Prologue

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A battle cry rose from the army of soldiers that stood just inside the city gate. Several miles into the field outside the city, another army approached.

The gates opened, and the city’s army flooded out. Swords and shields flashed in the moonlight, and red waistbands fluttered in the wind. The two armies collided a good distance away from the city, and shouts of pain and rage immediately started ringing through the night. Heads hit the ground, and bodies fell, crushed by others’ weight.

It wasn’t long before the defending army noticed that the invaders smelled like rotting flesh, had no weapons, and wouldn’t die.

“It’s the undead!”

“They won’t stay down!”

“Hold your ground, and cut them to pieces!”

The city’s soldiers lined up in a defensive formation, preventing any of the invading undead from moving past. Archers stood behind the front line, shooting at the attackers. Many of the undead had pierced themselves on the vanguard’s spears and were clawing at anything living. Guttural growls came from decayed throats, and yellow teeth gnashed together eagerly at the idea of sinking into fresh meat.

The defense worked well, holding off the undead while other soldiers hacked them to pieces. The soldiers cheered on their comrades, red waistbands were waved around encouragingly, and the number of enemy soldiers were gradually decreasing.

Suddenly, a bellow sounded above them, and the city’s soldiers looked up to see ice-blue eyes and a jet of blue fire. A good portion of the defense were ablaze. People staggered around with their body in flames before collapsing to the ground in a charred mess. Amid the confusion, one voice stood out, yelling something that almost all humans feared.

“Dragon!”

Chaos erupted as the bright blue flames died. Soldiers abandoned their positions with screams of terror as the black dragon dived at them, ice-blue eyes burning as another jet of fire burst from its mouth. A row of soldiers fell, howling in pain as the fire cooked them in their armor. The rest of the soldiers were overrun by the enemy army, the undead swarming over bodies of the living to tear the soldiers apart.

The rest of the living soldiers retreated hurriedly, fleeing back into the castle. The fastest reached the castle doors first and yanked at the handles, but the doors didn’t budge. Even when his comrades caught up and helped in pull, the doors didn’t move an inch.

“Where did this ice come from?” someone cried, desperately trying to open the doors. The space between the doors was filled with a layer of ice that only grew thicker as they struggled against it.

A roar sounded behind them, and before the soldiers could react, their vision was engulfed by blue and fire seared their skin. They flailed around in panic, trying and failing to save themselves from the dragon fire, and soon, all that was left of them was burnt armor and blackened flesh.

The city was defeated. Houses lay burning, and the undead army finished off anyone who happened to still be alive. The black dragon let out a victorious howl as it landed on the castle wall, razor sharp claws digging into the stone.

A complete opposite to how they were before, the undead lined up perfectly in the streets, clearly commanded by someone else. Sure enough, a figure dressed in black came down the street. He was approximately five-feet nine-inches with broad shoulders and a few strands of black hair peeking out from underneath the hood. He walked with an air of cold arrogance, and an unsettling smirk curled his mouth.

Behind him was a shorter figure. Unlike the former, this man looked at the destruction with an unreadable expression. He wore a white cloak with red patterns that billowed around his ankles as he walked, and his hair was a burnt orange color, illuminated by the blue-white flames around him.

As the two men approached the doors of the castle, the black dragon dropped down to meet them. A low growl rumbled in its chest as it looked at the black-haired man, who reached up and patted the dragon patronizingly on the snout.

“Well done, Yifan.”

Yifan jerked away with a snort, moving aside to let the other man kick the doors in. The three of them walked in, Yifan and the short man glancing around for any ambushes. There were none, and the only person aside from them was a well-dressed man standing in the back of the hall.

“Minseok, seal off the escapes,” The man in black ordered. The man with the burnt orange hair nodded, layers of ice already covering the windows and doors. Meanwhile, the one in black bent down and picked up object on the ground.

He turned the object over in his hands, a smile playing on his lips. “Is it right for a king to give up his crown when he is about to die?” he sneered, raising his eyes to the figure at the end of the hall.

The king scowled, defiance burning in his eyes. “What do you think you’re doing?” he hissed, “Raising the dead is a heinous crime. The planet will not let this go.”

“Unfortunately, I do not care what the planet thinks.” There was a sharp clink as the crown fell to the stone floor. “Once I have gained enough power, even the planet will bow before me.”

Holding the king’s gaze, the man in black crushed the crown beneath his foot, leaving nothing but golden shards and shattered jewels behind. “Leilan has already fallen, and I believe it’s customary for the king to die with his kingdom.”

He turned his back on the doomed king. “Take care of him, Yifan,” he ordered and walked out, Minseok following him after glancing between the black dragon and the king of Leilan.

Yifan stepped forward, eyes glinting in the darkness. Blue fire sputtered to life in the dragon’s mouth, lighting up the hall with an ominous glow. The king stood in front of the flame proudly, meeting Yifan’s piercing eyes with confidence.

Unlike his soldiers, the king burned silently, holding Yifan’s gaze the entire time.

A/N: I may create a map for the setting of the story and show all the kingdoms and locations of things. I have a drawing tablet sitting around that I haven't used in a long time. Wow, this is making me feel really good right now xD

'Til next chapter!