"How did you find out about…" Rui began, unsure how to finish the sentence.
"About what?" Gloria interrupted with a playful chuckle. "You being a king?"
Before Rui could reply, she leaned closer and whispered in his ear, her breath warm and oddly threatening.
"For your information… we don't just let anybody enter Wandland. And we certainly don't let a king walk in unnoticed."
Rui blinked. "So… what now?"
"Well…" Gloria scratched her head, her expression twisting into a guilty smile. "Actually, you can just leave tomorrow."
"Huh?" Caesar snapped. "As if you'll just let us walk out?"
"Look, kid," Gloria sighed, "we're not here to hold you, or your horses, or whatever fancy royal ego you two came with. You can leave whenever you want. But I wasn't lying earlier when I said we protect our guests. Tonight, you stay."
Her tone tightened.
"Because outside is dangerous. Monster dangerous."
Rui raised an eyebrow, but her voice suddenly cracked—just enough for him to notice.
"I've seen too many people lose their loved ones," she murmured, eyes trembling. "And I've… lost mine as well."
Then, without warning, her voice snapped back into sharp command.
"So you will stay. Do you understand?"
"Al… alright. Calm down," Rui muttered.
Gloria exhaled, then motioned behind her.
"Well then. Since you two are staying anyway, let me introduce you to my allies—my only family."
A young girl shyly stepped forward, barely thirteen.
"This little one is Ria. Isn't she cute?" Gloria beamed proudly.
Then a tall, rough-looking man crossed his arms behind her.
"And this guy here is Jain. And yes—he's just Jain."
The two greeted Rui and Caesar with small nods.
Rui smiled. Something about the three of them—their closeness, their bond, their warmth within such a broken place—made his chest soften.
He sighed. "Alright then. Since we're here for the night anyway… tell us about this city. How did Wandland become a monster ground? Tell us everything."
Gloria slowly sat on the cracked stone floor and motioned for them to join her.
"Sit. This is not a short story."
Rui and Caesar settled down. Ria sat beside Gloria, leaning against her. Jain stood behind them like a quiet guardian.
Gloria inhaled deeply, as if preparing herself.
"You may have heard a part of this story," she began. "Long ago, a being fell from the skies. And with it came massive stones—a whole age of Codes and Commands began from those Tablets."
"Yes," Rui nodded. "Many believe the beginning happened in this land. That Wandland was the first place to receive the Tablets."
"That's what the legends say," Gloria replied. "But the truth is… only one tablet fell here. The others—maybe ten of them—scattered across the world."
"Some believe one fell in the East, one in the West, and the rest split between North and South. But nobody has ever confirmed anything."
She paused. A grin formed on her lips—a dark one, almost mocking.
"But what if I told you… we found the one that fell here?"
Rui's breath paused.
"Wha… what?" he whispered.
"Yes," Gloria said. "Believe it or not, ten years before the First Great War… our workers, soldiers, excavators—they struck something underground while digging. They hit the Tablet."
Rui leaned forward. "You found it after digging how long?"
"Two and a half years."
She chuckled weakly.
"It was the greatest discovery of Wandland. The moment everyone celebrated."
Her lips trembled.
And her eyes dimmed.
"I had just returned home from work. I was a teacher back then."
Rui froze.
He already sensed the darkness in her voice.
Gloria continued.
"I opened the door to my home… and stopped breathing."
Ria looked down. Jain's jaw tightened.
"My five-year-old brother," Gloria whispered, "was eating my mother's flesh."
Caesar's face pales.
"And my father… he was eating my grandmother."
A tear slid down Gloria's cheek.
"And you know what broke me?"
Her voice cracked.
"When my little brother saw me… he ran toward me. And for a moment—just for a moment—I thought it was love. That he remembered me. That he was still… my baby brother."
She shook her head, gripping her own arms.
"But it wasn't love. It wasn't anything human."
The silence was suffocating.
"In that moment of chaos, I grabbed the nearest thing—a wooden stick. And my hands… they didn't stop. They didn't stop until his head… cracked open."
Rui closed his eyes.
"My father, "was still eating. So I ran. I ran as fast as I could."
She swallowed, her voice trembling.
"The city was chaos. People were ripping each other apart. It was like a devil had possessed every soul in Drakkar."
Gloria wiped her face and continued.
"Some chased me," she said. "And I fell onto a dead corpse. That corpse saved me."
Rui frowned. "Saved you… how?"
Gloria nodded. "That's how I learned something important. The monsters didn't eat moving corpses. They saw them as their own kind. And they feared sunlight."
She looked at Rui and Caesar with stern eyes.
"That was Day One of this tragedy."
She inhaled deeply, calming herself.
"Later, those of us who survived formed a group. Our only mission:
To protect people who enter this land.
And to kill these monsters."
"Are the surviving civilians part of your network?" Caesar asked.
"Yes," Gloria nodded. "They watch the gates, the rooftops, the alleys. When someone comes into Wandland, they tell us."
Rui thought for a moment. "So… the king knows, right? Why doesn't he do anything?"
Gloria looked away.
"The king abandoned this land long ago. He doesn't want to get involved. And we've accepted it. Help isn't coming. No one can save drakkar anymore."
Caesar clenched his fists.
"So that's why people never come here at night."
"Yes," Gloria said flatly. "Night is their feeding time."
Rui leaned forward.
"So all this happened because of the Tablet Stone?"
"I don't know how," Gloria admitted. "But one thing is certain—if you go near the excavation site where the tablet lies… you get cursed."
Rui's eyes narrowed. "Where is that place?"
Gloria pointed a finger at him, almost scolding.
"King Rui. I know you're curious. But mind your own business. Do not bring another disaster onto my people."
Rui's voice deepened, suddenly cold.
"I can find it myself if I want."
"Why?" Gloria demanded.
Rui smiled slowly.
"Maybe I can help."
"Help with what?"
Rui leaned toward her ear and whispered:
"Maybe I can fix all of this.
I'm the King of Velvet.
The Sword of Three Nations."
Gloria stared at him.
And then laughed.
"You're funny."
Rui didn't blink.
"I'm not."
Her laughter stopped.
"...Alright," Gloria said at last. "I'll tell you. But I have a condition. I'll reveal it later."
"I accept," Rui said instantly.
Gloria suddenly looked over her shoulder.
"Oh look—the sun has finally risen."
A soft golden glow crept through the shattered walls.
She stood.
"We talked the whole night."
Then she smiled—a grave, almost reverent smile.
"Are you two prepared?"
Her eyes sharpened.
"To see the truth?"
She stepped back and extended her hand toward the rising light.
"Welcome… to La tierra del comienzo.
The Land of Beginning."....