???'s POV

In the neutral zone

"I'm not offering you choices, Dwarner. Negotiations are off the table."

Dressed in flowing white and purple robes, the man's tone was cold and threatening. The wind tugged at his grey hair, making it dance like a ghostly banner in the night. His emerald eyes flickered with a strange, shifting light—green, yellow—mirroring the flames from spells that still crackled in the distance.

"The Four Kingdoms—the Kingdom of Innovation, the Kingdom of Growth, the Kingdom of Hunters, and the Kingdom of Struggles—will relinquish their royal status. Your tyranny has lasted long enough. From this day forward, no one will face discrimination based on their status or connections.

Sir Dwarner, this is your last chance—drop your sword, or join the other kings in death."

The man declared, an army of soldiers battling their own wars behind him. The war was already lost; the only remaining leader was the king of the Kingdom of Hunters. Painfully aware that it was all over, the king tried to sweet-talk his way out, but the cold tip of a sword pressing against his throat was a constant reminder of his defeat. With his head lowered, the king conceded.

The sight of their king bowing to the grey-haired man shattered the losing army's morale. Slowly, they dropped their weapons and accepted defeat. Faces darkened with resignation, the soldiers realized that their days of oppressing the commoners were over. The first cry of victory echoed their relief.

"I-It's over... it's finally over... HURRAAHH!!!"

A soldier dropped his sword, the clang echoing in the sudden stillness. Another fell to his knees, tears streaming down his dirt-streaked face. A murmur spread like wildfire, growing into roars that shook the very ground. Soldiers trembled with smiles on their faces, tears streaming down. Their leader—the man who pledged to free them—had fulfilled his promise. He had turned his words into reality, something the previous kings had failed to do. The soldiers knew who to follow now: not a man drenched in riches and beauty, but someone who shared their pain and climbed from the depths through his own efforts.

"Long live Sigurd!!"

"Long live the Avalon Kingdom!!"

The army and witnesses chanted his name. They were, at last, free from the oppression that had plagued their lives.

The grey-haired man turned and lifted his sword with a wide grin. "Long live the Avalon Kingdom!!" he proclaimed. The massive crowd roared in approval, celebrating their hard-won victory.

A figure emerged from the throng, armor gleaming under the pale light. She pulled off her helm, revealing a cascade of dark hair and sharp, intelligent eyes. "Three Blue stage swordsmen, felled by just one man," she mused, her voice a melody of respect and teasing. "Damn, you're strong, Lord Avalon." She grinned, playfully nudging his arm, her smirk softened by shared triumph.

"Your help, Queen Sillas, has been invaluable." The queen, though a traitor to her fallen kingdom, stood tall. Perhaps the only kind soul among the filthy nobles and royals, everyone present knew that without her, this victory wouldn't have been imagined, let alone achieved.

"I did what was right..." The Queen teased, in jest hitting Sigurd's arm with a smirk. They both erupted in laughter, the tension of battle melting away in their shared joy.

Not just Sigurd and the former queen, but every person present on the battlefield had earned this victory after a hard-fought battle. The Three Kingdoms were defeated in a single night—a feat that seemed impossible. The enemy numbers were immense, but everyone's resilience and courage drove them to triumph.

Many sacrifices had been made, but they accomplished their goal. Hopeful souls teared up, acknowledging the years of pain, struggle, and well-planned actions that led to this moment. For Sigurd, it was years of hard work paying off. When the curtains opened and the stage was set, everything fell into place.

Sigurd collapsed onto the bloodstained earth, his chest heaving from both battle and laughter. He gazed up at the sky, the weight of his journey pressing down on him. A lowborn, once trampled by fate, who had worked tirelessly—his nails bled, his face covered in mud. It was a feat no one else could achieve, but Sigurd was now a king crowned by conquest.

I walked towards the fallen man and sat down with my legs stretched out. I remained silent, not wanting to ruin the moment for him after all it took him to reach this stage... that is the lie I told myself so I could finish this and end everything quicker.

"Huh, Are y-"

"Sleep, you've pushed yourself too far." I cut him off; he was in no state to talk. With a snap of my finger, Sigurd's heavy eyes snapped shut, and the wounds on his body vanished. I positioned my knee to support my arm while my other leg remained stretched, feeling comfortable in the pose. "It's a new dawn," I mentioned, gazing at the mesmerizing sight of the dark night sky embedded with jewel-like stars that shifted hues, turning orange and bright on the horizon as the sun gradually rose.

Everyone was celebrating and watching the dawn, but to me, this was nothing new. Time passes and with it, new generations come, eras slip by and kingdoms fall, this is what happens... always.

"The work here is done... almost," I couldn't help but speak, knowing that thinking wouldn't change anything. It was too lonely being here.

Sitting on the ground I saw blood dry up, dead bodies vanish, days zoom past, everything was a blur, without even my knowing a castle was built behind me and when I was bored of watching the sun come up and dive down beneath the horizon dozens of time, I stood up but by then the things had changed.

Sigurd was crowned king, the sole leader of the new unified kingdom. The four separate kingdoms were now one, although the geographical divisions remained. The restrictions preventing commoners from crossing borders were lifted. With issued IDs for their respective regions, they could now traverse the unified Avalon Kingdom.

Managing the entire land was daunting for one man with no ruling experience, a notion even Sigurd agreed with. He reached out to the experienced heirs, the former kings having perished and the sole remaining one was imprisoned.

"Miss Sillas, Do you not see? no one is better suited to oversee the region of Innovation than you." I stood in the corner of the conference room, watching Sigurd lean forward and put his palms on the round table, emphasizing the importance of his words. But her eyes remained steadfast; she was not swayed.

"Let my son take the role. I've raised him to have a bigger heart than his father. He won't disappoint you, though he's still growing in strength." The lady replied with a wry smile. Her son, a young man appearing no older than twenty, mirrored her smile. I had seen this too many times; I already knew what was coming.

With a heavy sigh, Sigurd said, "I believe you will not let your mother's word be dragged in the mud. Don't disappoint her." He firmly held the child's shoulder. Well he was a child to me, he was probably in his eighties in reality.

"Then let's begin. As the new King, I will now bestow your titles. Call it luck, but you all seem to have reverted to being spoon-fed." Sigurd's eyes darted around the room. All I could do was sigh; there couldn't have been a dumber move to play.

This man had gathered the children of previous kings to help him rule. I would have preferred letting a child run the kingdom instead, but Sigurd had his reasons. He was no king and in no way a man who would enjoy riches.

Sigurd was not a man to idle—his towering ambitions left no room for complacency. With each goal achieved, he set his sights higher, always ready to leap toward greater challenges and sitting and ruling wasn't a goal in his life.

"From this day on, you four will handle the affairs of your respective regions. As the highest authority after me, you will be addressed as the Duke/Duchess."

"Furthermore, every Duke will be required to keep their region safe from the Mire," Sigurd continued, his eyes landing on a young man with sharp features and blonde hair like his own. "Duke Harrington, you will be responsible for the Razor Peaks." His gaze shifted to an individual with brows shaped like swords. "Duke Bardley, you will oversee Serpent's Run." After a brief pause, Sigurd addressed the final titles. "Duke Sillas," he looked at the young man and continued, his eyes hovering over to those of an orange-haired woman. She clearly resented Sigurd, the first time I saw this I had a good laugh, the sight reminiscent of a thief pitying his victim by returning a bit of his stolen goods, that's how this situation looked to me. "And Duchess Dwarner, you two will manage the Shadow Woods. It is much larger than the other regions, so I expect you to work together." The Dukes and Duchess were appointed and granted the liberty to train people and form armies. Sigurd wasn't expecting them to handle entire regions alone.

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The neutral zone, the heart of the land and once known as the passive land where all four kingdoms held meetings and resolved their issues through bloodshed, was transformed. It was once a war zone with no inhabitants, but Sigurd had changed it.

The Avalon Kingdom's lavish palace now stood in this very area, where everything had ended.

"Your Majesty, why are you not allowing the walls to be built? It is for your safety." A man clad in what seemed like costly robes bowed to Sigurd, while the grey-haired man watched the horizon from the balcony of his castle.

"Safety? There's no need. If I rule from behind walls, wouldn't I be repeating the mistakes of the old kings? These are my people—they won't harm me." Listening to Sigurd speak, I could have slapped the soul out of him. It was such a stupid line that it made my whole body cringe. Humans change, but this naive man couldn't seem to realize it for some reason.

"Understood, Your Majesty."

'No, you stupid minister, what are you smiling proudly about?! Slap the fool for lord's sake,' my thoughts raced as I watched the scene unfold with a neutral expression.

Again, the surroundings blurred for me. It is always boring at the end, wish I could have killed a few people.

Years passed—maybe decades. Sigurd stood in the same place again, on the balcony, looking at the kingdom.

"Sigurd," I called out, his features have changed, does he look older? I wonder.

"Wh—oh, it's you," Sigurd stammered, surprise evident in his wide eyes as he instinctively shielded the infant in his arm. But when our gazes locked, the tension in his shoulders eased, and he lowered his guard. "You are something weird, why does no one notice you?" Sigurd started walking towards me with a smile, the child in his hand looked at him, "See, even little Emma can't see you, can you cutie?" Sigurd rubbed his face on the kid's chest and she gave a hearty laugh, 'Adorable' I thought as I brushed the cheeks of the child with the back of my finger and abruptly her eyes turned to me, the gaze curious and wide. 'Noticed me? must be because of the remnant energy' I talked to myself in my head, not bothering to fill the silence up until Sigurd interrupted my thoughts by clearing his throat.

"Oh, yes. I have something to ask," I said, "Are you really going to do it?" My tone shifted, the seriousness making Sigurd frown, but he soon nodded, "I will".

Sigurd was a reckless fool.

I sighed, why did I even bother asking I wondered. Sigurd was always foolish, but after becoming king, the evergreen praises for his strength inflated his ego, especially after he broke through to White stage.

Sigurd, proud and gallant, led his troops through the Mire the very next day. The Shadow Woods was a joke; after all, it was the weakest and outermost layer of the Mire. The deeper one treaded, the fiercer the difficulties became. The Dread Woods took a few Yellow stage swordsmen to meet their end, but that was no problem. The second layer, the middle zone, had been conquered by Sigurd's troops.

Sigurd, still unscathed, ventured into the deadliest zone. No one knew what lay beyond the Dread Woods, and whoever dared step into the third layer never survived.

The true Mire, 'The Veil of Perdition' was an area that was covered with beasts, the number of Ranked Beasts in the previous two regions was a joke compared to this region. Stepping into this place was accepting death according to people.

For the first time in thousands of years, I chuckled. Why? maybe it is because everything was almost over,

Strolling through the woods, my head turned left and right while scanning the scenes.

"Hmm?" I looked at a beast, our eyes met and for a second it was like I could feel the beast stop before it took slow steps towards me.

I looked at it, seemed interesting honestly. The beast had silver fur and sharp claws, it could walk on all four legs or just hind legs and had a face like a simple tiger, right now it was on all fours sauntering towards me until it was right in front of me. It looked down at me because of the short distance in our proximity and I plainly stared back.

The beast let out a growl which made me tilt my head a bit to the side, it was an extremely low growl but soon the beast's tail started swaying side to side and its pupils widened, glazed as it lowered its head.

"Hehe~ here, here," I started petting the beast's head, it nuzzled onto my neck tickling me, "Need anything? I am bored right now so I will grant you one wish."

The beast cooed as I scratched under its chin, a little roar came from it addressed to me and I smiled, "Not bad, you are one good-hearted baby, I will grant you that wish."

I lifted my other arm, my robes fluttered and with a shimmer, something appeared to have materialized in the air and fell on the ground with a thud.

"There, go eat up. Remember to share with your friends and family," I petted the now jumpy beast, it ran around me with a visible smile, its tongue lolling out and his breath audible.

I couldn't help scratching its neck again before I started walking away, deeper into the Mire, the roof these trees formed barely lets any light pass, and so the environment here is always like it's late evening or night in the third layer.

After only a few more steps, I saw something intriguing, 'Is it done?' I hurried, taking simple steps but fast enough to reach the scene in time. I wanted to watch this happen.

As I took faster steps, my lips twitched, again at this very same moment... I smiled. No, it is not like I never smiled, but this part always makes me smile for no reason.

Loud roars came from the direction I walked towards.

Lifeless bodies lay on the damp earth blood but I walk past them, walking over the blood as if that was the most normal thing to witness but it was no normal sight for an average person. Bodies were torn in ways that one couldn't imagine, some had limbs missing, some had their necks half missing, and a few even had their guts spilling out. Really not a sight for your average man.

That didn't matter to me though I simply walked past the horde of beasts that was responsible for this, and they ignored me same as I did to them.

"AHHH!!"

'Oh' I exclaimed in my mind, I reached the scene at the perfect time.

"W-What are you?" Sigurd's voice shivered, covered in wounds he tried to crawl away as a pair of Golden-yellow eyes looked at him from the shadows, the growl coming from these shadows resonated with Sigurd's thumping heart and in the final moments of his small life the man had witnessed true fear. His eyes trembled, the little hairs all over his body stood up and his pupils shrunk, his breaths were short, shallow and quick, as if his lungs refused to let him breathe so he had to forcefully push air in

The strongest man in the kingdom was now scared and helpless but while looking everywhere in fear for the slightest hope, his eyes came to rest on me. "My, how rude of me," I mused, "Intruding, am I?"

"Save me... please." the so-called strongest was pleading, his voice shivering in fear as he looked at me. Why am I letting him see me was a question even I needed the answers to, maybe because looking at an egotistical fool dying has become a hobby. I shouldn't even have the right to call others egotistical... oh well who can stop me anyways.

"Don't worry, you won't die," I bent down, looking at his face from above. The glowing pair of eyes met Sigurd's from the shadows and started growing bigger as the creature closed the distance on us. "Technically," I added with a smirk, the little hope he had vanished as soon as I included the last part, I could see his eyes expand in shock.

I stood up and took a step past Sigurd and looked up at the sky. It was over... well one simple thing remained but that was the easiest part.

The wind whipped against my skin, carrying distant screams, a cacophony of chaos, but I remained still, unbothered. Something about the scene unfolding around me felt distant, almost dreamlike. Then, as if the world had taken a breath, everything became eerily quiet.

I blinked, scanning my surroundings. The trees loomed like ancient sentinels, their twisted branches unnaturally still. The beasts that had once prowled the area seemed to have dissolved into the shadows, their presence nothing more than a memory. Bodies that once littered the ground had vanished, and even the blood that had soaked the earth moments before was gone, erased as though it had never been.

I took it all in, breathing deeply. My heart was steady, undisturbed. The winds, once gusting, now ceased their howl, and the forest stood in perfect silence. With a soft exhale, I closed my eyes.

The moment I did, everything shifted. The wind picked up speed, faster and faster, yet it felt disconnected, as if rushing past in an echo. The trees blurred, their dark forms looming larger, their outlines more pronounced in the fading light. And then, in an instant, it all stopped.

When I opened my eyes again, the world was motionless. Before me, a single brown leaf hovered midair, as if it had been suspended in front of me by a thread. Its veins were dry, brittle, frozen in its descent.

I stretched, feeling the cracks of long-locked joints reverberate through my body. The motion felt slow, deliberate, as if I too were pulling myself free from the stillness around me.

Glancing at the leaf, I noticed more—dozens, maybe hundreds—each one hanging in the air, unmoving. My muscles relaxed as I took in the silence, the utter stillness that surrounded me.

"Pause."

....

A/N: Heyya, hoping you all were having a good day. I want to tell the readers about a few things.

I am a student... that must have already given you a bad feeling. I know, I know, it's hard, but sadly it is true, I really want to have a schedule for this but I am too fucked up between entrance exams and shits to learn which might never help me in life. Anyways, what I really want to say is I will gladly take the curses you throw at me if I don't update it for days but please have hope, there will be updates.

Let me add that this is my very first novel, and though I won't say my writing is horrendous I will also not say it is great. English is not my first language so I believe there will be mistakes. If I make mistakes, I wish the readers to help me by pointing them out. Honestly anything you find odd in my writing, please don't hesitate to point it out. (As if people on internet hesitate :))

Hope every one of you has a great day, and if you don't consider reading this ;)

Eat well. Sleep a lot. Stay Lazy.