A month later, Nahid opened his eyes. The healer smiled with relief.
"At last, you've awakened, Your Majesty!"
In a weak voice, Nahid asked, "How… am I alive?"
The healer replied, "Your companion gave you his heart. Without it, you wouldn't have survived."
As Nahid felt the weight of that sacrifice, his students and comrades rushed into the room.
"Master Nahid!" they shouted with joy.
Nahid sat up slowly. "There's something I need to explain," he said.
The room fell silent.
"During the battle, I used the forbidden technique—Apocalypse of Flames—to stop Nicat. But it completely destroyed my power."
The joy in the room turned into sorrow.
One of the students, Dante, asked, "Is there no way to restore your power?"
Nahid answered firmly, "There is. I must contact the Fire God and ask for my power back. For that, I need to travel to the distant Monastery of Flames."
Dante said excitedly, "Then let's go right away!"
Nahid gave a faint smile. "I'll set out once I've recovered."
Dante stepped forward. "I'm coming with you!"
Nahid shook his head. "This is something I must do alone."
Five days later, as Nahid prepared to leave, Dante knelt before him and pleaded, "Please, take me with you!"
Nahid smiled. "You won't give up, will you, Dante?"
And he accepted.
Thus, Nahid and Dante set out on a difficult journey to face the Fire God.
A month had passed, and Nicat had regained nearly all of his former strength. Sitting upon his dark throne in hell, one of his demons approached him.
"My lord," the demon said, bowing respectfully. "Nahid is still alive. We've learned that he has lost his power and is heading toward the Monastery of Flames with a student."
This news made Nicat pause. The cold expression in his eyes deepened the darkness in the room.
"How is that possible?" he said in a low, threatening voice. "I shattered his heart. He should have died that very moment."
Gathering his courage, the demon asked, "What are your orders, my lord?"
Nicat let out a scornful laugh. "He's nothing now. A weak, powerless wretch. He's not worth my attention," he said, gesturing for the demon to leave.
But Nicat had another goal in mind.
Humanity…
He wanted to wipe out all of humanity.
The greatest limitation of the demons was that they could only remain in the human world for ten minutes. Without overcoming this restriction, his plans could not succeed.
Falling into deep silence on his throne, Nicat stared ahead.
"You will solve this problem. I want humanity destroyed, and for that, demons must be able to roam the world freely," he said.
One of the demons responded, "My lord, we can weaken the boundary between the world and hell with a ritual. But it will require immense energy."
Nicat stood up with determination.
"Do whatever it takes. I will turn this world into hell. I will bring about the end of humanity—and no one will be able to stop me."
As his words echoed through the depths of hell, the demons began to act under his command.
The world was now under the threat of Nicat's dark plans.
A month had passed since the war. Under martial law, nearly all of Arden's rogue soldiers had been found and executed.
The commander responsible for tracking them entered the throne room and knelt.
"Your Majesty, all of Arden's remaining soldiers have been eliminated," he said. Then he added, "Shall we lift martial law?"
Nihad sat on his throne with a stern expression. After a brief silence, he replied:
"No. Martial law will continue."
Then he turned to his vizier and gave an order.
"Have a magical barrier constructed around the city. No enemy must be able to infiltrate it. Finish it within a week."
The vizier bowed respectfully. "As you command, Your Majesty. This will not take long."
But the commander rose in anger.
"Your Majesty! All of Arden's soldiers are dead. You must lift martial law. The people want peace!"
Nihad did not tolerate this defiance. He stood up and fixed the commander with a cold stare.
"You are raising your voice to your king. That is treason. I strip you of your rank."
The commander, unable to control his anger, shouted, "Curse a king like you!"
The room fell silent.
Without hesitation, Nihad drew his sword and killed the commander on the spot.
Blood spread across the stone floor of the throne room.
Nihad turned to his vizier.
"The safety of the city comes above all else. That barrier will be built immediately."
The vizier bowed again and quickly left the room.
Two days later, under the vizier's leadership, the mages completed a massive magical barrier around the city. It was designed to protect against both physical and magical attacks.
As Nihad sat upon his throne, he observed the silence around him.
He was trying to protect his people through strict rule, but deep inside, he still carried the guilt of his siblings' deaths.
No matter how strong he appeared on the outside, behind the throne, he was drowning in remorse.