The wind howled through the broken towers of Eldoria as Ardyn stood alone in the ruins. The ashes of the old empire still lingered in the air, like whispers of a forgotten past.
Last night changed everything.
The strange shadow that saved him… it wasn't normal. It wasn't human.
Ardyn looked down at his right hand. A faint black symbol had appeared on his palm — glowing softly under the moonlight. It burned, but not with pain. It felt… alive.
"What are you?" he whispered.
Suddenly, a deep voice echoed inside his mind.
"You carry the Mark of the Last Emperor."
Ardyn froze.
"I'm no emperor," he muttered. "I'm just a village boy."
The voice laughed — cold and ancient.
"The blood never lies."
Memories that were not his own flashed before his eyes — armies kneeling, dragons flying across crimson skies, a throne made of obsidian stone.
Then—
A scream cut through the night.
Ardyn turned toward the forest. Flames were rising in the distance.
His village.
"They found me…" he whispered.
Dark armored soldiers marched through the trees, their armor marked with the symbol of the Iron Dominion — the force that destroyed the old empire.
One of them stepped forward.
"By order of the Dominion, surrender the marked one!"
Ardyn's heart pounded.
Run?
Fight?
Or accept the destiny he never asked for?
The symbol on his hand suddenly flared bright black.
Shadows gathered around him.
And for the first time…
Ardyn did not feel afraid.
He raised his head.
"Come."
To be continued…