The Souvenir

"Shut the fuck up and just do what I ask you of."

'Now, now, no need to be so mad—"

With a burst of energy, Cole moved through the halls at an almost sonic speed, the world blurring around him. 

The castle seemed like a mere illusion as he phased through walls, scanning for the king's chamber. 

'That must be it.'

However, upon reaching the heavily guarded entrance, he discovered a dozen knights standing vigilant before the grand doors.

"OUT OF THE WAY!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Cole made his move. 

Kra— BOOM!

A gust of wind followed his rapid movement as he phased through the guards. 

Pii-sc-s-sc-schlap-lp!

Those who came in literal contact with him met their end, their bodies disappearing as if swallowed by the air itself that caused a silent screech and then gulped. 

The rest were thrown aside by the shockwave Cole caused, the door of the chamber blown away, smashing and leaving a hole in the wall that revealed a gray-colored sky that was overtaken by dark clouds. 

Fyu~

The winds whistled as if mourning the demise of the rebuilding capital, now facing the threat of a singular entity.

Step, step, step.

Walking nonchalantly towards King Corvus, Cole unsheathed his sword in an elegant manner. 

The absolute monarch, Corvus Aurum Goldenvale the Sixth, sat on the floor, his wrinkled face etched with fear. His trembling figure betrayed the terror Cole's presence instilled.

'Now…'

"Oh, Absolute King..." Cole called out with a mocking tone. 

"So high up in the sky are we right now, so high that I never thought I'd ever witness such a sight throughout my whole life." He gazed outside the shattered wall, the capital that stretched out for so long clearly visible.

"…"

The King shivered, his gaze locked on the approaching menace. 

Cole continued to taunt, his steps echoing in the chamber.

'How should I make a deep impression on this dude…?'

Thinking briefly about how to make his persona even more impressionable, Cole reached the result quite quickly, picking up where he left off as he thought of the next sentences.

"And this is but a norm for you, the King of Goldenvale. Quite the status you have, right?"

Cole's voice, cold and unyielding, cut through the tense silence. 

"Mhm…"

The King, paralyzed by fear, could only nod.

"The rich and the poor. You being the noble and absolute King and me being the poor and disgusting peasant."

Cole paced around the King like a predator circling its prey.

"The strong and the weak. You being the King of a Kingdom and me being an outcast because of my hair color and lack of mana."

The room filled with an eerie stillness. Cole stopped, waiting for the King to process what Cole was saying.

"The righteous and the wrong..."

This time, Cole paused, letting the King stammer out a defense.

"W-What, you're going to call me the wrong one because I imprisoned a devil like you!?"

"Pfft-- Bwahaha!" Cole burst into laughter. He corrected the King with a dismissive wave.

"The righteous King that saved the Kingdom and the Wrong doer that is known as the Devil of Destruction."

"We are but the two sides of a coin, dearest King." Cole's eyes thinned as a wide grin spread on his face.

The King struggled to comprehend Cole's words. Before he could protest further, Cole decided to leave him with a chilling memento.

"I'll leave you with a souvenir, oh King, for I want us to have another meeting. The next time being a grand one from both sides!"

Shouting with vigor, Cole closed the distance in an instant. His cold smile transformed into something more malicious. The blade in his hand approached the King's face, his words lingering in the air.

"Now, no need to have a frown on your face even when you're terrified. Smile a little."

"Ah, ahh…?"

With a swift and precise motion, Cole carved a line on Corvus's cheeks from the ends of his lips, creating an unsettling, forced smile. 

The King, unable to bear the terror, fainted before the blade could even touch him.

"Tch." With a click of his tongue and straightening up from his crouching position, Cole glanced outside the broken wall, the reality of his actions sinking in.

'I guess that wasn't just a dream back then...' He thought mentally as he breathed deeply.

The once-revered king lay unconscious, marked by a grotesque smile etched into his wrinkled face. The room was silent, the only sounds being the winds whispering through the damaged walls and the distant hum of a city trying to rebuild itself.

For a moment, Cole stood amidst the aftermath, contemplating the path he had chosen.

"Ahaha, I've really done it now…" The echo of his chuckle lingered in the air, a haunting proof of the chaos he had unleashed throughout the people of the mansion. 

The castle, once a symbol of authority, now bore the scars of a rebellion fueled by betrayal against one single kid.

A seventeen-year-old boy caused destruction within the castle itself, the most important, protected, and fortified part of a Kingdom.

'Albeit, everything I did here seemed way too easy. Either this power is more than I think of it, or the castle was unprotected from the very beginning, there aren't enough mages whatsoever.'

Outside the chamber, the guards slowly regained their senses, realizing the breach that had occurred. Panic spread through the ranks as they assessed the situation. 

"This must be it for this place."

Cole, undeterred, took a step back, vanishing into the shadows as the night colored the sky black. The darkness seemed to embrace him, concealing his figure as he retreated, falling from the top of the castle.

The hole on the wall, that being an escape through the clouded day. The ripped chains in the room, showing how he was taken in as a monster.

"The vision I had seen back then… it was too correct."

Cole's mind raced with conflicting thoughts. 

The satisfaction of vengeance clashed with the realization that he had become a force of destruction and a rebellious guy.

Yet, somehow, his actions seemed inconsequential in the grand scheme of things compared to the Celestial Eclipse and the mass destruction that had befallen the world before.

"Sigh…"

As he vanished into the darkness, the broken smile on the unconscious king's face served as a cruel reminder of the irreversible changes set in motion.