The Crownless King

My name is Toru. I guess I’m just your normal college student. It’s August, 2024. I’m driving to class late, as usual. I should’ve left hours ago, but after staying up all night finishing a project I’d been putting off for weeks, I overslept. Two hours late. Again.

The parking lot was nearly empty when I pulled in. Most students were already in class, which explained why the campus felt so quiet. I grabbed my backpack and headed inside, not really expecting anything from the day. Classes blurred together. The usual: professors lecturing, students half-listening. Nothing stood out. I spent most of the time doodling in my notebook, fighting to stay awake, and staring out the window. Same routine, different day.

When my last class finally ended, I headed home. My dog greeted me at the door, tail wagging. I smiled and gave her a quick pat on the head.

"Hey, girl. You hungry?" I asked, dropping my bag on the couch. She followed me as I made my way to the fridge.

I grabbed a protein shake, gave it a good shake, and took a sip, leaning back against the counter. The taste wasn’t great, but it did the job of waking me up. My mind still felt sluggish, though. I needed to get out, clear my head.

After finishing the shake, I grabbed my keys and headed out again. I wasn’t planning on doing much, just a quick stop at the café to relax and maybe read something. I needed something simple to reset my brain.

But as I drove towards the café, I saw flashing lights up ahead. Police cars, and... military vehicles? I slowed down as I approached the barricades. There was a small crowd forming, people murmuring to each other, trying to figure out what was going on. Curious, I pulled over, parked, and joined them.

"Anyone know what happened?" I asked a guy nearby.

He shook his head. "No clue, man. They’re not letting anyone through, though."

I edged closer to get a better view, and that’s when I saw them. Bodies. Several of them, sprawled on the ground, surrounded by a strange scattering of black and white feathers. My heart started racing.

"What the hell..." I whispered under my breath. I looked around at the other people, but no one seemed to notice the feathers. They were too focused on the barricade and the flashing lights.

I glanced back up, scanning the scene. And then I saw something in the sky.

A figure hovered there, wings outstretched—dark red and black feathers rippling in the wind. It seemed to be watching everything, but the longer I stared, the more I felt like it was watching me. My breath caught in my throat as it locked onto me from the sky. And then, without warning, it dove straight toward me.

I couldn’t move. I was rooted to the spot, heart pounding in my chest as the figure hurtled towards the ground. Just before it reached me, another figure slammed into it this one with wings of white and gold. They collided in mid-air, sending feathers flying in all directions.

Their movements were a blur, too fast to follow. Wings clashed violently, their power vibrating through the air. After a brief, chaotic struggle, both figures disappeared into the clouds, leaving nothing but silence in their wake.

I stood there, shaking, trying to make sense of what I had just seen. The people around me hadn’t even noticed. They were still murmuring about the roadblocks, oblivious to the chaos that had just unfolded above them.

Without saying a word, I turned and walked back to my car, my heart still racing. My mind was spinning with questions I didn’t have the energy to ask. I drove to the café in a daze, hoping that sitting down with a book might somehow make everything feel normal again.

Inside, the café was calm. People were working on their laptops, reading, or chatting quietly. I ordered a protein shake, still too shaken to care about coffee, and found a table near the window. I tried to focus on the book I brought with me, but I couldn’t shake the image of those winged figures fighting in the sky.

Then, everything changed.

It started as a faint whisper. At first, I thought it was the sound of someone murmuring across the café, but it grew louder, like a rush of wind. Suddenly, the room was filled with the sound of wings—beating, surrounding me, drowning out everything else.

And then... silence.

I looked up, heart hammering in my chest.

Everyone was dead.

The once-busy café was a scene of horror. Bodies were slumped over tables, chairs knocked over, blood pooling on the floor. My breath caught in my throat as I stood up, looking around in disbelief. And then I saw it again—the dark-winged figure from before, standing near the entrance, its wings spread wide, blood dripping from the tips of its feathers.

I felt something behind me. Slowly, I turned.

There was another figure. This one had white wings streaked with gray, hovering silently behind me.

The dark-winged figure grinned, a slow, sinister smile that made my skin crawl.

"You must not speak about what you’ve seen today," it said, its voice sharp and cold, cutting through the air like a blade. "This is just a glimpse of what’s to come. Everything. Then you."

I tried to back away, but before I could react, the dark-winged figure lunged forward, impaling me through the chest with something sharp. I gasped, clutching at the wound, but before the pain fully registered, everything went black.

When I woke up, I was back on my living room couch. My heart was still racing, and my hand flew to my chest, expecting blood but there was nothing. No wound. No blood. Just the lingering terror in my mind.

I didn’t leave the house for days after that. I couldn’t shake the images from my head, the massacre, the feathers, the figures with wings. My mind raced, desperate for answers, but none came. Eventually, I started searching online. It felt ridiculous, but I had no other option. I typed in things like “black feathers,” “winged beings,” “massacre.” Nothing turned up at first.

Then, finally, something appeared.

“The hierarchy of Darkness” — A King ruling over ten pupils, ranked 1 to 10. The King is the strongest, with each pupil weaker than the last.

“The hierarchy of Light” — A King served by ten guardians. The King is the most powerful, with his Guardians of the Throne ranked down to the weakest, the Blessers.

“The Crownless King” — Said to have been created by the King of Light and the King of Darkness, merging their greatest powers into one. They feared he would surpass them, so they killed him.

As I scrolled through the article, it hit me. These were the beings I had seen. The Kings of Light and Darkness... their winged followers. But why had I seen them? And why me?

One thing was clear, I couldn’t pretend it hadn’t happened. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I was being pulled into something far beyond my understanding.

And I had no idea where it would lead.

“I guess I just need to sleep, this has been one of the most weird day’s I’ve ever had.” as I start walking to my bed, I get a sharp stabbing pain in my head.

In a distorted voice, not making any of it out, I see an image and noise, “you were a mistake.” but the image was the back of a man, black and white wings, purple highlights stood out.