---
The capital city of Liora, heart of the Western Kingdom, welcomed Serian with open arms.
Banners of white and gold flew above towers. Flower petals rained from balconies. The bells of every cathedral rang for the man who had defeated a wyvern, saved three border cities, and healed the dying with divine light.
---
Serian walked through the gates, his white cloak billowing behind him. Every step felt rehearsed, every smile perfectly placed.
Crowds chanted his name.
"Serian! Serian! The Savior of Solaria!"
Kael watched it all through his clone's eyes.
He didn't smile.
But deep within, he counted every applause, every kneel, every tear of joy—
Each one a thread on the web he wove.
---
Inside the palace, Princess Eliane, heir to the throne, greeted Serian personally.
Golden-haired and sharp-eyed, she was no fool. But even she found herself awed by Serian's calm presence, his humility, and the soft glow of his aura.
"You… are different from the other heroes," she said.
"I am no hero," Serian replied. "Just a man who could not watch the world suffer."
She blushed.
---
Days passed, and Serian was named the kingdom's Grand Champion—given command of his own elite force, handpicked from the strongest S-class hunters and holy knights.
They were called:
"The Dawn Guard."
A beastmaster with control over sky serpents.
A war priest with healing flames.
A silent blade-dancer who could kill in a blink.
All of them loyal. All of them proud to follow the "true light."
Serian welcomed them like a brother.
And they never questioned his orders.
---
Meanwhile…
Far underground, in a blood-lit chamber deep within the Hollow, Malveth trained ten new children to kill without flinching.
And in a hidden cave, Kael sat cross-legged between both clone connections, dozens of status screens open around him.
Hero. Demon Lord.
He controlled both sides.
But it still wasn't enough.
> "This world is broken," he muttered, "and I haven't even begun to shatter it."
---