The One King

“Fragments of the child’s soul drifted through time and space.”

Gaia listened in stunned silence. This was the first time she had ever heard the full story. The prophecy had only stated that the Lord of Darkness would be born, but it had never specified when he would appear, nor had it explicitly stated that he would be inherently evil.

Yet the entire world had concluded that he deserved death before he was even given a chance.

Such was the nature of humanity.

They feared everything that was different from themselves.

Then, as though a bolt of lightning had struck her, Gaia’s entire body trembled violently as an almost unbelievable possibility surfaced in her mind.

She spoke in a trembling voice:

“Azrael... Are... are you that child from the story?”

Azrael turned toward her with an enigmatic smile.

“What? Are you afraid of me?”

Before Gaia could utter a single word, Azrael continued his story.

“When the ritual went wrong, the child’s soul was split into four fragments.”

“One fragment remained within the child’s body, while another was exiled to the prison they had prepared for him. As for the remaining two fragments, they entered the River of Time, traveled into distant primordial eras, and incarnated there.”

He continued:

“The continent before you is the legacy left behind by one of those incarnations.”

Gaia listened from behind Azrael, her shock deepening with every word.

Then, as though the final pieces of an enormous puzzle had finally fallen into place, the entire picture became clear in her mind.

Memories of her first encounter with Azrael returned to her—the mystery surrounding him, his incomprehensible power, his unnatural calmness, and then their conversation in the gardens of the Foyd family.

It felt as though the mist surrounding the man standing before her like an immovable mountain had begun to dissipate.

And for the first time, she began to see the truth hidden behind him.

When she thought about the suffering he must have endured since infancy, a knot formed in her chest.

Her heart ached as though it had been pierced by a sword.

Without realizing it, Gaia stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Azrael from behind, quietly beginning to cry.

Azrael felt her embrace and the tears soaking through his back. He tried to turn around, but heard her soft voice.

“Azrael... How much suffering have you endured since childhood?”

Azrael pondered for a moment, but he did not answer.

The suffering he had endured—in the mortal world, throughout his two ancient incarnations, and even during his life as Dogon in Banjaya—was beyond the ability of words to describe.

There were pains he had endured across countless eras that were simply impossible to put into words.

When Gaia received no answer, she understood that he did not want to speak about it. She did not press him. Instead, she asked another question that had been troubling her.

“Then how did you gather your scattered soul fragments? And how did you return to Banjaya?”

Azrael answered:

“My two ancient incarnations lived through primordial eras and cultivated for millions of years. As a result, the fragments of my soul within them became immensely powerful, and the passage of time could no longer scatter them.”

He paused briefly before continuing.

“After each fragment completed one cycle of life and death, they died.”

“Then, with the help of the System, they were reunited within my original body.”

Gaia slowly absorbed this knowledge, but the term cycle of life and death was unfamiliar to her.

“What do you mean by one cycle of life and death for each fragment?”

Azrael explained calmly:

“A cycle of life and death is when a person is born, lives their life, and eventually reaches the end of that life and dies.”

Gaia gradually understood his explanation.

But suddenly, her eyes widened as she realized the terrifying implication of his words.

“If you mean that you...”

Azrael did not allow her to finish.

“Yes. I have died four times.”

Gaia froze.

Then Azrael’s tone changed.

His voice carried the weight of countless eras and the hatred accumulated across entire lifetimes.

“That world owes this mighty one four lives...”

He paused for a moment.

Then his voice became cold and terrifying.

“And I will make certain that it repays that debt many times over.”

Silence descended.

But Azrael did not stop.

His voice gradually rose, becoming filled with hatred and resentment accumulated across countless ages.

“When I begin my revenge...”

He paused for a moment before continuing.

“I will leave no mountain standing—I will destroy them all. No sea shall remain—I will evaporate them.”

His aura erupted with terrifying intensity.

“I will wash the heavens and the earth in blood.”

Then Azrael raised his head toward the sky and spread his arms wide, as though embracing the entire world.

And in the next instant, he roared at the top of his voice:

“I will reshape that world in my image!”

His declaration echoed throughout the endless void.

His voice sounded like a divine decree issued at the beginning of time—a judgment that could never be revoked.

Gaia trembled at the immense hatred and resentment contained within Azrael’s voice.

She could only stare silently at his back.

At that moment, she realized that something had changed.

A new era had begun.

An era in which chaos and destruction might consume the entire world.

And the most terrifying part...

was that the one who would bring it all about was standing right before her.

Azrael Netherval.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!