World Senthera – Southern Continent
The sun dipped below the horizon, its faint light suffocated by a sky filled with dark, swirling clouds.
Thunderstorms raged like a hungry beast, determined to snuff out every last ray of light.The heavens seemed to have conspired against the inhabitants of this forsaken land.
Beneath this ominous sky lay a vast, gruesome battlefield. The ground was littered with the lifeless bodies of a massive army, their bodies broken and battered. The air reeked of rotting flesh and fresh blood.
Shattered weapons and the carcasses of ferocious beasts lay scattered across the field.
Not a single soldier had survived. Heavy rain began to fall, washing over the lifeless bodies.
These soldiers hadn't fought for power, freedom, or wealth. They had fought for their leader, with unwavering determination. But their will and courage would soon be absorbed by the unforgiving earth.
Above the battlefield, figures in black uniforms hovered in the air, their faces stark against the stormy sky.
A middle-aged man stood at their forefront, his eyes filled with a haunting mix of wisdom and loneliness.
His presence commanded authority, and the unity of the group suggested they belonged to a mysterious organization. Their faces bore expressions of disgust and hatred, directed at someone unseen.
"Shadow Monarch, hand over your life! You are a black worm unworthy of the name 'Monarch,'" one of the men shouted, his voice cutting through the rain.
"You disgrace the title and slaughter your own people without hesitation. You are the most despicable man in the world. Heaven rewarded you with power, and you used it to manipulate and destroy your own kind. If you do not surrender, we will execute nine generations of your bloodline as a warning to the future!"
The men in black took turns hurling accusations, their voices resounding across the battlefield.
Yet, their leader remained silent, his face an unreadable mask. It was impossible to discern his thoughts, but one thing was clear: everything was under his control.
In the distance, beneath a solitary tree, a man sat slumped against the trunk.
His body was a patchwork of wounds, not a single inch of skin left unmarred.
His face was so badly injured that his expressions were indecipherable, but his eyes told a story of deep, unshakable regret, a regret that no sacrifice, determination, perseverance, or conviction could ever resolve.
"Will I have to go back in time again?" Levi sighed inwardly, too exhausted to even recall how many times he had relived this moment.
Levi, the so-called Shadow Monarch, had manipulated people for his own selfish desires, all in pursuit of greater power.
He is now thousands of years of old, he lived hundreds of lifes, in each life at a particular time, he always hunted by same person,No matter how meticulously he prepared, no matter the armies he commanded, his opponent's strength always seemed to surpass his own. It was as if he were trapped in a script written by someone else .
Levi had once believed himself to be the protagonist of this world, a hero destined to defy the heavens. But reality had proven him wrong.
Each time he traveled back, he grew more aware that this was not reality but a dream—a dream so vivid that all five of his senses were fully engaged, yet his spirit senses whispered warnings that none of it was real. Without those warnings, he would have lost himself long ago.
Now, he no longer wanted to play this game of uncertainty.
He wanted to wake up. He wanted to return to the hands that had fed him, protected him, and cared for him when he was nothing—the hands of his mother.
"Ah, Mother... I have a mother. I have brothers. I have a family. I want to see them again," Levi cried, tears streaming down his face for the first time in all his lives.
But there was no one to witness his sorrow, as the heavy rain mingled with his tears, offering a strange, cold consolation.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, a furious streak of light tore through the air, aiming to obliterate him. Levi barely managed to dodge, but the light grazed his arm, exacerbating his already grievous wounds.
If not for the strength of a Monarch, he would have died a thousand times over.
"So, you're here, not hiding in the shadows anymore... Shadow Monarch," a voice shouted angrily from above. The men in black hovered in the air, their leader clad in red and white robes.
His demeanor was calm, his eyes filled with wisdom, but he avoided looking directly at Levi, instead gazing thoughtfully at the sea of corpses below.
"Oh, crap... I have no energy left to protect myself," Levi muttered to himself, ignoring the taunts. He had grown numb to their provocations long ago. He knew this was not reality but a time loop, repeating endlessly for hundreds of years.
The man in black grew angrier at Levi's silence and conjured another streak of light, hurling it toward him.
"No, Levi!" A figure suddenly appeared, shielding him from the attack. It was a woman with white hair, now stained red with her own blood.
"Not this time again," Levi thought, his heart filled with determination. He pulled the woman into his embrace, taking the full force of the attack on his back. The impact tore open his wounds, exposing his ribs and spinal cord. His remaining energy drained away, and he collapsed, cradling the woman in his arms.
All the blood he had been holding back burst forth, and his vision began to fade. For the first time in all his lives, he felt a strange satisfaction—he had protected someone.
This woman, his wife, whom he had married for power and wealth, had become the one he shielded in his final moments.
"Strange..." The leader of the group of black-clad men, who had been expressionless until now, suddenly showed a flicker of interest in his eyes as he watched the Shadow Monarch's unexpected move of protecting someone.
"How could this be? Did I misjudge his character?"
"No," he muttered, shaking his head as his gaze fell upon the body of the woman the Shadow Monarch had shielded moments earlier.
"Even with all the magic in the world, you can't rewrite what people are. Human nature doesn't change—it just wears different masks."
Suddenly, the raindrops froze in midair, and the men in black were suspended, as if time itself had stopped.
A shadowy figure materialized before Levi, cloaked in a deathly aura.
His face was obscured by a black robe, but Levi recognized him instantly—he was the one who had trapped him in this endless dream.
All of Levi's wounds healed in an instant, and his energy was restored. "You... you are the one," Levi said, his voice trembling with a mix of anger and resignation.
The figure smiled faintly. "What should I call you? Levi or Shadow Monarch?"
Levi ignored the question. "I want to go back to the real world," he demanded.
The figure's voice resonated with the whispers of nature as he repeated the same question he had asked at the beginning of their journey: "What do you want in life?"
Levi's heart raced. He remembered this question all too well—it was the same one that had brought him to this nightmare.
Back then, he had naively answered, "Eternal life," and had been thrown into this endless cycle of suffering. Now, after countless lives filled with pain, loss, and regret, he knew better.
Sweat dripped down his face as he weighed his answer. He was no longer the innocent child who sought power and wealth.
He had seen the destruction of this world, the suffering of its people, and the futility of his own ambitions.
"I want the opportunity to protect the people around me," Levi finally answered, his voice steady and resolute.
"You understand the meaning behind life… very well," said the man in black cloth, his gaze meeting Levi's.
"I shall awaken you from the dream realm, and the fate you've known, the fate of all those around you, will undergo a profound transformation the moment you take your first step."
"Humans have been manipulated to the very core of their being, their hearts shrouded in darkness. It is time to shatter the shackles of their predetermined destinies. Go, Shadow Monarch, and free them from the fate that has been forced upon them."
Levi listened carefully, for he knew this was his final chance after countless lifetimes. The man before him was capable of uncountable supernatural feats.
"Will we meet again in the future?" Levi hesitated before asking, "In the real world?"
"Each step you take, a path to me,
Yet you ask as if we've yet to be.
The distance fades, the echoes clear,
Our meeting feels both far and near."
Levi's vision began to blur, his senses numbing as if shut down by an unseen force. The world around him melted away, leaving only the echoes of a haunting phrase reverberating through his mind.