*Chapter 19: The Hollow Throne*
The land they reached was no longer ruled by gods or monsters—but memory. A vast ruin stretched beneath the ash-colored sky, silent and cold. Shattered statues, half-buried obelisks, and a palace built into the skeleton of a long-dead colossus. This was the forgotten capital of *Tareth-Nul*, once ruled by a king so feared that even the Celestials sealed his name.
Now, only echoes remained.
Pluto stepped through the broken gates, his cloak dragging a quiet trail through dust that hadn't been disturbed in a thousand years. The walls still hummed—weak pulses of buried energy, as if the city itself still breathed in its sleep.
Kareth flickered beside him. "This place was cursed. A throne taken by blood. Spirits clawed their way free when the king fell."
Uruk growled. "Then where are they now?"
"Waiting," Pluto said.
Ilias paused near a shattered pillar, studying glyphs of a man crowned with fire, sitting on a throne of bones. "This is not mortal language... nor Deviant."
Pluto moved toward the throne chamber. A slow wind howled through it. At its center sat a massive throne made of fused metal and crystal—broken, but still intact.
And kneeling before it... a figure.
Clad in scorched armor, helmet resting at its side, the figure looked like a knight preserved in time. Its skin was gray, ashen. Eyes closed. Yet its body showed no decay.
"Who is he?" Ilias asked.
Pluto didn't blink. "The one who would not kneel... even to death."
The figure stirred.
Dust lifted in slow spirals as the armored figure rose to its feet, joints cracking like ancient stone. Its eyes opened—void black, with faint rings of ember pulsing deep within. The being's presence was heavy, noble, and filled with a pain that refused to die.
"I felt your step, stranger," it said, voice dry as sand and deep as iron. "The throne called to me... but it did not choose me."
Pluto approached slowly. "You resisted the Celestials. You refused their chains."
"I burned for it," the figure replied, tapping his ruined chestplate. "But the fire never claimed me."
Kareth drifted forward, shadows warping with tension. "Name yourself."
"I was once *Raegon*. General of the Last War. Now... only a memory in armor."
Pluto stepped forward, silver eyes glowing. "Then let memory rise. I offer you more than a throne."
Raegon tilted his head. "And what would a memory serve?"
Pluto extended his hand. "I give you purpose beyond gods. Not servitude... but oath. Rise, not as a shadow of history—but as its reckoning."
For a moment, silence. Then Raegon knelt.
"Then I pledge myself, not as a knight... but as your sword."
*[System Update: New Subordinate Acquired — Raegon, the Oathburned Knight]*
*Abilities: Ashblade Dominion, Fire Immunity, Battlefield Anchoring, Eternal Endurance*
Ilias let out a low whistle. "We're starting to look like an army."
Pluto turned from the throne. "We're not an army."
"Then what are we?" Uruk asked.
"A storm that chooses where it falls."
****
Night blanketed Tareth-Nul like a funeral shroud. But within the ruined city, light stirred—not from fire, but from within Pluto himself.
As the oath with Raegon sealed, his system flared alive:
*[System Notice]*
*New Trait Unlocked: Monarch's Bond (Tier I)*
— Subordinates within range gain increased regeneration, focus, and battle synergy.
— Bond-linked beings cannot be mentally dominated by outside forces.
Pluto felt it—a subtle tether linking him to the four. Not chains, but shared will. Their strength echoed his own, each becoming sharper in his presence.
Raegon stood quietly beside the throne he once sought. "Where do we go next?"
"To the north," Pluto answered, voice steady. "The cold lands still bear remnants of pre-Deviant beasts. Some fled from time, not war."
Uruk cracked his knuckles. "You mean to recruit more?"
Pluto looked toward the stars. "The world isn't ready. So we prepare."
Ilias raised a brow. "You think something's coming?"
"I don't think," Pluto said. "I know."
Far above, a comet blazed briefly across the sky—no natural sign, but a herald. And deep in the void, something ancient stirred... watching.
Unseen. For now.
——-
A/N: Just wanted to finish this chapter 20 I never wanted this first arc to see a new week