After that, everyone cleared out.

They returned to their duties as if all was normal. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

As if they hadn’t just witnessed a king condemned to the guillotine.

And yes, it was official, Aram’s king would be guillotined tomorrow.

Malik didn’t bother knowing when exactly; he didn’t care for it one bit.

Instead, he was focusing on something that lifted his low spirits.

—

╔════════╗

║OVERFLOW!║

╚════════╝

[Your Fear Spreads...]

[Fear Points: 71 → 124]

—

Indeed.

That had lifted his spirits greatly.

Now, finally, he could ascend to the next class.

—

╔════════╗

║Fear System║

╚════════╝

{Class: 11 (Knight of Rukh)}

{Unlocking Class (10): 0/101}

{Fear Points: 124}

{Soul Glyphs: Shifting Ground (Single) x 3}

{Invaders Fear}

[White Bear Faction (Class Eight) — 90 %]

[Owls Faction (Class Five) — 30 → 32 % Increasing!]

[Maharajah Faction (Class Seven) — 40 → 43 % Increasing!]

[Walkers Faction (Class Six) — 36 → 38 % Increasing!]

{Items}

[Holy Relic — Stranger’s Ring]

[Holy Relic — Golden Throne]

[Holy Relic — Spine Splitter]

{Runes}

[Ember’s Touch — Rank 5]

{Traits}

[Wielder Of Spine Breaker]

[Misunderstood Villain]

[Bane Of Corruption]

{Quests}

{Shop}

{Wheel Of Fortune}

[One Roll — 10 FP]

[Fate Points: None]

—

’Hm. I’ve used most things here except the Quest tab...’

Malik didn’t know how that came into play, but he was sure it wouldn’t be long before he found out. Now, though, he was more focused on inputting all the Fear Points.

—

╔════════╗

║Fear System║

╚════════╝

{Class: 11 (Knight of Rukh)}

{Unlocking Class (10): 101 / 101}

{Fear Points: 124 → 23}

—

Almost immediately, a burst of power emanated from his body.

Ding!

—

╔═════════════╗

║UNLOCKED CLASS!║

╚═════════════╝

[You Have Stepped Closer To Your Truth.]

—

It exploded into the hall.

No, not just the hall, it reached the outside as well, shuddering most who were near. Guards stumbled, scribes dropped their quills, while in the courtyard, many a horse reared.

Malik felt an incredible change.

His body regained a lot of strength, his eyesight sharpened, and his hearing expanded.

Core things within his body became... different. His appetite for food and water decreased.

His mind cleared further, and his constant tiredness disappeared.

Soon, he might no longer need sleep!

’Incredible’ was putting it lightly.

A lock had fallen, revealing his second Rune.

—

╔════════╗

║Fear System║

╚════════╝

{Class: 10 (Sword of Guidance)}

{Unlocking Class (9): 0 / 660}

{Fear Points: 23}

{Runes}

[Ember’s Touch — Rank 5]

[Goliath’s Fall — Rank 5]

—

Now, Malik could strengthen himself as he wished.

The enlargement part of this Rune was, of course, unavailable to him.

After all, it was currently at its lowest rank, but the potential was there.

That wasn’t the only positive change, though, as his earlier thoughts were confirmed.

The Fear Points required for all the Soul Glyphs after Goliath’s Fall had decreased!

—

[Soul Glyphs]

[Embers Touch — 4 FP (Single) | 32 FP (Peak)]

[Goliath’s Fall — 8 FP (Single) | 32 FP (Peak)]

[Scorpion’s Sting — 16 → 8 FP (Single) | 32 → 16 FP (Peak)]

[Devil’s Footsteps — 32 → 16 FP (Single) | 64 → 32 (Peak)]

[Zephyr’s Kiss — 64 → 32 FP (Single) | 128 → 64 FP (Peak)]

[Shifting Ground — 128 → 64 FP (Single) | 256 → 128 FP (Peak)]

[Eternal Life — 256 → 128 FP (Single) | 512 → 256 FP (Peak)]

[Thirst’s Quench — 512 → 256 FP (Single) | 1024 → 512 FP (Peak)]

[Dust to Stone — 1024 → 512 FP (Single) | 2048 → 1024 FP (Peak)]

—

’Still very expensive, but it’s a very good decrease.’

Now, that was all for the positives.

The negative came next.

And damn, it was insane.

—

{Unlocking Class (9): 0 / 660}

—

Malik needed six hundred and sixty Fear Points to unlock the next class!

That was truly a great amount. Or perhaps what he had now was simply too little.

Either way, it’d take him some time to get that many.

And now that he had focused on the classes a little, he noticed something interesting about them, namely the way they were Titled and Ascended.

It started with the Bringer of Light, suggesting an awakening, a first spark.

Knight of Rukh suggested that they fully submitted themselves as wielders of Rukh.

By the time they reached Sword of Guidance, they became symbols of a path.

Magi, the heralds of something much larger than themselves.

Indeed, that was what Malik felt...

He was upon the cusp of becoming much greater.

On the cusp of remembering something very important.

No, the memory was already there.

His eyes closed as he was drowned in it.

THUMP.

The memory hit him without warning.

One moment, he was sitting on the Golden Throne, the afterglow of his ascension still humming through his veins, the new Rune settling into place, only for the world to tilt.

Like a creeping mold, the reality of his existence threaded its way through his mind.

It started slow. A single thread. Then another. Then a thousand, weaving together into a... tapestry he couldn’t look away from.

Birth. Death. Birth again.

The cycle repeated so many times he lost count before he even began.

Decay and bloom.

Millions of stitches from many millions of microscopic wounds he’d inflicted on everyone he’d ever met.

Malik saw them, all of them.

Faces he didn’t recognize but somehow knew.

People he’d hurt. People he’d saved. People he’d walked past without a second glance. Every muscle he’d moved. Every word he’d spoken. It all left marks. Scars. Tiny cuts that festered, healed, and festered again.

He was a lonely Soul in a void by itself.

That was the truth of it.

No matter how many people surrounded him, no matter how many bowed or cheered or wept at his feet, he was always alone. Cut off and separate. A thing that existed outside the current of normal life.

He lived for decades and then was gone.

Just like that, a life’s worth of struggle and triumph, reduced to one silent requiem.

It was a reprieve from a fulfilling but sacrificial life. An attempt at love turned tragic. A steady path through thorns. Despair and hate from his people turned into recognition. Respect and admiration.

The insects had found their orifices.

His Soul was reborn anew.

A lonely Soul, lonely again.

Malik witnessed his survival in the Abyss.

Green yet cold, in a cave, barely surviving the elements.

He sacrificed himself to keep his little sister and brother alive.

Huda and Sinbad, their faces were blurred, but their terror was clear.

They huddled together, hurt by a world that was too cruel.

Then the boy was gone, and the girl was taken.

Malik witnessed two of his disciples.

One had Fallen Into Depravity.

Corruption befell her.

He buried her in a simple grave.

Forever, a blooming flower growing from the soil.

The other disciple survived. Only to be taken as well.

Two people who trusted him. Two people he couldn’t protect.

The bell had tolled.

Justice was indeed blind.

Yet not unbroken... never.

The final memories came.

A very cruel man raised a fist.

He became a devil cloaked in fire.

Malik felt the heat on his face and smelled the char, but...

All of his attention was on one thing and one thing alone.

He witnessed a sparrow’s fall.

Rehan, another father gone.

A man who had tried, failed, and died anyway.

These three complacencies tore at his heart.

Eventually, the memories faded.

Malik opened his eyes.

He was still on the Golden Throne.

His hands were gripping the armrests.

The Sultan didn’t remember gripping them.

Slowly, he let go and looked down at his hands.

They looked the same but felt different.

’So, that’s who I was.’

’That’s who I am.’

’My failures.’

Malik didn’t feel sad or angry upon remembering more of his past.

Yes, they were only fragments that explained his relationship with Huda and Sinbad, who’d somehow become an owl despite being ’gone,’ his disciple Safira, and Rehan, who sacrificed himself so Malik could live and finally move on.

But still, these ’fragments’ alone were enough to make him feel... tired once more.

’If this is how my past self felt all the time, then...’

Malik leaned back into the throne, not finishing that thought.

Although the very throne that gave him comfort now felt like a reminder of everything he’d lost and everything he still had to lose, he wasn’t going to stop himself from remembering.

’I will not fail myself.’

He closed his eyes again.

’I’ve got a lot of work to do.’

The Sultan had a sultanate to check on, a wife to avoid, and six hundred and sixty Fear Points to collect.

’One step at a time.’

A lonely Soul, hm?

’One step at a goddamn time.’