Somewhere deep beneath the ruined foundations of the Westminster underground, where the air was usually damp and cold, a young man stood before a tall, obsidian mirror.
He touched his face, admiring the reflection. He looked no older than twenty, with striking white hair streaked with veins of royal blue, and a face that possessed a terrifyingly symmetrical, handsome quality. It was the face of King Charles IV—a face bought with the stolen youth of his people.
The King placed a hand over his chest, his expression hardening. He spoke, not in English, but in Nepshi—the ancient tongue that resonated with the frequency of Gods and Angels.
"The Architect of the Burning Grave."
The room temperature spiked. The moisture on the stone walls hissed, turning instantly into steam.
"The Crimson Wing that Eclipses the Sun."
The mirror before him didn't reflect the room anymore. It began to glow with the molten orange of a dying star.
"The Grounded Seraph of Eternal War."
As the final title left his lips, the air shimmered with a suffocating heat. Charles's hand, still pressed against his chest, felt like it was touching a furnace. A figure materialized within the glass, stepping through the surface as if it were water.
It was Raphael Azarias, the Grounded Angel of the War Sequence.
"Congratulations on breaking the curse, Your Majesty," Raphael said, his voice sounding like crackling firewood. He stepped fully into the room, the heat radiating from him enough to curl the edges of the old tapestries. He smiled, a wide, sharp expression. "You have finally become a Tier 5. That is a new record for your bloodline."
Raphael looked the King up and down, his eyes burning with a heavy pressure. "Even if you had to slaughter your own subjects to do it... you got what you wanted, right?"
He reached out, placing a burning hand on Charles's shoulder. "So tell me... how may I help His Majesty?"
King Charles, feeling the immense weight of the Angel's aura, bowed low. "It is all thanks to you, Your Grace. Without your help, I could never have completed the ritual of sacrificing my subjects."
"But hold on, Your Majesty," Raphael interrupted, withdrawing his hand. The crushing heat lifted slightly. "It wasn't just due to my help."
Charles looked up, confused.
"Yes, I assisted you with the ritual," Raphael continued, pacing the small room, his footsteps leaving scorched marks on the stone. "But always remember: if the Gods above hadn't approved—if there wasn't a tacit agreement—you couldn't have done it."
Raphael stopped and looked up at the cracked stone ceiling. "It means the Three Main Gods want a new God of the Emperor Sequence. Even if they despise the method, they approved breaking your family curse—the chain that always kept you at Tier 3."
He looked back at Charles. "So, you didn't call my name just to discuss theology, right?"
King Charles, who had been kneeling, stood up and dusted off his knees.
"No, I called you for something important," Charles said, his voice serious. "Now that I have done the ritual and am supposedly a Tier 5 of the Emperor Sequence... something is wrong. My London is broken, yes, but the System says I am only at 99%. It means I am not fully done. What must I do to reach 100%?"
"Hmm. Interesting." Raphael tapped his chin, sparks flying from his fingertips as he thought. A moment later, he nodded. "Well, that's not a difficult issue. Tell me, did you consume the Ether?"
"Yes," Charles nodded. "I consumed the Tier 5 Ether Crystal."
"And the Tier 4?"
Charles blinked, shocked. "I... I only consumed the Tier 5. I didn't know I had to consume the Tier 4 as well."
"Well, that is expected," Raphael sighed, shaking his head. "You thought you were advancing to Tier 5, so you only needed the Tier 5 crystal. But you are an error in the system, Charles. You are advancing directly from Tier 3 to Tier 5. You skipped a step. You need to balance the equation."
Raphael gestured vaguely. "Consume a Tier 4 Ether Crystal. That will bridge the gap."
Charles let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He was relieved it was such a simple fix, and not a flaw in his ritual. "I see. I will do that immediately."
"Good." Raphael stood straighter, the fire in his eyes dimming slightly as he prepared to leave. "There is one more thing. Something interesting is moving through your kingdom right now. Something dangerous."
"What do you mean?" Charles asked, tensing up.
"There is one of the Seven Deadly Sins walking in your kingdom."
"A Sin?" Charles took a step back, panic flashing in his eyes. "But... isn't that catastrophic? I have read the history of the First Dark. If a Sin is here—"
"Oh, you do read?" Raphael sounded amused. "Don't worry about that part."
"But—"
"He is just a Tier 1 right now," Raphael waved his hand dismissively. "You do your work. Restore your kingdom. I know who it is, and my brother Samael knows who it is."
"Why not kill him now?"
"He will be prideful," Raphael said, a cruel smirk playing on his lips. "The more he advances, the more arrogant he will become. And that pride will lead to his own downfall. Let him grow. It will make the hunt more interesting for me."
Raphael stepped backward, his body merging with the obsidian mirror once more. "Farewell, Your Majesty."
With a flash of heat, the Angel disappeared, leaving the room cold and silent once again.
King Charles stood alone, staring at his reflection. He let out a long, exhausted sigh.
"It's going to get messy," he muttered to the empty room. "Lots of work to handle from now on."