Ash and Nia were now separated as she stood behind him, watching everything with great interest.
She didn't give a damn about the consequences this family would face, the only person she ever cared for was Ash.
He was the only one who saw past her just being the hope of this kingdom, the one she could always go to when she needed a break from the weight thrown onto her shoulders.
Seeing him now—stronger, taller, and more breathtaking than anything she'd ever burned kingdoms for—she couldn't help the soft, adoring smile that curved her lips. Yet, as she lingered behind him, her gaze kept drifting to the tiny ten-tailed fox perched on his shoulder.
One might assume it was awe at a creature no history book had ever mentioned.
HA!
'Why am I getting such a strange feeling from this thing?' she wondered, a shiver crawling up her spine like the fox was her natural-born enemy for reasons she couldn't yet name.
Ash's melodic voice broke her thoughts.
The rest of the royal family remained frozen solid, leaving him free to issue any command he pleased for the next ten minutes.
He grinned at their stunned expressions, keeping them frozen where they stood.
'No need to listen to their nonsense. I'll have some fun before really getting things started,' he thought, before activating another skill—one he had crafted in the Haven precisely for this moment.
Snap!
|Revenant Requiem|
With a snap of his fingers, the skill activated, and the throne room vanished.
The royal family remained frozen in place, standing or seated exactly as before, but the world around them had transformed into an endless, blinding white void, carrying the faint scent of old blood and distant childhood tears.
"You know… I've been thinking for a long time about what I should do." Ash spoke slowly, his tone almost gentle, as he began recounting every wrong, they had ever done to him.
"Aster… ha, my eldest brother. Always tangled up in your schemes."
He shook his head, and as he did, the white room dissolved into a vision from the eyes of a younger Ash.
It replayed every moment Aster had pretended to teach him board games, only to hurl the heavy pieces against the child's back until skin split and velvet cushions were stained with blood.
Every so-called "lesson" in basic fighting moves ending with fists and knees striking hard enough to bruise bone.
From teaching him basic fighting moves to turning them into tools for bruising and battering him, the visions played out through Ash's eyes.
Everyone in the domain, except Nia and Vaeloria, felt every moment.
When younger Ash's eye swelled shut, ribs cracked like dry twigs, arms were wrenched from their sockets, or whatever the injury, they experienced it tenfold—every nerve screaming, every swallowed tear now forced from their own eyes, burning like acid.
It wasn't just that they couldn't scream—they couldn't even look away.
That was the brilliance of the skill he'd crafted.
Any attempt to resist, shut their eyes, or put up mental defenses only triggered a paradox loop: the more they fought the memory, the deeper it burned into their soul. They simply couldn't escape watching themselves as the villains.
"Then we have Shia… what a little devil you are," he said with a grin, glancing at his oldest sister.
"Honestly, I can see why Aster and Draven were tough on me. But you? I've never done a damn thing to you." He spat the words as the memories played out.
From as young as seven, Shia had already started tearing apart the life that hadn't even had the chance to begin.
Ash had always been smaller and skinnier than his peers.
Shia's first cruel move was spreading rumors that he was cursed, making even commoners view him with disdain.
Imagine walking through the palace you called home, only to have maids and butlers look at you with disgust, spitting when your back was turned and avoiding your eyes.
The five of them had been through it all and then some—from the hollow ache of childhood loneliness, to wounds that never truly healed, to the self-doubt that hissed he'd earned every bit of it.
But he wasn't finished. He glanced at Draven with a smirk. "I'll save you for last, buddy," he said, moving on.
"Oh, Caelum, the oh-so-mighty King. Tsk."
Scenes flashed of Caelum ignoring everything, letting servants deny Ash meals for days, and publicly calling his own son worthless before crowds of cheering nobles.
"You don't know what it's like to give your all, just hoping to hear a 'Good job, son,' only to get the cold shoulder or be spat on." Ash shook his head.
Then he looked to his mother.
He stared at her for a long, silent moment, realizing he couldn't remember a time she'd ever raised a hand against him. The only thing he could blame her for was changing—from the woman who once sang him to sleep to the queen who now looked right through him, as if he were already a ghost.
So, seeing her now, hurting and struggling like everyone else, he spoke just three words.
"You failed me…"
Lyssandra's heart shattered into pieces, and though she wanted to speak, she couldn't move.
When it was over, the five were in rough shape.
The domain shattered, and the throne room snapped back into reality. Still, Ash wasn't finished. He strode up to Draven, Eros Whisper still in effect, and gave his first and final command.
"Fight… fight with your life!" As he spoke, a devilishly beautiful smile spread across his face.