“Let’s break off the engagement.”
Those were the words that escaped her lips as we faced each other for the first time in five years.
I couldn’t say I didn’t understand.
After all, it had been five years since we became engaged, and I hadn’t shown my face once during that time.
In the time I had been absent, both she and I had changed significantly.
The once frail girl had awakened, becoming the radiant princess of the empire, embodying the glorious power of the Solaris, the Solar Seat, and now commanded the respect of all her subjects and the people.
In contrast, I, who had once been closest to the original power of the Stellar Seat of the Sacred Sword, Calvelios, had lost all my power after the connection between the Stellar Seat and me was severed.
The severing of the Stellar Path.
That meant I had been abandoned by the Stellar Seat.
1JHOTO FOTO 19 INS1211 P 1 AZN They were all extreme criminals who had committed heinous acts.
And I was no different from them.
Because of me, an entire city had vanished, and hundreds of thousands of lives were lost in an instant.
Once praised as a genius, a talent bestowed by the heavens, I lost my reputation after that incident.
I also tarnished the honor of my family.
Even now, I vividly remember my father’s expression and his words.
‘Get out… Get out of this house right now!!’
I was almost erased from the registry of the Serkatia family, one of the three great ducal houses of the Velodenit Empire, but thankfully, it didn’t come to that.
After being exiled from the family, I stayed at the residence of my master, who lived deep in the mountains.
It was there that someone from the imperial family came to find me.
The news was of my father’s passing.
The reason it was the imperial family, and not my own, who delivered the news was because the only person who knew my master and where he lived was the Emperor of Velodenit himself.
It was a form of exile, meant to isolate me from society.
In any case, I rushed back and learned that shortly after I was branded a villain and cast out by society, my father had fallen ill and passed away.
It had been five years since then.
Though I was a criminal, as the only son of the family, I had no choice but to become the chief mourner.
After the funeral, as I was catching my breath, my former fiancée, the princess Violeta, came to see me.
And the first words she spoke upon seeing me were: ‘Let’s break off the engagement.’
It was bitter.
I had longed to see her so much.
But I couldn’t respond to her words.
Whether it was ‘Okay’ or ‘No,’ I couldn’t bring myself to say even that short phrase.
In the end, I had no say in the matter.
‘So… this is the end for us.’
If I truly loved her, I had to let her go.
That was the only thing I could do for the woman I loved.
My heart felt like it was being torn apart, but I had to hide my emotions.
So that she could walk away from me on her own.
So that she wouldn’t feel any lingering attachment.
So that her resolve wouldn’t waver.
Violeta, who had been staring at me with cold eyes, walked past me without another word, as if further conversation was a waste.
As her footsteps passed by me, I quietly closed my eyes and lowered my head.
And in my heart, I whispered, ‘Goodbye, my love, Violeta. I hope you find happiness.’
But there was someone who mocked me for it.
<You look absolutely pathetic! Hahahaha!!>
It was the Stellar Seat of the Phoenix, sealed within me.
***
Say something.
Why are you staying silent?
Is this all we were to each other?
If you heard her say she wanted to break off the engagement, shouldn’t you at least have some kind of reaction?
Whether it’s agreement, refusal, or anything, just say something…!!
Have you really… changed that much?
After that incident five years ago.
The Ruan Serkatia I knew… Have you abandoned me…?
Even after sending so many letters through my father, you never replied.
Was it because you’ve changed?
Outside, people still curse you.
The worst noble of the Velodenit Empire, worse than trash, a demon in human form.
I want to believe it’s not true.
But the more I look at your emotionless face now… the more I feel like I was wrong.
I’m pathetic… To think I was willing to stake everything on a man like you.
I worked so hard to become a woman worthy of the respect you once commanded.
I feel so wretched… Why…?
Why did you do it…?
How did you hide that ugly nature of yours when we were young?
I don’t know what you were planning to do to me, or why you spent so much time on me, but now that I know the truth, it’s over.
” …”
This is it.
We’re done, Ruan.
No, I don’t even want to say your name anymore.
I’ll forget everything.
Everything about my life that was filled with you.
And I’ll start anew.
So much so that I won’t even remember someone like you.
I’ll live my life to the fullest.
And there will be no place for a murderer like you by my side.
***
“You have no shame…”
“How can you walk around so brazenly…?”
“Shh, be quiet. He might hear…!”
Even the servants of my family mock me.
It’s cruel, but this is my reality.
The disgraced son of a ducal house, scorned by his own servants.
I let out a deep sigh and knocked on my mother’s door.
“It’s me.”
From behind the door, I heard my mother’s frail voice.
“…Come in.”
I opened the door and entered to find my mother lying in bed, trying to sit up.
“Please, stay lying down. There’s no need to get up.”
“…No. You’ve worked hard. You’ve been through so much, my son.”
She hugged me, her eyes brimming with tears, and I felt a lump rise in my throat.
“…I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I believe in you. I know better than anyone that you’re not that kind of person.”
My mother hasn’t changed, not since five years ago or even now.
She’s one of the few people in this world who still believes in me, and I’m truly grateful for her.
“You only have a few months left, right? Are you doing okay…? Is the floor cold…?”
While I was in exile at my master’s residence, the Emperor had publicly declared that I was imprisoned.
“I’m fine… Don’t worry. Please take care of your health until I return, Mother.”
After saying goodbye to my mother, I left the room.
I walked out of the grand ducal mansion and into the streets.
Since my supposed imprisonment period wasn’t over yet, I had to leave this place quickly.
“Hey… look over there… Isn’t that him?”
“Where? Oh…? Isn’t that guy supposed to be in prison right now?”
“Mom! I’ve seen that person in a book…!”
“Be quiet, don’t make eye contact…!”
Shh…!
The massacre five years ago had made my face known not just throughout the empire, but in other kingdoms as well.
My face had been plastered across the front pages of newspapers right after the incident, and later it began appearing in various encyclopedias and books.
Before the incident, I was the admired young master of a ducal house.
“But now.”
“That… that’s the guy who killed them…!”
“You damn monster!!”
“How can you even call yourself human?! No wonder the Stellar Seat abandoned you!”
“What are you looking at? What makes you think you can walk around with your head held high like that, huh?!”
Those days are over.
Society is cold, and people have become ruthless.
I felt it even more clearly during the past few days of the funeral.
They called me a monster, trash, a heinous criminal abandoned by the Stellar Seat.
On top of that, there were endless curses and contemptuous glances.
Losing my power after being abandoned by the Stellar Seat probably gave them the courage to hurl those harsh words at me.
No commoner would dare speak like that to a noble who could wield the power of the Stellar Seat.
Even my old friends and the young ladies who used to approach me warmly had completely turned their backs on me now.
I could tell from the way they avoided me and spoke as little as possible.
All I could do was accept it.
The incident had already happened, too much time had passed, and there was no way to change the public’s perception of me.
No matter what I did, in their eyes, I would always be the heinous murderer who caused the massacre, a criminal.
As I walked down the street, countless insults and stones were hurled at me from both sides.
I simply walked on in silence.
Until I reached a secluded back alley.
After checking my surroundings one more time, I took out a red mask from my pocket and put it on.
“Phoenix. Let’s use the Stellar Path for a bit.”
<You’re going to use it anyway, so stop pretending to be polite! You disgusting human!>
The sharp voice of the Phoenix echoed within me.
“Can’t you speak nicely?”
<Tch… It’s so humiliating for a Stellar Seat like me to have to bow down to a lowly human like you…>
“Shall we give it a try?”
<Kyyaaaah!!! I’m sorryyyy!!! Ughhh…!!>
The ethereal form of the Phoenix, with its long, flowing red hair, floated in the air, trembling violently as if having a seizure.
The ability I had awakened with my master’s help, the **Extinguishing Star Technique**, was a power that could extinguish the abilities of all beings, including the Stellar Seats, who were not of this world.
I had only recently awakened it, so I wasn’t yet at a level where I could fight against the Stellar Seats.
But for someone like the Phoenix, who was sealed within me and unable to use its power, the story was different.
Just a slight touch of the Extinguishing Star Technique on the Phoenix’s ethereal form, and it would scream in agony, as if it were dying.
Before awakening the Extinguishing Star Technique, I had to constantly expend my mental energy to maintain control over my body.
But after awakening it, the Phoenix couldn’t even move a muscle against me.
Already weakened by the seal, the Phoenix was extremely vulnerable to the Extinguishing Star Technique, which had a devastating compatibility with the Stellar Seats.
Thanks to that, I could now freely use the power of the Phoenix’s Stellar Seat, which was sealed within me.
After awakening the Extinguishing Star Technique, my master ordered me to perform good deeds using the Phoenix’s power.
The more good deeds I accumulated, the stronger the Extinguishing Star Technique would become.
The quality and quantity of the good deeds directly influenced the power of the Extinguishing Star Technique.
The Extinguishing Star Technique needed to grow so that I could eventually destroy the Phoenix within me and break through to the celestial realm, beyond the Stellar Seats.
Once I became a Celestial Seat in the heavenly realm, I would no longer have to bow to the Stellar Seats or live under their watchful eyes.
Today was the first day of my journey to perform good deeds.
The best place to accumulate good deeds was the battlefield.
Saving lives—that was the greatest good deed one could do.
Using the eyes of the Stellar Seat, I looked down upon the world from above.
Using the feet of the Stellar Seat, I traversed hundreds, thousands of miles in a single step.
***
“Uwaaaah!!”
“My… my leg…!!!”
“Someone, please help…!!”
“Guhhh!!!”
In a small fortress near the northwestern border of the Velodenit Empire.
Hundreds of demonic beasts were mercilessly pillaging, and the soldiers and civilians, unable to wield the power of the Stellar Seat, were being trampled without mercy.
“Send word to the Count…!!”
“There are too many of them…!!”
“We’re going to die…!!”
The number of demonic beasts, which usually didn’t exceed a few dozen, had multiplied several times over.
Even though the weapons and armor made from the Stellar Stones and Stellar Iron bestowed by the Stellar Seats could withstand the overwhelming strength of the demonic beasts, the numerical disadvantage was insurmountable.
As hope faded from the hearts of those pushed to the brink, a scene that clashed starkly with the snowy landscape of the northern continent filled their eyes.
Whoooosh!!!
Whoooosh!!!
Uwooooh…!
Grrrrr…!!!
Kwaaaaah?!??!
A fiery storm appeared, and dozens of massive demonic beasts, each several times the size of a person, began flailing helplessly as their bodies were engulfed in flames.
“What… what is this…?!”
“Fire…?!”
“Reinforcements are here!! A noble from another house has come!!!”
The hope that had been flickering out was reignited like a flame, burning away the demonic beasts.
While it was good that they had survived for now, the lord of the fortress couldn’t shake the question in his mind.
‘Who… which house is this…?’
On the opposite side of the demonic beasts stood a man in a red mask, spewing flames from his fingertips.
‘There are no houses nearby that wield fire…’
But that wasn’t important right now.
They couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.
“Attack!!! Now’s our chance while the demonic beasts are disoriented!! Pick up your weapons and push them back!!!”
Fiery storms raged from all directions—north, south, east, west, and even from above.
The demonic beasts, their flesh burning, couldn’t regain their senses.
Though weak, the flames were powerful enough to burn away even the demonic energy they had received from the Demon King.
“Captain…!! The fire won’t go out!!”
“Kyaaaaah…!! Retreat! Fall back for now!!!”
In the end, the demonic beasts couldn’t withstand the widespread fiery storm and fled the fortress in a desperate scramble.