Shadow of the World

In a distant corner of an unkempt kingdom, a city beside the sea struggled to maintain its vibrant streets.

The Lord of the Prefecture was known for a few things. They had awakened something known as a lord's regalia, which covers the entire prefecture in his domain. This gave him a faint sense of connection with the whole prefecture and granted him some benefits.

Those with regalia of any type are rare and treasured. They tap into the rhythm of the world and become more attuned to the domain of their regalia.

If someone had a farmer's regalia, they would enjoy a boost in the productivity or quality of their farm. Or if someone had a soldier's regalia, they could be vastly stronger than an ordinary man or enjoy speed no one could challenge.

It's safe to say that any regalia holder is a kingdom's strategic weapon and, most of the time, a resource to be exploited at any cost. Some regalia may be weaker than others, but each of them is unique in some way. Although some weaker regalia are quite common, the more powerful ones are extremely rare.

In their youth the Lord had one of the strongest regalia and enjoyed complete control over his prefecture with the Lord's Regalia. However, the Lord of the Prefecture has grown old, and their attunement to their domain is slowly failing them; crime and attacks from bandits have slowly become more common, contributing to the city's corrupt inner workings.

The Lord never expected it to happen so quickly, and even less so expected the corruption to spread into his manor…

-

There was a pulsing sense of pain making itself known, rampaging through my head while I tried to stay awake.

"I almost feel sorry for you." 

There was a trio of men in padded armor standing over me, staring down at me as if I were as worthless as the rotting wood cabin we were in.

The stench of mold and the splintered wooden floor scraping against my back almost felt comfortable compared to the torment I've taken from these three over the years.

"You know, we didn't really want to do this, but you just stood out too much even though you're just a worthless slave." haughtily said the one in the front.

"Isn't that right, you two? He must have cheated during the last competition; otherwise, there's no chance he would actually stand any chance against me," he bellowed.

The two guards behind him slightly shook at their mention.

"Y-you're right! Sir Revel is the best with the spear among the manor's guards. Kelle must've scrounged up the money to pay off the Captain to make him choose him!" said one of the guards flatteringly.

Revel, looking satisfied, looked back over at the wretch on the floor; seeing the slave bleeding and looking as if he were about to die made him deeply satisfied as a smirk crept onto his face.

"The only thing he had going before was his looks. He probably scrounged up the money by selling himself to the nobles in the city." The smirk on Revel's face grew into a satisfied smile hearing the guard beside him speak up.

"Such a shame he won't be able to do that after today with his face disfigured." He said while giving me one last kick to the stomach as they left. The faint taste of iron in my mouth left me curled up in agony as I felt an unbridled anger brewing that I felt was impossible to let go of. Yet all of it was directed as myself for lacking strength.

With their footsteps and laughter echoing as they left through the door, I looked up towards the broken patch of roof where the rain washed away some of the dried blood on my face.

Looking at the sky, it looked as if it were being swallowed by darkness. The world around me turned black as my vision failed me, and death knelt waiting.

Knowing I might never see the sky open up for me again, I swore to myself "If I were to have another chance, I will be undefeated in this world and the masses would be forced under the shadow of my spear."

As the last part of the sky was engulfed in the overwhelming darkness, I only glimpsed a deep crimson glow in the sky rushing to me as the world grew faint.