General Lucius Nocturnus, leader of the Saint Knights of the Divine Order, stood frozen, motionless, his eyes fixed on the corpse of the princess.
His eyes, wide open, reflected absolute terror.
terror he had never known.
The shadow of the Shadow Veil stretched like a black sea across the battlefield, covering everything.
The air itself seemed to drain, sucked into this abyss of darkness that swallowed the horizon.
It was beyond magic.
Beyond reason.
Lucius slowly turned his head towards the child who remained standing, alone, in the center of the carnage.
His steps were slow, but his eyes, nevertheless, were filled with a certainty that froze the general's blood.
This being, this child, was no longer human.
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
In a voice strangled by fear, he barked:
— Prepare the incantations! Form the circle! We must eliminate the child, now!
But there was no response. The world seemed to freeze around him.
A silent, deaf tear split the air. A mute scream in the soul.
The very fabric of reality seemed to tear apart.
And then…An eye appeared. Huge. Impossible.
Engraved with shifting runes, it floated in the shadow, illuminated by a spectral glow.
The Eye of Ozen.
It fixed Lucius, piercing his gaze with an indescribable pressure.
The protectors of the ancient artifact, bound to its seal for generations, were swept into a soundless whisper.
Their souls, slowly disintegrating, merged with the essence of their new master.
All around, a soft, almost maternal melody echoes song between light and mourning, between tears and transcendence.
Then, in a flash of pure energy, William's forehead illuminates.
The artifact merged with the inverted halo engraved on his skin.
A third eye opened. No light. No darkness.
An abyss, a cosmic void. A singularity.
Reality itself seemed to warp under its weight.
The battlefield, petrified, fell into an abyssal silence.
And in this suffocating emptiness, a cold, composed, eternal voice resonated in the heavens and the earth:
— Eye of Ozen: Rise… and serve your King.
At that moment, the Veil unfurled with a breath.
The corpses rose, slowly.
Slowly, inexorably. Specters emerged from their flesh.
Liquid shadows, with glowing eyes, with hungry claws.
Their silhouettes twisted in a nightmarish ballet.
Their mere presence suffocated the air, twisted the ground, froze thoughts.
— Eye of Ozen: Protect your King.
The earth cracked beneath their feet.
The Knights screamed, but fleeing was no longer an option.
Their blades sliced through the air, cutting the wind, but touching no target.
Their shields shattered under invisible assaults, their protection was but a decoy, an illusion.
Each scream, each blow struck by the specters slowed the world around them, as if death itself stretched time.
One knight tried to counterattack.
A breeze. A shadow claw sank into his back.
His head rolled. His soul was absorbed, silently, without a cry.
Swallowed by the Veil.
Everything around them transformed into a nightmare.
Lucius, on his knees, armor broken, gasped.
The world around him folded under pressure.
The air grew heavier, like wax melting under a black flame.
He raised a trembling hand toward his helmet, but his fingers slid, helpless.
The shadow approached.
Unfathomable. Inevitable.
Then, suddenly, a dimensional door opened beside him, tearing the air apart.
A luminous halo engulfed him, pulling him backward
.A powerful arm gripped him tightly.
— General Nocturnus, hold on! Your role is not finished.
It was Sandow Spyder, his lieutenant, his right-hand man.
Cold. Calm. Too calm.
Lucius blinked.
— Why did Sandow seem unfazed?
He staggered, unable to grasp the reality of what he was seeing.
For the first time in history, a retreat order was given.
They moved backward, the world exploding into chaos behind them.
As they reached the portal, a voice imposed itself in the general's mind.
Solemn. Authoritative.
Luminaris. The God-King.
— You did well, Lucius. This abomination defies all understanding.
Lucius gritted his teeth.
His gaze turned one last time toward the child, asleep in the Veil, as if rocked by the shadows, where light and darkness intertwined.
His expression betrayed neither fear nor anger.
Just a terrifying peace.
A cold smile crossed the general's face.
— I understand. He too… is just a pawn in this cycle.
The specters advanced, their steps vibrating with an ungraspable madness.
The portal opened fully, releasing the last fragments of light.
The first retreat in the history of the Divine Order was complete.
The ships set sail, fleeing this nightmare that consumed them.
And in their wake, the shadows faded, leaving behind a silence… oppressive.
Unknowingly, the child had just triggered a new cycle.
A cycle where the throne of light would waver.
And where the King of Shadows would finally walk.