That night, the sky above the Empire of Raventhorn was swallowed by thick black smoke.

The air was filled with the screams of terrified citizens and the guttural roars of darkness-born creatures rampaging through the streets. Buildings crumbled, flames devoured everything in their path, and fear slithered into the hearts of all who still stood. At the center of the chaos, Aether stood at the front lines.

The pale moonlight cast a faint glow on his sharp features, his dark eyes gleaming with a cold, unreadable resolve. Blood trickled from a wound on his temple, staining the side of his face, yet he did not falter. His grip tightened around the hilt of his sword, an eerie aura of shadow pulsing from the blade. The Ryniaya monsters kneeled before him, as they always did. But this time, something was different. They had not come to obey. They had come to defy him. They had come to kill you.

The Empire had already made its decision. One life was not worth the survival of an entire nation. You were nothing but a disturbance, a curse upon the land. If you died, then the monsters would disappear. A desperate voice rang out behind him—one of the royal advisors, his tone dripping with both fear and urgency.

"Your Highness! Let the beasts take her! If she's die, this will all end!"

The nobles, who had always feared him, were now begging. The generals, who once stood beside him, now cast silent, pleading gazes.

"She's must die!"

But Aether did not move. His jaw tightened, his fingers curling around his weapon. And something inside him broke. He would not let you die. If embracing more darkness was the price to pay, then he would pay it. If the Empire had to crumble, then so be it.

Without hesitation, he raised his hand, allowing the abyssal energy of Ryniaya to seep deeper into his being. Black tendrils of corruption spread across his skin, his veins darkening, his body trembling under the sheer weight of it—and for the first time, he truly lost control. All for you.

"I will fight them for him" His said