That night, the sky seemed to breathe with us. After the speech ended, no one left the plains first. They stood for a long time, looking at me not as an absolute ruler, but as someone who might... be trusted. After years of living in darkness, they were hungry for hope. And now, a small ember began to glow in the middle of the long night. But I knew that the world would not remain silent. Two days later, the first report came from the eastern border: Emissaries from Celenor had arrived in the neutral lands with a stern warning. They demanded the surrender of an "unclean creature" named Raelzar von Valladolid, or the entire western lands would be considered a territory to be purified by divine light.
They don't know who I used to be. But they do know… that a new power has risen. And as always, what they don't understand they will destroy. Vulc placed the scroll before me with a dark expression. "This is a formal threat from the high priests. They have sent the Guardian of Light, one of the four holy knights." I rolled up the letter wordlessly. In my chest, two forces collided: anger at their blindness… and sadness that I had once been part of that system. "I wish to meet their messenger in person," I said finally.
Vulc stared at me like I was crazy. "They'll set you up! They don't know you're Arven, the hero of Elion, but if they suspect it—" "Then let them know. The world must realize that the enemy they hate is the one they once worshipped." The meeting place was set in the ruins of an old temple, a neutral territory located between two dead mountains, Mount Ars and Mount Wert. The thin wind carried the scent of sulfur, and the sun was covered by gray clouds. I came accompanied only by two shadow guards and Vulc, without any troops.
From across the plain, five riders in white armor appeared. In their midst stood a woman with golden hair and eyes as bright as the sky. Emblazoned on her chest was the symbol of the sun, the highest symbol of the Order of Light. "I am Seraphine Leclaire," she said loudly, her voice like a church bell. "The fourth Guardian of Light and the envoy of the Kingdom of Celenor." Her eyes were fixed on mine. "And you… the new ruler of darkness?" I stepped forward, throwing back the hood of my cloak. The wind whipped my shiny blond hair, revealing a face that had once adorned every city hall in the human kingdom. Seraphine froze. Her eyes widened. "Arven…?" she said, wide-eyed in shock.
"Not anymore," I said calmly. "I am Raelzar von Valladolid. And I am not here to burn your kingdom… but to rekindle your dead consciences." One of the knights beside her drew his sword, but Seraphine held him back. "You… should have died on the battlefield. You are a hero of mankind, why did you become a demon, and even become the King of the Kingdom of Valladolid?!" she said again, unable to understand. The question was like a slap from the past. But I had prepared my answer since the day I was reborn. "Because among the demons… I found something I never found in the palaces of the nobles. Honesty. Sadness. And hope." Seraphine stared at me like she was looking at the shadow of a dead person.
"If you do not surrender… you will be the beginning of another holy war." I stepped closer, until I was only a few feet away from him. "If that war comes," I whispered, "let the world know… that it was not the devil who started it." That night, the sky thundered without rain. It was as if the sky itself was restless about what was to come. On my throne, I sat in silence. My speech had become a flame. But the world… was not ready to burn. I knew: change does not come from a single speech. It comes from wounds opened, from truths forced to be seen—even when it hurts.
And if I must be an ember in the darkness, lighting a fire in a world frozen by dogma… Then I will burn to the end.