The sky turned black above the ruined capital.
Winds howled. The clouds trembled. And beneath the earth, he stood unchained.
The Demon King stepped out of the crystal tomb, his bare feet igniting sparks on the ancient floor. His silver hair flowed behind him like a river of lightless fire. His wings unfurled—not bat-like, but divine, woven of obsidian and starlight.
Elion and Vera stood frozen.
> "He's not just a demon," Vera whispered. "He's something older."
> "A memory made flesh," Elion said. "A myth reborn."
And he was moving upward.
---
Above: The Flamebound Camp
Yui stood, her body shaking with resonance. The mark on her hand—an unremarkable scar until now—glowed like a branding, flames twisting into a forgotten sigil.
> System Alert: Unknown Command Overriding Chain of Fate.
Bloodlink Recognized – Binding Source: "Daemon Imperator Azarion"
Azazel stepped in front of her.
> "Don't listen to him. He'll twist your mind."
Yui's voice trembled. "He already did."
From the stone below, a pillar of fire erupted—and the Demon King rose through it, stepping into the twilight.
He smiled softly.
> "I never thought you'd wear that face again, Irielle."
Silence.
Yui's legs buckled. Azazel caught her.
> "What… what did you call me?"
> "Your true name," the King whispered. "The one you gave me, the day you created me."
---
Flashback (System Fragment Recovered)
> "Power isn't born. It is written."
A girl with long black hair stood in a white void.
She held a pen, dripping with starlight. Words curled from it—worlds, names, wars.
A figure knelt before her—a demon of silver and fire.
> "And what name shall I bear?"
She smiled.
> "Azarion."
---
Back to Present
The Demon King—Azarion—held out his hand.
> "You wrote me into a dying novel. You gave me a war, a throne, and a reason to burn gods."
Yui trembled.
> "I'm… just a girl. I didn't mean to—"
> "But you did."
He knelt before her.
> "This world is yours. You made me your sword."
> "Then why did you wait so long?" she asked.
Azarion's smile vanished.
> "Because someone else wants to finish your story before you remember how it ends."
> "Who?"
The ground split with a scream of static and shadow.
And from the rift, a voice answered:
> "The Echo King."
---
System Cascade
> [System Fragment Restored]
Memory Node 3 Unlocked: "The Creation Pact"
Title Gained: Worldbinder – One who crafts reality through will and word.
Trait Gained: Living Author – Characters you created may become real, and some remember you.
---
Yui fell to her knees, gripping her head.
Her mind pulsed with impossible memories—her pen, her worlds, the millions of eyes that once read her words.
She had written the novel that became this world.
And the final chapter was missing.
> "Azarion," she whispered, "Did I write an ending?"
He shook his head slowly.
> "No. You stopped… the moment you died