"Is there anyone who wants to leave?" The masked man asked, he was still parading around with Specter''s impaled head on his sword and ckjack cored to the chains held in his off-hand. C and the entire popce of the stronghold had converged at the ce they call the Square.


    The only reason the woman could still see the anomalous man was do to his towering height, but even then only the top of his mask was visible to her, and only if she tiptoed. Due to therge crowd, visibility was bad. She was really curious and wanted to see him in full, so it irked her a bit, but at least due to his boisterous voice, hearing him was easy.


    As for his question, she didn''t know what to make of it. Based on the perplexed faces of those around her, the widower knew that she wasn''t alone. Leave? Why? Where?


    The man repeated. "Is there anyone who wants to leave? Is there anyone amongst you who is here against their own free will? Were you dragged here by the Wraithws? Any nonbatant who wants to leave is free to do so. No harm wille your way. I swear it on the Goddess'' graces. However, this is yourst chance. Once I take this mask off, you are my subject and will do as I say. I will exin everything once those who would rather be the citizens of the Vraven Kingdom and its ipetent royal family leave. Until then, all I can say is that you will be treated well under my rule, you will work, you will have plenty of free time, and you will enjoy my and mypetent subordinates'' protection. So,st chance. Any nonbatant who wants to leave, do so."


    C gripped her son''s ankles who was still riding on her shoulders. This decision… was a hard one. They knew exactly how their life would be under the feudal system of the Vraven Kingdom, but everything surrounding this man was a mystery. Would he treat them well as he says? What does well mean in the first ce?


    It was a choice that basically boiled down to assured misery but at least a decent chance at survival, or taking a risk at being the subject of the ambiguous rule this man would create.


    "No one?" He asked. None moved.


    They came to this ce to escape the human domain and the horrible prospects they were offered there in the first ce. All of them were intrigued by this enigmatic neer, though C couldn''t help but think that a lot of the female audience stayed due to the overwhelming curiosity they held toward how he would look without the mask. It was no secret that they, the weak women who weren''t brave or talented enough to bebatants, were instinctively attracted toward the strong. It was a basic need of theirs to feel safe and protected. This neer could very obviously offer that and more.


    "Then, from here on out…" He began while reaching for his mask with his left hand, and took it off, "… you''re citizens under my sovereign dominion."


    C understood the meaning of his word usage painfully well. Sovereign meant supreme authority, and dominion meant absolute control. He was saying that he would be their absolute ruler. No one had the right to question his rule.


    As for his face, she couldn''t see because everyone started tiptoeing to her great frustration.


    However, this was not meant to be.


    Her new overlord had other ideas.


    Numerous gasps and cries of alert erupted from the crowd all around her, including her son who had a much better view than her. "Mommy! He is walking on air!" Her son screamed in a strong mixture of fright and amazement.


    C didn''t believe her son as that sounded just like a fairy tale. This man was nothing but a strongbatant, he was not a divine entity.


    It defied everything she understood about the world. No mortal man, no matter how strong or skilled, could walk on air. That was the stuff of myths. Yet the collective gasps of the crowd and the frantic pointing of the people forced her to reconsider. Her heart began beating rapidly as if she was in the middle of sprinting a great distance. She craned her neck and pushed herself higher onto her tiptoes in desperation to see.


    She finally did.


    She saw.


    The previously masked man - their new overlord - was ascending. Not flying like a bird, but outright walking. Each step was slow, deliberate, and full of confidence. It was as though the very air itself bent to his will, forming an invisible staircase beneath his feet. His tall, broad frame radiated a masculine elegance, a terrifying kind of beauty that made her forget to inhale oxygen longer than ever before. The sun of the new dawn shone against his strong, chiseled features. His jawline was sharp enough to cut stone and his cheekbones were high and regal.


    Okay, that might''ve been a bit of an overstatement on her part, but C thought him to be the most handsome man she''d ever seen, so a bit of an exaggeration from her should be more than eptable, she thought.


    The mask was nowhere to be seen now as his uncovered face sent ripples of reactions through the crowd. C caught fragmented whispers from those around her.


    "Handsome…"


    "Terrifying…"


    "Male Goddess?…"


    In Thalorind the idea that gods - as in multiple of them - existed was not a thing. They''d only ever known about the Goddess as the ruler of Thalorind, and they didn''t know of the existence of other worlds either. This was why this particr person thought of him as a ''male goddess'', and not simply a ''god''.


    C swallowed hard. He wasn''t just handsome. He was outright overwhelming. A perfect bnce of raw masculinity and cold authority.


    But it wasn''t just his appearance thatmanded attention. It was the sheer presence of him. The effortless way he strode upward, higher and higher with the impaled head of Specter stillfortably sitting atop his saber.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The chain rattled violently in his other hand as ckjack fought for his life. All four of his limbs were wildly struggling to allow himself the luxury of breathing. The once-feared tyrant who made her a widow was now a pitiful sight. His charred body dangled and writhed like a condemned man on the gallows. The chain around his neck dug deep into his flesh, choking him as he struggled desperately to keep himself upright. His legs iled aimlessly while his scorched hands wed at the unyielding metal. The man didn''t even nce down at him. He was utterly indifferent to ckjack''s gasping and choking.


    C''s stomach felt warm and fuzzy as she watched ckjack''s torment. She couldn''t help but watch his desperation with a cruel smile adorning her lips as she basked in the glorious sight of his misery wholeheartedly.


    However, she couldn''t tear her eyes away from the man who held ckjack''s chains for long. There was something about the man''s apathy, about hisplete disregard for the suffering of the man who had terrorized them all, that sent a thrill through her.