Blood.
It soaked the ground, dripped from broken armor, and hung in the air. The battlefield reeked of iron and smoke, as if death itself had claimed the land.
Once, this plain had echoed with war cries and the clash of steel. My soldiers shouted my name like a vow—Aric Veynar, Savior of the Realm.
Now? Only silence. Only fire. Only corpses.
I stumbled forward, each step feeling heavier than the last. My sword scraped against the earth, leaving a faint trail in the dirt. My body screamed for rest, but I pushed on. A savior does not fall while his people still live.
Or so I kept telling myself.
"Pathetic."
The voice behind me sent chills down my spine.
I turned, vision blurred, and saw him: Darin. My brother-in-arms. The man who had fought by my side in countless battles. His armor gleamed with blood—our soldiers' blood.
"You…" My throat felt raw as the word forced its way out. "You betrayed me?"
He smirked at me. "Betrayal? No, Aric. Liberation. You shackled us with your 'glory,' with your endless crusades. We were never free—always living in your shadow."
My knees quaked beneath me, and my blade slipped from my grasp. "I bled for you… for all of you."
"And we are grateful," he said coldly as he raised his sword. "But the world doesn't need saviors—it needs ruin."
Steel pierced my chest.
The pain was indescribable, a firestorm ripping through my veins. My body convulsed; breath caught in my throat as I collapsed to my knees, staring up at the man I once called brother.
Around him emerged others from the shadows—faces I recognized, faces I trusted. My disciples. My generals. My friends—all with blades drawn and blood on their hands.
Their laughter rang in my mind as the world began to fade.
I had saved them all.
And this was their repayment.
Darkness crept in, swallowing flames, voices, and pain alike. Yet as my body fell, one thought burned brighter than my blood:
If fate is cruel enough to grant me another life… I will not save again. I will not forgive. I will not be betrayed a second time.
This time, I would not be their shield.
This time, I would be their tyrant.