She hesitated.
Her hand hovered over the cold stone.
Then the screams above grew louder.
She didn't think.
She ran.
The chamber swallowed her in darkness.
As she stepped inside, the air itself felt heavy—
pressing down on her chest, suffocating her thoughts.
And then she saw him.
Standing before the sealed man, her legs gave way.
She collapsed to the ground, shaking, unable to breathe.
The aura surrounding him was not rage.
It was not malice.
It was something worse.
Ancient.
Absolute.
She realized then—
this was not a being meant to be fought.
This was a force meant to end things.
There was no hope left.
No reinforcements.
No aid from neighboring kingdoms.
Only two choices remained:
—Fight, and be wiped out.
—Or free the one sealed beneath the palace.
Standing before him, the princess gathered what little courage she had left.
Her voice trembled, but she forced it out.
"Please… save us."
The man's eye opened.
From beneath his tangled hair, a single gaze emerged—
black, bottomless, like an abyss swallowing the light.
He looked at her for a long moment.
"A child?" he murmured.
The princess hesitated. Fear clawed at her throat.
But above them, the screams of the dying echoed through the palace.
She spoke again.
"Please… I don't know who you are.
I don't know what you are.
Just… save my parents.
Save my people from the demons."
The man smiled.
It wasn't cruel.
It wasn't kind.
It was tired.
"Why should I do that?" he asked calmly.
"What will you offer me?"
"I will break the seal," the princess said.
The man's eye narrowed slightly.
"Break the seal?"
His voice was calm. Almost amused.
"And how will you do that, child?"
The princess froze.
She didn't know.
There was no key.
No time to search for one.
The demons were already at the palace gates.
Desperation clouded her thoughts.
The man watched her quietly.
Then he spoke.
"I know the key."
Her heart skipped.
"Where… where is it?" she asked hesitantly.
The man's smile widened just a little.
"Come closer."
Fear screamed at her to stop, but she stepped forward.
A barrier separated them—cold, invisible, absolute.
"Cut your waist," the man said.
Her breath caught.
She hesitated—just for a moment—
then drew the blade across her skin.
Pain burned through her body as blood began to drip onto the stone floor.
Her legs trembled, but she did not move.
"Now," the man said softly,
"place your hand on the barrier."
She did.
The moment her bloodied hand touched it, the chamber screamed.
Chains shattered.
Seals cracked.
Ancient bindings turned to dust.
A black aura exploded outward like a storm.
Daylight vanished.
The sky darkened in an instant.
Across the kingdom—
soldiers froze,
civilians collapsed,
demons stopped where they stood.
A chill crawled up every spine.
The king felt it immediately.
His blood ran cold.
"The seal…" he whispered.
Beneath the palace, laughter echoed—
deep, ancient, and endless—
spreading across the kingdom like a curse reborn.
The laughter stopped.
Slowly, the man turned his gaze toward the princess.
"Oh… foolish child," he said, a faint smile touching his lips.
His form shifted.
The long, tangled hair fell away like ash and vanished into the air.
For the first time in centuries, his face was revealed.
He looked like a man in his mid-twenties—
handsome, calm, almost gentle—
except for his eyes.
They were still an abyss.
Endless. Unreachable.
Tattered remnants of clothing clung to his body as he stepped forward.
The princess's strength left her legs.
She collapsed to the ground, staring up at him in horror and disbelief.