"Five Hundred Years Ago"
Flames consumed the entire palace. Screams and blood filled every corner.
Yet the King did not move at all.
He sat upon his throne, watching the destruction that marked the end of his era, sorrow weighing heavily upon him. Killing them had never been difficult for him. And yet, among the hundreds of battles he had fought, this was the first in which he felt tired.
Not even the Seven Realms were enough to fill the emptiness in his heart.
One thing was certain—had he risen from his seat, he would have annihilated them all…
"Now"
I opened my eyes to find myself lying in a hospital bed.
What was that dream?
And how was I still alive?
All my injuries had healed…
How long had I even been here?
I dressed and walked toward the nurse's station. When she saw me, she was horrified.
Nurse: "How is it possible that you woke up?!"
I looked at her in confusion and said nothing. She then told me my condition had been hopeless, and that I had been in a coma for three months.
Well… that was just another ordinary event in my life.
I returned home afterward to learn what had happened during my absence.
The moment I stepped across the threshold, fear and rage over what had happened at that party suddenly overwhelmed me. I would never forget that pain.
My missing hand and eye would be my motivation to uncover the truth—and whoever was behind it.
The mansion was empty, as if it had been abandoned.
At that moment, the same feeling I had sensed before my death overtook me. I turned around to find a strange man standing at the door.
He suddenly smiled and said,
"It seems you've awakened."
Younes: "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
…: "People call me Younes as well. And do I need a reason to be in my palace?"
He laughed.
"Besides, I'm sorry about your hand and your eye."
Younes: "As I expected. You're the one who came out of that box that day. But how is that even possible?"
…: "That's a story you don't need to know yet. I only came because I learned you had awakened. Your servant and your sister—I sent them to live in a distant country. The servant will take care of her, so there's no need to worry. She doesn't know what happened to you. She was told you were on a long journey."
Younes: "By what right did you decide that?"
…: "Do I need a reason to care for my granddaughter? Besides, your friend is alive. She woke up months before you. As far as I know, she's in Nevermore now."
Younes: "What do you mean, your granddaughter? And how did we survive our injuries that day?"
…: "You ask too many questions. Saving two people is not difficult for me. I could have restored your hand and eye if I were in my natural state, but that's impossible for now. What I can tell you is this: the barrier between this world and the lower realms has begun to weaken. And people like you are always the first to die."
Younes: "Then what am I supposed to do?"
…: "That's something you must discover yourself."
He vanished.
Strange things continued to descend upon my life. But I had already decided what I would do.
I would enroll in Nevermore.