The next morning, the silence was broken only by the soft crunch of ash and bone beneath their boots. Adexander walked at the front, his crimson cloak slightly torn, stained with a new layer of battle. Behind him, Raik followed—silent for once, his usual banter curbed by the weight of what they'd faced.
> "So…" Raik finally spoke, tone cautious. "That thing you did back there. That 'Crimson Tempest.' What was that?"
Adexander didn't turn.
> "A fragment," he replied.
> "Of?"
> "Who I was."
Raik raised an eyebrow. "Cryptic. Real helpful."
> "It's all I know," Adexander added. "For now."
Raik muttered under his breath. "Guy with amnesia and godlike murder bursts. Great travel companion."
Adexander suddenly halted, one hand raised. Raik stilled instantly, instincts kicking in. Then they heard it—footsteps. Not beastly. Not monstrous. But human.
From around the bend in the corridor came a figure clad in black armor, hooded, a sword as long as he was tall slung lazily over one shoulder. The moment his eyes—icy blue—met Adexander's crimson gaze, the air changed.
> "Igris," Adexander said flatly.
The black-armored man stopped.
> "You remember me," he said in a deep voice that echoed with reverence and restraint.
> "Not everything. Just the killing intent."
Raik raised a brow. "Friend of yours?"
Igris didn't move.
> "In a way," Adexander murmured. "He was once my right hand."
> "And now?"
> "That's what we're about to find out."
A long silence passed.
Then, Igris knelt.
> "Crimson King… or whatever remains of him… I have waited."
Adexander's eyes narrowed.
> "Waited?"
> "Through the centuries," Igris said without hesitation. "For your return. For your rebirth."
Raik stepped back, blade halfway drawn. "Okay, what the actual hell is going on?"
> "Raik," Adexander said calmly. "Stand down."
> "But—"
> "He won't strike."
Igris spoke again, head still bowed. "I sensed your aura awaken. The hounds… the burst of power. It was unmistakable."
> "You came to serve again?" Adexander asked, his tone unreadable.
> "To serve," Igris affirmed. "To follow. To fight. Until the Crimson Throne is reclaimed… or burned to ash once more."
Raik let out a low whistle. "That's... dramatic."
Adexander approached the kneeling knight. He stopped inches away.
> "Then rise, Igris. But this time… we carve a new path."
Igris stood, straight and solemn.
> "As you command."
Raik blinked. "Just like that? No tests? No fight to the death?"
Adexander smirked faintly.
> "He already passed the hardest test."
> "Which was?"
> "Waiting."
---
Later, they traveled deeper into the dungeon, the three of them now a unit. The further they went, the more the air shimmered with energy. The walls bled symbols—arcane and ancient, whispers of a long-lost era.
> "This place wasn't just built to trap monsters," Igris murmured. "It was built to contain something."
> "Like what?" Raik asked, spinning a knife idly.
Adexander responded quietly.
> "Power. Or maybe… memories."
At the end of the corridor, a massive stone door stood, pulsing with blood-red sigils. A barrier of dark energy surged from its frame, stopping anyone unworthy from passing.
Adexander stepped forward. The door responded.
The sigils turned crimson.
The energy bent inward.
And the stone groaned open.
Raik's jaw dropped.
> "You ever consider you might be some kind of god?"
Adexander's voice was steady.
> "Gods bleed too."
---
As they entered the chamber beyond, they were greeted not by monsters—but by mirrors. Dozens of them. Each one showing… him.
Different versions of Adexander. Some wore golden armor. Some had black wings. Some were chained. Some were crowned.
One even smiled.
Raik shivered. "I don't like this."
Igris stepped beside him. "Neither do I."
Adexander stared into one mirror that showed him seated upon a throne of bones, corpses impaled around him.
> "These are echoes," he muttered.
> "Reflections of who you were," Igris said solemnly. "And who you might become again."
> "Or worse," Raik muttered.
Suddenly, one of the mirrors shattered.
A shadow stepped out.
It looked like Adexander.
But the eyes were hollow.
> "Ah," it spoke with a twisted smile. "I wondered when you'd come back."
Adexander clenched his fists. "What are you?"
> "The part of you that never let go. The King that never died. The Wrath that still remembers everything."
Raik's voice dropped. "We're fighting a mirror?"
Igris stepped forward, drawing his sword.
> "No. We're fighting the Crimson King's ghost."
The shadow Adexander raised a hand, crimson lightning crackling in his palm.
> "Come, then. Let's see if the new you can kill the real you."
And with that, the chamber exploded into chaos.