The darkness wasn't empty.It whispered.
Not in words.In memories.
A rose pinned to a lapel.Elira's hand brushing mine behind a marble pillar.My father's voice, heavy with war and worry:
"Protect your brother. No matter the cost."
And now—Here I was. Betrayed by both.
I opened my eyes.
The chamber around me wasn't made.It had grown—a womb of obsidian, slick and breathing. Crimson veins pulsed through black stone like blood through bone. Runes crawled across the walls, shifting like thoughts not meant to be heard.
[SYSTEM: FORSAKEN THRONE][SOULROOT STATUS: FRACTURED][TRAUMA INDEX: 97% – CRITICAL][EMOTIONAL FUEL: EXCEEDED THRESHOLD][PATH CONFIRMED: REVENGE][USER CLASS: CROWNLESS][INITIALIZING SKILL TREE...]
Then I felt it.
A gaze.
Something vast.Silent.Old enough to forget names like god or devil.
It wasn't watching me.It was remembering me.
The Throne.
A white-hot pulse struck my chest. I gasped, crumpling forward, pain blooming behind my ribs like fire-born thorns.
[UNLOCKING FIRST CROWN ABILITY…]
Vision blurred. Blood roared. The world blinked red.
🩸 New Ability Unlocked: Liesight(Passive)
See the truth beneath words.Activates during verbal deception.⚠ Warning: May reveal more than intended.
"Liesight…?" I whispered.
Reality flickered.The air shimmered.It was like the world wore a mask——and it had just cracked.
[NEW QUEST UNLOCKED: Crown Quest I — THE BLOOD OATH]
Objective: Escape the Chamber of RootsReward: Memory Fragment | System Upgrade | Skill Point ×1
Then—footsteps.
My head snapped up.
From the far end of the chamber, a figure emerged from the red-black fog. Hooded. Robed in threads that moved like living shadow.No face—only a mask. Porcelain white, etched with the sigil of a dying star.
"Do you remember me, Kael Valenhart?"The voice was soft. Feminine. Wrong.
"...Seraphine?"
She tilted her head.
"So your mind hasn't rotted yet. Good."
The name dropped like a blade.
Seraphine Duskveil.Outcast of the Forsaken Order.Branded heretic. Hunted. Executed.My father's enemy.My secret… ally.
"You died," I said.
"I did," she replied. "Then I found the Throne."
My hands clenched. Not in fear.
In purpose.
"So this is real. The system. The revenge. The path."
She stepped closer, her mask catching the pulsing light.
"You were chosen, Kael. The system doesn't lie. You were slain unjustly—and the world must bleed for it."
I rose.
No chains.No crown.Just vengeance, burning in my blood like prophecy.
And I smiled.
"Then let it bleed."
[QUEST PROGRESS: 10% COMPLETE][NEW TITLE ACQUIRED: THE FORSAKEN][WORLD STATE SHIFT DETECTED: ANOMALY HAS AWAKENED]
Far above, thunder cracked across a cloudless sky.
In the golden halls of the royal court of Veyruun, King Rovan froze. A chill slid down his spine, cruel and cold.
"He's dead," he muttered. "He can't come back."
But below the throne that crowned him,the dead prince had already begun to walk.