They Always Betray You in the End.

He couldn't remember how many times he had swung his sword.

Dozens? Hundreds? Maybe more.

He had lost count after the first few hours.

All he did was kill monster after monster, again and again. Slashing, bleeding, ripping them apart until they turned to dust beneath his blade. Every single one that crossed his path died. No exceptions.

He had become a slaughter machine. A thing with only one purpose.

To recover his memories.

And he killed.

Each time a monster died, a glowing shard floated from its corpse—a fragment of something lost.

Like puzzle pieces in a game, they shimmered with the promise of something once important. A life, a name. A reason.

He didn't question it. He didn't care how or why it worked.

He just wanted to remember.

That was all he ever wanted.

Until his knees finally gave out and he collapsed onto the cold, jagged stone. His muscles screamed. His breath burned in his chest.

He couldn't tell if the blood on his body was his or not.

"How long have I been here…?" he muttered, barely able to lift his head.

There was no sky. No time. Just endless fighting.

A loop of violence and silence.

He stared at his hand, clutched tightly in his palm was a cluster of glowing stones. Dozens of memory fragments, fused together, now pulsing like a star.

The light shimmered like moonlight, calm and soft.

He grinned. For the first time in days, he was satisfied.

"It's complete," he whispered.

Then louder: "System, do it."

The ground trembled beneath him.

From his chest, something surged—heat, like a volcano erupting inside his ribs.

And then the world exploded into blinding white light.

***

When the light faded, Kael stood alone in a grand throne room.

It was massive. Silent. Ancient.

Darkness lingered like a fog, wrapped around the throne at the far end of the chamber. An eerie stillness blanketed the air, suffocating.

Then moonlight filtered in through the stained-glass windows. Bit by bit, it drove the darkness back, revealing silver tiles, worn red banners, and

a cracked marble floor.

Kael didn't move. Couldn't.

Because on the throne... he saw himself.

An older version. A man with silver in his hair and battle-worn armor, sitting with a weight in his eyes that only a king could carry.

He radiated power.

But it wasn't just power—it was authority. Presence. And yet… something about him felt familiar. Too familiar.

Kael's breath caught.

"That's… me?"

Then the old man's eyes lifted—and locked directly with his.

"Have you announced it to them yet?" the old version of him said.

His voice boomed across the throne room. Deep, cold, commanding.

Kael couldn't speak.

Before he could process what was happening, a rough voice answered from behind.

"Yes, my lord."

Kael turned.

A man stepped forward, tall, with black hair and piercing blue eyes. He wore ornate armor over a white robe. Regal. Unshaken.

Erevas.

But this Erevas wasn't the one Kael knew. He was younger, stronger, and yet… something about his presence was the same.

That same unwavering loyalty—or maybe something else beneath it.

"Everything is progressing as planned," Erevas said, bowing low.

The older Kael didn't reply.

His gaze remained locked on Erevas, unreadable.

"This is the only way to save the kingdom," the old Kael finally said. His voice was sharp. Cold. Piercing.

"But… my lord," Erevas said, a hint of hesitation in his voice. "Is this truly the only path?"

There was silence.

Then the old man nodded. Slowly. Without regret.

He rose from the throne. His cape flowed behind him as he walked to the window.

Moonlight shimmered off his armor as he placed one gauntleted hand against the glass.

Outside, the city glowed like a sea of fireflies—towers illuminated against the night.

"When I first became king," he said softly, "I thought I could fix everything. Help everyone. Be the ruler they needed."

He chuckled bitterly.

"But from the moment I put this crown on… I realized how heavy it truly is."

Erevas lowered his gaze. "But you became the Overlord of the entire nation."

"Yes. And in doing so, I sacrificed everything."

The old king's voice trembled slightly.

"My child. My wife. My brother. Everything I once held dear—gone."

He clenched his fist against the glass.

"It's lonely. I can't breathe in this gilded cage anymore."

"But… if you leave the kingdom," Erevas whispered, panic rising, "it will collapse into chaos!"

The old Kael turned to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't plan to leave it without a successor," he said.

His voice was tired. Final.

"I'm giving it to you."

Erevas's eyes widened. "Me…?"

"Yes," the old king said, his smile faint and fleeting. "You can rule. You will lead them in my place."

Erevas knelt. "As you wish, my lord."

Then—

Everything stopped.

The world froze mid-motion. The light, the air—time itself halted.

Kael blinked.

"What just happened? System?"

[Host, this is the end of the recorded vision.]

"So… this was the end?"

[Negative. There is one more vision remaining. Do you wish to proceed?]

Kael clenched his fists.

"Yes. Play it."

***

The throne room shattered into dust.

Flames took their place.

Kael now stood on a battlefield, chaos roaring around him. Towers burned in the distance. Screams tore through the night.

Smoke curled in the air like claws.

"What the hell…?" Kael muttered.

In the middle of the battlefield, he saw himself again—the older version, now bloodied and beaten, collapsed on the ground.

His hand clutched a bleeding wound in his side. His sword lay behind him, useless.

"Why… why would you betray me?" the old Kael gasped, coughing blood.

"Why…?"

Kael followed his gaze.

Erevas.

He stood calmly, holding a bloodstained blade. His robes were torn, but his eyes were cold and sharp.

He looked down at the dying man with cruel amusement.

"Tsk. Old man, did you really think I'd serve you forever?"

The old Kael trembled. "I… I never wronged you."

Erevas's smile flickered—then returned, darker than before.

"Do you remember my mother?" he asked, voice flat.

The old Kael blinked. "I… I don't know your mother."

"She was a commoner," Erevas said. "We lived in the slums. Starving. Forgotten."

He stepped forward.

"You burned the district to the ground. You called it 'necessary purification.'"

"That wasn't me," the old Kael whispered. "I would never…"

"You did."

Erevas kicked him hard. The old Kael rolled across the dirt, groaning.

Still, he forced himself to stand. Hands shaking. Blood dripping.

"I never wanted this," he said through gritted teeth.

Erevas's face twisted into a mask of hate.

"And I never wanted to be your dog."

He raised the sword.

"Any last words?"

The old Kael spat blood. "How… how did you get that power?"

Erevas grinned.

"Isn't it obvious?"

He stepped closer.

"I took it from the darkness."

The old Kael's eyes widened. His voice trembled.

"Y-You… you…"

"YOU MONSTER!"

Erevas plunged the sword into his chest.

Blood exploded from the wound as the old king fell, lifeless, into a pool of red.

"You'll regret this…" he whispered with his last breath.

"I already have," Erevas replied, cold and smiling.

***

After the death of the old version of him—killed by Erevas—the world fell silent.

The last flames crackled weakly before fading into the ashen sky.

"Hm."

Erevas stared down at the corpse, his expression unreadable.

With practiced ease, he pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from his sword.

The blade had tasted the same flesh it once protected.

"My Eminence," a hooded figure materialized behind him, kneeling in respect.

"Preparations are nearly complete," the figure reported.

"Excellent," Erevas muttered.

He casually tossed the bloodstained cloth onto the lifeless body and turned his gaze toward the sword, still gleaming faintly in the darkness.

"Perfect."

Sliding the blade back into its sheath, he turned away without a second glance.

His footsteps echoed as he walked into the void, steady and unhurried.

And then—

The world froze.

The vision collapsed into stillness.

[Host, this is a recovered memory fragment.]

Kael didn't respond.

He remained seated, unmoving, staring at the fading scene in silence.

A quiet sigh escaped his lips before he finally glanced at the system window floating beside him.

"Is that all you've got?" he asked.

[This is the only recorded memory I was able to retrieve. Would you like to initiate a deeper search?]

"No."

He shook his head.

"I know what happened. All of it."

[Would you like to cancel the vision sequence, Host?]

"Yes."

The moment he spoke, the vision shattered, replaced by the bleak, broken landscape he had originally been standing in.

Ash clung to his clothes like a second skin.

Kael rose slowly, brushing the dust off with a half-hearted swipe.

Then he grabbed his sword, slinging it over his shoulder.

"System. Show me the way out of this hell."

He looked toward the distant dark horizon.

Whatever waited there, he would face it.