Prologue: The Last Breath of Ashfall
The sky above Eldara burned with twin suns sinking behind jagged mountains, casting the city of Ashfall in a violent mix of gold and crimson. Smoke spiraled from shattered spires, carrying the scent of charred stone and iron. Ashfall, once the heart of the Motorola Dominion, lay in ruins, its streets silent except for the whispers of the wind through broken towers. Betrayal had toppled the city, not invaders or beasts, but those sworn to protect it.
Atop the remains of the Grand Citadel, a lone figure moved with quiet precision. Cloaked in deep indigo, Arion Vale stepped over collapsed beams and shattered glass. His silver eyes, sharp as frost, scanned the horizon. Around him, the remnants of Ashfall's defenders had fled or fallen, leaving death and ruin in their wake. Arion's mind was calm, but inside, a storm of rage and grief churned. The High Council had sold the city to its enemies, leaving the people to perish.
Arion's fingers brushed the hilt of Moonpiercer, a sword forged from star-metal, pulsing faintly with energy.
Legends said it could sever the threads of fate, a weapon meant for rulers, not soldiers. He had always dismissed such tales as myth, until tonight.
From the shadows of the ruins, a figure emerged. Clad in white and violet, with a hood hiding most of their face, they moved with impossible grace.
Their golden eyes shone faintly in the dying light, radiating power that made the air itself tremble.
"You survived," the stranger said, voice melodic yet edged with steel.
"I always survive," Arion replied, voice calm, carrying both challenge and determination. "Even when everything falls around me."
Ashfall burned behind them, a city of memory and death. "It is gone," the stranger said. "Your people, your council, your citadel… nothing remains. You cannot restore it from these ashes."
Arion's jaw tightened. Rage and resolve fused within him. "Destruction is never the end," he said, drawing Moonpiercer. The blade hummed faintly, responding to him as if alive. "What is lost can be reclaimed. What is broken can be reforged. And I… will rise."
The stranger tilted their head. "Courage is not enough, Arion Vale. Power beyond mortal limits is required. Immortality is the path. Without it, vengeance and restoration will fail."
Arion narrowed his eyes. He had faced death countless times, battlefields, arenas, cursed beasts, but immortality? That was reserved for legends. Yet, he did not hesitate. "Then I will take it. If immortality is what I need to reclaim , I will seize it. And if the heavens oppose me, I will carve a path through them."
The stranger's golden eyes flickered. "The path is perilous. Betrayal, temptation, and the weight of centuries will accompany you. Many who seek immortality are undone by hubris. Can you endure such a fate?"
Arion's gaze swept across the ruins, seeing the faces of those he had failed and the city reduced to ash. He smiled faintly, with certainty. "I have endured worse. Immortality is not given, it is claimed. I will wield it. And when I rise, all who betrayed me will fall before me."
The stranger finally lowered their hood, revealing the Phoenix Sigil on their shoulder: a symbol of the ancients, rising from shattered steel. "Then your journey begins tonight. By the first light, nothing will remain the same."
As the twin suns disappeared, Arion sheathed Moonpiercer and turned toward the mountains. Beyond them lay the Cradle of Immortality, a vault said to hold knowledge and artifacts from the age when gods still walked the earth. There, he would find the means to reclaim what was lost or forge power beyond imagination.
The wind carried a hum of latent energy through the ruins, brushing against Arion's cloak, whispering promises of power, revenge, and rebirth. It stoked the fire within him, a spark ready to ignite.
Darkness fell fully over Ashfall, but Arion Vale lifted Moonpiercer to the sky. Its silver edge caught the faint glow of twilight.
"The chronicles of the Immortal Ruler begin tonight," he whispered. "The world will tremble before what I become."
Energy shimmered around him, alive with potential. Ashfall's ashes, the echoes of betrayal, and forgotten power all converged. One life, one ruler, one destiny, the world would remember his name.
The night was silent, but a new era was rising. Arion Vale, the immortal ruler, had taken his first step.