The sky above Noctis that night wasn't merely dark—it collapsed.
The stars seemed to flee, and the moon was shrouded by unmoving, ominous clouds. Beneath that dead sky, the kingdom of Noctis burned. No screams remained, only the echoes of those long silenced, bouncing between fallen pillars and the rubble of once-magnificent towers.
Kaiden Sage Wilder, King of Noctis, stood drenched in blood at the heart of the destruction. His body torn. His breaths ragged. And his gaze blank as he stared at the corpses of his soldiers, his people... his family. All gone.
He had ruled wisely. He had protected bravely. But even a king has his limits. The attack from foreign kingdoms was only the beginning. When the Gates of Hell opened and demonic armies poured into Noctis, there was none strong enough to resist.
Except him. But it was too late.
"What was the point of all this..." he murmured, falling to his knees upon the blood-soaked ground. "If in the end, I'm still... alone?"
Amidst the ruins, the world suddenly froze. The crackle of fire vanished. The wind stilled. Time held its breath.
Someone—or something—emerged from the dark purple mist.
A faceless figure, tall and hovering above the ground, stood before Kaiden. Its voice echoed from every direction, yet from no source.
"Kaiden Sage Wilder. Do you seek power to protect what remains of these ruins... even if there's nothing left to protect?"
Kaiden lifted his head. The eyes that once knew despair now stared forward, unwavering.
"If I can remember them... then I am willing to change."
An invisible smile crossed the entity's presence. And without warning, Kaiden's body was wrapped in dead flower roots that sprouted from the ground. The earth collapsed, and he sank into the darkness.
In utter silence, from that pit of destruction... something bloomed.
Petal by petal, a blood-red rose unfurled, forming a massive blossom. And from its center, Kaiden Sage Wilder was reborn.
Not as a man.
His new cloak was a masterpiece forged by the four entities that bestowed him power.
Lightning dragon horns formed a helm, glowing teal in the dark, sparking with each breath he took. Dragon Thunder.
Blood-red petals with a wicked aura cloaked his shoulders and chest, hiding the old wounds that never healed. Demon Bloom.
Pale roots and petals hung from his robes to the ground, forever blooming despite their withered, dead state. Undead Flower.
A long, black-silver cape—like the frozen mist of solitude—billowed behind him. The Lorn King.
Beneath that cloak lay a majestic armor, a legacy of the war gods. Not just protection, but a symbol: he had transcended death and now stood as guardian of a world that refused to be forgotten.
He opened his eyes—purple-blue light shining beneath the helm.
And when the demons returned... they did not find a weakened kingdom. They found Kaiden. And they never returned.
From then on, at the heart of the Noctvaria continent, stood the silent, fallen kingdom of Noctis—forever guarded by a lone soul, bound to immortality... and solitude.
The Forgotten King.
The Bloom of the Forsaken.
In suffocating silence, freezing night winds swept the highest tower of Castle Noctis, where clouds seemed to rest atop its peak. There, a man cloaked in grandeur sat quietly, eyes closed, lost in a restless slumber.
Kaiden Sage Wilder. Guardian of the forsaken kingdom. The forgotten legend.
In his sleep, Kaiden was trapped in an ancient dream—a shadow of the past calling him back.
He saw a time of glory, people cheering, unshakable fortresses, and his hand holding the hope of many. He saw war after war, victories earned through blood and sacrifice. But one by one, the faces he loved faded, consumed by time and death. Until the sky turned crimson, screams echoed, and from the deepest abyss came the demon horde that destroyed all.
Kaiden fought... and fought... until his body could no longer rise.
But in the moment before his final breath faded, an entity approached—formless, nameless, only a pair of eyes in the darkness. It offered him something: the power to live on... but not as a human.
Kaiden accepted.
From scorched earth, a flower bloomed. And from within it, the new Kaiden was born—wrapped in a terrifying yet majestic cloak shaped by four great entities.
But the dream ended.
...And Kaiden opened his eyes.
He still sat on his throne, alone, in a vast chamber frozen in time. The clouds still touched the castle roof—dark, as always. But from the cracked floor and moss-covered walls, wildflowers grew. Red roses. Faintly glowing purple blossoms. Kaiden never knew where they came from. Perhaps magic. Perhaps remnants of his people's memories. But each flower was a reminder... that he was once loved.
And then, he felt it.
A presence breached his territory. Kaiden frowned. Demons.
Not just one. Many.
He stood slowly, steady steps carrying him to the highest balcony. From there, he saw... hundreds, thousands of demons swarming from all directions, crawling like ants toward a castle that never slept.
And what enraged him most—they were trampling his field of flowers. A field that grew not from soil, but from emptiness and sorrow.
The demons looked up.
Kaiden stared back, and their eyes met.
"...You're stepping on something more precious than your lives."
Without warning, Kaiden leapt.
The wind roared as he pierced the dark sky. He landed with such force the earth quaked, demons flung away like leaves.
Flowers bloomed beneath his feet.
Each step left trails of blood-red roses, pale lilies, and undying violet blossoms. A terrifying beauty on the battlefield.
He raised his hand.
"Drakonis Stormbringer Spear."
From the air descended a massive spear—crafted from the essence of the four great powers. Its tip pulsed with electricity, adorned with thorn-like petals, and emanated an eternal cold.
Kaiden gripped it, his eyes glowing dimly.
"That's enough."
And the slaughter began.
Kaiden moved like a storm—piercing, crashing, cleaving, and burning. Every demon that approached was obliterated. Their bodies turned to dust, and from where they vanished, flowers bloomed.
In eternal darkness, only one light shone.
Kaiden.
The guardian of solitude.
The Bloom of the Forsaken.
The final screams of demons became the last notes of a massacre's symphony.
Kaiden stood tall amid the field of flowers and corpses.
"...It's over."
No cheers. No celebration. Just Kaiden's empty gaze over the fallen. Then he opened his left hand, and at once, the souls of the slain demons began to glow—drawn from their bodies like black, luminous smoke.
The souls spiraled around Kaiden, slowly drawn into his body.
Instantly, a tremendous aura surged from him. The wind howled. Tremors shook the distant earth. And from the once-bloody, broken ground, an overwhelming bloom erupted—flooding the area like a sea of petals.
Red roses. Blue lotuses. Unknown glowing flowers.
As if no war had happened. As if time had been rewritten.
But Kaiden wasn't finished.
He snapped his fingers.
From the earth, blackish vines with glowing green veins burst forth. Living, crawling fast, they ensnared every demon corpse. One by one, the bodies were dragged down and devoured by thirsty roots that vanished beneath the soil.
In moments, no trace of death remained.
Kaiden looked around.
"...Everything's as it was."
He raised Drakonis Stormbringer high—and in a dim shimmer, the spear dissolved into radiant dust, returning to the realm of the entities.
Silence.
Kaiden turned, his long cloak flowing as he walked back to the castle. Each step still birthed blossoms from the earth, but his gaze remained empty, joyless.
He passed through the cracked main gate, down long halls lit by soft violet light from ancient crystals. Every wall, every pillar, held memories.
The place he was crowned king.
The place he laughed with his guards.
The place where his people once bowed...