"Who will you choose? Who do you want to die before you? Haha... A small world, isn't it? You never thought it would come to this, yet here you are. You tried everything, said everything, but in the end, you still arrived at this moment. So, who will it be? Your mother? Or your sister?"
The voice of King Wrath of Wratvlad dripped with mockery, his crimson eyes gleaming with sadistic pleasure. He stood atop his throne, a titan among men, his presence suffocating, absolute.
Kael knelt before him, shackled, his breath ragged. Blood pooled at his feet, not his own, not yet. His mother and sister knelt beside him, bound but silent, their fates hanging from the tyrant's lips.
"Take me instead! Kill me, but leave them alone! They've done nothing wrong! I am the one who defied you... I wanted to change this cursed world—a world where we walk upon corpses every day, where being a king means crushing other lives, where caring for your kingdom means letting mothers in other lands weep for their starving children! In this world, to be kind is to be a devil!"
His voice cracked with desperation, but Wrath only smirked, savoring his suffering.
"Kael... I adore your eyes in this moment. You have been such an asset to me, just like your father. Ah, your father... I watched him slaughter anyone who stood in his way, yet in the end, he died for the very people who once demanded his head. And who do you think took his life?"
Kael's breath hitched. No. It couldn't be…
"It was me. I used him like a pawn because, in this world, there can be only one king. So, say your final goodbye... to what remains of your family."
Wrath gestured lazily.
"Release the blades... Haha!"
Kael's world shattered.
His mother's voice, gentle even now, whispered, "Kael... Take care of yourself. I will love you for eternity. Live for me, and please… seek forgiveness, not vengeance."
His sister, barely holding back tears, smiled. "Kael, one day we'll play together again in Heaven—with Mother and Father. Until then… take care of yourself. I'll be waiting for you, forever."
Kael thrashed against his restraints. "No! Nooo! Why is this happening to me?!"
Then, the blades fell.
Blood sprayed across the cold stone floor. Heads tumbled. The silence that followed was unbearable.
Kael's hands trembled, drenched in his family's blood. Something inside him fractured beyond repair.
"I will kill this world."
Wrath chuckled. "Beautiful words. Your mother's last plea even brought a tear to my eye. Your sister's farewell was downright adorable. But it's a shame, really… because you, Kael, will not live long enough to keep your promise. Now… off with his head."
The knights stepped forward, swords raised.
Kael shut his eyes.
"This story ends with me… and only me."
A flash of steel.
A crimson sky.
And then… nothing.
Darkness.
Cold. Silent. Absolute.
Kael gasped awake, his breath coming in ragged, desperate gulps. But… he wasn't in Wratvlad anymore. The air here felt ancient, heavy, as if time itself had been stilled.
He stood in a vast field beneath a starless sky. The ground stretched endlessly, a void of gray mist and forgotten whispers.
"Where… am I? Where is my family? Is this Heaven… or something else?"
A tree stood alone in the distance, gnarled and timeless. Beneath it sat a girl, dressed in robes as white as the moon. Her expression was unreadable, yet her eyes held an impossible depth, as if she had seen countless stories begin and end.
Kael staggered toward her. "Hey! You… Do you know what this place is?"
The girl studied him for a moment before answering. "Welcome, Kael. This is the realm of your reality—a place where death has a beginning, but no end."
His fists clenched. "I don't understand, but I don't care. I need to go back. I have unfinished business."
The girl nodded, as if she had been expecting his answer. "If that is your wish, then so be it."
She picked up a sword lying beside her and handed it to him. Then, she placed a book in his hands.
Kael frowned. "What is this book? And… why are you holding that sword?"
She smiled softly, but her next words were the last thing he heard before darkness swallowed him whole.
He woke with a start.
Sunlight streamed through his window.
His bed. His room. But his heart pounded like war drums in his chest.
"Was that… a dream?"
His fingers clenched around something.
A book.
His breath caught as he read the title:
"Samsara."
And beneath it, a single, haunting sentence:
"Title: Samsara, Author: Kael Asher."
His own name.
As he flipped through the pages, his blood ran cold. Every detail of his life was recorded in blood-stained ink. His mother's execution. His sister's farewell. His own death.
But the book never revealed what came after.
His hands trembled as he reached the final page. A single question was scrawled across it:
"I am you, and you are me. So… who am I?"
Kael shut the book, his mind racing. "Is this real? Or something else? Either way… I need to find out. And I must make sure this past never repeats itself."
Lightning flashed outside.
And somewhere, far beyond the veil of existence, the girl beneath the tree smiled.