---
The wind swept through the ruins like a mourning spirit, lifting ash and dust into the dim light of a broken sky. The village lay in silence—shattered homes, burnt wood, and scattered remnants of a life that once was whole. In the center of it all sat a boy with silver hair, his body still, his shoulders trembling faintly as tears traced silent paths down his face.
He didn't speak.
He didn't move.
He only stared at the ground where his world had ended.
Memories pressed against his mind like a storm he couldn't escape—laughter, warmth, the voices of his parents… and then screams. Fire. Darkness. And him.
Not a man. Not a beast in any ordinary sense.
Something else.
Something wrong.
Something that should not exist.
The boy's fists clenched tightly.
"I will… find you," he whispered, his voice cracking. "I will kill you… Ezerus…"
At the sound of that name, the air itself seemed to hesitate.
A faint pressure lingered in the atmosphere… as if reality recoiled at the memory of that being.
Ezerus was not like other creatures.
He did not have one form.
He had many.
Sometimes he appeared as a towering shadow with too many limbs, each one moving in ways that defied logic. Other times, he wore the shape of a human—perfect, almost beautiful—but his presence betrayed him. The air around him would grow heavier… colder… as though life itself was being drained.
And there were whispers…
Some said his true form could not be seen with eyes.
Others believed he existed beyond shape entirely—an entity that consumed existence itself, slipping between forms like water through cracks.
What everyone agreed on was this:
No one who encountered Ezerus ever saw the same "him" twice… if they survived long enough to see him again.
The boy didn't know all of this yet.
But he knew one thing.
The moment that thing appeared in his village…
Life itself felt like it was being devoured.
And his parents…
Gone.
The boy's breathing grew heavier.
"…You… will pay…"
A voice echoed softly through the ruins—deep, calm, and strangely… comforting.
"You're still clinging to that promise, I see."
The boy's eyes widened instantly.
"Who's there?!" he shouted, turning sharply.
A figure emerged slowly from behind a collapsed pillar. A man cloaked in dark, flowing garments that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. His presence was quiet… yet overwhelming. His eyes—calm, sharp, and ancient—rested on the boy with an unsettling understanding.
"My name is Duckan," the man said gently. "And I've been watching you."
---
Duckan's gaze shifted slightly, as if recalling something far away.
"You've spoken his name," Duckan said calmly. "Ezerus."
The boy tensed.
Duckan continued.
"A being that does not belong to this world… or perhaps any world at all."
He took a slow step forward.
"He is not just a monster that kills. That would be simple."
The wind seemed to still as Duckan spoke.
"He consumes."
The word echoed faintly in the broken silence.
"Not just flesh. Not just blood."
Duckan's eyes darkened slightly.
"He devours life itself… the essence that defines existence. When he passes, he leaves behind not just death… but emptiness."
The boy swallowed hard.
Duckan's voice lowered.
"And that emptiness spreads."
He gestured slightly toward the ruins.
"This village… this destruction… this is only what remains visible."
A pause.
"There is more that cannot be seen."
The boy's voice shook.
"…What do you mean?"
Duckan looked directly at him.
"Memories fade when he touches them. Names disappear from history. Places become forgotten, even by those who once lived there."
The boy's eyes widened.
"That's not possible…"
Duckan didn't argue.
"It is… when something exists beyond the rules that bind life."
He stepped closer.
"Ezerus does not just destroy bodies."
A quiet pause.
"He erases existence."
The weight of that statement hung in the air.
The boy's breathing became uneven.
"…Then how am I supposed to kill something like that?"
Duckan studied him for a long moment.
Then, softly—
"You're not."
The boy froze.
Duckan continued.
"Not yet."
The boy's fists trembled.
"I don't understand…"
Duckan's voice remained calm.
"Tell me… when Ezerus appeared in your village… what did you feel?"
The boy's voice came out weak.
"…Fear… anger…"
Duckan nodded slightly.
"Good."
The boy looked confused.
Duckan's tone sharpened slightly.
"But what else?"
The boy hesitated.
Then, slowly—
"…I felt powerless."
Duckan's eyes narrowed faintly.
"Exactly."
He stepped closer.
"And that is where Ezerus wins."
The boy flinched slightly.
Duckan continued.
"He does not need to fight to defeat you. He only needs to make you feel like you cannot fight."
The boy clenched his jaw.
"…Then what am I supposed to do?"
Duckan's voice dropped, quiet but intense.
"You become something he cannot easily erase."
A pause.
"You become dangerous."
The boy looked up.
"…Will you train me?"
Duckan nodded once.
"Yes."
The boy's voice grew stronger.
"I want to kill him."
Duckan didn't smile.
Didn't agree.
Instead, he said—
"Good. That is where every path begins."
He turned slightly, his cloak moving like a shadow caught in wind.
"But remember this…"
He glanced back over his shoulder.
"Ezerus is not just your enemy."
A pause.
"He is your trial."
The boy's grip tightened.
Duckan's voice became calm again.
"Follow me."
---
The boy hesitated… then looked back one last time at the ruins.
At the place where everything ended.
And where something new—something dangerous—was beginning.
Somewhere far beyond the ruins…
Beyond what eyes could see…
Beyond what minds could understand…
Ezerus existed.
Watching.
Waiting.
Consuming.
And unaware…
That something he had once destroyed…
Was now beginning to fight back.
I'm Duckan Master of the dark what's your name.
The silver haired boy stared at him for a while before parting his lips and saying his name words by words.
This is the throne it's called Life Ocean. Sit on it and that's all you need to do...
Are you ready for the responsibility,the pressure and the pain you'll go through?
Yes....