The world had always worshipped power.
Kings.
Gods.
Monsters.
Everyone eventually asked the same question:
What are you willing to sacrifice to become unstoppable?
The Devourers believed they knew the answer.
Everything.
That was why they lost themselves.
And why Lucian lost his future.
The ruined cathedral trembled violently around us while darkness consumed the sky beyond Heaven's walls.
The seal was collapsing.
The city caught fire.
Hunters and vampires fought side by side through blood and silver fire.
And at the centre of it all—
The throne waited.
Watching.
Remembering.
Choosing.
Interesting.
Very terrifying.
Very interesting.
The Devourer stood before us, wrapped in living shadow, crimson eyes fixed entirely on me now.
No longer curious.
Concerned.
Good.
That felt healthy.
"You reject evolution."
Its voice echoed unnaturally through the cathedral.
"You choose attachment over ascension."
I rolled my shoulders slowly.
"My therapist would probably phrase that differently."
Raphael looked at me like he regretted temporary cooperation again.
Fair.
Very fair.
The Devourer stepped closer.
Darkness spread with every movement.
The cathedral floor cracked beneath it like reality itself refused contact.
"You could become absolute."
Its crimson gaze sharpened.
"No grief."
"No weakness."
"No fear of loss."
A pause.
"Only power."
Silence.
Heavy.
Tempting in the worst possible way.
Because part of me understood.
The assassin king inside me understood perfectly.
No attachments meant no hesitation.
No hesitation meant survival.
Lucian had probably stood here once too—
offered godhood wrapped in loneliness.
Interesting.
Very tragic.
Very interesting.
Then—
Seraphina's hand touched mine.
Warm.
Sharp.
Real.
The bond pulsed instantly.
Home.
Selene stepped beside me.
Moonlight calms the chaos beneath my skin.
Lilith's royal aura settled around all of us like invisible certainty.
Valeria crossed her arms.
"If he becomes emotionally unavailable, I'm killing everyone in this cathedral."
Amazing woman.
Perfect priorities.
I laughed quietly.
And suddenly—
The temptation vanished.
Just like that.
Interesting.
Very important.
Very interesting.
I looked at the Devourer.
"You know the funny thing?"
Its eyes narrowed slightly.
"What?"
I smiled faintly.
"You think power and love are opposites."
Silence.
The throne pulsed beneath the cathedral.
Listening.
I continued—
"But the only reason I haven't become a monster…"
My gaze shifted briefly toward the queens.
"…is because they keep dragging me back."
Seraphina looked proud.
Selene looked quietly emotional.
Lilith looked like a queen, hearing the correct answer from history itself.
Valeria whispered—
"He's hot when emotionally stable."
Raphael sighed deeply.
Reasonable response.
The Devourer stared at all of us silently.
Then it asked softly—
"And when they die?"
There it was.
The real fear.
Loss.
Always a loss.
The same fear that broke kings.
The same fear that made monsters believe isolation was mercy.
The cathedral became still.
Because no one truly had an answer for death.
Not kings.
Not saints.
Not monsters.
I inhaled slowly.
Then answered honestly.
"I'll grieve."
Silence.
Absolute.
The Devourer's expression flickered slightly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
I continued—
"I'll break."
"Probably become unbearable for a while."
Valeria nodded immediately.
"Confirmed."
Traitor.
Professional traitor.
But I smiled anyway.
Because truth mattered.
I looked back at the Devourer.
"And then I'll keep living."
The throne pulsed violently.
Not power.
Approval.
Lucian's memory stirred again beneath the bloodline.
Not regret this time.
Relief.
Interesting.
Very emotional.
Very interesting.
The Devourer stepped backwards slowly.
For the first time—
It looked uncertain.
"You accept suffering."
I tilted my head slightly.
"Everyone suffers."
A pause.
"Love just makes it worth surviving."
Silence.
Heavy.
Real.
And suddenly—
I understood why the throne had awakened for me.
Not because I was the strongest.
Not because I was ruthless enough.
Because I refused to choose power over people.
Interesting.
Very dangerous.
Very interesting.
Then the throne exploded.
Crimson-black light erupted from beneath the cathedral floor violently enough to shatter every remaining stained glass window.
The entire city shook.
Hunters stumbled.
The Devourers screamed.
Not in anger.
Fear.
Good.
Excellent.
The ancient throne beneath us was reacting.
No—
changing.
The cathedral floor cracked apart as black stone rose slowly from below.
The Throne of the First King emerged fully into the ruined cathedral.
Massive.
Ancient.
Beautifully terrifying.
Crimson veins pulsed across the stone like a living heartbeat.
And for the first time—
It no longer felt hungry.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The throne felt calm.
Complete.
The Devourer stared at it in horror.
Actual horror.
Excellent.
Raphael stepped closer beside me.
"What did you do?"
I looked at the throne.
Then at the queens.
Then back.
"I think…"
The bloodline pulsed warmly beneath my skin.
"…it made a choice."
The throne answered immediately.
Four crimson lines of light extended outward—
connecting directly to Seraphina.
Selene.
Lilith.
Valeria.
The cathedral froze.
The queens' eyes widened.
The bonds deepened instantly.
Not control.
Not ownership.
Recognition.
The throne accepted them too.
Interesting.
Very beautiful.
Very impossible.
The Devourer whispered—
"No."
For the first time—
Real fear entered its voice.
Tiny.
But absolutely.
"That throne requires sacrifice."
I smiled slowly.
"Apparently, it upgraded."
Valeria looked delighted.
"I love us."
Fair.
Very fair.
The throne's power spread across the battlefield like a royal heartbeat.
Hunters felt it.
Vampires felt it.
Even the city beyond Heaven's walls responded.
The crimson-black aura no longer carried loneliness.
Now—
It carried a connection.
The Devourers recoiled violently.
Interesting.
Very important.
Very interesting.
The creature stared at the throne as if it were witnessing blasphemy.
"The First King's throne…"
Its voice cracked slightly.
"…accepted multiple hearts."
There it was.
The impossible thing.
Lucian believed kings ruled alone.
I didn't.
And the throne had changed because of it.
History rewriting itself in real time.
Raphael looked at me carefully.
Then at the throne.
Then at the queen's, standing beside me.
And for the first time—
The Blade of God looked genuinely shaken.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Elena's eyes filled with tears quietly.
Not grief.
Healing.
After centuries.
Lucian's ending was no longer final.
Good.
He deserved better than tragedy.
The Devourer stepped backwards again.
Darkness is flickering violently around its body now.
"You are breaking the law of the throne."
I raised Father's blade slowly.
"No."
Crimson-black power surged around all of us together.
Silver fire from Raphael merged beside it.
Moonlight.
Flames.
Royal blood.
War instinct.
Everything.
Together.
"I'm fixing it."
Silence.
Absolute.
The cathedral itself seemed alive now.
The throne pulsed once—
And every Devourer in the room screamed simultaneously.
The seal beyond Heaven reacted instantly.
The darkness across the sky cracked.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The throne had changed the war.
No.
It had changed the rules.
I stepped forward beside Raphael.
The queens behind me.
The throne at our backs.
And looked directly at the monster that killed the First King.
"You wanted history to repeat."
Another step.
"But this world already watched one king die alone."
My smile turned cold.
Certain.
"Now watch what happens when a throne chooses love instead."
The Devourer's fear deepened.
Good.
Because monsters understood something humans often forgot.
Love was terrifying.
Not because it weakened people.
Because it gave them reasons to survive impossible things.
And that—
That was much harder to kill.