Chapter 58: The Kingdom of Velrage

The Kingdom of Velrage

Dinner had been… pleasant.

A rare moment of peace, a break from the endless struggles of war, gods, and time itself. My mother's cooking, the warmth of my childhood home, the casual conversation with my father—it was all so normal. And perhaps, in another life, that would have been enough.

But I was not normal.

And normalcy did not last.

After finishing my meal and talking for a while longer, I retired to my room, settling into the bed I had not slept in for what felt like an eternity. The mattress was soft, the blankets familiar, carrying the faintest trace of the home I had left behind all those years ago. It was comforting. It was… nice.

I closed my eyes.

And in the next breath—

I was gone.

The Veil of Reverie.

A place beyond the physical. A plane of endless fog, where thoughts shaped reality, where the will of the strong dictated the very laws of existence.

As my soul projected into this realm, the mist around me swirled, stretching into vast, infinite shapes before curling back into obscurity. Floating before me, bathed in the ethereal glow of my subconscious, were two familiar presences—

Lance of Velrage and Crown of the Fallen.

They hovered weightlessly, the very air around them shimmering with the weight of their power.

And then—

A figure appeared.

No, not appeared.

He had always been there.

For the millionth time, I found myself staring at Lucius.

The ever-present.

The omniscient.

The insufferable.

Lucius Mavros.

I exhaled slowly, rubbing my temples. "Lucius, again…"

There was no escaping him. Not in life, not in death. Even if my soul were to be reduced to dust, scattered across the vast nothingness of existence—he would still be there, smirking, waiting.

And of course—he was enjoying this.

"Hahaha!" Lucius threw his arms wide, his grin stretching impossibly wide. "It's everyone's favorite god! Lucius! Mavros!!!!"

And then—

The music started.

A choir erupted from nowhere, voices harmonizing in perfect synchrony, singing praises of Lucius' name as if this were some grand stage performance.

"Oh, Lucius! Oh, Mavros! The omnipotent, the great! The charming, the fate!"

I immediately erased them from existence.

Gone.

Silence.

Lucius, of course, simply chuckled. His smirk never wavered, his crimson eyes dancing with amusement.

I crossed my arms. "Oh, Lucius… what now?"

He leaned forward slightly, his grin widening. "Oh, I just wanted to see how such a king is doing. But I already know, hehe."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course you do."

"Sir, shall I call you sir or king? Or liege? Or lord? Or archon?"

Crown's voice interrupted, cutting through the fog like a blade. Its tone was as composed as ever—calm, precise, unwavering.

I sighed. "You don't have to call me any of those titles. 'Sir' is more than enough."

"Understood, sir."

Crown was ever-loyal. A soldier without hesitation, a guardian without question.

But then—

"No!"

A loud, passionate cry rang through the Veil, a sharp contrast to Crown's monotone.

"I shall address you as Lord! Archon! King! Liege!"

I blinked.

Lance of Velrage…

Had a voice.

And not just any voice—a feminine one.

There was a sense of righteous pride in it, an overwhelming enthusiasm that I had not expected.

I raised an eyebrow. "*…Huh.**"

It seemed that being linked to Crown of the Fallen had changed Velrage.

I let out a soft chuckle, shaking my head. "So that's how it is. Being linked to one of the Seven Treasures gave you the ability to talk."

"More than talk!" Velrage declared proudly. "Being linked to Crown has given me the ability to think. To feel. To form my own opinions."

There was a brief pause, as if she were gathering her thoughts, before she continued, "Weapons without minds are mere tools. I am not a tool."

A smirk tugged at my lips.

I liked her.

Before I could respond, Crown spoke again, as if answering an unspoken question. "Indeed, sir. The Seven Treasures are the remains of an Elder God. Thus, they are conceptual weapons. Anything linked to one of the Seven Treasures is conceptually and fundamentally changed."

My gaze flickered to Velrage, then back to Crown. "Interesting."

And then—

Velrage moved.

She floated forward, her presence expanding, her energy shifting, shaping the very fog of the Veil itself.

And before me—

A kingdom began to take form.

Massive towers of obsidian and silver rose from the mist, their peaks disappearing into the endless sky. Grand halls stretched outward, adorned with intricate carvings, their golden banners fluttering despite the absence of wind. A sprawling city unfolded, its streets lined with marble, its courtyards filled with statues of forgotten gods. Bridges of pure light connected floating islands in the sky, waterfalls cascading down into infinity.

An entire empire—born from nothingness.

Velrage spun in the air, gleeful. "This! Shall be my kingdom!!"

I stared at the massive city before me, the sheer scale of it beyond comprehension.

Crown's voice, ever unimpressed, cut through the moment. "Overdramatic."

I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "Velrage… what's the need for this?"

"My liege!" she declared, her voice filled with righteous determination. "You are a king! And a king must have a kingdom!"

I exhaled slowly.

There was no reasoning with her.

So instead—

I humored her.

I glanced at the vast empire before me, the impossible beauty of it stretching as far as the eye could see.

"Hmm… then this kingdom shall be called… Velrage.*"

Velrage vibrated with excitement, her energy surging. "Yes!! Yes!!! Velrage!!"

Lucius, who had been watching all of this with amusement, chuckled softly. "A kingdom built in a dream… fitting."

I ignored him.

For now, in this moment—

This kingdom, my kingdom, Velrage—

Was real.

And it was mine.

The End.