The past is never truly forgotten. It simply waits for the right moment to awaken.
---
The figure stood before them, as if time itself had halted around him. Drevan. His presence echoed, an unnerving blend of forgotten truths and wounds that refused to heal.
Adexander's fingers tightened around the Fangblade. His gaze never left Drevan's eyes.
"Brother."
The word hung between them like a long-dead promise. Something shifted in the air—a pull, like gravity itself bending.
Kaien shifted his weight uneasily, his hand resting on the hilt of his weapon. "You've got to be kidding me. That's the 'brother' you've been talking about?"
Raik gripped his gauntlet tighter, eyes narrowing. "I don't like the feel of this."
Velessia's wings twitched, her silver eyes locked on Drevan. "He's dangerous. Too dangerous."
But Adexander? He stood perfectly still. His heart didn't race. His breath didn't quicken. It was as though this moment had already been written into his fate. He knew this man. Knew his weight. His presence.
And yet…
"Drevan," Adexander spoke with the same weight as the man before him, his voice carrying a calm that belied the storm raging inside. "It's been a long time."
The name echoed in Drevan's hollow eyes. His lips twitched ever so slightly, almost a smile—if a smile could carry the weight of centuries.
"Long indeed," Drevan responded, his voice a soft, almost melodic whisper. "But I never thought it would come to this… to you." He tilted his head slightly, a strange mix of admiration and disdain lining his words. "Do you know what you are? What you've become?"
Adexander's hand shifted, the blade still resting at his side. "A king. The Crimson Ascendant."
"No," Drevan's voice dropped, sharp and cutting. "You are still the Crimson King. The same as me. Nothing more, nothing less."
Adexander's brow furrowed. "That's not the same."
Drevan stepped forward, his presence filling the space. "It's the exact same, Adexander. You wear a crown forged from blood, from death. You fight to rise, but you've been falling all along."
There was a long silence.
Then, with a calmness that felt like the calm before a storm, Drevan's eyes turned to the others. Kaien, Raik, Velessia—all of them tensed.
But Drevan's focus never wavered from Adexander.
> "You've walked a path of destruction," Drevan continued, his voice shifting into something more ominous. "But this is where it ends."
Adexander clenched his fists, his eyes narrowing with fury. "You say it ends here. But who's to say which of us will stand at the end?"
Drevan's lips parted slightly, a cruel smile curling. "Ah… You still don't see. You think you have a choice. You think you control your destiny. But you're wrong."
Kaien stepped forward, drawing his weapon. "Enough of this philosophical nonsense. Who the hell is this guy?"
"You don't need to know," Drevan answered coldly, the chains around his sword rattling faintly. "Not yet."
"Then why are we even here?" Raik's voice held the edge of frustration.
Drevan's gaze turned back to Adexander, the silence stretching out between them. "Because this is where the Cycle begins to repeat," Drevan's voice dropped to a whisper, but it carried the weight of the universe. "You'll understand, sooner or later. You'll realize that all of this—everything you've fought for—has already been decided. Your ascension is inevitable. But the price?"
He paused. "The price is far greater than you know."
Adexander's blood burned at the words. The System flashed across his vision:
> [Warning: Drevan - Worldbreaker Class - Unable to Assess Power Level.]
> [Caution: Unknown Entity Presence.]
But none of that mattered. What mattered was the promise in Drevan's words. The unspoken truth that hung between them like a thin thread—about the Cycle, about the end.
Adexander drew the Fangblade, its crimson light flickering. He took one step forward. Then another.
"Then I'll break it," he said, his voice unwavering.
Drevan didn't flinch. Instead, his smile deepened. "We'll see, brother. We'll see."
---
Suddenly, the air cracked with tension. The wind picked up, swirling around them, carrying whispers too faint to make sense of. Something shifted deep within the earth—a tremor that made even the ground beneath their feet hum.
Then, as quickly as it had begun, the pressure eased. Drevan stepped back, slowly unsheathing his blade.
> "The Seventh Seal is upon us," Drevan said, his eyes now glowing faintly. "And with it, a reckoning."
Kaien's grip tightened on his sword. Raik's gauntlet hummed, the energy rising in his core. Velessia's wings flexed, her silver eyes locked on Drevan.
But Adexander? His gaze never wavered from the man who had once been his brother. His rival.
The stage had been set.
End of Chapter 31