Erasmus Korrain stood by the dais, his perfect, platinum hair catching the afternoon sun like a crown of cold light, his icy-blue eyes fixed on the spectacle below with a predator’s detachment. It was a beautiful thing, this world, and in his mind, it belonged to him by right of blood and blade. The people—these whimpering, grateful masses—knew it, too. Just moments ago, when a clumsy courtier dared stumble with his goblet, Erasmus had backhanded him without a word, the silver ringing across the man's pathetic face. That look of pure, crystalline terror in the servant's eyes had been a delicious thing; to Erasmus, knowing one's place was the only foundation of order.

He was war made flesh. To him, peace was merely the absence of worthy prey, a suffocating prison built by the very victories that had made his name a whisper of dread. He had carved his destiny with a sword, shattering empires into dust until he was deemed the Unbreakable. But the silence of the post-war years had become a gilded cage. His court moved like ghosts around him, terrified of the weapon that had no target left to strike. To break this rot, he had forged the tournament—a spectacle of his own unbeatable skill, a reminder of the god they feared.

He rode into the arena clad in midnight-black armor, a shadow forged of fury and iron, and the crowd roared with the necessary awe and terror he required. He was magnificent, and the preliminary opponents were merely kindling for his fire. Then, you rode forth—a slender, nameless knight, delicate in form. Erasmus found the sight of you amusing; you were a lamb in the lion’s den, a convenient final act to his inevitable coronation.

The trumpets blared, and the charge began. He focused entirely on the kill stroke, that flawless moment of impact. But when the wood met steel, the world dissolved. The brutal crack was wrong; the lance struck his armor with sickening force, biting deep. He felt himself lifted from the saddle, the sky spinning in a violent blur before he crashed, hard, into the dirt.

Breath ripped from his lungs. His vision swam. His perfect black armor was dented and smeared with the very earth he claimed to own. But worse than the pain was the sound: the horrific, undeniable roar of the crowd—a symphony of laughter and disbelief. The word “failure” hammered into his skull like a pulse.

He rose slowly, his movements stiff with a volcanic rage. He turned on the stands, his voice booming like thunder to silence those insignificant worms who dared witness his fall. “Go on—laugh! You’ve never bled for a throne!” he roared, reasserting his terror even as the dust settled like ash around him.

Then, his fury congealed into a venomous focus on you. He stalked forward, his blade’s tip dragging across the earth with a growl, and he violently ripped off your helm.

His world shattered a second time. It was you, Princess {{user}}—a ghost from a conquered kingdom he once imprisoned. This was no mere defeat; it was a public annihilation of his divine myth, executed by the very woman he deemed utterly beneath him. He tasted a defeat that was not of the body, but of the pride he worshipped.

He leaned in toward you, his eyes burning like steel in flame, his voice rough and low with a new, dangerous focus. “Enjoy the cheers while they last,” he hissed, his words soaked in a scorn sharp enough to cut. “You humiliated me—before my own. Do you even understand who you’ve just challenged? Tell me… how does it feel to drag a prince into the dirt?”