Inside the Tower
The guard stood tall, emanating a heavy aura that felled the strongest soldiers.
He was wearing a shiny silver armor.
Ren (stepping forward confidently):
"Prepare to face defeat!"
Ren dashed forward with speed, delivering a kick that pierced his armor, pushing him back until he slammed into the wall.
But when the dust cleared...
the guard was gone!
Ren (whispering anxiously as he looked around):
"Where did he go?"
Suddenly, the guard appeared behind Ren, raising his sword to strike his head.
---
Ren turned back, but he couldn't dodge the blow.
Ren (anxious and tense, whispering):
"I'm going to die!"
Suddenly… the guard stopped moving! No, it wasn't just the guard—time itself froze!
Rio (stepping forward with heavy, cold steps, emanating a terrifying, bloodthirsty aura. Every step brought forth snow beneath his feet. He drew his sword calmly, and in the blink of an eye, appeared behind the guard, muttering quietly):
"The Eighteenth Sword Poem… Ice Sword Kagutsuchi-Yoratsu!"
Suddenly, the monster's entire head froze,
then time returned to its normal flow,
and at that moment… the guard's head exploded into dozens of pieces!
Ren (shocked):
"What just happened?"
Rio (smiling casually):
"Hehe, I killed him!"
Ren (amazed):
"That's incredible!"
Rio (boasting):
"I know I'm amazing!"
Rio continued to praise himself for a long time, until Ren grew impatient.
Ren (complaining):
"Alright, I'm going out!"
After a few moments, Rio noticed Ren had left:
"Ren! Wait for me!"
Rio ran after him, and they exited the building. But suddenly… the same mysterious man they had encountered at the entrance appeared before them.
Mysterious Man:
"Are you ready to hear the story now?"
Rio (already annoyed):
"Fine… tell us the story!"
The man smiled enthusiastically and began his tale immediately:
---
The Legend of the Great Empire
-Long ago… before the rise of the Great Lightning Empire and before the Dark Era,
this land was not a place anyone wanted to inhabit.
It was merely a barren desert, without water or life, a ruined land with no meaning.
But after years…
a massive tower fell from the sky in the middle of the desert.
As soon as the tower touched the ground, the desert transformed into a lush paradise, full of resources and wealth, suitable for living.
However, this place was not meant for humans, but inhabited by golden creatures, named after their shining golden color.
After ten years, humans began to arrive, and the first among them was an adventurer named Loris.
Loris was amazed by the abundance of the land and decided to settle there and build a great city.
But the golden creatures did not allow him.
They tried to expel him, but they could not confront him… for he was insanely strong!
The golden creatures decided to ally with beings from other planets.
Within a few months, they assembled an army of two hundred thousand soldiers, all against Loris alone.
But even that proved useless…
Within just three days, Loris defeated the entire army, without a scratch, not a single hair on his head moved!
In the end… the golden entities surrendered.
But the surprise was not in their defeat, but in Loris' decision…
Instead of enslaving them, he extended a hand of help, making a pact with them: part of the land for him, and the rest for them, but all would be one united state.
Over time, Loris taught the golden entities human civilization and its sciences.
He was merciful and kind to them, and thanks to him, a great civilization arose, the greatest of that era.
Out of their deep gratitude, the golden entities granted Loris immense power, known as the Pure Lightning Energy.
This energy helped the land flourish even more and increased Loris' strength until he became invincible.
After a while, the golden entities pledged allegiance to him as their sole ruler.
Then, after a hundred years of prosperity, Loris allowed humans to enter the land and live there.
The golden entities did not oppose this but welcomed humans, even delighting them by transforming into marvelous forms: lightning phoenixes, winged horses, spirits of lightning.
Thus… this land became the greatest empire of that age.
But prosperity did not last long…
Conflicts began between humans and the golden entities, escalating into a fierce civil war.
Loris tried to stop it with all his power… but to no avail.
In the end, he had to make a bitter decision:
He imprisoned the golden entities inside the tower.
But the hatred that had formed in their hearts generated dark energy…
It manifested as terrifying monsters, spreading a malignant disease: those infected would either die… or go insane and attack anyone in front of them.
The land died, and the empire began to collapse.
Loris had to imprison the dark energy within the tower, but unfortunately, during that period, The Intruder arrived, and Loris had to fight him while simultaneously trying to control the dark energy.
After six hundred years of continuous battle, he finally managed to contain it, but he was completely exhausted and was also defeated by The Intruder.
His defeat was not from weakness, but because he was preoccupied with protecting his land and people from the dark energy, and the disease began to consume him…
And in his fight against The Intruder, he was indeed extremely tired from battling the dark energy…
Thus, the Great Lightning Empire was the first empire to fall at the hands of The Intruder…
It fell after 600 years of Loris' fight against The Intruder…
After a long time had passed following the end of the Dark Era and the planet's revival, The Intruder disappeared, leaving a great power vacuum, and rule over the heavens and earth fell to a person named…
Thanis!
A man named Thanis rose to power and ruled the entire world under one banner.
It is said that he came from an ancient kingdom erased from history, forgotten, called Eldora.
But then he disappeared, causing disintegration.
The ten kingdoms seized the opportunity and tried to regain control over the world after their rule was destroyed by The Intruder.
Loris managed to regain his rule, but he was extremely tired from his war against The Intruder and the dark energy…
He decided to enter a deep slumber to restore his strength and entrusted the rule to his deputy.
But he did not know that this would be… the worst decision of his life.
Before sleeping, he forbade humans from entering the tower.
But over time, people forgot and believed that the tower hid terrifying powers that Loris did not want anyone to possess.
Greed consumed the humans, and they opened the tower.
Not only did evil energy emerge, but terrifying monsters came out, whose sole purpose was to kill humans.
A new war erupted, called the Dark War.
But humans managed to prevail and take control of the tower.
They discovered that the bodies of slain monsters turned into powerful weapons.
Greed grew, the nobles rebelled, and they enslaved the golden entities, forcing them to take forms that served humans: dragons guarding the skies… or other creatures.
Even ordinary humans were oppressed.
When Loris woke up after a long time… he found his empire engulfed in chaos:
Golden entities enslaved, nobles tyrants, people suffering and oppressed.
He went to his deputy to reclaim the throne… but the deputy refused.
Even the people themselves refused! They were forced to obey.
Rage ignited in Loris' heart, and he declared war on his deputy.
But… Loris fell!
It was shocking news… how could he be defeated, when he was considered the greatest king alongside Infernus in the entire world?
Rumors spread…
It was said that Loris' deputy used a mysterious power to defeat him.
From that day… Loris' name fell, his memory destroyed, and he was imprisoned at the top of the tower.
There he lies… asleep, waiting for someone to free him.