The Lost Bride of the Villainous King

Elara opens her eyes as her senses slowly awaken in her bedroom's comforting yet unnerving stillness. She straightens herself and looks about the dimly lit room that used to seem so cozy and welcoming. However, something is not right. The room that used to be her haven now has an eerie quietness about it, and the air seems heavy.

Her eyes dart about the space, finally settling on the colorful old picture of herself that had been hanging on the wall. It looks old and faded now, as though it was neglected as it aged. Elara's brow furrows at the robe draped across the bed; she remembers it being lovely and fresh, but it's now bland and lightly dusted. Her pulse quickens with uneasiness entering her thoughts.

Elara automatically reaches for the interface of the system that has led her throughout her life. However, the interface malfunctions, blinking wildly before showing a terrifying message: "SYSTEM MALFUNCTION: 10 YEARS ELAPSED," in place of the comforting, familiar display.

Her throat tightens with each breath. Ten years ago? It is not possible. Elara had just gotten back home after finishing her mission, or so she believed. As she attempts to make sense of the strange reality she's been thrown into, the room starts to spin.

She jumps out of bed in a panic, her feet kicking off as she bolts from the bedroom. There is an unsettling quietness in the previously bustling palace that was full of laughing and servant activity. The once brightly lit great hallways are now shrouded in shadows, and the quiet is nearly deafening.

"Hey?" Elara yells, and a frightening nothingness reverberates back to her. As she thrusts open door after door, her pulse quickens, and she discovers that every room is deserted. The castle seems like a lost relic—a once-bright spot in the world.

She eventually finds the elderly woman who works as a lone servant in the kitchens, her face carved with expressions of dread and anxiety, after what seems like an eternity of searching. The servant, her eyes wide with shock at seeing Elara, gasps.

"My Lady..." the lady murmurs, falling to her knees and her voice wavering. "The former bride has come back.

Elara feels a wave of panic and bewilderment overtake her, and her heart thumps in her chest. She says, her voice hardly audible above a whisper, "What do you mean?" "What took place? Everyone, where are you?

The servant hesitates, sympathy and dread mixed together in her eyes. "My Lady, it has been ten years," she at last remarks, her voice laden with grief. Ten long years after your disappearance... The world is no longer the same. Since the Dark Lord's ascent, the castle has been abandoned.

Elara can feel the earth quiver under her. A decade. She had come back to this planet in ruins, having set out with the intention of preserving it. Was it the Dark Lord? Her mind races while she tries to realize the extent of what has occurred.

Her situation's realism overtakes her like a tide. Time has erased all she ever knew and everything she battled for. What had become of the guy she loved, the man she had fought so frantically to save?

With her head spinning, Elara's knees buckle, and she grabs the edge of a table to stabilize herself. She believed that she had accomplished her goal and improved Caden's destiny. It appeared, then, that her deeds—or lack thereof—had merely facilitated the same darkness she had wished to avert.

Though a deep feeling of loss hurts in her heart, a new resolve is starting to emerge behind the sadness. Even if she lost ten years, she is still present. If she has the chance, she will not let this planet descend into darkness. And Caden, whatever he's turned into, she'll find him.

Elara turns to the servant with a newfound resolution, her voice solid despite her inward struggle. With a determined expression in her eyes, she says, "Take me to him." Lead me to the Dark Lord, please.