THE GRAND OLD
PRESENTED BY DEFLUX STUDIOS
Erik stood at the edge of Leopardsburg, staring into the dark horizon where fires flickered like dying stars. His world had unraveled. Lady Lava, the last tether to his old life, was gone, and with her, the last of his hope. The city around him had become a husk-emptied of meaning, just as he was.
"Jag har inget kvar," he whispered once more. I have nothing left.
But as the cold wind swept across the battle-scarred land, a new thought crept into Erik's mind. If he truly had nothing left, if all that he had fought for was lost, then what could still bind him? For the first time since Lady Lava's death, Erik felt something shift within him. It wasn't hope, nor was it despair-it was a sense of liberation.
If I have nothing to lose, then I am free.
A slow clarity formed in Erik's mind. Lady Lava had believed in peace, in a Valeria built on compassion and justice. But the empire that crumbled around him had no place for such ideals-at least, not yet. Perhaps the world needed something harsher, something forged in steel and fire, before peace could rise from its ashes.
His grief, which had once weighed him down, now gave him focus. It wasn't about survival anymore. It was about her legacy. I will carry it forward, even if I must tear apart the world to do it.
Turning from the ruins of Leopardsburg, Erik gripped his sword tightly, feeling its cold weight in his hands. The fires of war would burn on, but Erik was no longer their victim. He would become the storm within them, striking down those who sought power for themselves, paving the way for the Valeria that should be.
"För folket," he muttered, his voice firmer now. For the people.
He was no longer Erik, the grieving shadow. He was Erik, the herald of a new dawn-one that would come through fire, blood, and resolve. And if it meant confronting the chaos, or even dying in it, so be it. He would see this through to the end, not just for himself, but for the dream Lady Lava had entrusted to him.
With a final glance at the night sky, Erik strode back into the heart of the city, his purpose renewed, his grief hardened into something unstoppable. The world might be broken, but Erik would not let it break him.
HOW WILL VALERIA SHIFT NOW ERIK HAS FOUND HIS FOOTING?
NEXT PUBLISHING DATE: OCTOBER 16
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THE GRAND OLD
FantasíaIn the twilight of the ancient continent of Valeria, an empire teeters on the brink of oblivion. Once a bastion of unity and power, it now stands fractured by civil war, its glory fading under the weight of betrayal and ambition. Blood spills across...
