Chapter 1
Blood.
Power.
Control.
The holy trinity everyone pretends to hate, but will kill for the second they get a taste. The only difference between and them? I never lied about what I wanted.
And after years of clawing my way through my enemies, after endless battles, I finally achieved them.
Standing on the balcony of the immortal palace, I could see the entire realm stretched out beneath , or at least what was left of it. The city was in ruins. Black smoke poured into the sky, the streets littered with bodies. The moans of dying soldiers mixed with the crying of children, and the sll of fire and blood clung to the air like it would never leave.
Most people would have felt sothing at a sight like this. Maybe guilt. Maybe regret. But I felt nothing. Not after what I’d once gone through. I stopped bleeding for others a long ti ago. Pity is a luxury for those who can afford failure.
The heavy wooden doors creaked open behind , and I turned just enough to see who dared enter. It was Kael, my general, my most trusted man. His armor was streaked with blood, not all of it his own, and his expression was as controlled as ever. Even after days of fighting, his steps were steady. That was one of the reasons I valued him, he never faltered under pressure.
He ca forward and knelt. "It’s done," he said, his voice low but clear. "The last of the resistance has fallen. The immortal king is dead."
A wave of satisfaction rolled through . I had waited too long to hear those words. "Good," I told him, allowing a small, genuine smile. "Then nothing stands in my way now."
Kael rose to his feet. "The council awaits your command for the final cleansing my lord. Shall we proceed?"
"Burn every trace of their rule," I said without hesitation. "Every record, every monunt, every god they worshipped, destroy everything. When history rembers this realm, it will be mine."
He gave a single nod, but as he turned to leave, I caught the faintest hesitation. His hand lingered on the hilt of his sword for just a mont longer than it should have. My eyes narrowed. "Sothing you wish to say, General Kael?"
He glanced back at . "Only that I swore to serve you until the end."
I gave a short laugh. "Good. Rember those words."
I turned back toward the balcony, my guard lowering for the first ti in days. That was my mistake. I didn’t sense the change in the air until it was already too late, the faint hum of magic building behind . I started to turn, but Kael’s sword was already in motion.
Pain ripped through my side as the blade sank deep. My breath caught and my vision blurred for a second. It wasn’t just the injury, it was the fact that it was him. The man who had stood with when no one else did, who had saved my life more than once.
"You..." The word was a growl, my voice thick with shock and rage. "Kael, why?"
His face didn’t change. "I’m sorry, my lord. But your reign ends here."
"My reign will live on for centuries, don’t you dare." I growled, my hand gripping the blade and forcing it out of the wound, my eyes flaring. I had worked too hard to let it all end like this, no way in hell was that happening.
Just then, the room shifted as more figures stepped in from the shadows. White-robed mages, their voices already weaving together in a chant that made the air hum with power. Chains of light burst into existence, wrapping around my arms and legs, burning into my skin like heated iron.
I pushed back with everything I had, mana surging so violently that the palace walls trembled and cracks spread through the marble floor. The chains tightened, forcing to my knees.
Kael stood just out of reach. "You’re too strong to kill," he said, his tone flat, almost regretful. "So we’ll seal you for eternity."
I glared at him, my eyes desperately searching for a reason behind those eyes of his, why would he do this? Why would he suddenly turn on after all we’d been through. For the first ti in years, a flicker of emotion slipped into my mind, sadness, pain, I hadn’t felt those since forever.
The magic dragged at my strength, pulling it out of and feeding it into glowing sigils beneath my feet. My muscles scread in protest, my vision started to darken, but I kept pushing back, refusing to give in.
Right then, the immortal king stepped into the room, very much alive, and the smug look on his face told everything. They had planned this. Waited until I believed I had won, until I let my guard down.
"Cowards." I breathed out, barely able to talk.
The light swallowed my vision, my body locked in place.
No way, I couldn’t lose like this. This wasn’t the end. Damn it just when everything was finally on track.
Why? Why would nothing ever go as I wished. Why was the world against ? Because I was evil? What about the people who did more evil, is it wrong to pay them back with twice what they caused ?
I could feel my eyes already closing, I was losing consciousness, I had already been drained of all energy. At this mont, I just wanted to curse at everything. But at the sa ti I wished there was a way to reverse all this, to make this right. Not so I’ll beco a better person, but so that I could cause more destruction. I was too soft, I had let my guard down, that was the only reason I ended up like this, pathetic and helpless.
God or devil, whatever is it that can help ...I just want a second chance.
My thoughts were cut off as I drifted off to unconsciousness.
---
Pain brought back. It wasn’t the sharp stab from before, this one felt heavy, crushing, like my chest was being squeezed from the inside out. I beca aware of noise. Shouting. Footsteps. Voices overlapping in a dozen different tones. None of them sounded familiar.
When I opened my eyes, I was staring up at a dull grey sky frad by faces I didn’t recognize. My ears rang so loudly it was hard to make out their words.
"Is he... alive?" I heard soone say.
I tried to move, but my arms and legs felt impossibly heavy. I wasn’t in armor anymore. I was in different clothing that felt weird against my skin, like it were soaked in blood. And the ground under wasn’t polished stone, it was rough pavent.
Confusion hit . The last thing I rembered was Kael’s betrayal and the mages’ seal, so how in the hell was I here? And why was I surrounded by strangers who were looking at like I’d just crawled out of the grave? Did the seal not work, how co I’m still conscious.
A sharp pain stabbed through my head without warning, and then the mories ca.
I saw unfamiliar mories, a small ssy apartnt. A group of people seated together in what seed to be a classroom. The sound of laughter. Fights. Getting beaten. Then standing on a rooftop, looking down at the street far below. And then... jumping down.
What the hell, those mories weren’t mine, yet i could rember them so vividly.
The body I was in had commited suicide. And now, sohow, I was inside it.
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