The sky was dark with smoke.
Screams echoed across the battlefield as thousands of soldiers clashed with swords, spears, and shields. The ground was soaked with blood, and the smell of death filled the air.
Aric tightened his grip on his sword.
He was only a young soldier in the kingdom's army—just another life thrown into the endless wars between nations.
"Hold the line!" a commander shouted.
But the line was already breaking.
Enemy soldiers rushed forward like a storm. Aric blocked a sword strike and pushed his opponent back, his heart pounding in his chest.
Clang!
Another soldier attacked from the side. Aric barely managed to dodge before striking back.
All around him, men were falling.
Friends he had trained with… soldiers he had marched beside… dying one after another.
"We're losing!" someone screamed.
Panic spread across the battlefield.
Aric looked around and realized the terrible truth.
Their army was surrounded.
Thousands of enemy troops were closing in from every side.
"This can't be happening…" he whispered.
An enemy warrior charged at him with a spear.
Aric raised his sword to block, but the force knocked him to the ground. Pain shot through his body as the spear cut across his shoulder.
Blood soaked his armor.
The enemy soldier lifted his weapon for the final strike.
"So this is how I die…" Aric thought.
But suddenly—
A strange light appeared beneath him.
The ground trembled slightly, and a deep voice echoed in his mind.
"You who survived the battlefield… do you seek power?"
Aric's eyes widened.
"What… is this?"
"The power of the War King."
The light grew brighter, surrounding his body like flames.
On a battlefield filled with death… something ancient had just awakened.
And the war was only beginning.