Standing over the fallen King of Giants after their battle, the King of the Wall stared down with a cold, emotionless gaze, watching the giant's broken breathing and muffled groans.
The King of Giants tried to speak, but no voice came out—his words stuck in his throat, strangled by defeat.
Blood ran down the King of the Wall's face as dark clouds smothered the sunlight. Then, carried by the wind, he heard a faint, hoarse whisper forcing its way through trembling lips.
"Bo… y… please… do not follow this path… blindly…"
The giant's mouth moved, but his voice barely escaped. After a few seconds, another whisper followed—even weaker than before.
"Look… toward the horizon… Nameless King…"
With a faint smile, the light in his eyes faded away.
Turning his back, the King of the Wall walked toward the horizon. Wounded, exhausted, and holding a sword shattered to pieces, he continued forward.
That moment never left his mind.
Even after a year, he remembered every detail with perfect clarity—the cold, empty gaze he carried after a battle that pushed him to his limits, and the realization that a challenge like that might not come again anytime soon.
Now, sitting atop a small hill after yet another battle, a sea of blood and destruction lay behind him. Shattered walls littered the ground, human corpses twisted into grotesque shapes.
Yet ahead of him, birds sang.
The wind brushed against the trees, rustling his torn clothes. The grass swayed in gentle waves.
Then something landed on his hair.
Rolling his eyes upward, he saw a small bird. Without noticing, a faint smile formed on his face.
After observing the peaceful scenery for a while, he rose and walked into the forest, traveling for hours until night finally fell.
Upon reaching a cave, he gathered the wood he had collected and lit a fire. Sitting beside the flames, he watched as they slowly consumed the sticks.
During quiet moments like this, a question always echoed in his mind.
'What is… what does a name truly mean?'
As always, when this thought surfaced, sleep slowly overtook him.
When he opened his eyes again, sunlight flooded the cave, pushing away the darkness. Picking up his sword, the giant resumed his journey.
Days passed like this.
On another day—this one shrouded in clouds—he noticed a forest.Or rather… a dead forest.
No birds.No animals.Even nature itself seemed to avoid it.
Curious, the Nameless King stepped into the strange, silent woods.
Inside, he noticed that aside from the dead trees, there was almost no life—except for crows.
With every step he took, the stench of rotten flesh grew stronger, invading his nostrils and causing discomfort.
Even after countless battlefields, the smell of decaying meat still unsettled him.
After walking deeper into the forest, he found the corpse of a giant sitting and leaning against a dead tree. The ground beneath it was soaked in dried blood, its body marked by numerous cuts.
The Nameless King stared at the scene with empty eyes.
That being had found its own…
'Peace…'
Peace was his greatest desire.
After so many battles—after granting that wish to so many… so many…
'Enemies'.
And yet, none had ever granted it to him.
'Isn't that… a little…'
Unfair.
Yes. To the Nameless King, it was unfair.
He had slain countless warriors—strong and weak alike. He had fought epic battles, honorable ones, and even dull, meaningless ones.
But every single one ended the same way.
'The ending was always emptiness. Warm blood on my hands… my sword buried in my enemy's body'.
'Always the same'.
The crows watched him.
The wind blew.
Wet soil crumbled beneath his feet.
"Cro… cro."
The sound made the Nameless King turn around, drawing his sword, his eyes craving blood.
But he saw nothing—only mist slowly forming.
As he turned and continued walking, rain began to fall.
After some time under the rain, he sighed.
Then his ears caught something.
Footsteps.
Spinning around, he drew his sword and cleaved through the trunk of a zombie giant.
Dodging another attack, he swung his blade vertically.
The sword sliced through two raindrops before reaching the giant's chest.
His eyes widened.
He dashed forward, leaving deep marks in the ground as he cut down the approaching creatures one by one.
Then he saw it.
A throne made of bones.
And seated upon it—a being with a bored expression etched across his pale face.
The giant raised his hand.
All the zombie giants froze instantly.
The Nameless King frowned in confusion.
'W-what?! Why did they stop because of that pale giant?'
As the pale giant stepped down from the throne, a crushing pressure forced the Nameless King to his knees.
'Why… why am I trembling?'
Yes.
For the first time in a long while, the Nameless King trembled.
His hand shook violently—so much that he could barely hold his sword.
"What's wrong?" a heavy, hoarse, lifeless voice spoke."Aren't you going to pick up your… sword?"
Cold eyes.
Nothing but cold.
Sweat ran down the Nameless King's spine. His hair stood on end.
"You… are afraid, Giant?"
Gritting his teeth, veins bulging, the Nameless King slashed forward.
The pale giant vanished—like a shadow, like a blur.
The next instant, something grabbed his head.
And pressed down hard.
"Agh!"
He's going to crush my head.
He tried to move.
Anything.
But his body refused to respond.
'I'm… paralyzed… I can't move'.
His breathing grew heavy.
Not from fear.
But from excitement.
The excitement of death.
Then—the pressure stopped.
"You passed my test!"
A test?
Everything he endured… was a test?
'Absurd…'
And yet—absurd as it was—it thrilled him.
Because it meant there was still another being he needed to surpass.
"In this state, you will never surpass me," the pale giant said."You are still weak and insignificant… Nameless King."
The words pierced deeper than any wound.
"How could someone like you kill him?" the pale giant continued coldly."It's ridiculous."
'Ri… ridiculous?!'
Grinding his teeth, humiliation burning in his chest, the Nameless King glared back.
After a long moment of silence, the pale giant spoke once more.
"I will grant you a new purpose, fake King…"
His gaze was lifeless, corpse-like.
"The king with no name.The king with no purpose…Nameless King."
Those words reached his stone-cold heart.
A new purpose?