novel are longer than average. Expect a typical length of 2,000–2,500 words per chapter. 📘
📖 About This Chapter/
This chapter takes place 10 years before the main storyline. While you can skip it, I recommend reading it also try reading Volume 0, which includes essential context, information about the power system (without spoilers), and a short Q&A for deeper understanding. 📖
"... Um sorry... "
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Inside a dark hell-like realm that filled with crimson flowers and lava that bubbled like blood, the sky above was shaped like a cosmic storm of purple clouds cracking apart like shattered glass with a thunderous scream of broken reality.
Among this chaos, a man with flowing purple hair stood...only for his head to be suddenly severed from his body.
Blood sprayed violently in all directions as the headless corpse crumpled to the ground. Facing him was the one who did this, who was a sharp featured man who looked like a 30 year old , wearing a shattered black and red armor, much of which lay in pieces around him.
His glowing red sword shined with energy , and though his face radiated an almost divine light, his smirk was deadly and opposite to devine.
But before the smirk could settle, a flash streaked behind him. A woman with red hair, glowing light red wings spread behind her.
Stranger symbols with unknown text glowed brightly on her hand as she attempted to press the spell against his back.
The white-haired man reacted instantly, swinging his sword backward only for his strike to be halted mid-air.
A golden, glowing rope-like chain formed from a pure divine mana had caught his arm.
Another chain followed, this one black, so dark it glowed with shadowy energy. These chains began wrapping around his limbs. A third chain, green and radiant, wrapped around his head.
Each chain came from a different male person in a warrior dress. The golden one came from a short golden haired young man around 20, the black from a long black haired youth of the same age, and the green from an older, dark-skinned man with dark gray hair, in his thirties. Each of their wings extended the chains, matching the color of their energy.
The white-haired man's wrists, throat, and legs were bound. He struggled, his muscles bulging as he tried to tear them off, but failed.
"So this was their plan..." he thought, annoyance twisting across his divine features.
Behind him, the red-haired woman pressed her spell-covered palm against his back. A portal burst open, revealing a realm even more infernal flames, screams, and suffering. It was another layer of hell.
The man's crimson eyes flared as he struggled harder against the chains. Just then, a blur of white streaked toward him. A young woman, around 20, with long white hair like his but eyes as blue as the sky, dashed forward with supernatural speed. She screamed, "This is for everything you've done!... Father !" and drove a devastating punch into his face.
But the man managed to break one of the chains...freeing a single hand. With it, he formed a glowing sigil in his palm and countered, thrusting it into her core with palm punch . As the symbol burned into her body, she cried out in agony and collapsed.
As he moved his hand to strike again, the golden-haired man appeared at a blurry speed, slamming a fist into the white-haired man's jaw. The blow sent him flying backwards...straight into the open portal. The chains unraveled just as the gateway sealed shut behind him. He was gone.
The golden-haired man rushed to the white-haired girl and caught her as she fell. "Are you alright... Fiona?"
Before Fiona could respond, the red-haired woman whose hands were still raised where she had cast the spell...smiled, trembling. "We... we did it. We actually did it... We defeated Jarama. I can't believe it..."
A wounded man who was resting against a nearby boulder with only one arm and a bloody stump where the other used to be, smiled weakly. "Then this... this marks the end of Nios," he said and glanced around at the battlefield filled with dead allies.
But at that moment, the red-haired woman's smile faded as her hand began to dissolve into dust. She looked down, eyes wide. "Wha...what is happening?" she asked.
Her entire body began to disintegrate, piece by piece, fading into the wind as glowing ash. Fiona cried out in horror, scrambling forward to grab her.
"Alisa!" she shouted loudly reaching for her hand...but it was too late. The woman turned to dust, vanishing completely into the air, becoming one with the broken world around them.
The black-haired man stared, stunned. "What just happened?"
Then right after that , Fiona screamed with an unknown pain in her belly and she clutched her stomach. Blood gushed from her mouth as she collapsed, writhing in unbearable pain.
Everyone who were still alive stood frozen with shock, confusion and was horrified unable to understand what just happened after the victory.
On the other side, Earth looked like a dystopian medieval city. The land itself seemed to carry sorrow in its eyes. And the sky was dark in the unknown shadow But suddenly , the sky had cleared, revealing a beautiful shade of blue, and the people stared upward in awe, as if witnessing such peace for the first time in ages.
In distance stood some people, some wore armor, others were just civilians, all gathered in a wide field where a strange mark lay in the center.
From that mark, a portal opened, and nine people stepped out. Among them Fiona, and the others who had faced the white-haired man. They carried with them many lifeless bodies.
The crowd watched with faces full of emotions of relief and happiness. But the nine people had mixed emotion of joy of victory and sorrow of loss.
Those who had glowing wings folded them, and the light faded away with the wing as if returning to somewhere else.
.
.
.
A few days later, that same field stood silent. No people, only graves of hundreds of them stretching across the rain-soaked land.
The golden-haired man stood there alone, remembering those who had given their lives. Then, an umbrella appeared above his head. Fiona was holding it. She poked him lightly and said,
"Shanglui… you're getting wet."
The golden-haired man, Shanglui, blinked and replied,
"Oh… when did you come?"
"Just now… you have a speech, remember?" said Fiona.
"Oh… yeah, right. Am I late?" asked Shanglui.
"No… it's raining, so it's okay if we delay the speech," Fiona said as she gently held his arm.
Moments later, they walked through a garden. Fiona smiled softly and said,
"Well… did you forget about the promise?"
"Promise? What… I mean, which one?" asked Shanglui.
"I mean the one you made to me long ago… about marriage. You said we'd get married after we saved the world. Have kids. Live a happy life. That one. Remember?" said Fiona.
"Oh… that one. I totally forgot about that," Shanglui said, looking at her. She turned her face away.
"Are you angry because I forgot?" Shanglui asked gently.
"No… why would I be? I'm just..."
She didn't finish. Shanglui touched her face and kissed her gently on the lips. As the romantic tension built, their kiss deepened, lost in the moment of the passion of desperate kiss. The sky felt like being clear slowly as respond to their beautiful moment.
But just as their hearts leaned closer, a small sound broke the silence, it was a light patter of tiny footsteps on the stone path.
Fiona pulled back slightly, eyes still half-closed. Shanglui's brow furrowed.
The footsteps grew louder.
They both turned.
It was a little girl there, running toward them who looked like a 5 year old cute girl . Her hair looked like copper under the sun which was tied in a messy bun that bounced as she ran.
She wore a white dress, one shoe which was half off, as if she'd hurried out too fast.
" Cara? What are you doing here all alone?" Fiona asked with trying to act normal.
She stopped a few feet away, chest rising quickly from the run. Then with her hands on her hips she said in a soft voice.
"Ms. Chaw is calling both of you!"
Shanglui blinked. Fiona chuckled, brushing her lips with the back of her hand, still dazed.
The little girl tilted her head.
"Were you doing the kissy thing again?"
Fiona smiled, cheeks pink.
"Uh..what are you talking about?..."
The girl made a silly face and turned around.
"Come on! She said it's urgent!"
Moments Later , Shanglui stood atop a grand palace as thousands of people gathered below. To his left stood Fiona, and to his right, the black-haired man. Shanglui stepped forward and spoke to the crowd:
"Thank you all for giving me the responsibility of leading the Empire of Ula. Just like in the past, when I and the other Niobane members fought evil to protect humanity, I now promise a healthy, peaceful life for all of you. As long as breath fills my body, I will serve humanity...even if it costs me my life. And not just me, but every Niobane member who now leads different empires or holds positions of power....we all vow to protect you, to sacrifice for you. All I ask is, your trust, support, and cooperation to help rebuild Earth into the paradise it once was."
The crowd erupted in applause.
But among them, in silence, stood a few hooded figures… who did not clap.
A few days later, in a beautiful place where flowers glowed like stars, Fiona and Shanglui stood facing each other, both dressed in royal clothes. They pressed their hands onto a paper as small fairies sparkled around them like floating lights. Their fingers left prints on the paper, and one of the fairies smiled and said,
"Now both of you are married."
Fiona and Shanglui looked into each other's eyes and kissed gently on the lips. In a comical way, the little fairy covered her eyes with her hands.
Five years had passed since that day, the entire Kingdom looked like something way beautiful with happiness in people's eyes and hurt.
Fiona sat on a bed, her belly round with pregnancy. In her hands, she was making a necklace using a soft crystal. Just then, Shanglui knocked on the door and asked,
"May I come in?"
Fiona smiled.
"Oh, Shanglui… come in. Why are you even asking?"
He walked in and saw her carefully placing the crystal on a thin chain.
"What are you making?" he asked.
"You know what I've been doing ever since I got pregnant," Fiona said with a warm laugh.
"Yeah… which year is this one for?" Shanglui asked.
"Fifteen. This one is special," Fiona said softly.
Shanglui sat beside her, kissed her forehead, and said,
"I just found out… we're having a baby boy, don't know how people knows that using gender test but boy or girl I am happy either way "
"Yes, that's right," Fiona nodded. "Also, I heard Chaw and Douzen are having twins...one boy and one girl. Looks like they'll be the same age as ours… maybe a one month difference at most."
"I thought of a name for our son," Shanglui said.
"What? Let me guess… is it Selay?" Fiona asked.
"It's not, but… now that you mention it, Selay might be a better choice," Shanglui smiled.
"Then what was the name you thought of?" Fiona asked, curious.
"No… mine sounds really silly," Shanglui said, resting his head gently on Fiona's belly.
Few months later…
Fiona screamed in pain as she lay on the bed, surrounded by women helping her through the delivery. Sweat covered her face, and after long hours of struggle and labor, the baby was finally born.
The woman who delivered the child froze in shock. On the baby's belly was a strange mark it was a triangle with an eye inside it. His whole body shimmered with energy. His golden eyes and glowing golden hair gave off a light no newborn should have.
Then the baby cried. The symbol slowly faded away. A thunderbolt suddenly struck the top of the palace, and the sky above cracked open as if reality itself had broken, thunder roaring from the heavens.
The baby, still crying, suddenly found himself lying alone on a floor soaked in blood. His tiny hands trembled as he looked up at a white-haired man with eyes that weren't even openable. It was the same man his parents had fought long ago.
The man stood tall, holding a sword. He looked down at the child and said,
"You're finally born… grandson."
Then he raised the sword
" Just a little more of time....your blood, is the key to my freedom, "
And then he struck the child's head. Blood spilled as the blade hit, and the baby stopped crying. He finally lay still and silent on the blood soaked ground as hooded figures looked at him from around.
TBC...