C#4: Prologue-IV — The One Who Watches
[Leviathan — Void POV]
The void was silent.
Not empty—but silent.
Within it, something stirred.
No shape.
No fixed form.
No beginning or end.
The being humans called Leviathan observed the battlefield through countless unseen perspectives. For centuries, it had worn many forms—storms, shadows, hunger itself.
But for this age…
It preferred the shape of an Abyssal Serpent.
Vast. Endless. Coiling through nothingness.
That was why mortals gave it a name.
Leviathan.
---
Its gaze—if it could be called that—rested on the world below.
On the burning sky.
On the struggling guardians.
On humanity clawing for survival.
And finally—
On the Demon King.
A faint curve formed within the void.
A predator's smile.
So… you hesitate, it thought.
Good.
---
[Battlefield]
Something was wrong.
The Demon King stood perfectly still before the Golden Dragon.
No aura flared.
No spell formed.
No movement.
The chaos below continued, but here—
Silence.
---
"Your Majesty!" a demon general screamed from below.
"The army is collapsing!"
"Give the order to retreat!"
Bahamut did not answer.
His gaze was empty. Focused inward.
---
Humans whispered.
"Is he afraid?"
"Did… did we win?"
Some guardians allowed themselves hope.
But the Golden Dragon's instincts screamed.
The Guardian Pegasus felt it too.
This was not fear.
This was preparation.
Something ancient.
Something forbidden.
Something that violated the laws carved into existence itself.
---
The Demon King exhaled slowly.
When he spoke, his voice carried—not loud, not strained—but calm enough to chill the soul.
"I was not born to kneel," he said.
The battlefield seemed to still.
"I was not forged to retreat."
He raised a clawed hand.
"And I refuse to fade quietly."
The sky darkened.
"I offer what remains of me."
The Dragon's eyes widened.
"Half my soul," the Demon King continued."Half my existence."
He finally looked up.
"To become a vessel.""To become a body.""For my lord."
---
Shock rippled outward.
Humans fell to their knees, begging.
Guardians froze mid-motion.
Even the Phoenix faltered.
Only the Pegasus watched—silent, unreadable.
---
The Golden Dragon roared, flames bursting from its jaws.
"You absolute fool!"
"You don't even understand what you're inviting!"
Bahamut smiled faintly.
"Oh, I understand perfectly."
The ground cracked beneath him.
"If I cannot claim this world…"
"…then no one will."
---
Before the Dragon could strike—
It happened.
---
The Demon King's body collapsed inward.
Then erupted outward.
A shockwave ripped through the sky.
Golden scales shattered.The Dragon was hurled back, blood spilling from his maw.
Darkness flooded everything.
The Demon King screamed—
Not in pain.
But in ecstasy.
---
His body began to change.
Bones stretched.
Flesh twisted.
Scales formed—pitch black, layered like armor.
His form grew, coiling, elongating.
A serpent.
A dragon.
Something between.
Something wrong.
---
The aura settled.
The new being lifted its head.
When it spoke, the voice was deep—layered—two voices speaking as one.
"This power…"
"…is intoxicating."
A wide, gleeful smile split its face.
---
The Golden Dragon stared.
First in disbelief.
Then in fury.
"You sacrificed your soul," the Dragon growled."You've doomed everything."
The being laughed softly.
"My soul was insignificant."
Abyssal energy surged.
"Now—"
It spread its wings.
"Continue."
---
They clashed.
This time—
The Dragon felt it immediately.
Each strike met resistance.
Each flame was devoured, not deflected.
Blow after blow, the Host adapted.
Learned.
Evolved.
---
Below, demon generals watched in horror and awe.
"This is beyond us…"
One by one, they opened rifts.
Retreated.
Dragging the remnants of their forces back to the Demon Realm.
From afar, they watched.
Waiting to see the outcome.
---
The battle escalated.
The sky fractured.
The Dragon bled.
He was being pushed back.
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
---
So this is how it ends…
---
Light tore through the darkness.
---
The Guardian Pegasus descended.
Wings blazing with holy brilliance.
Beside it rode its champion, blade raised, eyes steady.
---
The Host turned.
Looked at them.
And sneered.
"If only you hadn't joined," it murmured.
"If only you didn't exist."
The Pegasus did not answer.
It charged.
---
Dragon.
Pegasus.
Champion.
Together.
The final struggle began.
And the world trembled in fear of what would remain.
---