Forbidden: Max level warrior

The moon hung high, pale and unblinking, casting its light over Ann's estate like a divine eye daring him to blink.

Ann stood in the silence of his room, one hand resting on the glass pane of the window. His reflection stared back, thoughtful, aloof. Then he frowned.

"If I keep waiting," he murmured, "you're never going to sleep."

He turned away from the window with a faint smirk. "And if you won't, then I'll just make you sleep for me."

The words echoed into the silence.

---

Back at the Vaelthorn Estate, Warden Malric sat in his private chamber, surrounded by candles and scattered parchments. Maps, drafts, correspondence—tools of a man building a rebellion. A goblet of dark wine stood half-finished near his hand. He scribbled one final note before sighing heavily.

"Strange," he muttered, blinking slowly. "Why do I feel... tired?"

His hand trembled. Then, without warning, his head slammed down on the table. The goblet tipped, wine spilling like blood.

His eyes fluttered shut.

---

The Dream

He opened his eyes into blinding light.

He was seated upon a throne—a mountain of obsidian carved into regal lines. Before him stretched an endless plain of marble and flame, where kings, emperors, queens, and generals knelt in reverence.

Trumpets sounded from clouds above. Armies bowed.

Malric blinked. "This... is a dream, right?"

He looked down at himself—he wore robes of crimson and gold, a crown of dark flame upon his head. Power hummed in his veins. The world bent around him.

"Is this prophecy?" he muttered, eyes narrowing.

The sky split open.

A beam of divine brilliance cascaded from above, parting the clouds like curtains of silk. Descending within that pillar of light was a figure—neither man nor beast. He was sculpted in gold, his body adorned in radiance, with wings of mirrored silver arched behind his back. Flame-wreathed crowns orbited his head.

The being's voice shook the heavens.

"You ask if this is a dream?" the entity said. "No, Malric Vaelthorn. This is destiny. A glimpse of what you are to become."

Malric rose to his feet, heart pounding. "Who... are you?"

The entity hovered, arms extended.

"Call me what you wish—divine, deity, fate. I am the will of truth unbound. And I have come to show you your path. The throne. The world. All of it—yours. You shall rule it all."

Malric's voice cracked. "How? I'm just a Warden."

The entity smiled. "But you shall be more. The world has already begun to fracture. You only need to sever one more thread to rewrite the tapestry."

The air shimmered.

"However," the entity continued, "there is one obstacle."

Malric frowned. "Ann."

"Yes," the entity confirmed. "Ann Zero. The so-called Demon Lord of Infinity."

"You know him?"

"I know what he is," the entity said. "Not just a threat to your crown—but to all creation. He is not just a powerful man, Malric. He is the vessel of Lucifer Morningstar."

Malric stepped back.

"What...?"

"The devil walks among you, cloaked in human flesh. He toys with your systems. He plays your politics. And if he survives—he will bring about the end of all things."

The sky trembled above them.

"But," the entity said, raising a gleaming finger, "there is hope."

"What hope?"

"He can be killed. But only under a single condition."

The entity waved his hand. Stars aligned above them.

"On the 6th month, during a full moon, he loses his demonic powers, if struck by a holy blade, he will fall."

Malric's eyes widened. "That's... tomorrow."

"Indeed."

"But I don't possess a holy sword," Malric said. "The only known holy blade in the entire Scarlet-flame is in Commander Alvar's hands. He would never—"

The entity silenced him with a raised hand.

"I shall provide the weapon."

He opened his palm.

A sword manifested in fire and gold. The weapon hovered in the air—5 feet long, with a double-edged gleam and a guard shaped like angelic wings. The blade shimmered like starlight but felt heavier than galaxies.

"Velkareth," the entity intoned. "The Shard of Broken Law."

Malric could not breathe.

"This sword," the being declared, "was wielded by the Archangel Michael Morningstar. It tore through Heaven—a plane of existence that exists beyond time, space, causality, dimensionality, and conceptual law. An infinite realm where even thought must beg to exist."

Malric stared.

"It carved a rift in Heaven to cast down Lucifer. And then, it carve through the Bottomless Abyss—a prison where logic ends. A realm of infinite depth where time collapses into screams and death is the only law. Reality fears this place, logic is illogical in the abyss but this sword created a tear in that place. The same place that wrote the word 'end' across existence."

The Warden stumbled back. "This... this is real?"

"Test it, although you're not powerful enough to use fractions of it's powers, still it should suffice as a demonstration" the being offered.

Malric grasped the hilt.

Power surged through him. He raised the blade and swung once toward the sky.

A crack opened. Reality screamed. Through the rift, he glimpsed past, future, alternate lives, infinite deaths—all folding in and out of themselves. One moment, he saw himself as a beggar. The next—as a god.

He dropped the blade, trembling.

"If this is a dream... how can I wield this in reality?"

The entity smiled wider.

"Velkareth is not bound to dreams or reality. It is not bound to place, time, or form. If you wield it in your dreams—it shall be in your hand upon waking. The sword exists where you do. In thought, in will, in destiny."

Malric fell to his knees. "Then I... I can kill him?"

"Yes. But one more condition must be met."

The divine figure's tone darkened.

"If he dies, and 1,000 lives are not taken within three days, all within ten kilometers, he will return. He will rise from the grave. And this time—Lucifer will awaken fully."

Malric blinked. "A thousand lives?"

"War," the entity said. "It is the only answer. You must ensure that the condition is met, o know that you're part of an upcoming war, you must make sure the invasion begins within three days of his death. Only then will the numbers be met. Only then will his resurrection be denied."

Malric clenched his jaw. "Then... I'll convince the Elderglow Kingdom to attack earlier."

"Good."

"But I can't make that call alone," he added. "Unless... unless the Commander of the Royal Knights also supports me. Alvar."

"He will," said the entity calmly.

"How do you know?"

The being chuckled. "I am the one who showed you your destiny. I am not merely divine—I am omniscient. I know you. I know them. Alvar will believe you. All you must do is tell him that Ann must die, and war must follow."

The dream began to fade.

"Remember, Malric," the entity whispered. "Your throne... your crown... your fate... all rest on this. Do not fail."

"I won't," Malric growled, grasping the blade once more. "Even if it kills me—I'll kill him."

He gasped—eyes snapping open.

He was back in his chamber.

And in his hand...

...the sword remained.

Velkareth pulsed in his palm, still humming with celestial power.

His breath came shallow.

"It's real," he whispered. "It's all real."

The wind blew softly.

Ann stood on the terrace of his estate, leaning on the edge, looking out over the hills. The moon glowed white above him.

He smirked.

"What a fool," he murmured. "Did he really believe he'd have a future? He future ends in four days.....However I believe there is a saying that goes like—Let a fool dream or something like even a fool has the right to dream! Too bad you're up against someone like me, I'll turn your dreams into nightmares"

He chuckled to himself.

"The greed of men... truly terrifying."

He glanced at the sky.

"If I'm lucky or unlucky, he'll get drunk on that sword's power and use it before the appointed time. Maybe even try to conquer the kingdom ahead of schedule."

His grin widened.

"And if that happens... well, I might already have won the game without finishing the game itself."

He closed his eyes.

"Let the final game begin."