Suddenly, someone entered the throne room. It was Alphabed, the guardian of a secretive world, recognizable by his red coat and armored suit. As soon as he entered, he knelt before the figure on the throne.
"I apologize for my sudden appearance. There is something I must inform you, Supreme Ruler," Alphabed said gently.
The Supreme Ruler spoke, his voice calm yet commanding.
"What brings you here, Alphabed?"
"Some inhabitants from the lower worlds managed to enter my realm. I believe they're here to—"
"I know," the Supreme Ruler interrupted.
"I know who they are. I know everything that happened today," he added, he didn't show any extra expression.
"Supreme Ruler… what should I do now?" Alphabed asked.
"Let them in next time. They aren't people we can stop—nor should we," the Supreme Ruler replied.
"But Supreme Ruler… who are they? I don't recognize any of them," Alphabed pressed.
"Someone very important. The person who is the reason for my current position, the one who did everything to help me, the one I've served for a long time," the Supreme Ruler explained.
"Someone you serve? Who is he? I can't place the person you're talking about, but I'm curious about his identity," Alphabed said.
The Supreme Ruler smiled faintly, his mind drifting to a memory from long ago—a memory from his childhood.
He remembered being an orphaned child, on the brink of death after taking a direct slash to his chest during a war between multiple supreme realms. Losing a tremendous amount of blood, he had lost consciousness. Hours later, he awoke in a bed, his wound miraculously healed. A stranger stood before him, his face obscured by shadow.
"Who are you? Why am I here? How did I survive?" the child had asked, his voice filled with confusion.
The stranger hadn't answered then, his expression unreadable.
The Supreme Ruler returned to the present, a soft smile on his face.
"He is the true owner of this realm, the strongest Supreme Ruler in history. The person who was always my shield, the one who raised me to this position—my most honorable person," the Supreme Ruler said, his eyes glistening with tears of joy and gratitude.
Alphabed stared at him, his face a mixture of surprise and shock.
"Master, you mean... that red-haired boy is actually..." Alphabed failed to finish his words, his eyes filled with surprise. He was lost in a sea of countless thoughts and questions.
"It might be surprising for you, but the world will always contain the truth behind the lie. He is the ultimate owner of the realm, the strongest supreme ruler in history, Edward Raizel," the supreme ruler said with a smile of joy.
Alphabed didn't respond but smiled slightly.
"So, the strongest supreme ruler in history, the art of mortals... is the person behind that? The person who inspired you to adopt me?''
''I've been wondering about that for a while. I've been wondering why you saved me that day, why you helped me ascend to this position. I believe I've received my answer, don't you think so, Mr. Muzan?" Alphabed said.
"Was it him? What was the reason behind that? There's a story behind that, wasn't there? I believe there was," Muzan replied with a smile, though there was a trace of sadness in it.
"Will you tell me the story behind that?" Alphabed asked.
The supreme ruler, Muzan, smiled faintly.
"The story behind that? Yeah, I will tell you the story behind that," Muzan said with a long breath.
Muzan tried to smile, brushing away the sorrow on his face. He looked toward Alphabed and finally spoke.
"After his death in the Absolute Ruler's realm, I had to be completely alone. Being the lone ruler of the realm, the solitary existence of the castle, I searched for someone to share my moments on the throne with. The loneliness was destroying me every single second.''
''I was the strongest, the greatest, the best supreme ruler, but no one was there to cheer with me. No one was there to share my moments. What did I do in those days? Destruction, murder, and endless attempts to make countless mortals cry. No one was there to tell me if I was doing the right thing or not. No one was there to correct my mistakes." Muzan said calmly, speaking slowly and gently.
Muzan paused before continuing, taking a deep breath.
"Before his death, he was the person who taught me everything, the person who always stayed behind me and pointed out my mistakes. However, after his death, no one was left for me."
"After hundreds of years, I met you on the battlefield—just like how my master once found me. We were alike, weren't we?"
''After finding you on that battlefield, I raised you to this position. I finally found someone to stand alongside me, someone who would share my sadness and happiness. I don't know why he saved me that day, but I know this: he is my master and always will be. And you will always be my closest person. You are the one who filled the empty world for me." While saying this, Muzan's tears fell, trying to smile.
Alphabed smiled.
"You are the one who saved me from endless suffering and madness. Since her death, you've given me everything, helped me become what I am today. What was I? A foolish kid who always wanted to hide from everyone, who just wanted to survive in this hellish world.'' Alphabed took a breath.
''I've changed, haven't I?''
''I've changed into a selfish person who only cares about himself. But somehow, I feel like... I feel like I was wrong to change myself. Was I too foolish to stay the way I used to be? I wanted to survive destruction, but now I'm causing destruction to the innocent mortals. So what's the difference between me and them? I don't know." Alphabed said in his mind, his eyes filled with sadness and hatred toward himself.
"I've been waiting for him for a while. It seems like the time is here," Muzan said, his face filled with happiness.
"If you're happy, then I'm happy too, Mister," Alphabed replied.
Muzan smiled a bit as well as Alphabed.
After saying that, Alphabed walked toward the exit of the room.
While walking, he remembered something from his childhood, many years ago. A long time ago, when he was struggling in the hellish war alongside a certain person, a friend who shared his suffering with him. Her name was...
Alphabed called someone loudly.
It was a huge city in a world that existed right beside the Reformed World. The city was completely ruined, everything around it was mostly destroyed. The dead bodies of countless humans were scattered across the area.
A young Alphabed, not older than 15 or 16, walked slowly through the city, calling out for someone. He was wearing an army coat, mostly covered by the blood of others. His entire body was filled with several wounds.
"Arisha! Arisha, where are you?" Alphabed shouted.
A girl appeared from inside a building. She was about the same age as Alphabed, not tall but not short either. She had fair skin and dark hair, with a faint smile on her face.
"They left?" she asked, there was a trace of fear in her eyes.
"Yes, but... they took something with them," Alphabed replied, his expression filled with sorrow.
They were talking about the army of the realm, the army that continually tortured the innocent inhabitants of the world. By killing the inhabitants, they took away their magic power on a certain day every week.
Today, the army came to the city, killed countless inhabitants, and took their magic power, leaving only a few alive. Somehow, Alphabed and Arisha managed to survive the ritual.
When Arisha saw the endless rows of dead bodies, her eyes filled with tears, and she began to cry silently.
Alphabed witnessed this and walked over to her, gently patting her on the head.
"Arisha... Please don't cry," Alphabed said in a broken voice.
"But... how many of them are going to leave me?" Arisha said, her voice breaking as well.
"I'm still here with you. As long as I'm here, I will do everything to save you.''
''After all, you're my only friend," Alphabed said, trying to smile.
Arisha's tears and cries made the entire environment feel heavy.
"Will you promise me? Will you promise that one day, we'll save the world from this ritual?" Arisha asked, broken voice.
"I promise. I will do it one day," Alphabed replied, He smiles. But his eyes don't follow. The sadness is still there, quietly screaming.
The ritual ran every week, taking countless souls along with it. When someone's magic power was taken in the ritual, they survived for three days, enduring hellish pain and conflict in their bodies. The pain was so intense that everyone wished for death instead of enduring it.
Several months passed. Another ritual event came.
The army appeared in the city.
They chose the sacrifices for this event. This time, they chose Arisha for the ritual.