The dungeon was cold and damp, filled with rats and whispers. For days, I was left in the dark. Bread crusts, stale water, and silence were my only companions.
Until I heard her voice.
"You still look proud… even like this. It's adorable, really."
I lifted my head. Princess Liana stood beyond the iron bars, dressed in a velvet cloak, a cruel smile on her lips.
"What do you want?" I rasped.
She leaned in, eyes gleaming with malice. "Just thought you should know. Your little sweetheart, what her was name again? Ah...Seren. She's in the next cell over there. Has been for days."
My heart stopped. "What…?"
"Oh yes. Poor girl. Cried your name for the first few days. Now? She mostly just screams when the guards come."
"Liana—" I growled, fists tightening.
"She refused to denounce you. So I gave her a proper reward. Beatings,Whippings and don't worry, I make sure they never strike her face. Wouldn't want to ruin the view from your cell, would we?"
"You monster…"
She laughed. "You chose her, a useless commoner over me, the Royal blood. This is what loyalty gets you. Hope the screams help you sleep."
She turned and walked away, humming a cheerful tune.
And in the silence that followed, I heard it—the faint, broken sobs of the woman I loved, Seren. We have known each other since we were kids, and have been together even before I was chosen to become a hero.
And now because of me...
Something inside me cracked.
I clawed at the stone floor, teeth clenched, bloodied fists pounding the walls. My voice, hoarse and broken, screamed into the hollow chamber of the dungeon. My tears came, hot and furious, and I wept like a child robbed of his mother. I slammed my fists until my knuckles split, whispering her name again and again.
"I failed you… I failed you…"
I pressed my head to the stone, her cries echoing in my soul. My strength meant nothing. My title, worthless. They had taken everything and I could do nothing.
In that moment, I shattered.
But my hatred just grew with it.
-------
Finally the day of the execution came. The guards came and they dragged me from the cell, chains heavy around my wrists and ankles. My body was weak, bruised, but my eyes—my eyes burned with fury. The streets of Valtaria were packed. Laughter, cheers. Rotten fruit thrown in my direction.
"Traitor!"
"Monster!"
"Burn with the demons you love!"
I kept my head high.
We entered the courtyard—the same place I had stood victorious just months ago. At the center stood a stage, a raised platform with two structures. One, the executioner's block. The other...
No.
My breath caught in my throat. My legs buckled.
She was there.
Stripped, bound and tied to a stake.
Her body was bruised, bloodied, barely conscious.
"Liana…" I gasped.
The princess stood proudly beside the King, dressed in ceremonial robes, a cold smile gracing her face.
"Lucien of Varelia," the King declared, voice ringing through the square, "you have been judged and found guilty of high treason, heresy, and attempted defilement of our royal line. You shall be executed by beheading."
He turned to Seren. "And this woman—Seren of Varelia—is hereby condemned for aiding and supporting a traitor. She shall be burned for her crimes against the crown."
"No… please… no!" I cried, struggling against the chains. "She did nothing! This is madness!"
"Silence!" roared a guard, slamming a fist into my gut.
Seren opened her eyes. She saw me.
Her lips quivered. "Lucien…"
"I'm here," I whispered. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
Princess Liana stepped forward. "You made your choice, Lucien. You chose her over your kingdom. Over me. And now you'll both pay the price."
Seren's voice, weak but clear, rang out. "Even in death… I regret nothing. I will always choose him."
"Begin," the king ordered.
They lit the pyre.
Flames crept upward. Seren screamed—pure agony, her voice echoing in my soul.
"LOOK AT HER!" I roared, tears streaking down my cheeks. "LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"
The crowd didn't flinch. They cheered.
My heart shattered. My legs gave out. I sobbed, the screamed at all of them.
"You monsters… you cowards…"
Elira stepped onto the platform beside me, face void of empathy. "She died because you defied the will of the gods."
Garret spat at my feet. "You brought this on yourself."
The executioner raised the axe.
I looked to the burning stake. Seren's body collapsed, still aflame, a broken angel covered in smoke.
"Any last words?" the king asked, a mocking tone to his voice.
I raised my head, bloodied, broken, but defiant.
"Yes," I whispered, voice trembling with wrath.
"Curse you. Curse your gods. Curse your lies. You've taken everything from me. I will see your world crumble, your thrones shattered, your people screaming. I will return, and when I do... I will drown this land in fire and shadow."
The axe fell.
I am sure I died, but I didn't reach heaven nor hell. Instead, there was nothing. No pain. No sound. Only an infinite, endless void. I floated—weightless, thoughtless, timeless.
Then, a voice came.
Deep and ancient. Like the whisper of eternity. Something commanding.
"Lucien of Varelia..."
I opened my eyes, though there was no light. Only an endless black, stretching beyond and across nothingness.
"Who... who's there?" I croaked.
"One who has watched. One who has waited."
A figure emerged—covered in shifting shadows. Horns curled like crescents above a masked face, its eyes twin stars of crimson red.
"Am I dead?" I asked.
"You were. But death is not the end. Not for someone like you."
"What do you mean? Why me?"
"Because you were broken. Cast aside by the very world you bled for. Because vengeance burns in your soul like a black sun. Because you cursed the world—and I heard you."
The figure stepped closer. I felt its power, immense pressure around it, with shadows crawling on him.
"Who are you?" I asked cautiously.
"I have many names. The First Sin. The Betrayed Flame. The Demon God."
I narrowed my eyes. "What makes you think I will trust you? You just want me to be your pawn? Another weapon to be used and thrown away?"
"No. I offer you power. Dominion over other beings. I offer you truth. What you were denied. What the gods stole from you."
"Truth?"
"The gods who blessed you were afraid. The balance of the world is a lie. There is no order—only control. You became too powerful, even those gods were afraid, so they took your power and watched as you were condemned. Seren was a warning. A punishment to make you suffer."
My fists clenched. The pain in my chest reignited.
"I won't forget or forgive what they did to her. What they did to me."
"Then become what they fear. Rise again—not as a hero—but as something more."
The void around us shimmered, and for the first time, I saw stars. Floating islands of darkness. Castles filled with shadow. A realm forgotten by time.
"Where are we?"
"Between the world above and the hell below. A place gods cannot touch. A place where vengeance takes root."
The demon god raised a hand. Black fire formed into a crown.
"You were Lucien, the Hero. Now, be reborn as Lucifer, King of the Abyss."
"And what do you want in return?"
The god's mask tilted. "Nothing you weren't already willing to give. Your soul already chose the path the moment you said 'curse them all'."
"You are the curse. "
My soul felt like it was burning, unraveling and reforging in crimson flame.
"Then I will make them know fear. Let them know pain. I will return—and I will take everything, I will burn them all."
"So it shall be."
Chains of light snapped. Flames erupted beneath my feet. My shattered body began to stitch itself anew—stronger, darker, reborn in wrath.
I screamed—not in agony, but in rebirth.
The pain vanished. I stood in a dark throne hall, towering pillars surrounding me. My skin was marked with crimson runes. My heart pulsed with power—and hatred.
The world had cheered as she burned. Laughed as I bled. They had worshipped gods that spit on mercy.
I will make them beg now.
Make them crawl.
A low chuckle escaped my lips.
"My name is no longer Lucien," I whispered, voice thick with venom and rage. "I am Lucifer. And I will make the world bleed for what it did to me."
Memories of Seren's screams, of the princess's smirk, of my comrades' betrayal—they played again and again.
I would not just kill them.
I would make them suffer. I would make them understand what it means to beg for death.
A sadistic grin crept across my face.
"Let them call me monster. Let them pray for light. I'll be the darkness that answers."
Not the savior.
Not the hero.
But the nightmare they made.