Silence still covered the square…
A heavy, dense silence, like ashes burning from the inside without showing any flame.
Ashen stood exactly where he was, motionless…
His eyes held no light, no desire, no question.
Yet when he finally spoke, it felt like he dropped a weight onto the air.
In a calm voice completely drained of life, he said:
"The Cultivator Convergence…
Do you know how to reach it?"
The words were simple, but their impact froze every soldier.
No one asked about the Convergence unless they had a reason…
And Ashen's reason did not seem like something a human mind could understand.
Korval raised a brow slightly.
Not out of surprise…
But a faint shock at how quickly Ashen went straight to the point.
He stepped closer… each step measured…
As if approaching a shrine, not a person.
"I will head to the Convergence soon…
My two sons will participate this year."
His eyes shone with the experience of a king who knew the value of hidden paths and secret knowledge.
Then he added:
"And if you help me…
I will make sure you reach it."
Ashen didn't reply.
He didn't nod.
Nothing.
He seemed to be thinking…
But in a way no one could see or predict.
Behind him, the giant abomination simply watched.
Its trembling body breathed in broken rhythms, as if a hundred chests inside it were trying to inhale at the same time.
Yet despite the chaos in its form, it did not interfere.
Even the city itself seemed to hold its breath…
Waiting for Ashen's decision.
And then…
Ashen moved his head slightly.
A barely visible nod.
A nod strong enough to break armies or redirect a continent.
Korval caught it immediately.
"So… you agree."
He smiled.
The smile of a man who had just found the most dangerous piece on the board—
A piece that could flip the game… or burn it entirely.
Korval spoke in a low voice, warm but clearly deceptive:
"Come with me to the Red Emerald Kingdom.
There… we will discuss everything."
The soldiers behind him exchanged looks.
A thick tension crawled through their ranks.
They tried to stand firm…
But between Ashen, who stood like an empty shell…
And the abomination, which looked like it had been born from humanity's worst nightmares…
Only cold fear remained in their bones.
The abomination turned its head toward Korval.
Its large vertical eyes shone with curiosity.
The many smaller eyes across the human-like faces on the sides of its head all stared with piercing intensity that chilled the soul.
And on the sides of its cracked mouth, a smile began to form…
A smile that did not belong to any natural creature.
Then it spoke.
But it was not one voice.
It was many.
Voices of men, women, children, elders… even animals.
Screams, cries, laughter, gasps…
All merging into a single sentence:
"You are entertaining, king…
Are you not afraid of me like your soldiers?
Does my existence not disturb you?"
The soldiers stepped back instinctively.
Some placed hands on their weapons, even though they knew they were useless.
Just hearing the creature's voices was enough to wake their worst nightmares.
Korval?
Korval laughed.
A short, calm, deadly laugh.
"Afraid?
When you look at the rot, blood, and disasters this world carries…
You look like a pure angel in comparison."
The abomination burst into laughter.
A laugh that made the air shake.
A laugh that, if heard at night, would make people believe the world was collapsing.
Korval remained still.
His eyes watched…
Measured…
Judged…
Planned.
Ashen said nothing.
He didn't accept.
He didn't object.
He simply didn't care.
He took one single step forward…
And that step acted like a seal on the agreement.
Korval turned his back and gestured with his hand:
"We move."
The soldiers formed up quickly…
But their movements were shaky.
No one wanted to turn their back on Ashen.
And no one could stand looking at the abomination for more than a few seconds.
Korval was the only one walking with the confidence of a man who saw the world as an opportunity, not a threat.
The abomination followed behind Ashen…
Its body shaking like a beast stitched together from flesh and the blood of victims.
And the road toward the Red Emerald Kingdom began—
A road that would later be marked with a single truth:
Here… the first signs of chaos in the continent—and perhaps the world—were born.