The cold chains rattled with every small movement I made, a constant reminder of my new reality. I wasn't king anymore. The taste of royalty was a distant memory now, replaced with the grim, rough reality of the shackles binding my wrists. My gaze lingered on the others around me—the slaves who were too weak, too broken, to care about the fate of the one who had just risen to his feet.
I stood there for a moment, still feeling the heat of rage simmering under my skin. A king didn't belong in chains. I didn't belong in this pit. But there I was, a pathetic imitation of what I once was. A failure. My body, so accustomed to power and dominance, felt foreign to me. I could feel the weight of this new flesh—fragile, weak. My muscles ached from the unfamiliarity of being physically bound, the constant resistance of the chains tugging against my skin.
I clenched my fists, pushing past the discomfort, forcing my mind to focus. I had to regain control. I had to understand.
The voice—the Crown of Shadows—still lingered in the back of my mind.
"Patience my king" it echoed. "You are not yet strong enough to wield the power you crave."
Patience. A cruel word. But what else was I to do? I had sworn vengeance, and vengeance would not be delivered by standing idle. If anything, it would only burn brighter the longer I was imprisoned like this.
The slaves around me had returned to their stupor, unaware of the storm brewing in my chest. Some sat against the cold stone walls, while others huddled together in groups, whispering in hushed tones that I could barely hear. They were resigned, already defeated. But I wasn't like them. I would never be like them.
I shifted my focus to the chains. They were heavy, cold—seemingly unbreakable. I tugged at them, testing their resistance. The metal bit into my flesh, and the weight only seemed to pull me back down, making every movement harder. I needed something to sever them. My mind raced—what power did I have left? The Crown had promised me power. Why hadn't it manifested fully yet?
Suddenly, the faintest shimmer appeared in my vision. At first, I thought it was a trick of the light, but as I blinked, it remained—a soft, glowing light, almost like an interface floating in the air before me. It was faint, insubstantial, and alien, but it was there. The sensation of something tangible had returned to my body. Something beyond the immediate pain and weight of the chains.
I stared at the glowing words that began to form in front of me, each one shifting and vibrating like a living thing.
[System activated]
[Welcome to your new life, king of shadows]
I blinked, confusion clouding my thoughts. My heart skipped a beat as the words registered in my mind. System activated?
This... this was it? Was this the power the Crown had promised? Was this the force that would help me regain my throne? The words swam before my eyes like a fevered dream, but the message was clear.
I reached out instinctively, my hand passing through the words like they were nothing more than air. But that was impossible—there was something there, something solid and tangible to the touch. I could feel it now—an undercurrent of power, just out of reach.
[Status: User: unknown]
[Power: Dormant]
[Abilities: None]
I frowned. The words shifted again, but they were unhelpful. Dormant? I had no abilities? This couldn't be right. This was supposed to be my power, the power of vengeance. The power of the Crown of Shadows. Why was it so... vague? So weak?
[Objective: survive and grow]
[Task: Break free from chains]
Survive? Grow? The words were a slap in the face. Of course, I would survive. I was a king. I wasn't some feeble slave, bound and broken. But how? How was I supposed to break free when all I had were these... alien words in front of me?
I reached out again, trying to touch the interface more deliberately this time, but it vanished—gone in an instant, slipping from my grasp as if it had never existed in the first place. I cursed under my breath, frustration boiling over. How was I supposed to use this power if I couldn't even understand it?
I sat back down, taking a deep breath to steady myself. Think. I could feel the weight of the chains, the cold stone beneath me. But I had been a king, a ruler of men and nations. I had commanded armies, made alliances, built an empire. I wasn't so far gone that I couldn't figure this out.
I closed my eyes, focusing on the sensation of the power that now seemed to exist just beneath my skin. Where was it? I reached deep within, trying to understand its presence, to call it forth. I felt nothing but emptiness for a moment, and I almost gave up.
Then, like a spark igniting a fire, I felt something—just the faintest trace of energy stirring deep within me. It wasn't much, but it was there. It hummed beneath my skin, a faint pulsing rhythm, like the heartbeat of something ancient. Something vast.
With renewed determination, I focused harder.
[Available abilities]
The words flashed before my eyes again. This time, I didn't hesitate.
[Break chains: Active]
A surge of energy coursed through my body. My wrists burned as the chains rattled violently, and I felt a wave of power wash over me. I gasped, my body seizing as the sensation of pure force surged from the depths of my being. The chains began to glow, their resistance weakening under the pressure of the energy I had summoned.
The cold metal heated rapidly, and I could feel the strain it put on my body. My veins felt like they were boiling, my heart racing in time with the rhythm of the power. I clenched my teeth against the pain, focusing all my energy on the task at hand.
Break free.
The chains snapped. The sound was deafening, and I almost couldn't believe it. One of the links broke apart completely, leaving me with nothing more than the remnants of the shackles that had held me captive. I gasped for breath, the power fading from my body as I slumped back against the cold stone, my body trembling with exhaustion.
But it was done. The chains were gone.
I had done it.
I looked down at my hands, still shaking, but now unencumbered by the chains that had bound me. The power was there. It had come through for me, but it was still so alien—so untamed. It had taken everything I had to break free. How could I trust something so unfamiliar to give me the power I needed to take back what was mine?
[Objective: move forward. Progress ]
The words flashed before me again, like an echo from another world. Move forward. I had broken free, but what came next? What could I possibly do in this place, surrounded by nothing but other broken souls?
I stood up, my legs shaky, but the strength was there—just barely. The other slaves were watching me, their eyes wide with a mixture of awe and fear. They had seen what I had done. They had seen me break free.
But I wasn't done. I couldn't be. I had only just begun.