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The silence that hung over the scorched ruins of the Kingdom of Arkadios was heavier than any scream.
Only the whispering wind remained, weaving between the charred corpses, and the rustle of ash falling like black snow.
Reishel stood still, his cold blue eyes gazing into the smoke-stained horizon, clutching the black book that had granted him a new power—one he did not yet understand, but that now flowed through his veins like molten ice.
It gave him a sense of absolute strength, laced with the bitterness of loss.
Behind him stood Mikael and Emily, exchanging deeply worried glances.
Reishel had returned, yes—but he was no longer the same.
The warmth in his voice had vanished, replaced by a strange sharpness and a chilling coldness that cloaked his soul, as if a part of him had burned away with the kingdom.
Silas, who had fully regained consciousness, looked at Reishel in stunned fear—
the change was radical, and terrifying.
As for Warner, Krane, and Ashton, they stood frozen in place, unable to speak.
Reishel's last words had struck like lightning, tearing through the quiet of the night—
a promise of devastation.
"I will have my revenge..."
The words echoed in their minds, repeating with the moans of the lost souls in this hellscape, and the scent of death that filled the air.
Reishel turned slowly to face them, his every movement calculated,
every muscle in his body responding to a new will—a will that knew no hesitation.
"You saw what happened," he said quietly,
but his voice cut through the silence like the edge of a blade.
"They burned our kingdom, our people, our dreams.
They turned everything we built into ash.
I will not stand by while they laugh over our remains,
while they celebrate their victory soaked in innocent blood"
He stepped forward, the black book still in his hand, as if it were now a part of him—
pulsing with a strange and dark power.
"This power... it's not just healing. It's fire.
And I will use it to burn down every last one who dared to lay a hand on Arkadios.
The Emperor. His guards. Every soul who took part in this madness—
they will all pay a thousandfold.
There will be no escape from my justice"
He looked at Ashton, whose face still bore the marks of shock, though a glimmer of hope had begun to appear in his eyes.
"Ashton," Reishel said, "I believe in your ability to heal, and I trust you despite everything that's happened.
Michael, your skill in strategy is unmatched.
We'll need every ounce of your intelligence to craft a flawless plan.
And Warner—your power to vanish will be our key to infiltration and espionage.
Emily, Silas, Krane… you are stronger now than ever before.
You've witnessed this horror, felt its bitterness, and now the time has come to turn it back on them in the harshest way possible"
Reishel's words carried a weight they weren't used to.
He had always been their leader, their king,
but this time, there was something different in his eyes—something dark and determined, leaving no room for argument.
They felt fear of the unknown,
but also a spark of hope—
a hope for revenge that began to boil in their veins,
pushing away the despair that had taken hold of them.
"But… my lord," Michael said hesitantly,
"how are we going to do this?
We're few, and the Empire is strong. Its army is unstoppable.
We need a plan that goes beyond brute force"
Reishel gave a cold smile that never reached his eyes—
a smile that sat on his lips like a mask of ice.
"The plan isn't just simple—it's precise.
There are ten kingdoms in this world,
and Arkadios was only one of them.
Not all of them bow to the Emperor's absolute rule.
We'll seek out the kingdoms that oppose him,
or those whose weakness or ambition we can use"
He raised the book slightly,
as if drawing strength and knowledge from it.
"This book… it holds ancient secrets—secrets that will make us stronger than any army.
It's not just a book; it's a key to a power that has never been known before.
We'll use that power to forge alliances with the kingdoms willing to join us—
to stand with us in the fight to bring down the unjust empire.
We won't be alone in this war"
Then he pointed to the raven, Romiiel, perched on Ashton's shoulder,
its golden eyes shining in the dark as if it understood every word.
"Romiiel will be our guide.
His energy, though drained, will return stronger than before.
We'll need his ability to reach places no human can"
The idea sounded insane,
but the look in Reishel's eyes left no room for doubt.
He had changed—
transformed into something new.
A being born from the ashes of Arkadios,
with fire in his heart and a mind that now plotted with cold precision.
"We won't leave these ruins until we've gathered every piece of information and secret we can,"
Reishel continued, his eyes glowing with a crimson gleam.
"Then we head east. There—where the towering mountains hide ancient secrets—we'll begin our training.
We'll hone our strength,
unravel the mysteries of this book,
and become the shadows that haunt our enemies.
We'll be the lightning strike they never see coming.
We will become the alliance that cannot be defeated"
Everyone began to feel the weight of the mission,
but also a new kind of resolve—something they had never known before.
They had lost everything.
They had nothing left to lose but their lives—
and even that meant nothing compared to the honor of avenging their kingdom and their people.
This pain, this fury,
would become an unstoppable driving force.
"Now," said Reishel, his eyes sharp as blades,
"let this night bear witness to the dawn of a new era…
An era of vengeance,
and of alliances that will reshape the face of this world"
And as the fires dimmed on the horizon,
leaving behind the charred remains of a ruined city,
the small group of heroes, led by their transformed king,
set out on their dark journey toward an unknown future—
a future that would be forged in blood and fire,
with alliances powerful enough to tip the balance of the Empire itself...
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