Kingdom Building Game: Starting Out With A Million Upgrade Points!

Made of dark armor, forged from abyssal miasma. Its presence—imposing beyond comprehension—cast a long shadow over the trembling remnants of its enemies.

And yet, she felt no fear.

Instead… warmth.

That was what reached her, even amidst the devastation below.

She knew this presence.

She had always known.

Hovering within the Sacred Eidolith, she saw him.

Arkanos.

Her lips parted slightly, breath caught in her throat. This was no mere ruler. No warlord. No emperor of men. He was something greater in this moment—something divine, something ineffable. He was overwhelming, a force that bent reality itself. And yet, to her, he was nothing short of… magnificent.

A god made flesh.

Her heart pounded, not with dread, but with an unshakable certainty.

He had done this all for her. He had willingly walked into the clutches of his enemies for her sake.

Her heart fluttered.

She hadn't felt like this in a while.

Arkanos turned slightly, as if acknowledging her awakening, but his gaze did not linger.

It fell instead upon the three before him—Kamel, Herald, and Vakemore, still kneeling, still trembling, still grasping at the last shreds of hope.

His voice came, deep and absolute.

"I am done speaking to you."

There was no anger in his tone. No fury, no rage. Just… contempt. As if their very existence was an affront.

"The mere sight of you unsettles me."

And with that pronouncement, the heavens above seemed to tremble.

Kamel's spell was undone completely.

The black sun vanished.

Yet the skies did not clear.

Arkanos' Sacred Eidolith shifted. Its blade, a monolithic greatsword, was then plunged into the ground beside Arkanos, cracking the very earth beneath its weight.

Freed from its grip, the colossal Sacred Eidolith raised its now free hand.

Darkness gathered.

A singularity, an abyss condensed into the size of a sphere, coalesced within its palm.

It pulsed, devouring light, warping space around it. The very air seemed to be drawn toward it.

Arkanos lifted his chin slightly, his silver eyes gleaming.

"Come forth, Black Hole."

The darkness quivered. Expanded.

A gate to the abyss in the shape of a sphere.

It hung in the air, small, unassuming—until reality itself bent around it. Stones lifted, the crushed corpses of the undead twisted, and were swallowed whole.

The very air groaned as gravity distorted, as the insatiable maw swallowed everything.

Arkanos turned his gaze to Herald and Vakemore.

"I hope you enjoy your eternity of torment." His voice was colder than death.

"In the Abyss."

Herald broke first.

"No—no, please, WAIT! I can still be of use! I can—!"

His words dissolved into screams as the pull intensified. His body jerked forward, dragged mercilessly toward the swirling void. He clawed at the ground, fingers digging into the stone, his eyes wide with abject terror.

Vakemore clenched his jaw as he felt something tighten around his nonexistent heart.

True fear.

"I will tell you everything I know!" he yelled, voice filled with desperation. "Anything! Just—!"

The void gave no heed.

It consumed.

The moment their bodies crossed its event horizon, their screams were cut short, as if the universe itself had erased their existence.

And then—nothing.

The black hole shrank, then vanished.

The battlefield was silent.

All that remained was a hollow space where two beings had once stood.

Kamel stared, his breath uneven. His mind reeled, struggling to process what had just unfolded.

Gone.

Just like that.

No struggle, no battle of wills—only absolute power crushing all opposition.

He felt his hands trembling.

How?

How could such power exist at the hands of a mortal?

His lips parted, his voice a mere whisper.

"Who… are you?"

He had to ask... Because whatever Arkanos Bloodbane was… he was no mere emperor.

Arkanos stood tall, his silver eyes gleaming beneath the shadow of his helm. He exhaled before his voice rang through the silence.

"The one who shall unite the world under one flag. My flag."

There was no boast in his words—only certainty, as if he were stating a law of nature, something inevitable, something absolute.

Then, as if discarding the matter altogether, he placed a thoughtful hand beneath his chin. His head tilted slightly, considering.

"That aside… I believe it is time I make good on my word, when I said I should put you through hell and send you off with a message."

Kamel stiffened, dread creeping up his spine.

Arkanos hummed, as if musing over a difficult decision. "I could take your legs… but then, how would you crawl back to your masters and tell them what you saw?"

A pause.

"One hand and one leg, perhaps?"

Another pause.

Then, a small chuckle.

"No… both hands. That would be better."

Kamel barely had time to react before space itself twisted at his sides.

Two small black holes manifested in an instant—one at his left, the other at his right. The pull was immediate, violent, relentless.

The force was not enough to tear him in two—not quite—but it was enough to do what Arkanos intended.

A wet, sickening rip echoed through the ruined battlefield.

Kamel's scream was choked, his body lurching forward as both arms were wrenched from his shoulders. Blood poured in violent streams, staining the earth beneath him. He crumpled, his mind consumed by searing agony, his vision blurred by the sheer force of the pain.

Arkanos observed the scene with the air of a craftsman admiring his work.

"Better."

Then, with casual finality—

"Be on your way now."

Kamel trembled, his breaths ragged, his body convulsing as he fought to remain conscious.

Still, despite the agony, despite the overwhelming sense of helplessness, he forced himself to speak.

His voice was weak, broken, but the words carried venom.

"You… are an abomination…" He coughed, blood splattering the ground. "I pray the gods smite you… and send you back to whatever abyss you crawled from."

A long silence followed.

And then—

Arkanos chuckled.

It was quiet at first, barely a breath. But it grew, richer, deeper, with something unreadable. Amusement? Pity? Something far beyond Kamel's understanding?

Though his helmet concealed his expression, Kamel knew—in that moment, he knew—Arkanos was smiling.

Then came his response, smooth, deliberate, as if he had pondered this very notion before.

"I am not one who wishes to go against the heavens."

A pause.

"Not that I fear them."

His silver eyes gleamed.

"But working with them… now that would be far more beneficial for the goals I seek to achieve."

Kamel's breath shuddered as he heard these words. After all, the gods were forces beyond mortal comprehension—beings to be worshiped, feared, obeyed.

Yet he did not worship them and was among the many who wished ruin upon them.

But there was no denying the fact that they were what they were.

Gods.

Yet here stood Arkanos, speaking of them as though they were mere tools—pieces to be placed upon his board, means to his end.

It was blasphemy. It was arrogance beyond reason.

And yet… in that moment, as Kamel gazed upon the tyrant who had just shattered him, he felt something far worse than rage.

He felt dread.

Because deep down, in some buried, unspoken part of him—

He feared that Arkanos might actually pull it off.