After running errands and buying some clothes for his sisters and himself, Damons was still wandering through the downtown streets.
His gaze was drawn to a small shop with a dusty storefront, almost invisible between two more modern buildings.
A weathered wooden sign hung above the door:
{Mystic Curiosities – Magical Objects}
Driven by curiosity, he entered.
The interior was narrow, packed with wobbly shelves piled high with all kinds of strange objects. The smell of ancient parchment and rusted metal lingered in the air. Damons slowly wandered between the aisles, searching for something useful.
His eyes finally fell on two daggers placed apart, at the very back of the shop. One was black, radiating a dark, almost oppressive aura. The other was white, softer, as if bathed in a pale glow. Yet both looked rusty, worn by time. Not exactly what you'd expect from powerful weapons.
"They look dead… And 5,000 € each? No way," Damons thought.
As he turned to leave, a red notification suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[DEMONIC SYSTEM]
ITEM DETECTED: DAGGERS – WEAPON WITH FORGOTTEN NAME
RARITY: ??? | TYPE: EVOLVING WEAPON
He stopped dead. An evolving weapon? These rare weapons grew in power along with their user. Maybe they weren't just rusty daggers after all.
"An investment… Besides, mine are wrecked. Even the Association would be ashamed to take them back from me."
Without hesitation, he pulled out his card and paid for the two daggers.
Once his shopping was done, he tried to book a training portal to test them. But all rank F portals were already taken for the evening. Resigned, he headed home.
Back at the house, after quietly placing the clothes on his sleeping sisters' beds, he went into his room. As usual, it was tiny, cluttered with his stuff and a few stacked boxes. He sighed.
"I have to get us out of here… Give them better than this old, dilapidated one-bedroom."
He lay down on his bed, holding one of the daggers in his hands, observing it in the moonlight. A faint gleam flickered on the tarnished blade.
With one last look at the ceiling, he closed his eyes. And fell asleep.
[MONARCH'S QUEST – ACTIVATION IN PROGRESS…]
A chill ran down Damons' spine as the demonic system lit up inside his mind.
DEMONIC SYSTEM:
CANDIDATE DAMONS RAVENCIER MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS TO INITIATE THE FIRST MONARCH'S QUEST.
A magic circle appeared beneath his feet.
System:
Monarch's Quest: The Throne in the Shadow
Objective: Face the three Echoes of the Fallen Sovereigns in the sealed dimension.
Difficulty: Medium (Adapted to the candidate's current rank)
Rewards:
– +3 guaranteed levels
– 1 royal shadow-type skill
– Special title
⁃ 1 fragment of the lost throne
Failure: Death or corruption of the mind
The ground opened with a muffled sound. A gigantic shadow stretched, engulfing Damons.
He woke up in an obsidian temple, with no walls or sky, floating in a crimson void. Broken thrones were arranged in a semicircle around him.
Three figures detached themselves, made of shadow and ancient flames.
Echo of the Ash King:
"You claim you want the throne? Then prove you can bear its weight."
[SYSTEM]
FIRST DUEL: MASTERY AGAINST FURY
When Damons stepped into the circular arena of black stone, a suffocating heat seized his throat. Embers floated in the air like fireflies from an ancient hell.
A throne of flames rose in the center. Slowly, a massive warrior rose from it. He wore scorched steel armor, cracked and still glowing. In his hand, a blade as wide as a man, warped by heat.
An ancient voice rose… the Echo of the Ash King:
"Once, I burned a thousand kingdoms to assert my legitimacy. But I never mastered my anger… Show me you can wield power without consuming yourself."
The king's voice sounded like a blazing furnace, each word sending out a wave of heat.
Damons lunged at full speed, daggers already drawn.
He stabbed the white dagger into the king's shoulder.
CLACK!
A dry impact, no apparent resistance.
In the same motion, he snapped his black dagger against the king's ribs.
TCHAK!
But the blade slid without cutting flesh.
No recoil.
No hesitation.
CLANG! SLASH! CLANG!
He struck. Again. Again. Again.
Wild, frantic blows as if trying to break something he no longer saw.
The Ash King didn't flinch. His blue flames kept dancing, indifferent.
"You called me pathetic?! I'll break you!" Damons shouted.
He stabbed, slashed, hammered with ten years of frustration. Each blow sent out a spray of burning ashes.
SHHHK! CRRRSSH!
But the king's flames rose with every second. A violent aura, distorting even the air around.
[SYSTEM]
PASSIVE EFFECT DETECTED: ASHEN RAGE – THE FLAMES ALTERED MENTAL STABILITY.
Damons felt his head spin. A strange anger flooded him, as if every ember wanted to drive him mad.
A dark voice crept deep into his mind, cold and relentless.
"Hit harder… Kill him…"
This hateful whisper fueled his rage, pushing him to crush his opponent without mercy.
BABOOM BABOOM
He began to suffocate.
The heat, the pressure, something invisible weighed on him. His chest tightened, breath shortened. His mind clouded, engulfed by a flood of burning anger.
He staggered.
Something inside him cracked.
He wanted to break everything. Destroy all.
And in this inner chaos… he slipped, slowly, toward madness.
But suddenly, an image pierced the darkness.
His sisters.
Their smiles. Their voices. Their gaze.
Stronger than rage.
Brighter than heat.
This vision imposed itself like a light in the fire.
He gritted his teeth. The mental grip loosened.
And little by little, his eyes regained their sparkle.
Clear. Lucid. Unyielding.
He had calmed. His breathing controlled. His thoughts refocused.
Damons stood ready.
The Echo of the Ash King, gripping his enormous sword with both hands, charged.
The blade scraped the ground with a sinister screech.
SHHHHHK…
Right in front of Damons, the Echo suddenly raised his sword and brought down a vertical strike, swift and monstrously powerful.
BOOOOOM!
Damons dodged with a side leap.
The ground exploded under the impact, like hit by a bomb.
Fragments flew in all directions.
But Damons didn't wait. He dashed straight at the Echo.
Before the opponent could bring back his blade, he leapt and spun.
His daggers traced two arcs of light, whistling through the air with fierce precision.
The speed of his moves seemed to defy all logic.
SWISH! SWISH!
Despite the massive weight of his weapon, the Echo managed to raise his sword with a quick move, blocking the attacks just in time.
CLANG! CLANG!
Damons pressed on, relentless, striking faster and faster, his blades dancing with inhuman ferocity.
But the King held firm, guard high, refusing to yield an inch.
Then, suddenly…
Something changed.
Damons' daggers, already badly tested by the intense heat, began to deform.
The metal vibrated. A sinister, reddish and unstable glow ran along their blades.
CRRR…
The air around him seemed to contract.
An invisible pressure crushed the scene, heavy and oppressive.
But Damons did not stop.
He continued, again and again, pushing the Echo of the King back.
The latter lowered his guard slightly… then suddenly, in a flash of movement, tried to pierce him with a thrust, straight with the tip of his sword.
Damons moved forward.
The blade passed just centimeters away, grazing his side.
He pivoted, slipped to the side, and moved forward again.
CLANG!
His daggers struck violently the side of the sword, diverting its trajectory.
The weapon plunged brutally into the ground, stuck in the stone.
Damons seized the opening and lunged at the Echo of the King, ready to strike.
But to his surprise, the King dropped his sword.
A trap.
Before Damons could react, the Echo's massive fist slammed into him.
He crossed his daggers just in time.
BOOM!
The impact was brutal. The blades held, but Damons was thrown back several meters, his boots gouging the ground.
The King recovered his sword with a sharp movement.
Without a word, he charged again.
Damons too.
And this time, neither slowed down.
Their blows flew, fast, precise, savage.
Blades against blades.
Brute force against mastered rage.
With each impact, a shockwave rippled through the air.
And then…
Damons' daggers trembled.
The metal distorted under the effect of the King's blue flames.
An overwhelming heat radiated from them.
The iron softened.
It crumbled slowly under the violence of the exchanges.
CRACK… FSSSSHHH…
Thick smoke escaped the blades as they melted under extreme heat.
The metal liquefied slowly, falling in incandescent drops.
As if the weapons themselves screamed in pain.
Damons stepped back.
Horrified but determined, he murmured:
"What…?!"
SYSTEM:
WEAPONS HAVE SUFFERED EXCESSIVE DEGRADATION.
BZZZZT…
Damons gritted his teeth:
"Not now…"
Each time he counterattacked brutally, the Echo grew stronger, as if fueled by his own rage. But when he slowed, observed, waited, his blows became precise… and pierced defenses.
"It's a test… Not just of power. He wants me to keep a cool head."
The blue flames danced around the Echo of Ash, igniting every stone he stepped on. His glowing gaze fixed on Damons.
"Perfect… I'll test these new daggers."
FWOOOSH!
The two daggers appeared in his hands in a dark and bright pulse. One seemed to whisper in a breath of shadow, the other vibrated with a dull light.
TCHAK!