Chapter 1 – Flames of a Doomed Love
The castle burning in hot red flames.
Smoke curled into the midnight sky, blockin out the stars as flames devoured towers and castles that once stood as symbols of strength and pride. The air was thick with ash, heavy enough to choke the lungs of even the strongest knights and mages. Screams of men and women mingled with the roar of fire, the clash of steel, and the guttural howls of monstrous beasts that prowled the blood-soaked courtyards.
A soldier in silver armor swung his blade desperately at a hulking beast of shadow demons, but its claws split him open from neck to belly before the strike even landed. Another knight tried to raise his shield against a torrent of black fire, only for both shield and man to melt into ash in a single breath. Mages chanting protective spells were dragged screaming into the ground as phantom chains bound them, pulling them into the realm that had spawned this nightmare as their blood drew prints like a spilled ink.
This was not war. This was slaughter.
At the heart of it all, standing amidst the carnage as though untouched by the chaos, was a lone man draped in a cloak of dark fire. His eyes glowed crimson, and the air around him warped as if the world itself recoiled from his presence. He was not just a man anymore.....he was the architect of this destruction.
Leo.
The boy who once dreamed of nothing more than love now commanded armies of shadow and flame. His power stained the skies, and the soldiers who once laughed at him, avoided him, and whispered that he was cursed… now lay dead beneath his feet as he walked on their corpse.
And still, none of it mattered.
"Stop!"
The voice cut through the noise like a desperate prayer.
Leo turned. In the great hall, lit by firelight and the flickering glow of demonic chains, knelt a young woman with tears streaking down her ash-stained cheeks. Her golden hair, once the pride of the kingdom, was tangled and scorched at the tips. Her eyes that once looked at him with warmth when they were children now stared at him with horror and sorrow.
The princess. His childhood friend. His first and only love. His reason for his actions.pleaded.
"Please, Leo," she sobbed, her hands bound in chains of magic, her knees scraped against the cracked marble. "Please stop this madness! This isn't you!"
Behind her, her parents, the King and Queen; were bound by the same glowing chains. Their regal garments were torn, their crowns shattered. The chains tightened around their bodies, leeching away their life force with each passing second. The Queen's lips trembled as she tried to whisper a prayer. The King glared with defiance, though the strain of the chains had aged him years in mere minutes.
Leo's expression softened for just a moment. The sight of her tears carved into him deeper than any blade could. But the softness turned quickly to steel.
He raised his hand, and the shadowy beast beside the King lifted its claw, ready to sever the king's head in one clean strike.
The princess screamed. "No! Don't! If there's any part of you that remembers who you were… don't kill them! I beg you!"
Leo froze.
He stared at her, at the tears streaming down her face, and a bitter laugh escaped his lips.
"Begging… now you beg?" His voice was low, rough, heavy with years of swallowed pain. "Where was this desperation when I begged for your love? Where were these tears when I was cast aside, when no one trusted me, when I clawed my way through shadows just to be seen?"
The princess shook her head, her sobs breaking her words apart. "It doesn't have to be like this! You don't have to be this monster!"
"But I am," Leo said simply. His crimson eyes glowed brighter. "Do you know what it feels like, to be born with a gift everyone fears? To touch someone's hand and hear their secrets, their shame, their lies? To give them knowledge, to strengthen them, and still be called a curse? They avoided me. Even my own men resented me, even my best friend and childhood lover had sex behind my back. But you…"
His voice faltered, his jaw tightening.
"You were my light. My reason. And yet no matter what I did—no matter how strong I became—you chose him."
The princess's lips quivered, but she had no answer.
Leo's chest tightened. He hated this weakness. He hated that even now, staring at her broken and afraid, he still longed for her.
He gestured, and the beast's claw lowered just enough to hover above the King's neck. "You want them to live? Then marry me. Swear yourself to me, here and now. That is the only way."
Her eyes widened in horror. "Leo… please…"
"Marry me," he repeated, his tone sharp as steel, "or their blood is on your hands."
Her sobs grew louder. She shook her head, trembling violently. But as the beast's claw pressed closer and injected poison, she broke.
"I… I'll do it," she whispered. Her voice cracked, and her tears fell onto the marble floor. "I'll marry you. Just please, don't kill them."
Leo's heart clenched with triumph and despair all at once. He extended his hand, and a scroll of burning parchment appeared. The letters glowed with forbidden runes.
"A contract," he said. "Swear it, and you will be bound to me. You will never flee. You will never lie to me. You will remain by my side until the end of days."
Her hands shook as the chains around her wrists loosened just enough for her to take the quill. She signed. The parchment burned away into ash, and the runes seared themselves onto her skin like a brand.
Leo exhaled, almost in relief. "Finally," he murmured. "You're mine."
But deep inside, he knew the truth. He could force her to stay. He could bind her with chains and contracts. But he could never force her heart. And yet… he told himself it was enough.
The wedding was a mockery of joy.
The throne room, still scarred by battle, was draped with crimson fire and demonic banners. The air stank of blood and ash. The surviving nobles knelt in silence, their faces pale with terror. Leo stood at the altar, his bride beside him, her hands trembling as she clutched the cursed bouquet.
A demonic priest made them take their vows and skipped the part where he asked if anyone objected.
"You may now kiss the bride." He said.
Leo's smiled as this was his favorite part he has always fantasize about kissing the princess and just as he was about to lean forward.
The doors exploded open.
"LEO! Stop"
A figure staggered into the hall, drenched in blood, his left arm missing, his breaths ragged. His golden aura blazed against the darkness, illuminating the hall with a brilliance that clashed with Leo's shadows.
Kelly.
Leo's best friend. The boy who once trained with him, laughed with him, dreamed with him. The boy the princess had chosen.
Now his enemy.
"You…" Leo growled. "How did you escape the phantom prison?"
Kelly said nothing. He raised his blade with his one remaining arm, his eyes burning with righteous fury. "You're not Leo anymore. You're nothing but a demon."
"Then come, hero," Leo spat. "Save her, if you can."
The hall shook as their powers clashed. Leo unleashed beasts of shadow from his realm, their claws raking at the air. Kelly cut through them with golden light, each strike pure and precise. Demonic fire clashed with holy radiance, and the world trembled beneath their fury.
For a moment, it felt as though the earth itself would shatter.
Leo struck with a blast of corrupted energy that would have torn through mountains. Kelly dodged, barely, the beam searing past his cheek. In the smoke, Kelly charged, his blade aiming straight for Leo's heart.
Leo snarled, summoning more beasts and demonic chain.
But the princess threw an magic smoke bomb she made at Leo's back.
He coughed, choking. His vision blurred. His magic faltered.
"No…" He stumbled, clutching his throat. "What… what did you do?"
The princess stood across the hall, her eyes red from crying, her hands still trembling. And yet, her voice was steady.
"I poisoned you," she whispered. " You are nothing but a curse and I will rather die or shake the heavens than to be with you."
His world stopped.
The betrayal pierced deeper than any blade.
Kelly seized the opening. His golden aura flared brighter than ever before as he brought his sword down in a single, merciless strike.
Leo's head rolled across the floor, his vision fading into darkness.
The last thing he saw was the princess, falling into Kelly's arms, sobbing with relief. "I knew you'd come… I knew you'd save me."
And as his eyes closed, Leo's last thought was a bitter whisper.
No matter what I do… fate will never let me have her.
Leo gasped.
His eyes flew open, his chest heaving. He was not in the burning castle. There were no chains, no beasts, no corpses. He was in his bed, drenched in sweat.
Beside him, on the desk, the Fatedestin relic glowed faintly before dimming to silence.
He realized then.
It was a vision. A possible future.
His hands trembled as he buried his face in them. "So… that's what happens if I chase her. If I chase love that was never mine."
Silence filled the room.
Then, slowly, he lowered his hands. His crimson eyes no longer burned with grief—they burned with resolve.
"I have done everything possible just to make her love but she always ends up with my best friend even after asking destiny and checking the future it still never change.
He clenched his fist, and a small smile curling at the corner of his lips.
"Fuck them, Fuck faith, Fuck destiny and Fuck love…" His gaze hardened. "I'll defy it all."
The relic pulsed once, faintly, as if in answer.
The path had changed. But destiny still waited.