"People of Orario..."
Damien's voice carried across the gathered masses, amplified by magic, reaching every corner of the plaza. Six hundred thousand souls had assembled....adventurers, merchants, craftsmen, families, gods. All of Orario had come to hear the words of the greatest adventurer the world had ever known.
"This city has grown strong. Powerful. Great. Under the guidance of the Guild and the great people of Orario."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the sea of faces. Some were curious. Some were skeptical. Some were already nodding in agreement.
"For too long, Orario has dominated. Grown strong and powerful and superior. We are the adventuring capital....the heart of the world's strength. However... recently, as you may have experienced, trouble has kept coming. Wars. Dragons. People outside Orario trying to damage us. Defeat us. Ruin us."
His voice hardened.
"They believe we are separate. They think it is a weakness to have so many Familias, so many gods, so many divisions. They believe that our strength is fractured." He paused, letting the weight of his words settle. "But I believe the opposite. I believe it is time we show the outside world why we are greater. So that no nation, no dragon, no being... thinks he is above our city."
A murmur rippled through the crowd. The people leaned in, hanging on his every word.
"You are asking yourselves: How? How do we show that?" Damien's voice rose with conviction. "By uniting under one banner. One name. No longer the City of Orario. No... Orario will now be a kingdom."
He let the word hang in the air.
"The Unified Kingdom of Gods."
A wave of whispers swept through the crowd, but Damien continued, his voice cutting through the noise.
"Led by me."
Silence.
The people did not know what to say. For centuries, Orario had never been ruled by a single individual. It had always been the gods themselves, their competing interests held in uneasy balance by the Guild. Even if the people of Orario desired a singular ruler, what would the gods say? What would they do?
Damien smiled, reading their thoughts as if they were written on their faces.
"Oh, I hear you all. The silence. The questions in your minds. 'A mortal? Leading a kingdom? A kingdom with more gods in it than the outside world combined?'"
He chuckled, a warm, disarming sound.
"But there is something you do not know. Something only the gods know... and now, I shall reveal it to all."
His eyes swept across the crowd, and when he spoke again, his voice carried the weight of revelation.
"I am honored to be the first ever known mortal to have ascended to the rank of gods."
Gasps rippled through the plaza. Eyes widened. Hands flew to mouths.
"Yes... my name is Damien Ardent, the first ever Level Ten adventurer. But that is not it." His smile widened. "I am the God of Shadows as well."
The silence that followed was deafening.
He let it linger, let the truth settle into their minds and hearts.
"I will be the God-King of Orario. Not a tyrant. Not a cruel leader. I think you already know that—I have shown myself to you all on many occasions. This change is not to make one man greater than all." His voice softened, became almost tender. "But rather, to break down the walls between gods and man. To unite as one."
He spread his arms wide, his voice rising once more.
"What do you say, people of Orario? Do you wish for that?"
The cards were all laid down. The people of Orario knew what they wanted. A king. One both god and man. One who had been the pillar of their city for years. The leader of the strongest alliance of gods, even as a mortal. One who had ventured beyond the Fiftieth Floor. One who had defeated the recognized Fourth Great Quest. One who had defeated the greatest quest of all—the Slayer of the One-Eyed Black Dragon.
Who else could be the God-King of this city?
The first voice rose from the crowd....a single man, his fist raised to the sky.
"ALL HAIL THE GOD KING!"
Then another. And another. The chant spread like fire through dry grass, growing louder, more unified, more powerful.
"ALL HAIL THE GOD KING!"
The plaza erupted. Six hundred thousand voices joined together, their roar shaking the very foundations of the city. The sound was deafening, triumphant, absolute.
Even the gods who stood apart—those who had not been close to Damien's circle—could not help but remain silent. The Guild stood in support. The people stood in support. The strongest gods stood in support.
It was clear.
The newly birthed Kingdom of Orario had its God-King.
And His name was Damien Ardent.
....
Damien sat down in his office, the weight of the crown....metaphorical for now was settling on his head. He looked up at the people he had called. The room was filled with Orario's finest, its strongest, its most loyal.
"Transforming into a kingdom is going to take a bit of time," he began, his voice calm but carrying an edge of urgency. "But I want to make it clear that Orario is not just me. Rather, it is all of us. The Hearth Alliance. The gods. The people." He paused, his gaze sweeping across the gathered figures. "So I want your help."
His eyes settled on the six before him.
"Ais. Ottar. Alcy. Finn. Vritra. And finally you... Igris."
Each of them stood at attention, their faces a mixture of anticipation and resolve.
"We have enemies coming," Damien continued, his voice dropping. "Six of them. I can sense them already, moving toward Orario. Monarchs from a forgotten age, empowered by rage, hungry for vengeance against me."
He leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk.
"I am confident in my ability to kill them all. But I do not want that. No." He shook his head slowly. "I want to show the might of Orario without its King. I want them to know that we are all strong....and not to be underestimated."
He rose from his chair, his presence filling the room.
"So go. Go and hunt the incoming Monarchs. Show them the might of Orario." He paused, his voice carrying the weight of his new title. "In my name. Your God-King."
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