CHAPTER 53: AFTER THE FALL

The domain had vanished.

All that remained was the ruined kingdom of Selvaran.

The houses were destroyed. He had flattened everything. Only a few walls were still standing, while the rest lay collapsed on the ground.

Not a single soul was left alive. It was quiet. The air smelled like blood.

Sylas walked through the rubble, his eyes fixed on the item left behind by Greed.

[System Notification]

Relic Acquired: Grasp of Greed

Type: Gloves

Grade: Ultra Rare

Status: Equipped

Passive Effects:

– +50% Physical Defense

– +50% Magical Defense

– [Greedy Touch]: Every time you make contact—strike, grab—you steal a portion of the target’s strength

– The longer the contact, the more you take

– Targets will weaken with each hit... until they collapse

– Duration: 60 seconds

He smiled softly.

"This will be a nice gift for Lucian."

His sword gently tapped the glowing orb, and it was absorbed into the blade like a storage seal.

Then he turned toward the Veil door hidden beneath the ruined castle. He moved aside chunks of broken stone, surprised by how easily they shifted under his hands.

He had gotten stronger. He could feel it.

Once the entrance was clear, he opened the door and saw a long, spiraling staircase leading downward.

The scent of the Veil grew stronger the deeper he walked.

When he reached the bottom, he stopped. The room was empty. Nothing was inside. He didn’t trust it.

He backed up, walking quietly, slowly. Then he shut the door behind him and sealed it using Excalibur.

He wasn’t taking any chances.

He piled as many of the broken castle stones as he could over the entrance, covering it until no one else would be able to find this place again.

Outside, Ana was resting peacefully where he had placed her. She was leaning against the wall, asleep.

His new lions—fierce and loyal—kept close watch, their golden eyes never blinking.

Sylas walked over and sat beside her.

He let his eyes close.

And the exhaustion hit him.

He dreamed—of himself as Arthur.

The day he entered the gate.

The day his life began as a fake king.

Trying to remember everything from the beginning.

He dreamed of the Round Table. The faces of those who once sat beside him... were gone.

Blank.

Empty.

No matter how hard he tried to recall them, their names and smiles vanished in fog.

And the more he tried to remember, the more his chest ached.

A sharp, lonely pain.

Then—he felt it.

A warm touch.

He opened his eyes.

Ana was there.

Her hand rested on his cheek.

He reached up, rubbed his eyes... and realized he was crying.

Ana didn’t speak.

She just hugged him.

His armor cracked softly under her arms.

"Why does my chest hurt so much?" he whispered. "I feel like I lost something important..."

She still didn’t speak. She just held him.

And for the first time in a long while, Sylas let her.

For some reason, he didn’t feel alone anymore. He felt happy—that he didn’t forget her.

So he stayed there.

After a while, they walked out of the ruined kingdom together.

Ana rode on top of one of the lions, her hair brushing in the wind. The other lions followed behind—silent, watchful.

That’s when Sylas saw it in the distance.

An army.

His father had arrived. But he was too late.

The worst had already happened.

Their eyes met across the field.

"What happened here?" the king asked.

Sylas said nothing.

Lucius, his father’s right-hand man, rushed past him toward the broken gates.

The moment he entered the city, his face went pale.

Bodies.

Blood.

Streets soaked in red.

Lucius froze.

Then shouted—

"What have you done, Sylas?"

Sylas turned his head slowly.

And smiled.

"They got what they deserved," he said, his voice empty.

The king passed by him, stepping through the rubble. He looked ahead, then stopped.

"Why?" he asked.

His tone was sharp.

The pressure changed.

The air grew thick.

Heavy—like the sky itself was pressing down on them.

"Where is King Kael?" he asked, eyes narrowing.

He looked at Ana.

She didn’t answer.

She just lowered her head.

Tears quietly rolled down her cheeks. That told him everything he needed to know.

The pressure faded.

The king walked closer, and Ana finally told him everything.

Why Sylas did what he did.

What happened to Kael.

What the kingdom had become.

The king said nothing for a long while.

Then looked at Sylas with eyes full of pride... and sadness.

"...Let’s take her home," he muttered.

Sylas stood still, thinking.

He wouldn’t be able to rebuild the Round Table if he didn’t have a title.

He needed more than power now.

He needed authority.

He raised his voice.

"Father."

The king turned. "Yes?"

"I want the crown," Sylas said without hesitation.

The king stared at him. "Then you’ll have to take it from your siblings."

Sylas shook his head.

"You know they’re no match for me," he said, pointing toward the field.

"I’d rather fight you."

The king smiled.

And in the blink of an eye, he moved.

His sword came down like thunder.

The ground beneath Sylas’s feet disintegrated from the pressure.

But the strike didn’t reach him.

The king tried to push the blade down harder.

He couldn’t.

"...Is this a test?" Sylas asked.

The king’s eyes widened.

Lucius stood frozen, speechless.

Ana’s face filled with panic.

Sylas looked at his father calmly.

"I don’t want the throne," he said.

"I need the title. I need it to reach my goal."

The king turned away.

"Rules are rules," he said. "All my children get a chance at the crown."

"Do you truly believe they have a chance against me?" he said, his smile quiet—full of confidence, not pride.

"Look at what I’ve accomplished."

He slowly raised his arms.

Behind him, the ruins of the kingdom he erased stretched across the horizon. No words could change that.

"I’ve lived through the Veil."

He stepped forward.

"I killed one of the elite Veil monsters."

His father and Lucian froze.

But Sylas kept speaking—his voice steady, almost gentle.

"All you’re doing is giving them hope. And I get it... I do."

He looked down, then back up.

"But not all hope leads somewhere.

Sometimes, you reach for the stars...

And all that’s waiting is the fall."

His father stepped forward.

"What do you mean you fought a Veil monster?"

So Sylas explained—how the southern king had made a deal with a creature called Greed, and how he was the one who had to fight it.

Ana spoke too, backing up every word.

As the story unfolded, both the king and Lucian grew quiet. Their faces shifted—calm replaced by worry.

His father didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he turned.

"We’ll speak more once we’re home."