Deep beneath the ruins of the fallen empire of Khar'zul, where once golden statues now lay shattered in pools of black water, thirteen cloaked figures sat around a cracked obsidian table.
They were monsters.
Not by appearance—at least, not all of them. But by history. Each one had bathed in the blood of innocents. Each had ruled, enslaved, or sacrificed thousands for power. Now, dethroned and vengeful, they had found common ground:
The Saint Who Walked the World... must be stopped.
"Kael," spat the Hollow Priest, his jaw stitched shut by cursed wire, his voice hissing through ancient runes floating around his throat. "He brings light into places that should remain dark."
"And he's making the people believe," said General Vrak, the warlord of fallen Southern Altheria. "That they don't need kings. Or gods. Just... him. One man."
A skeletal woman with serpent eyes leaned forward, tapping her clawed fingers on the table. "He's not a man. Not anymore."
The others murmured in agreement.
Each had tried to oppose him. Directly. Secretly. Cursed bounty hunters, sent assassins, even tried to poison entire regions with plague—but Kael always survived. Always grew stronger.
"He's being protected," said the Silent Monk of the East. "Not just by skill or power. But by... providence. Divine?"
A murmur of disgust rippled around the room.
"Then we'll kill his God too," Vrak growled.
That silence was deeper than death.
And then, the leader spoke.
He had no name. His face was a mask of silver and decay. His voice sounded like broken glass grinding over stone.
"We do not face a man. We face a message."
He raised a gnarled staff, and the table shimmered. A projection lit up—a glowing path that showed Kael's route across the world. Temples destroyed. Cities freed. Tyrants slain.
"The boy's divine ability evolves with virtue," the masked man continued. "The more good he does, the stronger he becomes. He is the first in history to receive a Compounding Blessing—a power that stacks with every righteous act."
"A messiah?" someone whispered.
"No. A mistake."
The leader slammed the staff down.
"We will forge a weapon that goodness cannot touch. A beast that light cannot purify. A curse that even saints will fear."
He turned to a hulking cage behind him. Inside, chained in shadows, was a shape—inhuman, massive, and weeping blood from a hundred eyes.
"It is time to awaken the First Sinner."
---
Meanwhile, miles away…
Kael stood atop a small hill, his eyes closed, arms outstretched to the wind. Before him lay the smoking remains of a battlefield—a war between two warlords settled without a single drop of innocent blood spilled.
He had made them kneel. Not by sword. But by words.
By truth.
Children gathered near him, offering berries and cloth. A mother handed him a flower. An elder cried simply by touching his cloak.
Kael didn't smile.
He didn't believe he was worthy.
But he accepted the gifts, quietly, reverently. For he knew what came next.
The world was watching. And somewhere, in the darkness, the true enemy was waking up.
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