King of Ruin

[You have claimed the crown]

[Main Quest 1: "Claim the Crown" has been completed]

[The Crown must begin colour-shape synchronization. Do you wish to proceed?]

'Yes.'

With that, the crown began changing it's shape and colour. It took on various shapes and the golden colour. It stopped when a tall, silver crown synchronized. He could see those present at the ceremony exhale a sigh of relief at that. Even the reporter smiled as he prepared to declare something on the news channels. Just then, the crown warped once more and grim shadows hung over the throne room.

Jarte wore a black crown, which had the shape of spikes. The spikes seemed to be made of bones; three bones joined at the tip with a gem to form each spike. The bone-like material was joined at the tip with gems of a dark blue colour. Moreover, the twelve House colours of the Ancients' were all on the crown, but with a darker shade than the original colour, as if the black material cast a shadow on the precious colours and dimmed their glory. The gems representing the Houses sat midway of the middle bone of each spike.

Gasps rose from some of the nobles, they whispered among themselves, 'Omen of death.'

'How horrid.'

'What's with the colours?'

'Absolutely morbid.'

[The colour-shape synchronization has been completed]

[The system congratulates you on unlocking the title 'King of Ruin']

[The system has assigned you a punishment for breaking traditions. Time Limit: 168 hours. Would you like to check the Punishment Quest?]

'No.'

He had a week to complete it. He could check it later. For now, his subjects awaited his speech and they deserved an explanation from him.

Zephyr didn't look directly at the king but he knew something had gone terribly wrong. His curiosity could hardly be contained when he had heard Jarte step closer to the steps. Jarte's voice rose,

"Hear me, subjects of the Holy Kingdom of Jefadurk! I stand before you with both joy and sorrow in my heart. I am grateful to the gods for having the pleasure to present myself to such loyal and capable subjects. I vow, on this day, to do them justice and devote myself to bring prosperity to the kingdom for the rest of my life. The kingdom has seen many great kings. All of them, with the blessing of the gods, brought prosperity and progress to this holy land."

He raised his free hand to gesture towards the moving paintings of kings to the right side. The reporter took notice of the gesture and the broadcast focused on the paintings of the rulers. In the paintings, the previous kings smiled sweetly while being crowned by their Queen Mothers before rising from their position and delivering their address to their noble subjects.

The broadcast focused on Jarte once more, "If the gods allow, I shall further the will of my ancestors and create a path to a brilliant future. I vow to honour the needs and demands of my people and rule over the lands with wise judgement."

Jarte's expression turned solemn, "As for my sorrows and deplorable appearance, you are all well aware that the previous king passed away, no—he was assassinated. Tonight, I stand before you with my mother's— the famed Battle Goddess Octavia's bloodied sword as she is being healed after a long battle against those who dare raise arms against the Royal House of Basileus. Acting Duchess Kyestra of the House of Kalistra keeps her company as I speak. I could never thank her and my knights enough for their dutiful service to the crown. However—"

Jarte's eyes burned with intensity and his face hardened, "I swear by the crown upon my head, I shall be severe in judgement to those who dared oppose the will of the divine and raise arms against the House of Basileus."

He raised the sword to point to the broadcast, "Let this crown and sword be a reminder of destruction to our enemies who threaten the kingdom and its mighty subjects! The omen of death seeks all who walk the path of injustice or dare threaten the peace of our noble land. I, Jarte Sacer Basileus, take my rightful position as king of this blessed land and vow to strike down any evil should it dare raise its head against my people and the noble land."

Having finished his address to his subjects, Jarte slashed the air once with the sword and then held it before him in the similar fashion of the attendants. He executed the movement swiftly as if he had handled a sword all his life. He made a fist with his other hand and pressed it against his back, such was the custom.

Jarte waited anxiously. The next moments were to define the future. Jarte would either be accepted as king or struck down immediately. He wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight in his current state. It would be as easy as squashing a bug for the representatives of the houses. A few minutes passed, Jarte could feel himself losing hope. He felt the hand behind his back tremble lightly. The effects of [detachment] and [rage] helped him to remain in control but he could still feel the sick, sinking feeling in his chest.

The leaders of the houses seemed to communicate with their gazes alone. A young man with silver hair was the first to raise his hand. He had the yellow mark of the lion on his raised hand. As soon as he did so, the attendant behind him withdrew the sword and put it back in its scabbard. The attendant placed his fist over his heart then bent his body forward to bow slightly. His actions were so methodical and fixed that Jarte could've sworn that he's a knight carved with wood. The white haired teen turned his head to Jarte and smiled politely,

"Congratulations, Your Majesty."

Jarte felt relieved, at least one of them accepted him. But it's far from the deciding factor. The House of Lions has been loyal to the royal family since the kingdom was established. Jarte was nonetheless grateful to the teen.

However, Jarte's worries left him shortly. One by one the leaders of the houses raised their hands and the swords behind their backs went back to their scabbards. The attendants moved with the same, fixed movements as if trees were suddenly commanded by the gods to bow and so they creaked and bent low. Applause rose from the nobles,

"All Hail His Majesty, Jarte Sacer Basileus!"

The throne room became lively once more with cheer and praise for the king as all bent forward lightly with their hands over their hearts except the House Leaders who still held their hands upright as if giving their blessings while repeating the words. Zephyr had also turned towards Jarte and got on one knee, as was the duty for the knights serving the king.

[You have gained favour of your subjects with a moving speech]

[The severity of the Punishment Quest has been decreased from 10 to 5. Time Limit: 168 hours]