The ash-gray gate pulsed with heatless crimson fire, alive and ancient, whispering forgotten tongues as if it remembered Raen even when the world had not. Standing before it was the man who had once laughed with him beneath blood-streaked skies—now draped in obsidian armor veined with molten runes, his eyes glowing with quiet, unbearable power.
"Anous…" Raen breathed, a ghost of a smile forming on his face after years of silence, loss, and betrayal.
The Demon King's smirk widened, familiar and foreign at once. "You finally remember, huh? Took you long enough. I was starting to think your new life washed away the memories of the boy I once knew."
Raen's gaze sharpened. "I haven't forgotten. Not really. It's just… everything feels like smoke now. But looking at you—gods, you've changed. The power in your bones, the madness in your aura, even the way you stand… You're not the boy I left behind."
