Ten years later
Lady Joo, lifting the hem of her elegant dress, greeted the roaring crowd from the balcony.
"What a stunning woman!" exclaimed a group of men in suits.
"Incredible, dazzling!" said the women, pointing at her.
"Look at that dress! God must have crafted her with utmost care," muttered an elderly lady, whose beauty had long faded with the years.
"Long live our queen!" shouted the soldiers, raising their fists.
"The most beautiful Lady Joo," whispered a government officer secretly, hiding it from his wife.
Upon hearing these words, Lady Joo momentarily forgot the wrinkles she had carefully hidden with foundation. "Thank you..."
Her delicate and graceful voice stirred the crowd even more.
"Thank you, my friends. Today, on the 110th anniversary of our Kingdom, we shall hold the coronation ceremony of my son, our son who devoted his heart to this cause: Lui."
The pride in her eyes was unmistakable.
Everyone felt their oath of loyalty to their queen grow stronger.
All eyes turned toward the door beneath the balcony.
There, a massive silver door stretched wide. Soldiers stood in full gear at both ends. The crowd held their breath. As the queen stepped aside and placed her fingers on the railing, the soldiers marched in sync, grasped the handles, and opened the double doors. In the gap that formed, a young man appeared—golden curls, honey-colored eyes. He was Lui Ran. The beloved son of her dear late husband. The dashing prince of the King: Lui.
Lui wore ceremonial armor from the waist down and chains of freedom on his wrists.
The crowd erupted the moment they saw him.
"Lui Ran!"
"Our precious prince!"
"Look how he's grown!" said a woman as if looking at her own child.
"What a charming stature!" whispered a girl from the Kingdom's High Guild soldiers.
Lui stared into the crowd, walking with sharp and measured steps.
He was the shining star of this night.
The wings of fire sparkled in his eyes.
Applause broke out from every direction.
Just then, the side doors opened, and priests tasked with prayer emerged in pairs, approaching Lui Ran. Their aim was to symbolically bless him by crossing paths at a designated spot.
Lui's steps slowed with careful calculation, and soon four pairs of shoes stood by his leather boots.
"Oh son! Jewel of the kingdom! I am a noble intermediary, bearer of the crown, tasked to complete your coronation in the final years your father could see you. Now bend your knees before me and pray to God."
Two of the priests stepped forward and sat on a carpet at the edge of the stage, facing the people.
Lui slowly knelt before them, his humble gesture carrying the strength of a victor.
"Today, on the 110th anniversary of our kingdom, I…" Lui hesitated, "...wish to kiss the sacred hands of my father Fuzulin, who raised me all this time. I know he's watching me." He lifted his head, as if he could see him. "But he is too ill for me to actually see his gaze. And so, I send the other half of my gratitude to my dear mother."
Traditionally, Lady Joo, who remained on the balcony, teared up the moment she heard her son's voice and saw his image on the reflection screen across.
Lui's eyes gleamed like droplets of honey. His gaze slid like softened butter.
Before bowing his head in front of the priests, he opened his lips for one more name.
"And to my beloved… the one who raised me until the age of seven… Tian Yan."
Lady Joo's eyebrows furrowed. She whispered to a nearby guard: "What is this now?"
The guard looked puzzled. "We didn't know he was going to say that."
Lady Joo looked down with curiosity.
The people had already begun whispering among themselves.
The glow in Lui Ran's eyes began to fade as he sensed the crowd's agitation—strange, perhaps even hostile.
Then a commotion broke out at the back of the crowd.
Lieutenants rushed to restore order. "Get out of here, old man!" someone shouted. Lui turned his gaze to the rear of the crowd, rising from his kneeling position.
"No! How dare he stand up after kneeling before the priests?"
"Impossible," murmured an elder.
Lady Joo gritted her teeth. "What is this boy trying to do?"
The guard assured her: "We're on it," and headed for the stairs.
Lady Joo's nerves were on edge. She just wanted the ceremony to go smoothly.
Lui stepped forward on the platform, ready to fend off the approaching guards. The priests began chanting a banishment prayer, muttering strange words aloud.
Lui began pushing into the crowd.
Soldiers and guards exchanged confused looks.
People watched the prince with unease as he passed through them.
The noise at the edge of the gate slightly subsided.
At the foot of the steps, Lui spotted an old man forced to kneel on the ground.
A word slipped from his lips: "Father."
It was Wia Huya.
With a devastated look in his eyes, he gazed upon the saintly son from years past.
Tears rolled down both of their faces at the same time.
The drums of the ceremony fell silent, as if silenced by the moisture in Lui's eyes.
Lui felt numbness in his legs. His armor weighed heavily on him.
He looked into Tian Yan's eyes and shut his own tightly.
In his mind's eye, he saw the man who once carried him daily beside a garbage truck.
Lui slowly knelt before him, in full view of the crowd.
"What is he doing?"
"Oh God, save us!" cried someone, shielding their head with trembling hands.
As Lui knelt, the drums ceased.
Behind the expelled Wia Huya, a vast emptiness remained.
And into that void, Lui Ran fell to his knees.
Alone in that crushing void, Lui received a silent signal from the guards to rise. But his legs clung to the ground—as if he belonged nowhere more than here. As he pressed his palms to the earth, snow began to fall, just like that day. Soon, everything would be blanketed in white—unique snow crystals painting the marble and wires.
He didn't want to ruin this night. But when he turned to glance behind, he met Lady Joo's cautious eyes. A guilt-driven frown formed on his brow, and his heart began pumping too fast. His breath caught like a dagger in his chest.
He stood and began walking back toward the priests. The crowd once again locked onto him, watching every step with bated breath. In the crunching snow beneath his boots, he remembered the day he found the dead baby. From the sky that heralded the apocalypse, a young man named Kaji Sezar had descended—then vanished like smoke. While others had collapsed in terror, only Lui remained standing. The man had stroked his head and said, "One day I shall return. So do not be arrogant—I may come in any form."
"What if the man at the gate isn't my father… but Kaji Sezar?" he wondered.
His boots slowed on the concrete floor, and he knelt once more before the altar. The priests, disturbed by the disrupted ceremony, stared at the young prince. From the balcony, Lady Joo hushed the people with a single glare. With a bitter face, she watched as the priests retrieved a golden crown from a box and placed it upon Lui's head.
The crown settled into his honey-colored hair, and the sparkle returned to his eyes.
Lady Joo watched as the priests circled around him in prayer.
A table was brought forth, and red candles were lit atop it. The scent of ginger warmed the icy air. Lui, half-fatigued, looked toward the door.
"My child, gaze directly into the flames," said the elder priest, adjusting his ceremonial hat forward. "You shall see your future there."
Lui stood tall beneath the falling snow, staring into the flickering blaze.
After whispering a few chants, the priest raised one candle and waved it over Lui's head.
The ceremony music seemed to transform into a sorrowful hymn.
"O Great God! Have mercy on the noble son! Protect him from the evils beneath and above his crown! O Creator of all beings! Grant us victory against the Lightning Council! Those who have, for two centuries, tried to overturn your creation. Allow us, the created, to stand—and return to us Kaji Sezar, in a form we can recognize, in a form we can hold!"
As the priest murmured with eyes shut, black snow began to fall among the white.
A man in a black hat was the first to notice. Stunned, he pointed it out to others. The candles began extinguishing one by one.
"What's happening?" asked a man, spinning in panic.
"Black snow!" cried two soldiers near the back. Their eyes were wide with dread.
"How is this possible?" When the priests looked up, the truth struck them hard.
"This… this can't be…" stammered one, muttering incomprehensibly while staring at the extinguished candles.
They believed they were being punished by God for a ruined ceremony.
Suddenly the sky darkened, clouds spreading ominously.
The priests returned to exorcism prayers.
Lui's heart raced under the stormclouds.
One candle burst into flame.
The spontaneous fire stunned the priests.
People screamed in panic, now whispering their own prayers. Lui peered into the fiery glow and saw a silhouette in the mist. He took a deep breath and focused. Was everyone else seeing this too? The scent from the smoke gave him a headache. He stared into the shadow. "Kaji Sezar!"
One priest turned to the guards. "What is he saying, my child?" as if seeking permission.
Lui Ran replied simply, "Kaji Sezar has returned."
The priests exchanged confused glances.
"I saw him inside the flame," Lui said. "You, the holy servants of God—were you not the ones who called upon him?"
Voices rose, questions erupted.
Lady Joo gave an order. "Take him inside! Bring him to my room immediately!" Her face flushed with rage. "Let him learn what it means to disgrace the honor of the palace before the public."
"As you command, my queen," the guards said, disappearing into the inner gate.
Lady Joo could not make sense of what was happening.
She believed it was all due to Lui's recklessness—kneeling before his old father instead of the priests. "What a shame…" she whispered, her voice trembling.
She looked to the crowd. Something disturbed her.
Since Fuzulin's death, she had never wanted the throne to pass to this boy. He was too softhearted—he'd trust the enemy rather than fight the Lightning Council. What would become of the royal family if mercy ruled?
The priests huddled together.
"These omens… they match the signs of Kaji Sezar!"
"God sends the savior near the end of days," said one, pointing at a verse in the holy book.
Another scholar added, "The signs match perfectly. Then… has the apocalypse begun?"
A microphone had accidentally been left on, and the people heard every word.
They swarmed toward the outer gate of the palace.
Knees trembling in fear.
Lady Joo clenched her jaw. "Damn it," she muttered. "This boy can't do anything right."
Lui turned his head toward the balcony—as if he had heard her.
He saw the disappointment and fury burning in Lady Joo's eyes.
She had always looked at him like that. Ever since Fuzulin Ray adopted him and brought him into the palace. From the moment he found the dead baby in the garden, Lady Joo had branded him as an omen, a bearer of misfortune. That label had stayed with Lui for years.
As the black snow kept falling, the clouds above suddenly parted and descended toward the mountains.
A deafening, thunderous roar echoed through the air.
"The end is here!" shouted someone from the crowd.
Another followed, fleeing to any place that seemed safe.
Every corner was packed, overflowing with panic.
The priests bowed their heads and crouched low.
From the sky, a shadow descended. A towering presence, like an umbrella blanketing all beneath.
A voice echoed in everyone's ears:
"I have come! I have descended from the heavens! I was sent by God to fight the Lightning Council. O pitiful servants! Kneel before God! Not to me—but to God."
A sigh of relief spread across the crowd. "If he had said 'obey me,' the end would've truly come."
"Yes, God sent him. He tells us to obey God. Nothing wrong here," said an old man, his voice shaky.
The young looked up at the floating figure in awe.
"It's him!"
"Do you see that?"
"He's flying?" They stood agape.
Lui recognized the figure in the sky instantly. Those eyes had turned toward him.
Kaji Sezar.
Lady Joo gripped the balcony railing with one hand, clutching the iron bar with the other. A shiver ran through her entire body. She recognized him. That body in the sky—was the spirit born from that cursed baby found in the garden years ago. "He's returned," she whispered. As she watched the fleeing people scatter like sheep below, her heart threatened to burst from her chest.
In Kaji Sezar's eyes was an indescribable softness. That mist-covered presence had descended like a punishment from God. And that punishment was aimed directly at Lui Ran's chest. The ground trembled. The plates beneath the earth seemed to shift.
Lady Joo clung to the balcony, bending low, afraid it would collapse beneath her.
The priests curled up in corners, knees to their chests, waiting.
Lui stood and began running toward the crowd.
"Don't be afraid, my people!" he shouted amid the screams.
"He is a savior sent to us by God!"
People, desperate to survive, briefly looked up at the sky.
The darkness gave off a difficult-to-express despair.
Kaji Sezar's body floated gently downward like a feather and finally placed his feet on the ground.
He had taken on human form.
But why had he come?
"Now we shall vote. And one of you will be chosen as a delegate!" he spoke with a sharp voice. Yet his gaze remained warm—perhaps that's why the people breathed easier. "Now, in your hands…" Their hands were empty. "...there is a button." A button appeared in every hand.
The moment Lui noticed the red button on his finger, he swallowed hard.
Lady Joo looked up from the balcony, listening closely. The button trembled in her hands.
"When you press the button, the names of everyone here will appear!"
As people pressed the button in awe, a screen appeared. Photos of individuals from all frequency ranks lit up.
"The chosen one will be taken to the Lightning Council's territory… to defend the Radio Kingdom."
Lady Joo looked at her button.
If this was real… she would send Lui.
A terrifying smile formed on her face—even in the grip of fear.
Lui stared at the button on his finger.
"Vote for me! It's my duty to protect you!" he cried out to the people.
Tears filled the eyes of families, who clung to one another.
Lui knew he truly had no one. His father was close to death.
No stone in this kingdom had ever eased his loneliness—why would it now?
"There's no reason for me to stay," he whispered as a countdown appeared on the screen. Two seconds. Everyone had already cast their votes.
[10,000 votes cast.]
[10,000/10,000]
[Election Results]
7,777 / 10,000: Lui Ran.
Lui stared at his name glowing on the screen.
Kaji Sezar's eyes locked onto him. From those dark, solemn eyes, a light burst forth—unexpected, all-consuming. It washed over Lui's entire body.
The light began to burn him.
Voices became a distant buzz. Then silence.
His thoughts spun like a carousel.
He felt Kaji Sezar's shadow over him once more…
And finally, he vanished.
[Screen Activation:]
You are now Member 28 of the War Council Against the Lightning Council.
Do you accept?
Lui thought, Yes, and the system responded:
[Member 28 registered successfully! Read your mission carefully:]
Learn the history of the Lightning Council from a captive. (0/1)
Capture an enemy and bring them to the Shadow Council. The Shadow Council is the name given to those who fight the Lightning Council. (0/1)
Choose at least one specialty. (Radio frequency engineering / Radio bank heist / Radio repair) (1/3)
Understood?
As the darkness continued to engulf him, Lui Ran thought, Yes.
[Mission acknowledged. Good luck.]