No sooner had the golem general’s voice faded than his words remained suspended over the capital, heavier than any sword and harsher than any judgment.
“There is no king of the Kingdom of Light.”
That single sentence was enough to change the meaning of thousands of years of history.
King Verdant, who had stood at the very top of the Kingdom of Light’s hierarchy for his entire life, remained standing before the stone general, unable to find words worthy of the moment.
Behind him, the four dukes, the nobles, and the soldiers watched with pale faces.
Meanwhile, in the streets, tens of thousands of citizens stared toward the walls.
Some could not comprehend what had just happened.
Some were crying.
And some felt a bitter relief because they had survived a war that could have turned the capital into a graveyard.
One soldier whispered:
“So... is it over?”
Another soldier stared at the half-million golems.
“No.”
He swallowed hard.
“I think everything has only just begun.”
The golem general was still standing before the army.
There was no personal arrogance in his expression. There was something far more frightening: absolute faith that everything he said was an unquestionable truth.
He raised his head toward the king.
“Verdant.”
The king flinched slightly upon hearing his name.
The general continued:
“You chose submission. Therefore, the blood of your people will not be spilled today.”
Some citizens breathed a sigh of relief.
But the general continued:
“However, do not mistake mercy for freedom.”
The relief vanished from their faces.
“You have entered beneath the banner of the Shura.”
He gestured toward the enormous army behind him.
“And whoever enters beneath the banner of the Shura enters beneath its order.”
The king asked, his voice steady only with difficulty:
“What does the Shura Clan want from the Kingdom of Light?”
Silence descended.
The general raised his head slightly before answering:
“To remain.”
The king froze.
The general continued:
“We do not want you to die for empty pride.”
Then he looked toward the capital.
“Nor do we wish to waste a force that could become part of the glory of the Shura.”
He paused for a moment.
“But in exchange for your survival, you will abandon every illusion that you remain an independent nation.”
The dukes exchanged glances.
One of them asked:
“And will you allow us to govern our kingdom?”
The general looked at him.
“You will govern it...”
Then he added coldly:
“As long as you do not defy the will of the Shura.”
The answer displeased him, but he did not dare object.
Behind the general stood a force capable of erasing the capital within hours.
Perhaps even minutes.
The king raised his eyes toward the half-million golems.
“And what of your army?”
The general replied:
“Part of it will remain here.”
One of the nobles trembled.
“Part?”
The general repeated:
“Part.”
Then he looked toward the horizon.
“The rest will continue their march.”
Everyone understood what that meant.
This army had not come only to the Kingdom of Light.
The half-million golems were merely one part of a far greater war machine.
Valer whispered:
“Then... this wasn't the entire army.”
The general heard him.
He turned toward him.
“No.”
Then he said:
“If the ruler had sent his full army to the Kingdom of Light, there would be no walls left for you to stand behind.”
A terrifying silence descended.
Even Valer found no answer.
That single sentence was enough for everyone to understand the enormous gap between the Kingdom of Light and the Shura Clan.
This was not an evenly matched war.
It was not an invasion between two equal powers.
It was an entire world struggling to survive before a force whose limits it had yet to discover.
At that moment, a small spatial gate began forming behind the general.
It was unlike the gate through which the army had emerged.
It was more stable.
Calm.
A man wearing a black robe threaded with silver lines stepped out, the emblem of the Shura displayed upon his chest.
His aura was not as terrifying as the general’s.
Yet his presence alone made the nobles feel that they were standing before someone of extraordinary status.
The man approached the general and bowed.
“General.”
The general said:
“Speak.”
The man replied:
“New orders have arrived from the Shura.”
Silence fell.
Even the king paid attention.
He asked the general:
“What orders?”
The man answered:
“A headquarters for the Shura will be established within the Kingdom of Light.”
Then he looked toward the king.
“All lands, families, armies, and resources belonging to the kingdom will be registered.”
The dukes’ expressions changed.
One of them asked:
“Do you mean you intend to confiscate our possessions?”
The man turned toward him.
“No.”
The duke breathed a sigh of relief.
But the man continued:
“Confiscation implies that you owned them.”
The duke froze.
“But now...”
He looked at the Shura emblem on his chest.
“You are beneath another banner.”
Silence.
The man lowered his hand and said:
“You will retain your positions unless orders are issued to remove you.”
Then he added:
“And the four ducal families will remain upon their lands, while the royal army will continue to exist.”
Valer asked:
“Why?”
The man looked at him.
“Because the ruler does not waste resources.”
Then he gave a faint smile.
“The ruler takes what he needs... and leaves what can still serve him.”
The members of the Foyd family exchanged glances.
It was obvious that the Shura did not act like a horde of barbarians.
They acted like an organized empire that knew exactly what it was doing.
Lunaria said calmly:
“They don't want to destroy the world.”
Alex looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
She replied:
“They want to own it.”
Silence.
Then she added:
“And that is far more terrifying.”
At one end of the wall, Lilian remained lost in thought.
She barely heard most of the conversation.
Her mind was trapped around a single name.
Azrael.
Her son.
The child she had believed the world had swallowed many years ago.
The child she had only now discovered was not dead.
He had returned.
And when he returned...
He was no longer a child.
He had become someone whose voice could shake entire continents.
Miranda approached her.
“Lilian...”
She did not answer.
“Mother.”
Lilian raised her eyes.
Miranda said:
“Are you all right?”
Lilian looked toward the sky.
“How could I be all right?”
Her voice trembled.
“The entire world calls him a monster.”
She placed a hand against her chest.
“But now I know that the world itself created this monster.”
Selena approached her and took her hand.
“Perhaps there is still something we can do.”
Lilian looked at her.
“Like what?”
Selena did not know the answer.
She lowered her head.
“I don't know.”
Lunaria said:
“Perhaps the truth.”
Everyone turned toward her.
She continued:
“If the world learns the truth, perhaps something will change.”
Alex said:
“After everything that has happened?”
He gave a short, humorless laugh.
“Lunaria, the world has seen millions of soldiers emerge from those gates. It has seen kingdoms fall. It has seen Azrael declare war upon everyone.”
Then he said:
“Even if they learn his past, will that change anything?”
Lunaria answered:
“Perhaps not.”
Then she looked at Lilian.
“But at least... they will know why this hatred was born.”
Lilian lowered her eyes.
She knew the time was approaching.
The time when she would no longer be able to hide the truth.
But before she could speak, a voice came from behind them:
“My lady!”
They turned.
One of the Foyd family soldiers was running toward them.
He bowed before Valer.
“An urgent message has arrived.”
Valer took the message and opened it.
He read it.
Then his expression changed.
Alex asked:
“What is it?”
Valer did not answer immediately.
He raised his eyes.
“The Shura army in the north of the Central Continent has reached the borders of the Racial Protection Association.”
Lilian froze.
“Leon...”
Far away...
The Racial Protection Association was in a state of organized chaos.
Bells rang.
Soldiers spread throughout the fortress.
Mages activated defensive formations.
And the sky above the Association began filling with clouds of energy.
Leon stood atop one of the towers, staring toward the horizon.
He could not see the army yet.
But the earth was trembling.
Boom...
Boom...
Boom...
One of the commanders said:
“They're close.”
Leon asked:
“How many?”
The commander answered:
“We don't have an exact number.”
Then he said:
“But they have destroyed dozens of kingdoms on their way here.”
Leon’s expression changed.
“What do they want?”
The commander replied:
“The same thing they demanded from everyone.”
Then he looked toward the Shura banners beginning to appear in the distance.
“Submission.”
Leon clenched his fist.
“And what if we refuse?”
The commander did not answer.
Because the answer was obvious.
On the horizon...
Massive banners began appearing.
Then came the armies.
Elsewhere in the world...
Azrael hovered above a vast elevated land.
Below him stretched an enormous expanse of territory.
Before him floated dozens of crystals transmitting images of the various battlefronts.
The Shura army in the west.
The golems in the south.
The undead in the center.
The holy knights in the Western Continent.
The beasts in the north.
And the frost army in the east.
Baran stood nearby.
“My lord.”
Azrael did not turn.
“Speak.”
“The Kingdom of Light has submitted.”
Azrael remained silent for a moment.
Then he said:
“Good.”
Baran asked:
“Would you like me to send additional forces there?”
Azrael replied:
“No.”
He turned toward him.
His violet eyes were calm.
“Why should I waste strength on a kingdom that chose to bow?”
Baran lowered his head.
“As you command.”
Then he asked:
“And what of the Racial Protection Association?”
Azrael fell silent.
Then he looked at the crystal displaying the advancing army.
“Let them fight.”
Baran raised his head.
“My lord?”
Azrael said:
“I want to know how much the world can endure before it begins begging.”
Silence.
Then he smiled.
“Do not crush everything too quickly.”
Baran approached.
“You want them to live?”
Azrael answered:
“I want them to watch.”
His smile widened slightly.
“I want every kingdom, empire, and clan to witness the fate of those who resist.”
Then he turned away.
“Let them choose for themselves.”
Hours passed.
And in the capital...
The old banners of the Kingdom of Light began to be lowered from the royal palace.
King Verdant stood watching them.
He could not stop himself from feeling that a part of his life was ending before his eyes.
One of the dukes approached him.
“My king...”
Verdant answered:
“Do not call me that.”
The duke stopped.
Verdant said:
“They said I am no longer a king.”
Then he looked at the descending banner.
“And perhaps they are right.”
The duke asked:
“Do you regret it?”
The king remained silent for a long time.
Then he said:
“I would regret it if my people died.”
He looked toward the capital.
“As for the crown...”
He looked at his hand.
“It is merely metal.”
He raised his eyes toward the sky.
“But I do not know how long they will even allow us this much freedom.”
Suddenly...
The golem general’s voice came from beyond the walls:
“People of the Kingdom of Light!”
The capital trembled.
Everyone raised their heads.
The general said:
“Prepare yourselves.”
He paused.
“From this moment onward, you are beneath the banner of the Shura.”
Then he said:
“A representative of the ruler will arrive before sunset.”
The people exchanged glances.
“A representative of the ruler?”
“Will Azrael come?”
But the general did not answer.
He merely added:
“And when he arrives...”
He paused.
“You will understand what it means to stand beneath the wing of the Supreme Entity.”
Then he fell silent.
Far away, the sun began to descend toward the horizon.
At the same time...
The armies of the Shura continued their advance throughout the world.
One kingdom after another.
One city after another.
One fortress after another.
Some resisted.
Some fled.
And some opened their gates.
But behind it all...
There was one name growing heavier with every passing hour.
Azrael Netherval.
He did not need to appear.
He did not need to raise a sword.
He did not even need to send a message.
It was enough for the banner of the Shura to move...
And the world knew that his will had arrived.
But while the armies advanced without pause, and while the world began to believe that no force could stop the Shura's advance...
Something happened that no one had anticipated.
At the farthest edge of one of the battlefronts...
The Shura army stopped.
For the first time since the beginning of the war.
It stopped.
It did not advance.
It did not retreat.
It simply stood before something unknown.
An urgent message reached one of the Shura commanders.
He read it.
Then his expression changed.
“Impossible...”
One of the soldiers approached him.
“What is it, General?”
The commander raised his eyes toward the horizon.
And in the distance...
Something stood alone before an entire army.
The commander said quietly:
“There is someone who...”
He stopped.
“...has stood in the Shura's path.”
Elsewhere, the information reached Azrael.
He slowly opened his eyes.
Then he smiled.
For the first time since the beginning of the war...
His smile was not cold.
It was the smile of someone who had finally found something worthy of his attention.
He said:
“Finally...”
Then he rose.
“Someone has appeared with the courage to tell me: No.”
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