Monarchs of Ruination

"It was as if I never even existed. And… even you… might forget me."

NOX finally admitted the truth.

Lucas frowned.

The silence between them thickened, pressing down like an invisible weight. NOX said nothing more, waiting for Lucas to respond.

"Hmm… It's settled then. I'm not going to accept your power. I don't need it."

Lucas' voice was calm and unwavering. The thought of acquiring NOX's power didn't tempt him in the slightest.

"What do you mean you don't need it? Of course, you do," NOX said, his tone sharp.

"You're weak… so weak that even I could kill you with a frown. Please… just take my hand. My strength will be yours."

What started as a taunt turned into something close to pleading as he extended his hand toward Lucas.

Lucas' gaze flickered at NOX's desperation. He knew something was wrong—something NOX wasn't telling him.

"No. You aren't telling me the whole truth," Lucas said, his voice steady. "If I'm going to make a decision that could kill my best friend, I need to know everything. I won't be kept in the dark. I won't blindly take your power and kill you."

NOX's face turned ashen.

"You're hesitating," Lucas observed, his voice quiet but firm. "Why? What's stopping you?"

NOX stood motionless, his mind clouded by emotion.

He was hesitating.

He—NOX Ashborn, the Bringer of Ruination—was faltering at the final moment, mere seconds away from reviving his family.

So… the Sprout of Existence had already foreseen this moment. It had known he would falter at the very last step. That's why it warned him.

For the first time, NOX feared the Sprout more than he feared the bastards in the Heavens.

He exhaled deeply, composing himself before finally revealing the truth—the two inevitable futures he had divined.

Clearing his throat, he spoke.

"A few moments ago, I glimpsed two inevitable futures." His voice carried the weight of something absolute.

"In one, we both survive the [Ruination] I unleashed upon this realm. We grow incomparably powerful, transcending [Dimensions]. And in time, we succeed in reviving our families. But no matter how strong we become, we lose them again. And again. No matter how hard we try to change fate, it's never enough. It's as if our [Destiny] is so overwhelming that it spirals into the lives of those we love. Their deaths have always been the price we pay for power. It was the same in the past. It will be no different in the future."

He paused, watching as Lucas absorbed his words.

Then, after a moment, NOX continued.

"For the second inevitable future to take shape… one of us must die."

Lucas frowned, his expression darkening. "What do you mean? How is dying supposed to help us? Have you completely lost it? You're asking me to kill you over some vague future?"

"It's not vague." NOX's voice was heavy with conviction.

"Tell me, Lucas—have you ever wondered why the Heavens have always targeted us? Since… or even before we were born?"

Before Lucas could answer, NOX pressed on.

"They've hunted us, tormented us, but they've never tried to kill us outright. It's as if they couldn't dare. They hate us. They toy with our lives. And we always assumed it was for their amusement. But… what if we were wrong? What if there's more?"

Lucas clenched his fists. "Are you saying they fear us? That they won't act directly because of something they're afraid of?"

NOX nodded. "Exactly. But the real question is—what are they afraid of?"

Lucas exhaled sharply. "And how does any of this tie into your so-called inevitable futures? There can't only be two possibilities, right?"

"That's what I thought too… at first. But those bastards proved they were even lower than beasts." NOX's voice was bitter. "Right now, I am the Existence itself. I embody everything—including Time. And yet, the Heavens sealed away every other possible future. They left us with only two."

One future is endless loneliness and despair. The other… betrayal and the unknown that follows.

NOX had laid everything bare, leaving the choice in Lucas' hands. The "unknown" could mean salvation—or an even greater abyss. NOX had already made his choice. He preferred the second future, for Lucas' sake.

But it wasn't his decision to make.

Lucas took a slow, measured breath. "So that's why you said you were tired. You refuse to walk the first path—to lose everything over and over again. But at the same time… you can't kill me. So instead, you want me to take your power and step into the unknown."

A bitter chuckle escaped him. "Our lives really are one fucking mess."

His fingers curled into fists. "I don't know if I should be relieved that you care… or call you a coward for trying to push me into the unknown by making me kill my best friend."

The weight of the decision pressed down on him like an iron chain. The suffocation was unbearable. And yet, if simply hearing these two choices made Lucas feel this way, how much worse must it have been for NOX—the one who divined them?

The silence between them deepened, heavier than before.

Then, at last, Lucas spoke.

"Before I give you my answer… can we talk? One last time?"

NOX met his gaze and nodded solemnly.

*****

At the edge of a cliff inside the desolate moon, two figures stood side by side, watching the depths below.

Lucas was silent, as if contemplating his words.

After a brief moment, NOX asked curiously, "What are we doing here?"

Lucas did not speak for a minute, then finally said, "It was here, where I took a life for the first time." His voice was calm, devoid of emotion.

NOX listened silently.

"It was during the riots, when the 'Human Supreme Society' attacked your family…" Lucas' gaze drifted to the distance.

"It was like any other normal day for me. I visited Mom like I did every month. I brought her favorite dishes, and I can still remember her smile—her touch as she caressed my hair—the love in her eyes. We lost track of time as we talked for hours, cherishing every moment, since we could only meet once a month.

Then, out of nowhere, an arrow came down from the sky. It was aimed at me, but Mom caught it with her bare hands."

Lucas paused briefly, his voice steady.

"I wasn't afraid. Not even for a moment. I knew she was the strongest woman in the world. I was even smug about it.

But…

What we didn't realize was that the arrow wasn't normal. It was imbued with 'Evil Energy.'

They knew my mom's weakness, and they didn't hesitate to use Devil Power against a fellow human….

My mom was caught in a three-way battle—one, fighting the madness within her; two, protecting me; and three, fighting the enemies.

She wouldn't let herself succumb—not with me there.

She fought and fought and fought…

But in the end, she made a choice. She gave up fighting. She sacrificed herself for me."

Lucas exhaled lightly, his gaze still on the horizon.

"That's the story everyone knows. The story I told the world."

NOX remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

Lucas took a slow breath before speaking again.

"Before Mom drove a blade into her own heart, she made the attackers take the 'Dharma Oath' to spare my life. And they agreed. They didn't care about me. They just wanted her dead."

His voice remained even.

"She bled out in my arms, her body drenched in red… yet she smiled at me. As if I was her greatest joy."

His hands curled slightly but remained at his sides.

"I was angry. Furious.

But when I overheard their conversation—when I heard why they did it—I lost myself. They killed her just to create chaos. To spark war. That was all she was worth to them? Just a means to an end? For greed?"

His gaze remained distant, lost in the past.

"And then… I heard it.

'The Whisper of Madness.' It promised me power. Power to tear them apart. Power to make them suffer. I accepted it without hesitation.

But here's the thing—the madness never took hold of me. It couldn't corrupt me. Even its 'Evil Energy' changed into something else. Something more."

He exhaled slowly.

"But I didn't care about any of that. Because in my mind, there was only one thought—kill them."

Lucas' voice remained calm, though the weight of his words lingered.

"I started with the woman who shot the arrow. I cut off her right hand first. Then her left. Then her legs. Piece by piece, I carved her apart until only her head and torso remained. I took my time with every cut.

She screamed. She begged. But I didn't stop. I didn't even let her die. I wouldn't even let her commit suicide. I made sure she felt every moment of agony.

Minutes turned into hours. Her screams—her wails—echoed through this cliff. But still, I refused to grant her death."

There was no malice in his voice as he recounted the details—just the memory of what once was.

"Then, I turned to the others. Their fates were no different. One by one, I made them watch their comrades suffer—watch them lose their limbs, their hope, their sanity. They cursed me. Called me a devil.

Ironic, isn't it?

They used devil power to kill my mother. And yet, when I used that same power against them, I was the devil."

Lucas exhaled, his voice still quiet, measured.

"This entire cliff was drowned in their blood. Their gore. I painted this place with their despair."

His expression remained unreadable, as if he had told this story many times before.

"Do you know the most disturbing part of all this? I enjoyed it. I never stopped smiling. Even after hours of butchering them, I felt nothing. Even when I came back to my senses, I wasn't disgusted. Because I did it all with a clear mind. And even now—I don't regret it."

His fingers twitched slightly, but his voice carried no tremor.

"And what followed next… that was [Karma].

My mother spent her entire life resisting Evil Energy. Fighting against it. So how could she just die like that? I had hours to save her. But instead, I wasted that time indulging myself.

By the time I realized it… it was already too late. And in her final moments… all she saw was her son—her greatest joy—becoming a monster. Instead of trying to save her."

Lucas let out a quiet chuckle, though it held no amusement.

"Even now, that guilt still eats away at me."

NOX remained silent.

Not because he was shocked. Not because he was disgusted. But because he had no right to judge.

He, of all people, knew what it meant to be a monster. After all, he had done far worse. At least Lucas only slaughtered the guilty.

NOX hadn't even spared the innocent.