Then the great Chaos happend
The sky turned black — darker than night should allow.Not the soft dark of evening. Not the gentle shade of twilight.This was the black of the void — thick, choking, and full of dread.
Thunder cracked like war drums.Lightning danced like spears across the sky.
Then… it came.
From a rift torn in the air itself, a figure stepped out — tall, lean, its skin like tar and flame, its eyes twin pits of crimson madness.
A humanoid demon.
No — not just a demon.
A mirror.One made of rage and darkness and every part of me I tried to bury.
It floated down from the heavens like a fallen god, wrapped in a cloak of shadows, horns curling like a crown.
People screamed.
Guards drew blades.
Mages began casting.
But it didn't look at them. It looked only at me.
"Vladd Lloydsmik."Its voice was everywhere — in the wind, in my chest, in the air itself."The golden prodigy. The hero of the nobles. The weapon of the crown."
I stepped forward. One hand on Gods Speed. The blade hummed. Sparks trailed from the sheath.The crowd backed away.
"Do you really think they loved you?" the demon asked, walking slowly through the field of terrified soldiers."Do you think your power earned their hearts?"
I narrowed my eyes."Shut up, demon. Your lies won't work on me."
He smiled.
CLANG!We clashed.
Steel met claw.Lightning met darkness.
The impact flattened the earth beneath us. Trees snapped. Glass shattered.The storm cried with us.
Flash. Cut. Spin. Block. Step. Duck. Roar.
Every strike of mine was met by one of his.
We were equal. A dance of destruction in a dying sky.
Then he spoke again. Calm. Cruel.
"I'm not just yapping, little hero.""I'm telling the truth.""Once you defeat me, they'll cheer. They'll praise you. Call you a savior."
Another clash — sparks and blood. My shoulder burned.
"But not for long.""They'll see your scars. Your wounds. Your missing pieces.""And they'll stop looking at you like a hero…"
Slash. Dodge. Spin. Blood spilled. He kept talking.
"You were a powerful blade once. But when a blade dulls… when it breaks…""…it's tossed in the trash."
"SHUT UP!!!" I screamed, slamming lightning into his chest.He flew backward, skidding through stone and dirt.
The crowd gasped.
I charged.
He rose.
And extended a hand.
"Come with me, Vladd.""Together, we can fix this rotten kingdom of yours."
His hand lingered in the air.
I stared at it.
A part of me… hesitated.
A part of me, deep in the pit of my heart, understood.
But I shook my head.
"NO!""I'll never hold hands with filth like you!"
The demon's smile dropped.
We both roared.One last time.
I poured everything I had into one final strike.He met it with his own.
A blur. A flash. A scream.
The storm exploded.
And then silence.
The demon fell in half. Black mist pouring from the wound.
But I didn't feel like a victor.
Because as I dropped to one knee… I felt it.
My right arm — gone.
Blood soaked the snow.
Gods Speed lay beside me. Still crackling. But alone.
The silence was broken by cheers.
"HE DID IT!""THE PRODIGY WON!""VLADD! VLADD! VLADD!"
They chanted my name.
They raised their flags.
They called me hero.
Ten days later…
That same crowd looked at me with different eyes.
No cheers.
No chants.
No banners.
Just whispers.
"He's not the same.""He can't even hold a sword now…""Such a shame."
They didn't see a hero anymore.
They saw damage.They saw a broken tool.
And just like the demon said…
A broken blade has no place in the palace.