The sky was burning.
Flames stretched toward the heavens, consuming the battlefield in their fury. The once-proud land was reduced to rubble, the earth trembling beneath the weight of the war. The scent of ash and blood filled the air, but he had long grown used to it.
At the center of it all, he stood—The Villain.
His breath came in slow, measured exhales, his cloak tattered from countless clashes. His darkened armor bore the marks of battle, streaked with blood—both his and theirs. Despite the injuries, his grip on his blade was steady.
Before him, the so-called heroes stood, their weapons raised, their eyes filled with righteous determination. The golden-haired warrior—the leader of them all—stood at the front, sword gleaming even in the dim light of destruction.
"This ends tonight," the hero declared, his voice unwavering. "You've taken too many lives. We won't let you continue."
The villain chuckled, low and bitter. "Is that so?"
He raised his hand, and dark energy pulsed through his fingertips. The ground beneath them cracked. Shadows twisted and writhed, responding to his call. The air grew heavy, suffocating, as if the world itself feared what was coming.
The heroes didn't falter.
They charged.
Steel clashed against steel, sparks flying as magic surged across the battlefield. The villain fought without hesitation, his every move precise, lethal. He had faced them before—he knew their strengths, their weaknesses.
And yet…
Even as he cut them down, even as he fought with all his might, a bitter thought lingered at the back of his mind.
This battle was never meant to be won.
He could see it in their eyes. That unshakable resolve. That belief—the same belief that had taken everything from him. The same belief that had led them to sacrifice what they claimed to love.
Like they sacrificed her.
A flicker of a memory—small, delicate hands slipping notes through the bars of his cage. A silent girl who had once asked him about the moon.
And then—her screams.
The weight of it all crashed over him, fueling his fury. His strikes grew more vicious, his magic wilder. But it didn't matter.
Because heroes always win.
And villains?
Villains were always meant to lose.
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