The king stood with an air of authority, his resplendent golden and crimson robes draping over his powerful fra, commanding the very space around him. His presence alone seed enough to quiet the air itself. In his hands, he held a book — a seemingly ordinary to, its weight appearing no more than that of a feather when viewed from the side.
Yet in truth, the book weighed over a ton — a staggering burden masked by the king's effortless grip. After all, this man was one of the most powerful figures in the entire empire — a man whose strength defied reason itself.
This uncle must be on steroids or sothing... Whatever he's smoking, I want that as well... Sylvaris laughed inside. He had heard tales about the book from his mother, and knew its weight.
The book's leather cover glead brilliantly, radiant as the sun, and its glow seed to ripple like waves of heat rising from scorched earth. Strange, intricate runes sprawled across its surface, their patterns weaving a language that transcended understanding. Sothing about those shifting symbols unsettled Sylvaris though. It was the way they danced beneath his gaze, as though whispering secrets only the dead could comprehend.
The longer he stared, the deeper it seed to pull him in. The book's presence reached beyond the physical realm, latching onto sothing far more intimate, his soul. His gaze remained locked, and for a fleeting mont, he felt as if his very essence teetered on the brink of being sucked away — trapped in the pages of that cursed to, an eternal prison where no light could ever reach.
Yet strangely, that lingering dread didn't frighten him. On the contrary, he welcod it with open arms — that suffocating presence washing over him like a twisted warmth.
"Haha! Good child! Your courage is formidable!"
The king's sudden laughter burst like thunder, his booming voice shaking the air and silencing the crowd in an instant. Breath hitched in their throats as they turned toward him, wary and unsettled.
And who could bla them? The king's sheer presence — tall, broad, and layered with muscle that seed carved from stone — exuded power. His fra resembled that of a seasoned warrior, a fortress of strength that seed capable of crushing a man's spirit without ever lifting a blade.
Sylvaris was no stranger to strength — well-built in his own right — but with the leaner fra of a seventeen-year-old still growing into his power, he knew he was no match for a man in his pri... let alone this man.
The king's sharp gaze lingered on Sylvaris before his heavy hand landed on his shoulder, the grip firm yet strangely reassuring.
"Get up, Sylvaris Elyndor!" the king commanded.
His voice carried an undeniable weight — one that seed to bypass Sylvaris's mind entirely. His body moved on its own, legs obeying before he could even process what was happening. A cold chill crept down his spine.
What the hell...? Panic stirred in his chest.
Who is this old man? Sylvaris thought uneasily. I must be wary of him... If I reveal my intentions now, he'll crush without hesitation. Hell, he might just eat alive. Damn it... I want to be a villain, but to wreck havoc, I need power first...
The crowd watched in silent tension, their eyes fixed on Sylvaris. This was a defining mont — the very second his hand touched the book would shape not just his fate... but possibly theirs as well.
"Place your hand on the Book of Fate," the king declared, his tone like iron. "And your path in this world will be revealed. Will you rise as a hero, destined to slay the Demon Lord and cleanse this world of filth?"
Cleanse? You'd be the first I'd wipe off the map, you old fool... Sylvaris's gaze darkened as he stared at the king's proud expression. Look at you, standing there like you're untouchable... Let's see how smug you are when your daughters and wife warm my bed soon, hahaha!
He nearly laughed at the thought. The twisted nature of Ryan still lingered within him — that sa cruel, egotistical craving to watch others suffer. It was part of him and frankly, he had no intention of changing.
"Or," the king continued, "will you follow your brothers and aid them in their journey?" With those final words, the king's fingers uncurled from the book, leaving it to hover weightlessly in the air.
"Now... place your hand on it already..." The king rushed.
Sylvaris exhaled softly, masking his nerves behind a faint smile. He had lived for seventeen long years in this world, learning its history. Even before his true mories returned, he knew this ceremony's significance.
This was the mont that would define his strength, his potential, and just how long he'd have to keep up his miserable hero facade before he could finally tear off the mask and wreak havoc across the world.
The crowd also held their breath. The king's sharp eyes never wavered, fixated on Sylvaris. His parents, siblings, and even the empire's elite stood frozen, each silently praying for a result no lower than S rank — the second highest rank in existence.
After all, the highest had not appeared since the fall of the Demon Lord nearly twenty thousand years ago.
With slow, deliberate motion, Sylvaris pressed his palm against the book.
The mont his skin touched it, the book snapped open with a deafening crack. His hand jolted upward, locked in place above the pages as though an unseen force had seized him.
A golden beam erupted from the book's center, piercing the sky with such brilliance that the clouds themselves seed to retreat in awe. Holy light cascaded down, bathing Sylvaris in radiant gold.
Gasps rippled through the crowd and jaws hung open in stunned silence. Never in the history of the Solandris Kingdom had anything like this ever occurred.
The mont when the golden pillar faded, sothing even more astonishing followed. From the glowing pages, radiant letters — forged from pure golden light — ascended high into the sky. They soared upward until they reached nearly a hundred ters, each character towering fifty ters wide, shining like divine symbols carved by the heavens themselves.
"What... is happening?" The king's voice faltered, disbelief twisting his features. The letters had never risen so high before — nor had they ever shone so fiercely.
The first letter appeared — an E — before shifting rapidly to D. The symbols danced and flickered, their glow intensifying until the letter S ignited with a faint crimson hue.
"S rank! S rank!" The crowd erupted in celebration, their cheers shaking the air.
But the glow didn't stop.
The trembling S quaked violently — then, in a sudden burst of brilliance, a second S blazed beside it, this one shining even brighter with crimson edges that seed to bleed into the sky itself.
"Legendary rank..." The king's knees hit the ground, his face pale and unreadable — yet his heart thundered with indescribable joy. "This... this is a miracle."
Sylvaris's father staggered back, his eyes wide with disbelief. "This... this can't be possible... he doesn't have..." His voice cut off as his wife seized his arm, her sharp glare silencing him.
"Don't," she warned, her voice low and firm. Whatever secret lingered within their family, even Sylvaris had no idea.
But before anyone could celebrate the earth beneath their feet trembled violently.
A jagged crack tore across the ground. Darkness oozed from the gap like black tar before surging upward in a towering pillar of shadow. The inky mass shot into the sky and collided with the book, mixing with the golden light.
The radiant letters quivered and then they began to shake violently once more.
The book, once bathed in divine brilliance, now shuddered beneath the suffocating weight of encroaching shadows. That holy glow fused together with a sinister darkness creating sothing abnormal...
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