🗺️ 15 Years Ago — The Escape
The night the Demon King rose and seized the throne, chaos swallowed the palace.
In that chaos, one child was spared.
Guards loyal to the dying royal family smuggled her out — cloaked, hidden in a merchant's cart, with only the sound of screaming behind her.
She never looked back.
But the screams never stopped echoing.
🔥 The Fire That Fueled Her
She wandered the continent. Starving. Alone. Lost.
But inside her — a fire had ignited.
Not fear.
Hatred.
"My kingdom has fallen.""My parents are enslaved.""My brother was taken.""And the one who did it… is a monster with my blood."
She remembered the black skies. The bone-chilling silence that fell over Verdantia when he sat the throne.
He was no brother to her.
He was the Demon King.
And she would slay him.
No matter what.
⚔️ The Climb
She found a kingdom — a vast empire in the North, one of the only powers that hadn't bowed to Verdantia's shadow.
She joined its military as a lowly foot soldier, lying about her name, her lineage.
She trained harder than any soldier. Took missions twice her rank.Broke bones. Bled. Fought.
Never complained.
The captains watched. Then the generals. Then the king.
And the king saw a storm in her eyes — a fury sharper than any sword.
He made her his personal knight.
Fifteen years passed.
She became the third-strongest in the empire.
She didn't live for glory.Not even for redemption.
She lived for one goal:
Kill the Demon King.
🏰 Present Day — The Gate
The sun was low as she walked the castle walls, discussing border reinforcements.
A commotion stirred near the gate.
Shouts. A crowd. A familiar voice—
"Let me through. I must speak to the Lady Seraphina. It's about Verdantia. It's about the Demon King!"
Her heart stilled.
That voice…No. It can't be.
She descended the stone stairs two at a time, cloak billowing.
And when she reached the courtyard—
There he was.
Her older brother.
His face was sun-worn. His armor cracked. Eyes haunted.
📜 The Truth Unveiled
He pulled her aside. Told her everything.
"He's gone.""Sealed himself. Not slain.""Ashura has taken Verdantia. Our people are dying.""And the Demon King…""He was never a demon at all."
He told her of the mark.The prophecy.The years of torture before his power awakened.How he ruled not to conquer, but to survive.How he left when there was nothing left to destroy.
How they had turned a savior into a demon.
And she—
She said nothing.
Her sword slipped from her hand.
Her legs gave out.
And she fell to her knees.
🕳 The Collapse
"I trained every day for fifteen years…"
"I bled… for vengeance."
"I made myself into a weapon…"
"To slay the only person who ever needed me."
Tears hit stone.
"I never visited him. Not once.""I thought I was saving the world.""But I was preparing to kill the one who was saving us."
The fire that had driven her for fifteen years — gone.
Ashes.
She didn't know what to be now.
A knight? A sister? A traitor?
All she knew was this:
"I wasn't there for him when he needed me."
"And I don't know if I deserve to see him again."