King of Sin

The rain intensified over City C, to the point that forecasts began hinting at a potential flood...

Some people walked calmly under their umbrellas, while a few merchants were busy covering their goods, struggling to protect them from the relentless downpour. Everyone was preoccupied with something… but in a forgotten corner of this gray scene…

Outside the academy's wall, by the stone stairs, there was a person… or rather, a boy no older than eighteen, lying motionless on the pavement. People passed by him, glanced for a moment, then quickly turned their eyes away and continued on.

No one approached. No one tried to help. They ignored him as if he were a discarded stone on the road, removable at any time.

And the rain grew harsher, as if the sky itself was mourning for him.

Words escaped his mouth...

"Ugh… my body hurts so much… that B-rank hero crushed me with his pressure so badly, I felt like I was carrying an elephant on my back..." he whispered to himself in a trembling voice.

But… "Who was that soldier? The one who suddenly appeared and unleashed a crushing pressure on them all?"

And more shocking... he said his name was… "Ragnar. Why would a being with such power call me Master?!"

It doesn't matter...

He slowly lifted his aching body, then turned with effort, directing his eyes toward the rainy sky. In his mind… appeared the smiling face of his sister, Amishia. "I hope you're safe… You and our family are all that matters to me."

Then he looked toward the tightly shut gate of the academy. A heavy sigh escaped his chest… "Hah… looks like I've been expelled… haha…"

His voice carried no sadness… but something else... a deadly coldness… and a strange calm.

"I'm not sad… In fact, my laughter has become more frozen."

He stood on his feet, steady despite the pain, and walked silently toward the nearby hill… that mountain which had witnessed the first whisper of darkness… where his journey began, and where something new would be born...

He finally reached the mountain peak.

The wind there was fiercer, as if trying to throw him down, and the rain fell like icy nails hitting his skin. But he didn't care. He sat on a rock he knew well, the one he used to train beside when he was weak, when he still believed he could change.

But today… was unlike any other.

He closed his eyes… and everything around him fell silent.

Suddenly...

"Only five years…"

His heart opened to a strange voice… a hoarse whisper, unlike any human sound.

He opened his eyes quickly and looked around… there was no one. But the voice returned.

"Only five years… until the meteor falls."

His breath quickened.

"Who… who's there?!" he shouted into the wind.

But the reply didn't come in clear words… rather in a throb beneath the ground, as if the mountain itself was breathing under him.

"When it falls… the seal will break… and when the gate opens… the first Dark King will be born in the realms…"

A chill crawled down his spine. He placed a hand over his chest, where his heart pounded with unnatural force.

"Who are you talking about? Who is the Dark King?!"

Then came the reply, softer than ever, closer to his ear than any voice he had ever heard:

"You..."

His body recoiled for a moment, then silence reigned once again.

He didn't know if he was dreaming… or if the mountain had finally chosen to whisper secrets hidden from mankind.

But one thing was certain: he was not alone on this mountain. And the world he knew… would never be the same a few years from now.

Then he heard other whispers… deeper this time… as if rising from beneath layers of stone, from the very heart of the earth.

"My lord… you must awaken…"

"We've grown tired of the rule of the twelve kings…"

His body trembled… those were not mere words, but feelings piercing his soul like needles.

"What?… Who… who is 'my lord'? And who are these kings you speak of?!" he asked in a trembling voice, as though his heart was trying to understand before his lips did.

But the reply was not direct.

Instead, a third voice came—more majestic… neither a whisper nor a shout… as if born from the very depth of darkness:

"Darkness has slumbered in the skies of the realms, and light has blinded their eyes as well. Twelve kings built their thrones above the laws of creation, but… the blood of sin runs through your veins… You are not like them…"

The rain stopped for a moment...

The silence became heavier than any noise.

"You… are the King of the Greatest Sin… the seal will not hold much longer… and when the meteor falls… the time to return shall come."

He wanted to scream… to deny…

But he couldn't.

He felt something stir inside him… a black, ancient energy twisting slowly, as if preparing to awaken.

"I…? I'm just a boy expelled from the academy… what do I have to do with any of this?!"

But the rocks around him suddenly shifted, forming a strange pattern that glowed with a dark crimson light. A circular sigil appeared before him—an ancient mark bearing distorted faces of kings, crossed by a single line.

"You will remember everything… when the first shard of the meteor falls. But until then… watch… learn… and trust no one."

The rain fell again, but something had changed…

His soul began to awaken. And within… a strange thought crossed his mind as he asked:

"Does that mean… there are other worlds?"

The mountain's silence was heavier than any words he'd ever spoken.

Suddenly, a deep voice echoed from the shadows behind him:

"Yes… and there is much more than that."

He slowly turned, only to find Ragnar, the dark soldier, standing silently as if he were part of the storm itself. He held a sword radiating with incredibly dark energy…

"My lord, perhaps… it's time to refresh your memory."

Ragnar took a few steps toward Kurogami, then reached out and touched his forehead with an unbelievable coldness.

In an instant, all the scenes around him faded…

He found himself standing in an endless void of darkness.

And slowly, visions began to appear before him.

He saw himself… but not the tired boy.

He wore a grand black cloak, surrounded by a powerful dark aura that swayed like an eternal flame.

That aura stirred the wind around him, shattered rocks, and banished light from the surrounding space.

Before him stood Ragnar, but this time he was not merely an ordinary soldier.

Ragnar was kneeling in absolute stillness, silence enveloping him as if time itself had halted in his presence.

He did not move. He did not speak. Only his knee touched the ground and his eyes were locked on his master.

He looked at his hand, where the power of darkness surged like an unstoppable current.

"This is you… in a time long past."

Ragnar whispered into his ear softly:

"You were not just a boy who got expelled. You were the Lord of Darkness, the Destroyer of Worlds, commander of merciless dark legions."

His heartbeat raced, and the visions flowed rapidly…

Cities falling beneath his feet, mighty heroes bowing before his power, entire worlds swallowed in the darkness he controlled…

The darkness grew until it overwhelmed everything, and he lost control—covering the entire world in its grasp…

The vision ended suddenly. The rain returned. The mountain returned. But he was no longer the same tired boy.

Kurogami remained confused, still sitting on that stone…

Ragnar whispered powerfully in his ear:

"You were the Destroyer of Sinful Worlds… the Dark King Arkan..."

He smiled bitterly and whispered:

"But… isn't my name Kurogami…?"

Ragnar laughed with cold sarcasm:

"Hahaha… Kurogami? Just another fleeting name across worlds. They called you many things… but the title was always the same: Dark King."

"My lord, I advise you to leave this place immediately! You're about to face members of the Hero Organization whose powers exceed even SS-rank..."

"Hah…" Kurogami sighed and stared at Ragnar calmly, then continued...

"The Hero Organization… powers beyond SS-rank?" he muttered in a low voice...

He lifted his head, took a deep breath of the cold, damp air, then spoke in a solemn, calm voice:

"Ragnar, tell me... what do I truly want? What will happen if I don't fully awaken?"

Ragnar looked at him steadily, replying in a low but clear voice:

"My lord, if you do not awaken, the worlds will fall as they have before beneath your feet... but this time, you will not be alone. There are those waiting for the chance to uproot the darkness you carry—not for justice, but to impose their own will. As for you, you have only one chance... to control your powers, or be destroyed."

Koragami sat quietly, reflecting on those heavy words. Then he closed his eyes and began diving deep into his soul, retrieving memories, a power he had been unaware of, and a destiny written long ago.

The rain kept falling relentlessly, as if sharing with the earth a silent weeping for what was to come.

Suddenly, lightning exploded in the sky, illuminating the mountain with pure white light, as if announcing the beginning of a new era.

"No... I will not run," he said those words with chilling coldness.

Koragami continued staring at Ragnar, his eyes shining with mystery and coldness.

Ragnar spoke in a low, sorrowful tone:

"My lord... I cannot save you. Not because I lack strength... but because the power you need... is not in my hands."

"My power has not yet returned."

Ragnar stepped closer and placed his hand on Koragami's chest, where his heart beat.

Suddenly, Koragami felt something strange seep inside him, as if a spirit or mysterious force merged with his being, filling him with an indescribable dark energy.

Ragnar gradually faded before his eyes, until he completely disappeared inside his body.

But Koragami remained sitting there, on the rain-soaked rock, motionless, silent.

The rain continued pouring heavily, the wind howling around him, yet he did not move.

He was like someone drowning in himself, trapped between past and present, between darkness and light.