Arthur stood over what looked like an ancient battlefield, his black cloak snapping behind him. The ground beneath his boots was a graveyard of forgotten fossilized corpses stretched in every direction. Twisted horns jutted from skulls the size of boulders; clawed hands still clutched rusted axes and shattered banners emblazoned with the sigil of Baran, the Demon Monarch. Here and there, a massive ribcage arched skyward, and the earth itself was scarred with craters where spells of cataclysmic power had once detonated. Nothing grew. Nothing moved. Only the wind and the ghosts of the past.
He walked slowly, the crunch of petrified bone and armor beneath his feet was the only sound one could hear. His gaze swept the desolation, and the memories rose, Ashborn, his predecessor, the first Shadow Monarch had stood here centuries ago, Baran had been his ally then, or so the demon had sworn. Side by side they had waged war against the Rulers, but betrayal had bloomed in his heart. Arthur could almost see it, Ashborn's sword flashing, Baran's demonic legions dying. Ashborn had ended it here, personally, ripping the traitor's essence apart and scattering his armies. The fossils were all that remained, silent witnesses to the price of betraying the Shadow Monarch.
Arthur's jaw tightened, a flicker of fury passing behind his violet eyes. 'The current monarchs might pull the same thing again,' he thought,
"They'll smile, offer alliance some might even swear fealty… only to sink the knife in when my back is turned. But I will not even negotiate with them." His lips curled into a smile. "Some remnants of their armies are still in this world, hiding, waiting for their monarchs to return."
The sky above cracked open with a boom. A colossal shadow blotted out the sky, Kamish, the massive dragon who once served the Dragon Monarch, Now Arthur had claimed as his own, seated regally upon its back was Igris, the Blood-Red Knight. The dragon banked sharply, descending with a grace that belied its size, and Igris leaped free mid-air. He landed in a crouch beside Arthur, one knee driving into the fossilized earth with enough force to crack it further. The knight's helmeted head bowed low, crimson plume stirring in the wind, and he remained in perfect, reverent kneeling posture.
"My liege," Igris intoned, voice formal. "We have scoured the northern lands. An ancient castle lies not far from here, its halls swarm with lesser demons. They sensed our approach and sealed themselves within. They refused to speak, trembling behind their wards out of pure terror."
Arthur's gaze remained distant for a moment, a faint smile touched his lips. "I've already seen it through your eyes, Igris. I will deal with the castle shortly, If they don't wish to fight we will not harm them."
He turned slightly, "What I need you to find is a dragon, any dragon will suffice. Its scent, its trail, will lead me straight to him. Though I doubt he ever set foot on this forsaken field. Only the desperate ones will, if they wish to get back their armies remnants." Arthur's tone dripped with contempt. "He doesn't view the other Monarchs as equals. To him, they're little more than additional foot soldiers, their armies mere fodder to be spent."
Igris rose, fist pressed to his chest in salute. "Very well, my liege. We shall keep looking. We will not fail you." With a powerful leap, he vaulted back onto the dragon's back. Kamish let out a low, rumbling growl, before launching skyward once more, wings kicking up a whirlwind that scattered loose fragments of bone across the plain.
Arthur stood alone again then his eyes ignited, twin violet flames blazing brighter than before, his head snapped toward the eastern horizon, where the faint pulse of mana throbbed.
"There," he said.
He launched forward without warning. The ground exploded behind him in a crater of shattered fossils and dust, the shockwave rippling outward like a bomb. Arthur tore through the air at blinding speed, a streak of living shadow and violet light.
The wind screamed past his ears, 'That has to be the energy of one of them,' he thought, the words forming in his mind with certainty. 'It doesn't burn with the raw fury of Antares' successor… but it's one of them. There is no mistaking this.'
Miles blurred beneath him. The battlefield gave way to jagged foothills, then a yawning chasm that split the earth. An abyss canyon, its walls plunging into darkness, "Down there," he muttered, voice carried away by the rush of his descent, he then dove.
The bottom was no mere pit. The moment he crossed the threshold, the world inverted. A spell of concealment shattered like glass under his will, revealing an entirely different realm hidden beneath the surface, a vast subterranean expanse lit by glowing veins of crimson ore and flickering forges. It stretched for leagues, an underground kingdom teeming with life, or what passed for it among monsters. Orcs, High orcs, humanoid monsters in iron plate labored in endless ranks, their tusked faces grim as they hammered at colossal war machines, siege engines the size of small fortresses. Humanoid monsters with scaled hides hauled massive chains, dragging siege towers into formation. Millions of them. An entire civilization of Tarnak's brood, the races sworn to the Monarch Iron body, toiling in perfect, militarized harmony.
Arthur hovered above it all, unseen for the moment 'A concealment spell strong enough to blind even my soldiers,' he noted, eyes narrowing. 'Clever. But not clever enough.'
He reached out with his mind, his voice echoed directly into the mind of the one he sought, cold and commanding.
"I know you are here, Monarch of Iron Body. Show yourself."
A rumbling chuckle answered, vibrating through the cavern like an earthquake. From the heart of the largest forge complex, a figure emerged, tall, armored, eyes burning with a green glow. The Monarch of Iron Body stepped into view, his lips peeled back in a grin.
"Well, well," the voice boomed, both aloud and in Arthur's skull, thick with mocking amusement. "The Shadow Monarch graces us at last. You didn't have to come all this way, you know. We were preparing to pay you a visit anyway... all of us."
Arthur's eyes narrowed "All of you?" he echoed,
The Iron Body Monarch spread his arms wide, as if encompassing the entire hidden army below. "Do not play the fool, Shadow Monarch. We know your intentions as clearly as you know ours. We've been searching for you for months while your little world sits there, untouched and complacent. You were supposed to be gathering your armies by now. Supposed to be aiding us in the coming war." His tone dripped with false camaraderie.
Arthur's expression didn't change, a laugh escaped him, "That stupid cycle of pointless war," he said, voice filled with utter contempt. "It seems the madness has infected even you lot. How utterly predictable. You idiots will never change, successors or not, no matter how many times the wheel turns, you chase the same futile glory... So I won't waste another second with you."
The cavern trembled as Arthur's aura fully unfurled, shadows rising in a tide that swallowed light. The Monarch of Iron Body's grin faltered for the briefest instant, surprise, perhaps, or the first stirrings of upcoming danger.
The canyon trembled under a presence that no longer bothered to hide.
Arthur descended slowly, and the Monarch of the Iron Body stood still for a moment, simply looking up.
Then his gaze locked onto Arthur.
The pressure between them was immediate.
"Since you are Tarnak's successor…" Arthur's voice carried effortlessly across the canyon,"…you should already know what the Shadow Monarch is capable of."
There was no arrogance in it.
Below, the Monarch's eyes narrowed, the faint glow within them intensifying as he studied Arthur more closely. For a moment he was silent. Then he exhaled slowly.
"I do," he replied, his voice deep, echoing across the canyon walls. "The memories are… quite thorough."
A faint shift ran through the army behind him as he took a single step forward, the ground cracking slightly beneath the weight of it.
"But memories," he continued, tilting his head ever so slightly, "are not always reality."
Arthur said nothing. The Monarch's gaze drifted under Arthur, scanning the shadows stored within Arthur.
"I see what you have," he went on, amusement creeping into his tone. "A respectable force, for a single Monarch."
His lips curved just slightly.
"ten thousands? Perhaps more. A hundred thousand, if I'm being generous."
Then his eyes returned to Arthur, sharp and unyielding.
"I command millions."
The words were a statement.
"You'll run out of mana long before you make a dent, long before you can even think of standing against me." he added.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Arthur remained exactly where he was, hovering in the air, then
He smiled. And slowly, he raised one hand.
Just one.
A small gesture and darkness tore open.
It unfolded naturally, violently and the shadows behind Arthur expanded in an instant, stretching outward into a vast, consuming veil.
Then
They stepped out.
One after another, the shadows emerged, their presence slamming into the world with overwhelming force.
More came. And more.
The very presence of the Shadow Monarch's forces pressed down on the canyon, forcing even the massive army below to hesitate.
Arthur didn't lower his hand.
He simply let it fall back to his side as the last of his Marshals returned and took their place behind him.
His eyes burned brighter now, and shadow gathered along his shoulders, spreading rapidly across his body like living armor. It shaped itself, piece by piece, until a full set of dark armor enveloped him, sleek, jagged, and pulsing faintly with power. A helm followed, forming last, framing his glowing eyes beneath its shadowed edge.
"Let's us find out." Arthur's words were quiet. But they struck harder than anything shouted.
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