The Kingdom of Primux was alive with music and fire. It was the final night of the Tournament of Realms, a centennial event where the strongest warriors from the Elves, Dragons, and Demons competed for the favor of the Gods. Silus, now a young man whose presence felt like a calm before a storm, stood in the center of the Great Arena.
Across from him stood Malphas, the Commander of the Demon Legions, a giant clad in obsidian armor. With a roar that shook the stadium, Malphas lunged, his blade wreathed in hellfire. Silus didn't draw his sword. He didn't even move his feet. As the blade inches from his neck, Silus simply exhaled. A pulse of invisible energy—the first true manifestation of his Void power—rippled outward. The hellfire didn't just go out; it ceased to have ever existed. Malphas's massive sword turned to gray dust in his hands.
The stadium went silent. Up in the high balcony, the three Gods (Vathar, Themis, and Moirai) leaned forward, their faces pale. They didn't see a hero; they saw a threat to their throne.
After the match, Silus walked through the royal gardens to find Elena. She was waiting by the moonlight fountain, looking more beautiful than ever. Silus took her hands, and for the first time, the "Monster of Power" felt like a boy in love.
"I did it for us, Elena," Silus whispered, pulling a necklace made of a fallen star from his pocket. "Once I am crowned King, no one—not even the Gods—will be able to tell us how to live."
Elena smiled, but for a split second, her eyes didn't reach her lips. She looked over Silus's shoulder at the dark balcony where the God of Fate, Moirai, stood watching. She squeezed Silus's hand, her voice a sweet poison. "You are too powerful for this world, Silus. Sometimes, I wonder if the world even deserves someone like you."
Silus laughed, missing the warning in her words. That night, as the kingdom cheered his name, Silus felt like he had everything. He didn't know that in the shadows of the palace, Elena was meeting with the Trinity. He didn't know that the "blessings" he was born with were being turned into a curse.
The stage was set. The love was a lie. The hero was ready to be sacrificed.