Rise of the Fallen Kingdom’s Third Prince

Cedric opened his eyes wide.

The moment the Power of the Voice of Authority was transmitted, his heart gave a jolt.

And then—

“……”

Something began to spread softly from Cory’s body.

Light.

It was neither too bright nor excessively large. It was simply a faint halo surrounding him, rising like mist.

It was strange, and beautiful, yet at the same time weak.

So small and fragile that Cedric, who was completely tense, almost let out a mocking chuckle.

“……”

Even so, he couldn’t be sure.

Cedric had never encountered a being he could not understand, so he held his breath, waiting for something truly extraordinary to emerge from Cory.

But nothing changed.

The only thing that appeared was a gentle halo of light imbued with authority. That was all.

“Ha…”

Cedric let out a laugh.

The black magic he wielded was beyond the level of ordinary magic, aspiring to something far greater.

Faced with the enormous flow of power that could fling open the gates between earth and outer space, the trick of this little half-orc was nothing more than something insignificant.

Now he understood.

This insect of a half-orc called Cory had simply lost his mind.

“Hahahahaha…”

Cedric laughed, his shoulders trembling. He felt like a fool for having tensed up so much.

“Hahahahaha…!”

He burst into laughter, pointing a finger at Cory.

Although he normally considered it vulgar to display emotions so openly, this time he could not hold back.

He shook his head while laughing like a third-rate villain.

“This is it? That great heart you spoke of is this?”

Cedric smiled maliciously.

“Die right here.”

It was at the moment when he was about to crush Cory’s head with a hand wrapped in black magic.

The darkness that Cedric controlled began to disperse. The magical energy he had gathered to harm Cory also began to fade.

Light.

There was light somewhere.

Like the night retreating before the dawn, his black magic could no longer remain and began to vanish.

Above.

Cedric noticed the source of the light was above his head. He looked up.

Floating above him was a mass of light.

Small and fragile like a little bird, so faint it seemed as though it would vanish with a single wave of the hand.

“This…?”

Cedric stirred his black magic. The light flickered like a candle in the wind.

But it did not go out.

Instead, it began to grow, little by little. The source of the light began to rise toward the sky.

It was now clearly visible, large enough for anyone to see, radiating light.

It was still not enough to stop the core of darkness striking the sky.

However, even Cedric could clearly see that it was growing. Cedric struck Cory violently. He fell with a muffled cry.

“I’ll get rid of this right away.”

His black magic wrapped around Cory’s body. Absolute darkness engulfed him completely.

In that suffocating abyss, not a single ray of light could escape. Cory writhed, but Cedric pinned him down with greater force.

Now then.

That small, strange light would lose strength and go out.

And yet—

Cedric realized that the light falling upon him was becoming increasingly intense.

He raised his head, astonished.

He had immobilized Cory. The half-orc could do nothing, trapped in darkness.

Then why on earth was that light still growing? What was that light?

And the color—

That light, which was growing little by little.

Upon looking closely, Cedric realized. It was not growing on its own.

That was impossible.

It was simply—

***

Laurent was striking the wall of darkness created by Cedric.

His black aura, distorted by dark magic, was the same color as the barrier that blocked him.

It did not give way.

No matter how much he struck, it would not break.

The black core rising toward the sky blocked the sun, casting a monstrous darkness over the land while destroying the gate that connected to outer space.

He could feel the void from the other side slowly seeping through.

He had to stop it.

Laurent, with his heart full of despair, swung his sword at the barrier, at Cedric.

But it did not reach its target.

He clenched his teeth.

Memories of a past he thought he had buried surged into his mind. The devastated scenes of Française reappeared.

Memories he wanted to forget but that never disappeared stirred upon the dark barrier.

Laurent swung his sword again and again to shatter them. Everything he wanted to change was united into a single mass, blocking his way.

He was powerless.

Too weak to sweep away that darkness.

Finally, he let his sword drop. The immense blackness of the wall completely filled his field of vision.

Was this the end? Would the world end like this, leaving him trapped in tragedy?

‘No.’

Suddenly, someone spoke. No, it was not a voice.

They were not words, but they carried a meaning that reached directly to his heart.

Laurent looked up.

“Ah…”

The barrier remained intact. No matter how much he struck it, it would not fall.

But beyond the darkness that let nothing through, something was seeping in.

Light.

It was rising beyond the barrier.

Light.

The instant he saw it, Laurent remembered someone. He had wanted to reach for that light, but in the end, he had been caught by a dark hand and dragged into the shadows.

But that light never disappeared and kept waiting for him.

For Laurent, that was light.

No matter how deep the darkness, even a single glimmer could overcome it.

That light.

Without realizing it, Laurent reached out his hand toward it.

A halo of light rose from his body and ascended toward the light in the sky.

***

The leader of the Murim Alliance, Jang Yeonghak, was gasping for breath.

Following an inexplicable impulse, he had come to the West.

To bring down the Star of the Skybreaker that ominously shone in the sky, he gathered warriors and crossed to a continent where they did not even share a language, facing the enemy.

Demonic creatures never before seen were corrupting the world.

Fortunately, thanks to the black-haired, black-eyed hero of the West, they had managed to take the lead.

They thought they had stopped the Star of the Skybreaker.

But then, evil tried to destroy the world completely. Humanity was being drowned by evil.

Would they be crushed just like that, like ants, by those entities of the Other Realm rushing down from beyond the sky?

At that moment—

He saw something shining beyond the massive barrier of darkness rising into the sky.

Light.

A pure white light was rising toward the heavens.

Even though the black core covered the sun and the land was shrouded in the darkness unleashed by that demon, there was still a ray of light.

“Dohaengjieoseong….”

Jang Yeonghak smiled.

He had been born an orphan and taken in by the Wudang sect. He had spent his whole life wielding a sword.

In the martial world, where debts and grudges were intertwined like cobwebs and it was hard to distinguish good from evil, what had he truly been searching for alongside that blade?

The answer was there.

It was that.

That light.

Jang Yeonghak reached out his hand.

From his body, a halo of light bloomed and floated gently toward the sky.

***

Heime, still seated on the ground, lifted his gaze.

His body was already ruined, unrecognizable.

Due to his reckless fighting style, which never accounted for his own safety, a significant part of his body had stopped functioning.

He probably didn’t have much time left to live. But there was still something he had to do.

With his frail, aged body, he struck his weakened heart and moved toward the enemy.

Anger.

Hatred.

That was his origin.

“Sir Heime. Now you should—”

One of the knights grabbed him, but Heime shook his head.

“Leave.”

“There’s nothing more we can do, Sir Heime.”

A massive curtain covered the world. Something was happening beyond it.

They would probably be defeated.

But Heime did not give up. Flames burned in his eyes.

“He will die like this.”

“Gladly.”

Heime drew his sword and took a step forward.

“I will die gladly.”

The resonance of his words kept the knights following him from daring to stop him.

“I will go.”

“Sir Heime…”

Heime staggered forward.

The image of that day etched into his eyes would never fade. As if someone had burned it into his retinas, he had never forgotten that rage.

Orcs.

And black magic.

Even if they collapsed as they advanced, there were those in this world who could never stop.

But his body could no longer move. At last, Heime fell.

The knights rushed to catch him.

“Sir Heime!”

“Damn it…”

Heime clenched his teeth, blood flowing from his mouth. With bloodshot eyes, he looked at the core hanging in the sky and the black curtain spreading beneath it.

Then, suddenly—

From beyond, something began to rise. It wasn’t that big.

Maybe the size of a rock.

No, by now, perhaps the size of a house.

Light.

Seeing that light, the strength left Heime’s eyes.

“What… what is that?”

“What is that?”

“Sir Heime?”

Heime let out a faint laugh.

“So gentle… Retreat…”

“Pardon?”

“Really, something like this…”

And then Heime stopped laughing.

With an empty expression, he silently watched the light.
Then, he extended his hand.

Seeing that gesture, the knights following him also instinctively raised their hands.

As if someone had given the order, they all pointed toward the light in unison.

A halo of light shone from their hands, then shot toward the sky.

***

“So that’s what happened?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Elizabeth listened to a brief account from a woman named Jane.

The little mage who had knocked her unconscious had actually been an ally who tricked Cedric.

But even if the magic had freed them from being sacrifices, they would not have survived inside Zveta on their own.

Jane then pointed behind her.

“This man helped us.”

It was a man dressed like an imperial knight.

“His name is Santos. He also escaped the black magic thanks to Cory.”

The man gave a faint smile.

“Cedric assigned me as an assistant knight to Sir Cory, but I was able to break free from the brainwashing of the black magic thanks to him. I could call him my benefactor.”

Elizabeth understood the general situation. However, the problem was still not solved.

If that was so, what had happened to Cedric, and how was the war progressing?

Suddenly, a great shadow was cast. Everyone looked up.

When the sun was eclipsed, a cylindrical black curtain spread, darkening the view.

“Ah…”

It was hopeless.

Would the anti-imperial coalition in the end be defeated by Cedric?

And yet—

At some point, a light began to rise.

Santos spoke.

“That light must be Sir Cory.”

“Cory…”

Elizabeth didn’t know much about Cory, only that he was a small half-orc who followed Yuri everywhere.

Santos said,

“He admired a man named Yuri Briol. But I know that he himself is someone who shines just as brightly as that Yuri Briol.”

Now everyone was raising their heads to look at the light in the sky. The light steadily grew.

The world was no longer filled with only darkness.

Without realizing it, Elizabeth extended her hand.

Jane extended hers too.

Santos, and then everyone else, stretched their hands toward the light.

***

“Did you know from the start?”

“I suspected it might come to this.”

Cruar was gazing at the distant horizon alongside Sidherst.

They could feel the fate of the world twisting over and over. No one knew what ending awaited at the end of all this.

Only—

When the dark core that had obscured the sun was pushed aside, a single ray of light rose.

Seeing that wonder, Sidherst stroked his beard.

“Now I understand what you meant back then, Lady Cruar.”

“What did I say?”

“That this world is full of wonders.”

“Slow to realize, old man.”

Cruar smiled.

The light, which before had been so faint it could barely be perceived, had now grown enough that both could see it rising into the sky from beyond the horizon.

And it was slowly advancing toward the black core floating above the skies.

It was still not enough. Far from it.

But that did not mean it would always remain insufficient.

“Just by doing this, we are fulfilling our role, Sidherst.”

“It is an honor.”

Sidherst let out a chuckle.

Then, dropping the staff he was holding, he stretched his wrinkled hand toward the sky.

Cruar did the same, raising her hand toward the heavens.

She said,

“We are all part of that wonder.”

The light grew even more.

***

The black mage who had consumed the Empire was trying to destroy the world.

And the imperial prince of Briol, Yuri Briol, was leading his army north, toward the Empire.

Everyone on the continent joined their hands, wishing for victory. In their own places, all prayed for the triumph of the anti-imperial coalition.

No news had yet arrived.

Only from time to time did strange energies surge from the distant horizon, hinting that a great battle was being fought.

Then, one day—

Darkness fell upon the world.

“Uh…?”

The citizens walking the streets stopped and looked up at the sky.

Fear gripped them.

From the Holy Kingdom, from Brusen.

From Liberta, from the Alliance of Small Kingdoms.

And from Briol.

People and animals alike, all who lived on the continent, looked up at the sky at that moment.

The sun was being devoured.

Darkness descended, and something from beyond was trying to cross over.

It was an omen of destruction. The world was on the brink of collapse.

In that instant, everyone instinctively understood that something terrible was happening.

“Ah…”

Some collapsed in fear. Others embraced their loved ones.

In the midst of that despair, as fear consumed their hearts—

Suddenly, a light began to rise.

At first, it was small.

So small and weak that it was impossible to even tell what it was. It seemed merely a tiny firefly slowly ascending into the distant sky.

It grew.

From the size of a grain of sand to a fingernail, then to a small stone. Soon, it reached the size of a fist, piercing through the darkness and rising.

At the moment they saw it—

Someone, as if hypnotized, raised a hand.

They didn’t know why.

Something had simply touched their heart, and they responded.

Then another.

And another.

Thump.

Thump.

The view trembled.

It was as if the very sky was being distorted.

And still, the light, little by little, advanced toward the dark core that had devoured the sun.

Hands were raised.

Every human standing on the continent stretched their hands toward the light.

***

Ena, with a frightened expression, grabbed Yekaterina’s sleeve.

“Lady Yekaterina, what is happening…?”

The two were on the terrace, looking toward the sky. A completely black sky.

And the light.

Something was happening.

“Look. Everyone is raising their hands.”

Ena pointed outside the royal palace.

All the citizens of the capital had gone out into the streets, looking at the light in the sky and stretching their hands toward it.

It seemed as if the crowd were sending their strength to that light.

Yekaterina looked up again.

That unyielding light advancing toward the darkness.

It resembled someone.

Yekaterina smiled.

Before they knew it, even those inside the palace were looking toward the sky.

They didn’t know what was happening. Only that, following their hearts, everyone was raising their hands toward the light.

It was big now.

So big it seemed capable of burning away all the darkness that had risen into the sky.

“Ena.”

“Yes.”

“Shall we do it too?”

“Yes!”

Yekaterina and Ena stood side by side, raising their hands.

***

Yuri Briol.

He.

Reached out his hand toward the light.