HDOVAML Chapter 120

<Chapter 120>

 

The wicked darkness pondered.

The universe had abandoned him, choosing light instead.

All the Spirit Kings, save for death itself, who followed only him in purity, had turned against him.

Endless conflict was nothing but tedious repetition, and no matter how fiercely he struggled, the universe would never turn its gaze toward him.

Thus, darkness trampled upon delusions and conceived a plan that would unfold slowly over an eternity.

[But a price must be paid, must it not? I grant you only one command.]

At its end, there would be nothing but destruction.

[Ensure that peace never comes to this world—That eternal strife is forever sown.]

A pale mouth, hidden in shadow, stretched into a cruel smile.

 

***

 

To forsake righteousness.

To mercilessly trample upon lives that had done no harm.

To spread chaos.

To steal the treasures granted by the immortal beings and offer them upon the altar of darkness.

[If you fulfill all of these conditions, I shall grant you my blessing.]

Arkane shattered a fragment of his power and bestowed it upon the three brothers served by their people—thus, the Spirit of Sak, Eclipse, was born.

It was a blessing that could never be undone, a curse bound eternally by blood—a shackle that would stretch through the generations.

[But even after bestowing upon you such kindness… if your lives become too comfortable, if you cease to feel desperation, you may naturally begin to neglect my command. Therefore, let us add one more condition.]

The shadow, as cruel as it was cunning, imposed a condition like a double-edged sword.

[Every year, if you fail to offer hundreds of human lives in sacrifice, your bodies shall rot away each time you invoke the power of Eclipse.]

At that moment, the three brothers foresaw the merciless fate that awaited them and their descendants.

Yet, to survive, they had no choice but to submit to this terrifying being.

Thus, the three brothers swore an oath.

To be loyal to his will.

To bring ruin to every nation he desired.

 

***

 

The Spirit of Sak, Eclipse, became fully integrated into the brothers’ bodies, awakening its unique powers.

Einar and Ilkai gained the power of consumption, an ability that could devour all things in existence.

Annushka, however, was granted a unique ability—the power of foresight, allowing him to glimpse the strands of future possibilities.

A power so great, it could determine the rise and fall of a nation.

Yet, only one girl per generation was born with the gift of foresight.¹What? Is Annushka a girl? It’s not clearly shown even now though.

She was known as the Priestess, and it was her role to foretell the future desired by Nisha.

But this power came with an excruciating price that plagued the royal family—

To see the future, an immense amount of blood from countless living hearts was required.

‘…What is the issue? After all, there is no shortage of people.’

Thus, in Nisha, they raided foreign lands, capturing their citizens and slaughtering them, gathering the blood flowing from their hearts to offer to the Priestess.

Dozens, hundreds, thousands.

The more lives were sacrificed, the further and more precisely Annushka’s Priestess could foresee the future.

“She spends her life steeped in the stench of blood, speaking prophecies of what is to come, yet never once allowed to glimpse her own fate.”

The Priestess of Annushka was never granted the luxury of sanity.

Confined within a sanctuary filled with hallucination-inducing incense, she lived her entire life as a tool, endlessly exploited until death finally freed her.²Disgusting, terrible, vile… omg, I am crying (⁠个⁠_⁠个⁠)

 

***

 

At the sheer horror of such an inhumane tale, I clenched my eyes shut in disgust.

“Have you never questioned it? How is it that the people of your homeland, Hacardella, lived on so peacefully, despite their nation’s fall?”

And so, I finally uncovered the cruel suspicion that I had buried deep within myself in my desperate need to escape.

“The threats to life, the despair of losing one’s country—Such suffering was felt only by you and the ruling class.”

Khalid spoke with a cold, mocking tone.

“Nisha always begins with propaganda against the nations they seek to destroy.”

First, they led small raids, plundering villages and kidnapping a few inhabitants.

At first, the people raged, demanding answers.

What did they want?

Surely their country would not sit idly by and allow such acts?

‘Your ruler has taken a hostile stance against Nisha, so we have no choice. We are merely preparing for an unwanted war, forced upon us to pressure Hacardella’s duke into compliance.’

‘We do not wish to harm innocent civilians. You know this, don’t you? The world accuses the Kingdom of Nisha of being ruthless plunderers, murderers who revel in slaughter but we have only overthrown corrupt rulers. To the innocent people, we have granted freedom.’

“They distort the people’s rage, twisting its direction.”

Khalid murmured with a deep smirk.

And indeed, he was right.

The people’s anger, which should have been directed at Nisha, was subtly redirected…

Their suffering was not the fault of their true oppressors, but rather, the fault of their own incompetent ruler.

‘They tax us to no end, yet they refuse to recruit soldiers even as enemy raids grow more frequent!’

‘Nisha is not the true culprit here—no, the real blame lies with the inept Hacardella family, who feast in their grand palace while spouting meaningless words of peace!’

And so, hatred was carefully sown into the people’s hearts, turning them against their own sovereign.

“Humans are such fools.”

But Nisha did not stop there.

They would return later, offering aid—bringing food, apologizing for the harm they had caused, even returning the kidnapped family members.

“It was not our wish to take your loved ones. But in a world as cruel as this, do you truly expect your rulers to protect you? We are willing to share our food. Meanwhile, your own king does nothing but watch as you starve. Tell me, whom will you remain loyal to?”

“Patriotism is a mere illusion. When a man is hungry, when he suffers, when his own country turns a blind eye to his pain—

Why would he fight to protect it?”

“…”

Khalid’s once-gentle gray eyes gleamed with eerie intensity as they locked onto mine.

“And so, once the people’s loyalty was shattered, all that remained was sedition. Would you rather live as a destitute citizen under an incompetent ruler, scorned by all…Or will you let us overthrow your oppressor and strip away all chains of subjugation?”

Was this why…?

Why the people lived on so peacefully, even after their nation had fallen, even after their ruler had perished?

But could I truly condemn their choice?

I had lived a privileged life, far removed from the struggles of the common folk.

For me, my country’s survival was tied to my honor, my status, my love for my homeland.

But for them—what had our nation ever given them in return?

Could I truly say that, faced with starvation and suffering, I would not have made the same choice?

“You seem troubled. There is no need for such doubt. It is all an illusion—nothing more than the price of the sins we committed to sustain our prosperity.”

“The people were never spared. From the very beginning, we have taken the citizens of fallen nations and sacrificed them to sustain the power of Sak. And let’s not forget…”

Khalid’s voice turned bitter, filled with a twisted self-mockery.

“To enhance the Priestess’s visions, we butchered even more.”

“Our courtesy and kindness? Nothing but a facade. If the world ever learned the truth, every nation would unite to destroy us.”

He grasped my shoulders, his voice lowering into a whisper.

“Now do you see? Your people have abandoned their rulers. There is no future left for your homeland. Do not sacrifice your life for the empty name of patriotism.”