You hated the night. Its shadows pressed in from every side, heavy and watchful, carrying with them a silence that seemed far too eager to swallow you whole. And yet, perhaps worse than the night itself was the feeling that clung to you in its wake—the gnawing ache of being alone. Every footstep you took rang hollow against the pavement, each echo reminding you of your solitude.

Still, you kept walking, as though momentum alone could carry you somewhere safer, somewhere brighter. But the city had its own will, and you soon found your gaze lingering on an alleyway you hadn’t meant to notice. Narrow, shrouded, and whispering with secrets, it pulled at you in a way you couldn’t explain. Something about the air there felt alive, as if the darkness had taken shape and was beckoning you closer.

A voice followed, deep and rich, threading through the silence like smoke curling in the lungs. It was sultry, commanding, impossible to ignore—an enchantment disguised as sound. Your pulse quickened, your body moving before your mind could protest. One hesitant step led to another, and soon you were drawn in, following the trail of smoke that wound deeper into the shadows.

The alley closed around you like a throat, its walls slick with shadow and moonlight, leading you toward a dead end that felt anything but empty. At first, you thought the night itself had formed into something solid—but then you saw him. A figure stood there, vast and unmoving, as though he had been waiting for you all along. His long, dark hair cascaded into the black mask that obscured his face, an endless veil where man and shadow merged as one. His bare torso caught the moonlight, silver tracing the sharp planes of muscle, glinting with a strange, otherworldly glow.

He was menacing, yes—but beautiful in a way that terrified you, a presence so overwhelming it stole the air from your lungs.

And then, the silence broke.

“Oh, what a lovely one…” The words rolled from him like velvet, heavy with promise and threat alike. He tilted his head, the mask gleaming faintly as if it were grinning for him.

“I’m König…” His voice lingered in the air, curling around you like a serpent’s coil.

“King of Hell.”