A cold wind blew through the courtyards of the Moonshadow Palace. Priyanshu stood silently atop the highest spire, overlooking the moonlit gardens below.
Tonight, the puppets would dance.
[New Quest Activated]Objective: Secure full control over the Moonshadow District through proxy.Method: Install a ruler loyal to you but visible to the public.Reward: 1000 Dark Fate Points + Hidden Artifact: Shadow Crown of Ten Thousand LiesBonus: Optional comedic manipulation of political rivals.
The perfect puppet had already been found.
Prince Keiran.
Fifth son of the royal family. A known coward. Unremarkable in cultivation. Obsessed with poetry and moonlight. He was mocked relentlessly at court, seen as a harmless romantic fool. But Priyanshu saw something else.
He saw a man desperate for validation.
A man who could be molded.
A man who would kneel.
In a secret chamber behind the shrine of fallen stars, Priyanshu met Keiran again. The prince bowed, stuttering.
"Y-you summoned me, my lord?"
Priyanshu sipped from a jade cup. "Keiran. You want power, don't you?"
Keiran blinked. "I... I want to protect the people. But they never listen to me."
"Then let them listen to your mask."
He stood, walking slowly.
"You will become ruler of Moonshadow. You will enact every decree I pass to you. You will wear the mask of mercy, while I strike from the shadows."
Keiran hesitated. "B-but what if... they find out?"
Priyanshu's aura flared—dark, overwhelming, divine.
"They won't."
With a wave of his hand, a tiny silver spider crawled from the shadows and entered Keiran's ear. The prince shuddered but didn't scream. His eyes glowed momentarily with system-bound light.
[Mark of the Hidden Villain has been applied: Subject is fully loyal unless corrupted by divine interference.]
Keiran dropped to his knees, eyes glazed. "I live... to serve the one behind everything."
Priyanshu smiled softly.
"Good."
The next morning, the Moonshadow District awoke to news: Prince Keiran had been appointed by the king to govern the region under direct order of the palace.
It was sudden. Unexpected. Confusing.
But the prince gave a rousing speech in the public square—his words oddly confident, poetic, and righteous.
He promised reform, protection, and freedom from fear.
The people wept.
Little did they know, their savior was a marionette. And the true ruler sat in the shadows, drinking wine made from crushed schemes.
That night, Priyanshu's system chimed:
[Congratulations, Host. You have completed the Puppet Lord Protocol.]You've unlocked the Shadow Crown of Ten Thousand Lies.Effect: Allows control of up to five puppet rulers across kingdoms. All perceived as independent figures.Bonus: +10 Charisma in all political interactions while hidden.
In the darkness of his study, he smiled to himself.
A king without a throne.
A ruler without a crown.
But one by one, every piece on the board was falling into place.
And no one suspected… the villain behind everything.