The King's Choice

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Kori knelt beside Raiden's unmoving body as he stood up, only stared at he, now talking, no response, a hollow soul, her hands gripping his shoulders as if her touch alone could pull him back from the abyss. Her voice trembled, thick with desperation, her emerald eyes brimming with tears that refused to fall.

"Raiden, I know you can hear me! I don't know what's happening, but you need to wake up! Baby, we won! We defeated them all! Please, don't fight anymore—just come back to me!"

Her words cracked, raw and pleading, but the man before her did not move. His body was rigid, his eyes open yet vacant, lost somewhere beyond her reach.

A gust of dark energy rippled through the air as Raven descended beside her, her violet cloak billowing like the shadow of her growing dread. She stared at Raiden, searching for something—anything—that proved he was still in there.

"Raiden, please," Raven murmured, her voice steadier than Kori's but no less urgent. "Come back to us. You can do it. That thing—that wasn't you just now. Fight it. Whatever it is, fight and come back to us. Come back to Zephyr."

But Raiden remained unresponsive, his body locked in a prison neither of them could reach.

.....

A slow, cruel chuckle slithered through the void, wrapping around Raiden like chains forged from the depths of oblivion.

"Oh, isn't this lovely?"

The voice oozed malice, rich with mockery and something far worse—certainty. A certainty that the battle was already lost.

"Listen to them… they're begging for you. They're pleading for you to fight, to resist… but they can't see it, can they? This pathetic version of you."

Darkness gestured with a clawed, shifting hand toward the still form of Raiden, the hollow man whose mouth hung open, whose body would not obey.

"Look at you. Eyes wide, mouth agape, unable to move, unable to speak. You are not a warrior. You are not a king. You are a husk. A shell. A whisper of something that once had meaning. If you ask me, the darkness suits you far better."

The void shifted, and before Raiden stood his own reflection—but not himself. No, this was something else.

Dark Raiden.

His doppelgänger stood tall, expression cold and unyielding, power radiating from his form like an endless storm. There was no hesitation in his stance, no doubt clouding his mind.

Darkness grinned, his jagged teeth like fractures in reality itself.

"Look at him. Perfect."

The air trembled as the voice of Darkness grew deeper, each syllable resonating through the shattered remains of Raiden's will.

"How strong he is. How ruthless he is. He will always make the right choice. A mere hint of evil? Destroy. Disobedience? Destroy. Imperfection? DESTROY. He is the ultimate king, the rightful ruler of your throne."

Darkness leaned in closer, its voice no longer mocking, but cold and absolute.

"Maybe they can't see it... but you do, don't you? You see it. He is better than you. A perfected version. A god where you are a broken man."

Raiden felt his breath hitch, his hands trembling at his sides.

Why?

Why was he doubting himself now?

He had always believed in himself, in his strength, in his right to rule his own fate. So why now? Why did those words burrow into his mind like venom?

His own voice, hollow and distant, rose in his mind.

'What am I thinking? This was all too good to be true. Me? I was a nobody. In my old life, I was nothing. And then, suddenly… I gained power? What kind of bullshit is that?'

The thoughts struck him like hammer blows.

'Two girlfriends? Me, a king? A leader? This was never real… it was all an act. A lie. A dream I let myself believe in.'

His fists clenched, but there was no strength in them. Only resignation.

'I am… worthless… Yes.'

Something cracked.

Raiden's soul, already wavering, began to wither. The fight drained from his spirit, unraveling like threads in a frayed tapestry.

He had won the battle. But the world had lost.

He was a nobody.

And maybe… he always had been.

...

The twisted reflection of Raiden, the so-called King of Gaia, finally moved. Dark energy crackled around him as he floated above them all, his gaze filled with disdain. He looked down upon the world as if it were beneath him, as if everything that had led to this moment had been inevitable.

"None of you are worthy," he declared, his voice resonating like a death knell. "This kingdom I have built shall remain eternal—a world cast in shadow, free from the corruption of light. A new age shall begin." His lips curled into a cruel smile. "Yes… I shall name it the Eternal Age of Darkness. A fitting title for the world's rebirth."

A golden gate, vast and divine, materialized behind him, its radiance an eerie contrast to the abyss he sought to create. From its depths, a weapon emerged—the blade that rends creation itself.

Ea.

Dark Raiden's fingers curled around its hilt, the weight of absolute destruction resting in his grip. Power surged, distorting the air itself, as he raised the weapon skyward.

"This world is tainted. Stained by light's influence. I will erase it and rebuild it in my own image." His grip tightened. "But first—let us bring this false reality to an end."

The very sky trembled. The world seemed to hold its breath.

And then—

"Ea! Tremble and despair!

I shall speak of the end.

Heaven and Earth fracture.

Creation wails in agony… as my sword sunders all.

Crematorium of the stars… Heaven's demise is the requiem of existence!

Enuma Elish!"

A storm of annihilation erupted, spiraling toward the Earth, the very fabric of reality threatening to unravel.

Yet—something was wrong.

Not in the world.

In him.

A tremor. A fracture. A presence that should not be.

A voice that should not exist.

And then—

A single thought.

A whisper.

'All of it? For nothing? What bullshit is that? I am a nobody? Hell NO!'

The voice roared, defying the abyss.

'I AM RAIDEN KAGAWA! THE KING OF GAIA! AND HERE, I SHALL SHOW YOU DARKNESS!'

The vision wavered.

For the first time, his grip on Ea faltered. The golden glow of his eyes flickered—like a flame struggling against the wind.

His mind—his very existence—was rebelling against itself.

What is this thing that stands in his place?

What is this corruption that dares to claim his name?

His breath hitched, and in that moment—he understood.

"This… is not me," he growled. "There is no other me. There is no Alter Me. There is only one Raiden Kagawa."

Memories surged, breaking through the darkness like a tidal wave.

His quest for vengeance against Ivo. His time lost among the stars. The battlefields of Tamaran. His training on Odym, where the Blue Lanterns taught him peace. His first declaration as the Force of Earth. His war against Trigon across dimensions. The day he conquered death. The clash against the Empty Hand's dark army. The battle against the Outer God.

Every struggle. Every sacrifice.

And then—the faces of those who gave him a reason to fight.

Raven. Kori. Dick. Wally. Cassie. Kari. Scáthach. Merlin. Kara. The people he loved. The ones who stood by him. The Earth that chose him as its protector.

Gaia.

And above all—

The most precious name of all.

Zephyr.

The son he created with love. The child he swore to protect. The future he and his wife had fought for.

A future that will not be taken from him.

His grip on Ea tightened.

Enough.

With sheer force of will, he moved—his arm trembling, resisting the darkness that sought to consume him.

The sword that had been poised to strike the Earth—he turned it.

Toward himself.

The spiraling abyss of Enuma Elish, the force meant to unmake existence, was now redirected inward.

Alter Raiden—no, the Real Raiden—smirked. A broken, defiant smile as he said

"You—who do not exist—shall die here."

The void consumed him.

His body unraveled, torn apart by the very power he wielded. Black armor shattered, dissolving into dust. The twisted corruption, the falsehood of his existence—it all came undone, piece by piece.

Yet, in that final moment—there was no fear.

No regret.

For the first time in an eternity—

He was free.

As the last remnants of Raiden Alter faded into nothingness, his final whisper echoed through the abyss.

"I've lived a damn good life… Thank you, everyone."

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If you Like this story! Check out my other story! One Piece: Elden Lord!

and

If you wish to read more or simply support me just because ? than check out my patréon at

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Don't forget to change "é" to "e"