Chapter 9: The Crown of Annihilation

The Forgotten One’s words echoed in Kael’s mind like a bell struck in the depths of a hollow temple. He couldn’t shake them. They kept bouncing around inside him, like shards of glass, sharp and cutting.

“You are the culmination of the Veyrin bloodline.”

Kael stood frozen in the endless expanse of stars, feeling the weight of the statement. The Forgotten One’s presence loomed large before him, its form shifting and warping like smoke, but the truth behind its words was as solid as the earth beneath his feet.

The Nullsong Blade hummed beside him, its edge still glowing faintly. He could feel it—a pull, a tug, a magnetic force drawing him toward something beyond his understanding.

Lira stood at his side, her expression hard but uncertain. “Kael, what does it mean? What are they saying?”

Kael shook his head. “I don’t know yet. But I can feel it.” He looked up at the Forgotten One. “You said the Veyrin line was meant to be destroyers. What does that mean? What’s the crown really for?”

The figure before them—this being made of light and shadow—shifted again, its voice rising and falling like a distant whisper across an ocean.

“The Crown of Veyrin is not simply a symbol of leadership. It is the key to a power that transcends all boundaries. It was crafted in the depths of time, forged in the first fires of creation. It is a weapon—designed to merge the realms, to tear apart the very fabric of existence. When the time comes, the Veyrin who wears the crown will not just rule; they will remake the world.”

Kael clenched his fists. “That’s insane. I will not do that. I won’t wear that crown.”

“You say that now,” the Forgotten One murmured. “But the bloodline cannot escape its destiny. You are already changing. It is only a matter of time.”

Lira stepped forward, eyes blazing with defiance. “You’re wrong. Kael isn’t a weapon. He’s a man. A person with choices.”

The Forgotten One’s gaze shifted to her, and Kael felt an unnatural chill. “Ah, the companion,” it said. “You are precious to him. You will not be enough to stop what is coming.”

“You don’t know anything about us,” Lira snapped. “We’ll find another way.”

But the Forgotten One only smiled—if it could be called a smile. “You may try. But know this—there is no other way. The threads of time are already tangled around him. He is the key. He always has been.”

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A Journey Through the Void

The figure’s words hung heavy in the air as the void around them seemed to warp and pulse with energy. Kael could feel his heart pounding in his chest as the realization slowly crept over him—he was trapped. No matter how hard he fought against it, the mantle of the Veyrin bloodline, the crown, was pulling him in. It was like a magnet, tugging at his very soul, forcing him to confront a destiny he didn’t choose.

“Kael,” Lira said, her voice gentle. “Don’t listen to it. It’s trying to manipulate you.”

“I don’t think it’s manipulation,” Kael murmured, looking at the Forgotten One with a new understanding. “I think it’s the truth. I think… I think I’ve always been the one who was meant to destroy it all.”

“No.” Lira’s voice cracked with urgency. “Kael, you can choose. This doesn’t have to be your future. You’re more than this bloodline, more than this crown. You don’t have to become the weapon they want you to be.”

Kael turned to her, his eyes burning with the weight of his decision. “What if I don’t have a choice anymore?”

The Forgotten One’s voice rang out again, softer now, almost like a whisper in Kael’s mind.

“You are already wearing the crown, Kael Veyrin. You just haven’t realized it yet.”

The ground beneath them shuddered, and the stars above twisted into a vortex, pulling them both deeper into the void. The Forgotten One’s form began to fade as if dissolving into the very fabric of the cosmos.

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The Otherworld

Suddenly, Kael was no longer standing in the star-filled void.

He was in a place that wasn’t a place—an otherworld, a dimension that existed outside of time and space. The air was thick with energy, and the ground was made of shifting, glowing runes, stretching out endlessly in every direction.

And there, standing in the center of it all, was a figure that Kael had only seen in his dreams.

It was him—the king—the version of Kael he had glimpsed in the vision, wearing the Crown of Veyrin, standing atop a mountain of corpses. His eyes were cold, but there was something else behind them—a hunger, a need for destruction that Kael felt in the deepest parts of his being.

“You… you’re me,” Kael whispered.

“Yes,” the king’s voice echoed. “I am you. And you are me.”

“I’m not like you,” Kael said, his voice trembling with anger. “I won’t become you.”

The king laughed. “It’s too late for that. The bloodline has already taken root within you. You are bound to it, bound to its purpose. You cannot escape it.”

“No,” Kael said again, shaking his head. “I won’t become that. I refuse.”

“You have no choice,” the king said, his voice dark and filled with power. “You will wear the crown. And when you do, you will bring forth the end of everything. Your kingdom will be eternal.”

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The Revelation

Suddenly, Kael’s vision shifted, and he was no longer facing the other him. Instead, he was standing alone in a chamber—an ancient, decaying hall, filled with the remnants of long-forgotten empires. At the far end of the hall was a pedestal, and upon it rested the Crown of Veyrin.

It was beautiful—shining with strange, otherworldly light, its edges sharp as though they could cut through the fabric of time itself. It seemed to call to him, beckoning him to take it, to claim it as his own.

He walked toward it slowly, feeling the weight of destiny pressing down on him with every step.

But as his hand reached out toward the crown, a voice echoed in his mind—Lira’s voice.

“Kael, don’t.”

He stopped. The voice was distant, but it felt like it was right beside him, as if she were standing in the very room with him.

“You’re stronger than this,” Lira continued, her voice filled with determination. “You can resist. Don’t let it consume you.”

Kael closed his eyes, his heart racing. And for the first time in his life, he made a choice.

He stepped back.

End of Chapter 9