In a world where the sun had vanished, where nothing remained but eternal darkness, a city emerged—drenched in a time akin to the Victorian era...
Chimneys rose from rooftops like fingers begging for light, and thick steam cloaked the sky, leaving no passage for even a glimmer of brightness.
At the heart of this gloom, Commander Li Xing and his second-in-command, King, stood at the edge of a black gate—a portal leading into a realm deeper than darkness itself...
The Devil's Realm.
Li Xing spoke in a quiet voice, his gaze locked on the expanding void ahead:
"Let's go, Dragon."
King didn't respond. He simply stared, a hidden fear in his eyes.
His real name wasn't "Dragon," but it was the name he had earned on the night the Beast King made a pact with his body.
---
At the endless table, beneath the Throne of Shadows, fifteen figures sat with human-like forms—but their eyes were anything but human.
When King entered alongside Li Xing, all of them rose and bowed.
They spoke in unison, as if the phrase had been embedded in them since birth:
"The orders of the Devil Raven shall be carried out."
Raven lifted his hand, gesturing for them to sit—without even looking.
He said with cold, killing calm:
"Sit."
King didn't flinch. This wasn't the first time he'd seen Li Xing as Raven.
In fact, it felt like he'd known him far longer than time could measure.
Raven looked at him and said:
"The Beast King has made a pact with this body… with you, King.
But I rejected that name. So I gave you a new one: Dragon."
He then pressed his finger on the table and added:
"Now… will you show yourself, Beast King?"
King's eyes glowed red, and the aura around him bent and twisted.
Raven said:
"I no longer need a host.
Bring your tools… Tomorrow, we begin the execution."
They all replied in perfect synchronicity:
"We will bring them all, my lord."
Raven returned to his stillness.
"Can you return now, King?"
The red light faded from King's eyes. He replied:
"I'll be present at tomorrow's meeting."
---
King returned to Maya's Kingdom, only to be struck by how time in his world hadn't moved as he left it.
He whispered, gazing at the forest surrounding him:
"It was a beautiful world… I wish I had stayed in Li Xing's."
---
Beryon – One week after the Black Cloak Battle
The night was still.
On one of the kingdom's hills, Grind and his companion Dinko sat among the grass and stars, sharing a bottle of alcohol.
Grind spoke in a heavy voice:
"Dinko… Are you going to leave me too?"
Dinko answered without looking at him:
"I don't know what awaits us…
But everyone knows you're humanity's last hope."
Grind smirked with bitter irony:
"They say I'm their hope… and I don't even have hope myself.
Even a hero… needs a hero."
He took a long sip from the bottle and said:
"All because of the Black Cloak.
Humans killing humans… What madness is this?"
Dinko patted his shoulder gently:
"You're the only one who can stop them.
So… don't die, brother.
Let's drink and stare at the stars—maybe we'll forget, even for a moment."
Grind laughed:
"Stop them? Hahaha… That's a good joke."
---
Suddenly, a furious voice shouted from behind.
Olivia, her eyes red from crying:
"What are you doing?! You've drunk too much!
Dinko, you're the commander—why are you acting like this?!"
She collapsed to the ground, weeping:
"You… You're both pathetic!
You're giving up and letting those fools kill everyone we love?!"
Grind, half-drunk, looked at her and said:
"Go away, Olivia.
I'm tired of drama.
I can't even protect myself…
And you expect me to protect the world?"
She said nothing, staring at the ground in silence.
Then softly:
"I'm going to sleep."
With slow, heavy steps, she helped him to his feet and led him toward the New Blue Kingdom.
---
The new kingdom was grander than the old.
Its tall gates and walls surrounded it, and behind them, gardens bloomed in defiance of war—nestled in the heart of a dense forest.
She entered her room, eyes on the ceiling.
She whispered to herself:
"Grind was right...
He alone fights the Black Cloak...
And we just watch from afar."