The Ithmar Kingdom had been thrown into chaos by the events of the previous night. The Faceless Assassin—a name now synonymous with fear and power—had left a trail of broken spirits in his wake, and rumors of his brutal conquest spread through the land like wildfire.
By morning, whispers filled the streets, and every tongue spoke of his deeds. The air was thick with anxiety, and even the strongest warriors trembled at the thought of facing him. No one knew where he came from, who he truly was, or what he wanted. What they did know was that Solace was not a man to be trifled with.
Inside his manor, Solace sat casually, sipping a cup of tea, as if the events of the night had been nothing more than a casual stroll. The sunlight filtered in through the windows, casting a golden hue over the room. Aetheria and Gaia rested their heads on his shoulders, the three of them sitting in contented silence.
"So," Aetheria broke the silence, her voice as smooth as silk, "what do you have planned next?"
Solace grinned beneath his mask, the glint of mischief in his eyes. "Hmm, why not subjugate the entire continent today?"
He stood up, setting his teacup down with an effortless grace. The two women followed his movement, their eyes glimmering with intrigue.
"I don't want to waste too much time," he continued, adjusting his mask. "My echo will handle the blacksmithing, and I'll handle the rest."
Gaia raised an eyebrow, still reclining against his shoulder, her gaze shifting to him with a mix of curiosity and concern. "Why does it feel like you're rushing?"
Solace's smile widened, but there was something else there—something darker. "Hmm, it's not really that I'm rushing. I just want to have a bit of fun."
With a final glance at the calm surroundings of his manor, he started to dress in his signature attire—black, simple, and imposing. His bare feet touched the floor, and his presence seemed to change the air around him. He was a living shadow, and when he was ready, he turned toward Gaia and Aetheria.
"And besides," he added as he fastened his mask, "you know as well as I do that there's more to what meets the eye around here."
With those words, Solace disappeared, leaving only the faintest trace of his presence. Aetheria and Gaia followed, cloaked in concealment spells that made them invisible to any eyes not attuned to their power. They reappeared high in the skies, above the Kingdom of Eredia.
The kingdom below was as beautiful as it was pristine—gleaming white towers rising like spires of light against the green valleys and crystalline rivers. The kingdom's architecture was a perfect blend of nature and civilization, with living vines climbing the outer walls and flowers blooming along the streets.
But to Solace, it was nothing more than a stepping stone in his journey. The Kingdom of Eredia, like Ithmar, would bow before him.
Solace floated effortlessly, his cloak billowing in the wind as he gazed down upon the kingdom. He could sense the power within—two Ascendant Core cultivators, and two Core cultivators defending the realm. It wasn't enough. Nothing ever would be.
"Hmmm…" Solace muttered to himself, a smirk forming beneath his mask. "Well, let's start with the Kingdom of Eredia."
He wasn't here to assassinate. Not yet. He had something more dramatic in mind.
Aetheria and Gaia stayed close, watching him with intent curiosity, but they were not yet visible to anyone on the ground.
Solace raised his hand and with a single thought, he flared his power to the maximum.
HUMMMMM!
The world around him trembled. The very space itself rippled under the force of his energy. It felt as if a crack in reality had opened, an unstoppable force cutting through the fabric of the universe.
BOOOOM!
The skies above Eredia shattered as the shockwave radiated outward. The once serene atmosphere was now filled with an unbearable weight, the pressure from Solace's power pressing down on the kingdom below. The ground trembled beneath the feet of every citizen, and in the distance, the palace walls shuddered.
The kingdom's defenders took action immediately. From the center of the royal city, two Ascendant Core cultivators soared into the skies, their figures glowing with power. Behind them, King Arren and Queen Velira followed—both Core cultivators in their own right, but dwarfed by the power that Solace radiated.
Solace's eyes gleamed as he watched them rise, his presence unshaken. He lifted his hand, the smile beneath his mask growing wider.
"Hello, my dear friends," he called, his voice rich and commanding, cutting through the roar of the wind. "Today, I come to you with troubling news. Apparently, it's time for your ruling to end."
The Queen, her elegant form adorned in royal silks, narrowed her eyes beneath her silver crown. Her voice rang out, tinged with a hint of disbelief.
"Y-you're the Faceless?" she asked, her voice quivering slightly.
Solace tilted his head, his Abyssal Eyes shimmering with a hint of amusement as he responded.
"Well, can you see a face?" he asked, his tone teasing. It was playful yet deadly, as though he relished the fear he was causing.
The Ascendant Core cultivators, now positioned in front of Solace, looked at each other warily. They could feel the vastness of his strength. One of them, a burly man with glowing red eyes, spoke with a stern voice.
"You have no right to come here and make demands, assassin. This is Eredia, our kingdom, and we will not yield to anyone!"
Solace's smile faded slightly, and in that moment, his power flared once more, growing even more intense.
"Really? You're going to resist?" Solace's voice was a low, mocking rumble. "How quaint."
Before they could react, he stretched his hand outward, expanding his Divine Sense beyond the limits of their imaginations. His reach was immense, far beyond anything they had expected.
The air around them vibrated with unnatural energy, and Solace's power peaked—it overwhelmed them. The ancestors felt their own aura crackling and warping under the pressure.
"So, let's see just how strong you really are." Solace smirked, his voice tinged with amusement as he teleported to the side, out of the Ascendant cultivators' reach.
In the blink of an eye, he reappeared—behind the two Ancestors. Before they could react, his hand shot forward, and in a flash, both Ancestors were incapacitated, their bodies crushed beneath the weight of Solace's invisible force.
A low, powerful laugh escaped Solace's lips as he surveyed the damage.
"See? This is the problem with you all. You underestimate the unknown."
The King and Queen stood frozen, their eyes wide in shock and fear. Their Ancestors—the last line of defense—had been reduced to nothing in the blink of an eye.
Solace took a step forward, his presence consuming them.
The King opened his mouth to speak but froze under the weight of Solace's gaze. A few moments passed before the words came, slow and resigned.
"What do you want?"
Solace's eyes glimmered beneath his mask.
"You know what I want. You'll still rule—but you will do so under my command. This is the first step in a very long journey."
After those words he disappeared, leaving another echo in his place.
"Go, subjugate this kingdom. Take care of any traitors and all those who resist. By the week's end, there will be a gathering."
The echo was already in motion.
Varylis was an entirely different realm compared to the other kingdoms Solace had encountered. Where others had been lush or brimming with culture, Varylis stood as a glacial paradise, snow falling perpetually from the skies, blanketing the land in soft white hues. Towering ice spires dotted the landscape, their peaks glistening in the cold light. The city of Varylis shimmered like an opal, built within vast icy caverns, the walls adorned with frozen runes and intricate carvings.
Solace appeared in the sky above the kingdom, his presence casting an immediate chill over the land. He took a moment to admire the beauty of the kingdom, even though it meant little in the grand scheme of his plans. This was just another step—a mere pause in his conquest.
His gaze softened as it landed on the regal Queen Aurelia, standing tall in front of her kingdom's defenses. She was a striking woman, her beauty rivaling that of the kingdom's glacial spires. She wasn't the same as Aetheria or Gaia, whose beauty was a force of nature itself, but there was a compelling quality about her. A warmth that contrasted the eternal cold of her kingdom. She was captivating, and for the first time in a long while, Solace's mind seemed momentarily distracted.
But duty called. He couldn't afford distractions. Not yet.
His eyes flicked between the King and Queen, his mind calculating, sensing the atmosphere around them. The ancestors had appeared beside them, their Ascendant Core powers pulsing through the air.
"Ah, so we have guests," Solace murmured to himself, then turned his attention back to the Queen.
"You, what's your name, my lady?" Solace's voice was smooth, like a predator toying with its prey. His white eyes, glowing with dark crosses, locked onto hers.
She looked into his eyes, and for a fleeting moment, something flashed in her chest—an emotion, unbidden, deep and strangely magnetic.
"Q-Queen Aurelia," she stammered, her voice wavering slightly as she met his gaze.
Solace's lips curled into a playful smile.
"Ah, Queen Aurelia," he repeated, as if savoring the name. Then, in an instant, he was standing directly in front of her. He grabbed her hand, his grip firm yet gentle. He leaned in slightly, his breath close to her ear.
"I would place a kiss here," he said, his voice a flirtatious whisper, "but you know... the mask and all. However, you can always see me maskless if you want, my lady~"
Aurelia's face flushed an unexpected shade of crimson. She didn't know why, but something in the way he spoke, the way he carried himself, felt both dangerous and strangely alluring. She couldn't pull her gaze away.
The air between them crackled with an unspoken tension. She had met many rulers, many powerful beings, but this one—this man—seemed different, somehow.
Before she could react, a voice roared behind them.
"YOU DARE TOUCH MY WIFE!" The King, Vest, launched himself forward, his fists clenched in fury. His power surged, and the air around him grew thick with the pressure of his Core cultivator energy.
But Solace simply stood there, a calm presence amidst the storm. He shifted his form, becoming incorporeal for a brief moment, his body dissolving into a shadow of energy. King Vest's punch missed by mere inches, as though he had been swatted at by an invisible hand.
In a flash, Solace reappeared, his eyes burning with icy malice. His hand rose, moving too swiftly for the King to react, and with a single backhanded slap, King Vest was sent crashing down toward the frozen kingdom below.
But Solace wasn't done.
His bloodline ability—Echo—kicked in. In the blink of an eye, another slap was delivered by his clone, the echo of his being. The slap sent King Vest careening deeper into the city, his form crashing through walls and sending shards of ice flying everywhere. It was a simple display of power, but it was more than enough to show who was in charge now.
Queen Aurelia gasped in shock, but Solace, his voice smooth and teasing, turned back to her.
"Excuse me, my lady. We will have more time to continue this discussion," Solace said, his tone softening momentarily, "but right now, this kingdom will fall under my rule. Kingdom Ithmar and Eredia have already fallen. It's only a matter of time before you do the same."
He let his words hang in the air like a sword poised to strike. The weight of his presence bore down on Queen Aurelia, and though her gaze remained fierce, Solace could sense the conflict stirring inside her.
Solace stood tall, his body radiating authority, while the kingdom's Ascendant Core Ancestors and King Vest lay broken before him. The Queen, shaken by his actions, stood silently, the once-proud ruler now seemingly powerless to do anything against this unstoppable force.
"You will answer to me," Solace added, his voice dark, low. "Every kingdom in this land will bend to my will. There is no more resistance. There is only submission."
He turned on his heel, ready to leave. But as he did, his eyes lingered on Aurelia for just a moment longer. She stood as if caught in a trance, her breath shallow, her mind racing.
"Remember," he whispered, "this is just the beginning."
Solace teleported away, leaving behind a kingdom on the brink of destruction. The Faceless Assassin's words echoed in the air long after he had gone.
The Kingdom of Varylis, like the others before it, would fall under his shadow. No kingdom, no force, no realm would be left untouched by his growing influence.