The air rippled like heat as Rai stepped into the new world. Below him stretched a city carved into the bones of the heavens — towers of pale stone and floating spires connected by chains of light. The horizon curved, endless and radiant, yet the sky was silent. No birds, no wind, no stars. Only stillness.
A faint whisper echoed through the air.
"Welcome home, Vowbound."
Rai's eyes flicked toward the sound, but no one stood there. Only statues — thousands of them. Each one knelt in eternal reverence, their faces hidden behind smooth, featureless masks.
He walked cautiously down the main street, his boots scraping against marble that seemed untouched by time. Every corner of the city gleamed faintly, as if light itself refused to die here.
And yet… the silence felt alive.
He could feel eyes on him — not human eyes, not divine either. Something in between. Watching. Waiting.
When he passed one of the statues, its head turned.
Rai froze, hand on his sword. The statue's hollow eyes glowed faintly blue. Then, one by one, others began to stir — shifting, cracking, fragments of stone falling away as light leaked from within.
The silence broke.
In unison, the statues spoke:
"The King returns."
Their voices overlapped, blending into a low chant that reverberated through the city. The words crawled under Rai's skin, resonating with something deep in his chest.
He shouted, "Stop! I'm not your king!"
The chant faltered. Then, from the distance, a slow clap echoed — deliberate, mocking, yet oddly familiar.
From the shadows of a high tower, a figure descended, gliding down as if gravity itself bent around him. He wore armor of black gold, his cloak marked with runes that shimmered faintly red. His face was hidden beneath a half-mask shaped like a crown.
"Still denying your throne, Rai Solen?" the man said, his voice smooth as smoke. "How humble you've become since you tore down the heavens."
Rai's grip on his blade tightened. "Who are you?"
The man smiled behind his mask. "Once, I was your right hand. Your general. The one who carried your will when you shattered the gods."
He landed lightly before Rai and bowed. "I am Serath, Warden of the Silent Crowns."
Rai stared at him, disbelief and dread swirling inside him. "I don't remember you."
Serath straightened, his tone laced with something between amusement and grief. "Of course you don't. You erased us — all of us. Every soldier, every oathbearer, every friend who swore loyalty to the Eclipse. You didn't want your army following you into damnation."
The air crackled with tension. Rai's heart pounded as fragments of memory stirred — flashes of battles, shouts, banners of black flame, and a man standing beside him, smiling even as the world burned.
Serath.
Rai took a step back. "If you were loyal to me… why are you still here?"
Serath's eyes gleamed behind the mask. "Because you told me to wait. You said when the stars went silent, the king would rise again. And I did."
His hand moved to the hilt of his weapon — a spear forged from the remains of divine metal. "But you're not the same man, are you? You're… smaller. Weaker. Human."
"I'm not him," Rai said quietly. "I don't want to be."
Serath tilted his head. "Then what are you?"
The question hung in the air. Rai didn't answer. He couldn't.
"Then you'll need reminding," Serath said, stepping forward. The air around him shimmered, distorting with raw energy. "If you cannot reclaim the crown by choice—"
He vanished in a blink.
"—you'll do it by force."
Rai barely dodged the first strike. The spear sliced through the air, tearing a shockwave through the marble street. He countered, his sword clashing with the weapon, sparks of divine fire scattering.
The sound of their battle filled the city, echoing against empty towers. Statues shattered under the pressure of their strikes, fragments of glowing stone raining down like meteors.
"You think running from your past will save you?" Serath shouted, his voice rising above the roar. "You think Lyra's sacrifice meant you could pretend to be mortal again?"
"Don't speak her name!" Rai roared, driving his blade upward. The force of his strike split the ground, sending both of them flying back.
Serath landed smoothly, spinning his spear once before planting it into the ground. The city trembled, and from the cracks rose dozens of armored figures — the Silent Crowns. Their bodies were half-light, half-shadow, eyes burning with loyalty that defied death itself.
"You abandoned your kingdom," Serath said coldly. "But your kingdom never abandoned you."
Rai's chest burned as the ember within him — the one left by the Vowbound King — flared to life. Flames of black and gold wrapped around his arms. His voice deepened, echoing with another's tone — the voice of the King himself.
"Then come," Rai said. "If this is what it takes to end the shadow of my sins… then I'll destroy the throne myself."
Serath grinned behind the mask. "Now that… sounds like the king I remember."
He lunged, and the army of the Silent Crowns followed, their war cries shaking the heavens. Rai met them head-on, blade blazing, the air itself igniting with divine fury.
Each clash sent ripples of energy across the city. Towers crumbled, light bled into shadow, and still neither side faltered.
In the heart of the chaos, Rai and Serath's weapons locked once more — face to face, breathless and furious.
"You've forgotten what you were fighting for!" Serath shouted.
Rai's eyes glowed red, his voice rising like thunder. "No. I've just remembered what I lost."
And with that, his blade broke through Serath's spear — shattering it into a thousand pieces. The explosion of light consumed them both.
When the dust settled, the city was silent again. The statues had turned back to stone.
Rai stood, barely breathing, as Serath knelt before him, his mask cracked, a faint smile on his lips.
"Then perhaps…" Serath murmured, fading into mist, "You are ready… to face her."
Rai's heart froze. "Her…?"
Serath's final words echoed as he vanished completely:
"The Queen of Chains has awakened. And she remembers you."
The city fell into absolute silence. Only the sound of Rai's heartbeat remained.
Then, far above, a crimson light appeared — a sigil in the sky shaped like an eye, slowly opening