The Hero Who Wasn't:Lord of Kingdoms

The Old Lion's Awakening

After making his decisive choice, Valerius was no longer the lazy old man sitting behind a desk. Something ancient and dangerous had awakened in his eyes. He ordered Robert to return and rest, then looked at Kalia. "Get ready. I'll be back by dusk."

Valerius left the city alone, heading to a place he hadn't visited in over a decade—a secluded mountain waterfall, far beyond the walls and prying eyes. The roar of falling water was the only soundtrack for the ritual about to come.

He stood before the thundering falls, cold mist filling the air. On his back, he carried his long sword, wrapped in a simple leather scabbard, without a single ornament. This blade hadn't been drawn since his last mission ten years ago.

Slowly, he gripped the sword's hilt. It wasn't just a piece of metal—it was an extension of his soul.

Shhhhiiing…

With every centimeter the blade slid from its scabbard, the air around him grew heavier. It wasn't magical aura—but pure pressure, the presence of a man who had reached the pinnacle of physical power. Small animals hid in their burrows. Birds fell silent. Even the drifting mist seemed to avoid him.

When the blade was fully drawn, it let out what sounded like a satisfied sigh—like a beast waking from a long slumber—glowing with a faint silvery light.

Valerius wasted no time. He took his stance, his body—an old man's moments ago—now tense as a fully drawn bow.

He took a deep breath, then unleashed a blade of combat energy. It wasn't fully visible—just a ripple in the air that shot from the tip of his sword faster than sound. The slash cut through everything in its path—grass, small rocks—before heading straight for a massive rocky hill half a kilometer away.

For a heartbeat, there was silence. Then—

KROOOOOOOOOM!

The massive hill split cleanly in two, as if it were a block of butter cut by a hot knife. The halves collapsed slowly, triggering a thunderous rockslide.

It was a sight to shatter the mind—power enough to reshape the land with a single blow.

But Valerius looked at his handiwork with an expression of mild disappointment.

"Hmm…" he muttered, dissatisfied. "If I were at my peak, I'd have turned that whole hill to dust—not just split it!"

This was just the warm-up.

He began his real training. He moved—and became a ghost. His Agile Body skill fully awakened. He appeared at the base of the falls—then, in an instant, at its peak—then on a distant rock on the other side of the valley. He wasn't running—he was vanishing and reappearing, leaving behind faint phantom images that slowly faded.

Then he tested his strength. He didn't strike the rocks—he stood in the center of the valley and clapped his hands.

BOOOOOOM!

The shockwave from his clap was so violent it halted the waterfall's flow for a moment, turning the falling water into mist that scattered in every direction before resuming its descent.

He trained for hours—forcing his body to remember the old feel of battle, reawakening muscles that had long slept, driving his fighting spirit out of its lazy slumber.

---

A Night Before the Storm

Valerius returned home as night fell. There was no sign of physical exhaustion, but the mental strain of awakening his dormant power was clear in his eyes.

He found Kalia waiting for him in the living room, calmly reading one of the massive tomes Arion had bought. She looked up when he entered and smiled.

"It seems the old lion is awake again."

They shared a quiet dinner. They didn't speak of the mission or the danger. It was a silent, comforting night—each understood the other without words. It was the calm before the storm—a precious moment of warmth before facing hell.

Before they went to sleep, as he stood by the window looking at the moon, Kalia came behind him and rested her head against his back.

"So, my love," she whispered. "How much of your old strength did you reclaim today?"

Valerius looked at his hands, still feeling the echo of his power.

"Hmm… maybe 80%? Or a bit less."

Kalia smiled with quiet confidence. "80%… That's more than enough."

Valerius closed his eyes. He knew it might not be enough. But with her by his side—with her boost to double his strength—the mission was no longer suicidal. It was possible. Incredibly dangerous—but possible.

At dawn, the two strongest people in Arcadia would set out on the most dangerous mission of their lives—to save an oblivious hero who didn't even know he was in danger, from an ancient enemy no one yet knew had returned.