Kingdom of Heildin, Heaven’s Castle, 936, November 6th, Tuesday, 9:00 AM.
Rays of light streamed through the throne room’s tall windows from the east, their morning shine only stopped by the swaying curtains painted azure, which were gently moved by the cold winds of the outdoors garden. What once was a green and colorful field of flowers, now remained buried under a mountain of white snow.
The room inside was long with an extraordinarily tall ceiling, exhibiting a line of bright golden chandeliers. Its gleaming marble floor had been carved with intricate patterns, and a long rug of azure and gold rolled from the entrance of the room towards the other end, where it was met by the bottom of the stairs leading up towards a large throne.
Above ground sat a man of extraordinary height and composition, resting silently in his sturdy and gigantic throne—handcrafted in stone, and illuminated by the light of the morning sun raining down on it from the ceiling.
“…” the man kept his head dropped and mouth half open, inhaling deeply through his nose while releasing the air from between his lips.
“You are not looking too bad.”
A confident voice echoed throughout the room, bouncing off its sturdy walls and into the giant’s ears. The familiar sound of the man’s voice struck him with a zapping sensation, electrifying his nerves with a cold that ran down his spine. King lifted his head in an instant as soon the words reached his ears, fixing his gaze on the open gate of the room with darting eyes, and spotting the lurking shadow that watched him from below.
“You are not welcome here, demon.” He growled with lowered brows as his round azure eyes narrowed.
The figure promptly stepped into view, revealing his silver hair paired with an arrogant grin, barely hidden under the locks of his lowered head. “I owned this world for ages before you were even born,” he stated. “Humanity even named them properly for me... so, who is the actual intruder here, daemon?” His smirk widened.
With his fighting words against the giant, Sovereign began to approach the throne with a casual stroll while keeping his left hand hidden inside the pocket in his pants. slammed both hands on his knees before pulling himself up, demonstrating not a hint of intimidation by the man’s bold approach. He proudly exposed his gargantuan height and muscular body, hidden under the royal garments of Heildin’s monarch.
“Father!” another voice suddenly echoed through the halls and into the throne room, followed by small and refined footsteps that grew louder with every hasty step. “I can’t believe she’s doing this!”
From within the large open gate of the room, a blonde girl of short hair stomped her way through the open gate. Her eyebrows were scrunched down and her lips pressed together, but the fierce expression of the girl only lasted for a second once she crossed the portal into her father’s room.
“Wh—” she recoiled back in her steps, and her hardened face quickly softened at the sight of the suited man—who turned around to face with a casual smile. “W… Why is he here!” she roared as her eyes moved towards the giant standing in front of his throne. “F-father?”
“Family reunion?” taunted Sovereign. “I see we are still missing one…”
“Return to your chambers, Euthemia.” King commanded the princess with a dismissive wave of his hand, finding no need to elevate his rough and heavy voice.
“Don’t,” Sovereign stopped the princess with his words she, making her flinch at his demand. “Don’t even think about leaving this place.”
“Euthemia, go.” King repeated himself, unsure as why his own daughter would falter at the man’s words—doubts he kept hidden under a hardened frown.
The princess’ body froze despite her mind screaming for her to move however, petrified at the conflicting orders she received from both parties. Euthemia gritted her teeth and scrunched her brows, but shuttered at the thought of Loki’s warnings about her spectral arm—a secret she’s kept from her own father at the suggestion of his own champion.
“He won’t hesitate in making things worst for you…” Loki’s voice echoed in her mind. “What you’ve done to people of this continent is nothing compared to what he will do to you. King will not hesitate in taking you to Paradise, and feed off of your… powers. Unless you want to beg for death, then I recommend you stay quiet about this.”
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Reminded of those words, Euthemia felt the lump in her throat tightened as she found it difficulty to swallow. She bit her lower lip while crinkling her nose, proceeding to take a sharp turn to face the exit, but taking no a single step forward towards the heavy open gate.
“I… I’m…”
Neither man uttered a word at the princess’ quivering words, filling the room with silence as they waited for the girl to finish her sentence. Noticing his daughter’s distress however, King was quick to break the silence with a slam of his fist in the throne’s armrest—lifting piles of stone with a burst as it shattered on impact with his fist.
“I’m giving you an order, Euthemia.” King kept his voice leveled, but the throbbing veins in his neck couldn’t hide the anger boiling within him.
Euthemia recoiled at the sound of her father’s fist crushing part of the throne, prompting her to look behind from over her shoulder, and spot the confident smirk of Sovereign simply observing the events unfold. The blonde princess took a single step forward before stopping herself with a flinch, proceeding to grasp the bottom of her white dress with both hands.
“Why is he still here!” She snapped with a sharp turn and a quick motion of her arm. “Kill him, father! Call the brute or the others!”
“You should probably do as he says,” Sovereign calmly spoke just as King’s lips began to part—taking both him and Euthemia by surprise. With a slightly tucked chin and a smirk that never left his expression, a huffed chuckle escaped him before giving his last words to the blonde girl. “I was just playing around… princess.”
The lump in Euthemia’s throat disentangled itself with those words, and her chest puffed out as she inhaled deeply through a long gasp—feeling her vision clear, and the cold sensation in her body slowly fade. Euthemia stormed out of the room like a gazelle fleeing in the wild, not glancing back even once as she rapidly walked away with tensed shoulders.
Her unexpected intrusion having been dealt with, and now left alone in the throne room with King once again. Sovereign turned back towards the giant to finally address his visit, huffing a quick chuckle at the jutting chin of the offended monarch of Heildin.
“You wanted to see me, right?” the silver-haired man spoke. “I remember reading that letter from her. About some… arranged marriage?” he continued. “I was not able to assist before, but… here I am now. Let’s talk, just the way you wanted to.”
“State your intentions, demon.” growled King. “I will not be intimidated by you.”
“You have no reason to hold so many people hostage inside this continent,” Sovereign replied. “I want you to send them all to Kaldstein, and that includes the residents of Pelkesk and any other country surrounding Heildin. I think you’ve done enough harm around here.”
King lifted his chin at the man’s request, wasting no time to take his seat on the throne after a hissing noise from his mouth. “And allow you to freely expand your territory? I know more about you than you realize.” he said while relaxing his posture. “I heard from Loki that you’ve been… tamed, by a woman. You care about them, and will not act as long as their lives are at risk.”
A corner in Sovereign’s lips curved up at the giant’s claim, baring one fang as his grin widened. “While I’m sure you trust him with your life, that’s a thing of the past for me.” He told King. “Enjoy calling this place home, daemon. Not even that strange fountain from Paradise can protect you from my will… You can already feel yourself slipping, don’t you?”
Silence followed as both men locked stares, offering no words to each other as they tried to impose their own will. The curtains gentle sway became agitated by the whistling breeze of a cold gust, which burst the windows open with a bang. Tiny fragments of snow made their way inside the throne room, blowing through with the haunting winds of the morning.
“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Sovereign broke the silence while maintain his snarky smile. “How exactly did you resist becoming a daemon for so long?” he asked the giant. “That fountain of yours… it brings the corpse of a knight back to life, but they become nothing but a soulless shell of themselves. You and Theo took the plunge, right?” he huffed a chuckle before proceeding. “Yet here you are, able to show emotion and speak… though it wasn’t like that for some time going by what Jacob told me. Whose soul do you carry with you… King?”
“My soul will only leave this body once it joins with the goddess in her new Paradise,” replied the giant with a calm expression—resting one hand on his knee, as the throne’s armrest remained shattered.
“Haah…” sighed Sovereign. “The only place for your soul is the hell I created for it, and the clock is ticking fast.” He warned the giant. “I thought you kept it hidden within her statue in Paradise… Now I see you keep it close at all times.”
A bright crimson light flashed from one of Sovereign’s eyes, vanishing just as fast as it appeared. The man turned his back to King with a quick twirl—his black shoes squeaking on the gleaming floor at the motion. He began to walk away towards the exit to the giant’s surprise, stopping himself at the stone frame of the gate to look behind from over his shoulder—offering one last smirk before speaking.
“I offered you a chance to save as many people as you could…” he said. “Perhaps that would’ve cleaned your name in the history books. Because regardless of the choice you make… nothing will stop me from drowning this place in crimson before the year ends.”
END OF CHAPTER