Chapter 1: The Marked King
Kaelthorn wasn't a city.It was a wound that never healed.
From a distance, it looked beautiful, tall towers, glowing lanterns, and silver rivers flowing through stone bridges. But down in the streets? The real city lived in whispers and knives. The kind of place where trust got you killed and truth was sold to the highest bidder.
Kaiser had grown up in these streets. Learned to kill in its alleys. Bled in its gutters.
Now, he ruled its shadows.
He stood at the top of an old clocktower near the center of Kaelthorn. The wind bit through his cloak, and the rain didn't stop falling. Far below, a man knelt in the ruins of an old aqueduct, praying. Unaware. Vulnerable.
Kaiser's eyes were cold as he watched him.
[SYSTEM ONLINE]Class: Crown-SlayerTitle: The Last DaggerRank: Authority Level 1Status: StableMission: Kill Lord HalrexReward: +1 Rank, ??? Hidden Skill
Kaiser took a breath. The system's voice was always calm. Always distant. Like it didn't care about the blood or the reasons behind it.
But Kaiser cared. He always had.
Lord Halrex was not innocent. He sent poor men and women to die in the mines, all for some coins. He held trials where the outcome was decided before the first word was spoken. And worst of all, he thought no one would ever come for him.
Tonight, Kaiser would prove him wrong.
He stepped off the tower.
The wind howled, but his feet landed silently on the slick stone below. His dagger, Vow breaker, was already in his hand, black steel, curved and hungry.
Kaiser moved like smoke.
One second Halrex was praying, the next he was choking on blood.
The kill was fast. Clean. No words. Just a quiet end.
[MISSION COMPLETE]Authority Level: 1 → 2Skill Gained: Shadow Vein – You can't be seen under moonlightSoul Fragment Detected…
Then it hit him-hard.
A sharp pain tore through his skull. He staggered, dropped to one knee.
And then he saw.
Flashes.
A throne made of bones. A fire consuming the city. A man with his face, wearing a crown. And one word carved into black stone:
KAISER IV
Not the first.
He gasped, breath shaky. Blood dripped from his nose. The dagger trembled in his hand.
"What... what is this?"
You are not the first. You are the final one.
The voice wasn't the system. It was something older. Something inside him.
He stood, dizzy. His fingers gripped the wall for balance.
That's when he felt it.
Another presence.
He looked up and saw someone standing at the edge of the broken wall.
Same black cloak.
Same dagger.
Same face.
Kaiser froze.
It was him.
Or someone who looked exactly like him.
The figure tilted its head. Smiled. And then...
[WARNING: Echo Signature Detected]99.9% Match. Possible Clone, Reflection, or Identity Theft.Terminate Immediately.
But before Kaiser could move
The double charged straight at him.
Fast.
Deadly.
And silent.