For a thousand years, the Kingdom of Eldros survived because of a lie.
For a thousand years, the Kingdom of Eldros survived because of a lie.
A lie so old that people no longer questioned it.
They were told that the First King had died in war. They were told that the Age of Gods had ended. They were told that no living soul remained worthy of wielding the ancient powers that once shaped the world.
And so the story became history.
But deep within the royal palace, there was one secret that never appeared in any record.
A sword named Arkan.
For a thousand years, it stood embedded in the center of the kingdom's grand plaza. No one could move it. No one could damage it. No spell could affect it. It stood there as if it were waiting for something that had never happened.
Or someone who had never returned.
On the day of the Successor Selection Ceremony, the entire kingdom gathered to witness history.
Nobles filled the highest platforms. Soldiers surrounded the plaza. Citizens packed every street and rooftop.
Everyone believed they were about to witness the birth of a new ruler.
No one realized they were about to witness the destruction of everything they believed.
One prince after another stepped forward.
One general after another tried their strength.
Ancient archmages poured unimaginable amounts of magic into the sword.
Nothing happened.
Arkan remained still.
It did not move.
It did not react.
It almost seemed to be mocking every hand that touched it.
The excitement slowly faded.
The silence that followed became unease.
Then unease became fear.
And that was when a shepherd boy appeared.
No one knew where he came from.
His clothes were torn. His feet were bare. A soldier shoved him aside and he stumbled into the crowd like someone who didn't belong in history at all.
A nobleman laughed.
“Even a dog has more right to stand here than he does.”
The crowd laughed with him.
The boy slowly pushed himself back to his feet.
Instinctively, he reached out and grabbed the sword's hilt to steady himself.
KLANG.
One sound.
Just one.
But it was enough to stop the world.
Arkan pulled itself free from the stone.
Every voice vanished.
Every breath stopped.
Even the wind seemed to disappear.
Above the plaza, the sky began to crack apart like shattered glass. Ancient symbols buried for a thousand years suddenly ignited with light before breaking into countless fragments.
The shepherd boy stood at the center of it all.
But his eyes were no longer the eyes of a child.
They were deeper.
Older.
As though something impossibly ancient had just awakened inside him.
“…At last.”
The voice did not come from his mouth.
It came from everywhere.
From the sky.
From the earth.
From the air itself.
“I have been awakened.”
Arkan trembled violently.
Then slowly—
the sword lowered itself.
Not falling.
Not slipping.
Bowing.
Like a warrior kneeling before its true king.
King Aldren shot to his feet.
“Impossible... The seal has existed for a thousand years!”
His trembling finger pointed toward the boy.
“Kill him!”
“Kill him now!”
Yet not a single soldier moved.
Because they were witnessing something far more terrifying than any order from a king.
Invisible chains were dissolving around the boy's body.
And beneath his ordinary appearance—
ancient memories were awakening.
The boy slowly raised his head.
“You call it a seal?”
A faint smile crossed his face.
“I was never sealed.”
“I merely chose to sleep.”
The world shook.
The plaza cracked apart.
From deep beneath the kingdom came a roar so ancient that it sounded as if the entire world had remembered something it was supposed to forget.
Then another voice echoed across the plaza.
This time, it did not come from the boy.
It came from the throne.
Everyone turned.
The king was smiling.
Slowly, he removed his crown.
Under the fractured light of the collapsing sky, a glowing symbol appeared on his forehead.
The exact same symbol engraved upon Arkan.
“Finally,” he said softly.
“I've waited a thousand years for this day.”
His eyes locked onto the boy.
Cold.
Merciless.
“Not to return the throne to you.”
“But to kill you one last time.”
The air exploded.
Arkan screamed as though it possessed a soul.
The boy tightened his grip on the sword.
His eyes turned completely gold.
“Then this time...”
His voice echoed across the kingdom.
“I won't go back to sleep.”
At that very moment—
Arkan erupted with blinding light.
Every remaining seal throughout Eldros shattered.
The sky began to collapse.
Ancient powers long buried beneath history awakened.
And the truth about the First King—
the truth hidden for an entire millennium—
was finally set free.
