Nameless King

This locket was dear to Eva, for it was her memory of her parents and the only pictures she had left.

Wain had no parents, never saw them, and was an orphan who no one wanted. As a child, he also wanted a family and a home like others, but then he didn't have time to even think about it.

'Even though Eva had parents, now we are in the same situation. Perhaps I am even lucky not to have parents, as it is much better than losing them forever at one point.' Wain thought and moved the locket in the ring.

He did not leave and spent some time at Eva's house. He wanted to find out what she was interested in and doing. After the apocalypse, there wasn't much left of her past life, just like everyone else's, but some important things were unchanged.

For example, Wain found an old cookbook with some notation written by Eva on each recipe page. Even the handwriting was different, which meant that she had been using this book for years and constantly learned new things.

Wain left and headed for the western part of the dark lands. Arkadale was different from the other three towns, as no one but Eva knew of the map and the island's existence here.

The people in Arkadale were the most shocked by what had happened, but the members of Last Light had already subdued the area and brought the ignorant up to speed. The strongest organization in Arkadale had no choice but to submit and unite.

Now they were not just a city near the capital but one of the five remaining territories of humanity.

...

Wain reached the dark lands and stopped. The place was like something between a jungle and a forest with many dangerous beasts.

Wain's task was simple. He had to clear the area of aggressive monsters so humans could occupy it.

The border with the city was empty, so Wain went into the woods.

He could sense the threatening aura of this place. Most of the monsters here were Second Chronicle, which was a threat even to Wain. However, Wain had no intention of retreating. On the contrary, he felt like a hunter. It had been a long time since he had absorbed souls and leveled up.

Crackle.

A large wolf-like beast with red, thick fur emerged from the forest thicket. It burned brightly, as did the wolf's eyes.

Wain grinned, and two swords appeared in his hands, a platinum and a dark one. He linked them and attacked the flaming wolf.

The beast reacted instantly and bounced back. Wain's attack failed, but he continued the offensive by tearing toward the wolf.

"Roooooaaaarrrrr!"

The wolf roared and unleashed waves of windblown flame on Wain. He repelled it with a swing of his sword and was about to activate a Beyond. Wain wanted to test how his new power would work in real combat.

'Stop.'

Suddenly a majestic voice sounded, and it was as if Wain and the wolf were chained together. They could not move and trembled.

'Stop. This man must not die. We must work together.'

The Flaming Wolf howled into the sky and simply walked away, even though he was ready to fight Wain to the death a moment ago.

'Who are you? How did you get inside my head?' Wain asked, looking around. He realized he had encountered someone powerful.

'I am the guardian of these lands. The merging of the Worlds was foreordained long ago, as was your appearance that began the apocalypse.'

Wain was shocked to hear this. He didn't understand how the mysterious being knew something about him that no one but Maria knew.

'What do you want from me?'

'Come to me, and we'll talk, but don't you dare attack my beasts, or I won't look at who you are, and I'll kill you. You have ten minutes.

Then in Wain's mind appeared the image of the cave where the mysterious beast was.

Wain did not want to obey the beast, but he knew he had no other option. The Mysterious Beast could command other beasts, and it was a real disaster.

'Damn, I knew something was lurking in these lands, but I didn't expect it to be ruled by one creature.' Wain thought and turned in a flash.

He ran fast through the forests and jungle. The dark lands were the third layer left of the human lands and the widest.

The other races first had to pass through hundreds of formidable monsters to reach the cities of men. The Darklands were humanity's shield.

...

Wain reached the edge of the western lands and jumped down onto a ledge. There was a wide entrance to a deep cave. It was dark, and Wain could see nothing.

'Not bad. You made it here in seven minutes.' Wain heard the powerful voice in his head again.

Whooooooosh.

Two huge green lights lit up in the distance. They were the eyes of a mysterious beast. Wain took a step back and became alert.

The mysterious beast turned out to be a huge dark snake, Wain realized by the silhouette because of the glint of scales from the glowing eyes.

"What are you?"

The serpent stuck out its tongue and said, "Teres, the one who has guarded this world against the influence of energy and the World of Darkness. You, Wain Norheim, were the mistake that started all this, but it had to happen, sooner or later."

"What kind of nonsense are you talking?"

"I'm only telling you what happened. My master told me that one day someone like you would appear."

'Master? Such a powerful being has a master?" Wain was shocked.

"Yes, I shouldn't be surprised." Teres muttered. He could hear Wain's thoughts.

"So you can read minds... Is your master here now?"

"No, he died a long time ago. What I told you was his dying message. I met him when I was weak and helpless, but unfortunately, I didn't get to spend much time with him. He was ill and soon died, but his wisdom and knowledge helped me follow his will."