A/N: I was listening to Avril Lavigne's 'I Fell in Love With the Devil' as I wrote this chapter. I recommend you do so too for a better reading experience.
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Raphael kneeled on the golden floor with a bewildered expression on his face. He cannot believe what he was seeing right now.
It all felt surreal. The Pier that he last saw was someone who cried so much during the burial ceremony of his people.
The image of the young master who wept and kneeled on the dirty ground to commemorate the loss of his servants that died in the accident was nowhere near the one sitting on the dark throne.
"Pie-"
"Close your mouth."
Raphael immediately shut his mouth close the moment Pier interrupted him.
Why?
It was because of the place itself. The throne room that was engulfed in darkness emitted a strange noise that raised his body's alerts to all the highest levels. Even more so, Raphael froze at the glare of the magnificent creature that seems to blend in well with the darkness sitting on Pier's lap.
"Did the people from Taron not tell you about what happened?" The white-haired king inquired and Raphael shifted uncomfortably in his position.
"You may speak but do not address me directly," Pier instructed and Raphael nodded his head hesitatingly before shaking his head in disapproval.
"I... We were kicked out immediately the moment I returned to the Capital by the royals..." He lowered his head and clenched his fists.
He knew he did not deserve the treatment he had gotten from the kingdom.
Raphael and Gage had no clue as to what their father did or what ensued in the palace. The young duke himself was fighting on the frontlines and protected the territory from the invaders yet he was pushed out of the place.
It was then, Raphael was brought out of his cloud of thoughts when he heard the clicking of a tongue.
His gaze shifted towards Pier and saw that the white-haired king was looking at him with his eyes turned into crescent shapes.
"Poor thing." His spine shivered at the sentence and Raphael kept his mouth closed after speaking.
It was sinister and ominous. The menacing aura that was surrounding Pier right now was not something he could fully take on at the moment.
Thing? Pier saw them as things and Raphael was stunned by that.
"You have nowhere to go, I presume?" Pier stopped petting the dragon that protested by trying to grab the white-haired king's hands with its chubby paws but failed to do so.
"Yes..." Raphael was careful with his words and Pier knew that as well.
"You can stay here at an expense of something," Pier smiled at him again which terrified the young duke.
The elegant, graceful, and classy young master that he had come to be attracted romantically with was still there. The Pier in front of him emitted such an elegant poise that it could be cold the perfection of nobility but this wasn't what he had come to like.
"W-What is it?" He asked with courage but soon backed off again when the darkness inside the throne room emitted a deathly sound.
"Become my pawn," Pier offered.
Raphael could not speak. He felt his heart drop and his systems malfunctioning as he tried to process the offer Pier had given him.
A pawn? For what?
His head started hurting the moment he tried to think further and Raphael ceased to do so.
"How..." He managed to blurt out despite his body's conditions and Pier's grin widened.
"You... You're the king of those people?" But the smile disappeared the moment Raphael asked the second question.
Instead, Pier leaned his head into his arm that was lazily placed on the throne's armrest looking unamused.
"If I tell you I am, what would you do?"
The statement was challenging and condescending. Clearly, Pier was giving him an option but before Raphael can respond, Pier shifted in his seat. The young duke observed as the latter whispered a few gentle words to the dragon wherein the creature seems to nod before flying off in a direction.
"Before you could choose, I am pretty sure you recognize that creature that flew out of my lap just now, right?" Pier hummed as he stood from the throne.
Raphael's eyebrows furrowed when Pier mentioned he knew the dragon.
Did he? So many things had gone over for him and Gage in the previous month that he cannot remember any more than the horrifying experience in the wild.
Scanning his memories, Raphael tried to look for any event that involved a dragon in it.
Then it hit him. His eyes widened in realization as he pondered over the idea and his gaze returned to the white-haired king.
The invaders.
He recalled a small creature that was similar to a large twig that flew in the skies and destroyed anything in its path when he defended Taron's walls.
"You... captured the dragon?" He asked, unsure of what to emphasize the statement with whether it'd be a declarative or interrogative type but still chose to go with the latter.
"Captured?" Pier raised his eyebrows as he slowly started to descend from the stairs that had a mixture of gold and other expensive jewels in it.
"Well, you can say that," he chuckled and Raphael moved back when Pier got closer in his proximity.
"On the other hand, do you recognize this?" Pier raised his arm and Raphael was frozen in his spot the moment he saw black smoke erupt from the white-haired king's feet.
It was violent and fearsome. The black smoke was screaming unto him the many forms of death and it terrified the young duke to the bones.
It continued to fill the dark room and Raphael tried to move away when the smoke reached his spot. But it seems like that was still the beginning of the surprises he would get from the man in front of him.
He slowly started seeing a figure beside Pier which made his stomach drop and churn.
It was a face he was familiar with.
Fear crept up in his mind and body that Raphael flinched in the process.
"H-How..." He stuttered and his voice trembled.
Raphael clearly remembered the figure that stood beside Pier. How could he? When through all of the years he trained with the sword, he faced an overwhelming defeat from the person and it made him hide in the rubbles of the buildings that fell.
His instincts told him to run. To create a space between him and the person.
The frightening difference of power was still vivid in his memories and Raphael feared the person that appeared before Pier.
"Are you frightened?" Pier laughed at the sight of Raphael's terrified face.
"T-This... this is not real..." The young duke murmured under his breath and Pier tilted his head to the side.
"Not real?" Pier turned to the shadow that appeared beside him and commanded it.
"Control the beasts that roam the nearby unexplored areas," he spoke and, in an instant, the shadow raised its arms.
The entire throne room trembled wherein the traumatic memories of Raphael losing without the opponent batting him an eye returned in his mind.
It did not even take a few minutes to occur before a shadow covered the windows of the throne room and Raphael turned his gaze in the direction where the shadow appeared.
"GAAARGH!" The winged creature that looked like a mutated version of an eagle appeared while flapping its wings and looking through the window.
"Oh, only this bird is around?" Pier spoke in disappointment before looking at Raphael.
"You see, Sir Raphael, there are things that we cannot believe with our own eyes but are the absolute reality," Pier smiled and turned to the creature that tried to break the windows of the throne room.
Manifesting his magic, Pier continued to speak.
"The world is cruel, the world is harsh. No one will spare you if you are weak and no one will see you if you do not stand out," his magical weapons appeared which were the bow and arrow.
Attaching the arrow made out of the wind to the bow, Pier raised the weapon and pointed it at the ugly-looking monster.
"You need to be the best in your field and beat anyone who tries to come in your way." He then stretched the strings of the wind bow and the arrow literally glowed when it was charged with magic power.
Shoot!
A streak of blinding light was released from the white-haired king's weapon and it directly shot the monster that flew through the windows of the throne room.
It felt like a heavenly body had crashed upon the creature that it created so much wind and pressure that Raphael was almost swept off of his feet.
"Do you still think this is not real?" Pier inquired him after not seeing the bird anymore and this time, Raphael was trying to catch his breath from all the things he had seen.
He knew Pier was powerful. He knew that the young master knew how to wield magic.
But not to this extent.
One single arrow from the white-haired king made the entire place tremble for a second and it terrified him.
"How..." He spoke and Pier turned to the beastmaster that invaded Taron before snapping his hands. Like a bubble in the air, the beastmaster disappeared through the black smokes leaving Raphael and Pier alone again.
Pier started to walk towards the young duke. His elegant silk robe shone brilliantly under the calm and serene moonlight that cascaded inside the throne room.
"Let me ask you another question, Raphael," Pier hummed in amusement when he saw Raphael's baffled face.
"What do you call an entity..." He stopped when he was only a few steps away from the young duke.
"That can raise the souls of the dead?" Pier's eyes glowed bright and this time the beastmaster appeared again.
But she was not alone.
Standing behind Pier were the strongest shadows that emitted so much power it made the young duke sick to his stomach.
A dead swordmaster.
A dead beastmaster.
A dead wyvern.
A dead ancient fairy.
Four creatures who were the best in their field were standing on guard behind the white-haired king and their combined presence were enough to threaten an entire empire.
"What do you call an entity that can control the darkness?" Pier's glowing eyes did not stop there. This time, his fire magic manifested and encircled his body until it formed golden and black strings of magic around him.
This time, the golden floor of the throne room was slowly being taken over by a dark void. From a single dot, the void continued to expand until it consumed the entire floor of the throne room.
"What do you call an entity that ruled over a thousand monstrous shadows?" Pier's smile widened when slowly, monsters of varying sizes started to come out of the void.
Ranging from small and medium sizes, he allowed those that could fit in the throne room to come out and manifest their shadow forms.
The young duke's body was trembling nonstop. His hands were shaking from fear and his throat felt dry. He could not utter a single word as he saw the terrifying scene of a literal death army that could take over the world appearing behind the white-haired king that he used to know.
"Tell me, Raphael," Pier walked towards him and every step shook the young duke to his core.
Every time Pier eyed him with amusement, Raphael felt as if his soul was being pulled out of his body and forcefully being swallowed in darkness.
The lingering feeling of death was coursing through the air and all-around Pier.
"D...De..." He spoke with his scared voice.
"Hmmm? Go on," Pier urged him as he stopped just a span of an arm away from Raphael.
"Devil..."
Pier stopped his antics for a second as he processed what Raphael had said.
"Devil?" He inquired as his eyes gleamed further in amusement at the astonishing response.
"That was an interesting response, Raphael," Pier chuckled as he also crouched down to meet Raphael's gaze since the young duke had been kneeling on the floor the whole time.
"But if that's what you think, then I'll let you do so." Pier stared straight in Raphael's eyes and the two were locked in a silent battle of glances.
"Going back to your question earlier, young duke," Pier ran his tongue through his upper front teeth as he wanted to laugh.
"Am I their king?" He hummed for a short moment while observing every movement the young duke made.
"I am their king, Raphael." He whispered as the blue eyes he possessed exuded a sinister aura around him.
Raphael wanted to run away. To hide as he cannot take in the presence Pier was unleashing. It was an immaculate representation of an all-powerful being that ruled over the strongest and made sure no one was on the same level as him.
"Now answer my question, little duke of the forsaken kingdom, will you become my pawn?" Pier asked him with a slight raise in the intonation of his voice as if he wanted to laugh.
As if the white-haired king was mocking the scared expression Raphael was showing.
"I am offering you a secured place within my territory where you and Gage will not suffer. No one will harm him unless it is by my command." Pier's offer was everything Raphael could ask for right now.
If he were to reject, he did not know what would happen to him and Gage.
He knew one shadow alone from the ones Pier unleashed in the throne room would be enough to end his and Gage's life in an instant.
"At the expense of you becoming my dispensable puppet, Raphael."
He stared at his shaking hands. He saw how cruel the world can be right from the moment he was stripped of his title.
Raphael had been living in a safe haven for his whole life and when hell ensued in the continent, he saw the harsh reality no one wanted to open their eyes at.
The young duke of the Sentinio Duchy wanted to seek refuge. Away from the wild, away from the people. He wanted a secure place where his younger brother would not get sick or have his life be in danger always.
He wished for Gage's safety.
Lowering his head, Raphael clenched his hand and made his mind up.
"I accept." He managed to speak in a low voice and Pier's smile broadened. The set of pearly white teeth showcasing themselves to the world and towards Raphael Sentinio.
"Very well then, Raphael. Very well." Pier chuckled again before standing up and turning his back from the young duke.
He was about to climb back to the throne when Raphael threw him another one-worded question.
"Why?"
Pier wanted to laugh and mock the question but Raphael must have been curious too.
Why had he come to this point?
Why had he changed?
Why?
"I have always seen the Taron Kingdom as the heaven I can safely find refuge at," Pier spoke now with a cold voice.
The young king started to take slow steps back to the throne and every time he did so, Pier spoke a few sentences.
Step
"I lived my life in luxury and wealth, ate the best food only a few could taste, experienced a life without having the need to work."
Step
"However, the longer I lived in that heaven, the more I saw the hidden creatures lurking under the sheep's clothing."
Step
"I thought that only angels lived in heaven but there I saw the existence of demons that should not be there."
Step
"Instead, they ruled the place I thought was heaven. Those demons created a paradise that lured those who are innocent and clueless. Like the burning flames, it attracted the curious moth."
Step
"And I was burned."
Pier arrived at the top of the stairs where the throne was seated at.
"Those demons made me bleed, suffer, and die. They were planning to use me as livestock at their disposal."
He smiled at the young duke and Raphael stared back.
"But I refused. I left that heaven and searched for another sanctuary I could rest at... but instead, I found this," The white-haired king spread his arms mentioning the army of death beneath the throne's steps.
"I found refuge in hell rather than heaven, Raphael."
Shivers ran in his entire body when Pier spoke the words.
"I despised those demons so much that I wished to see their heaven fall." Slowly, all the shadows started to turn into black smoke just like earlier.
"And do you know what else I did, Raphael?" Pier's small chuckle slowly turned into full belly laughter. His voice got louder and louder until the entire throne room was filled with boisterous laughter that mocked all of the things he experienced.
"I fell in love with the devil himself." His eyes emitted a strange translucent gleam.
"That devil you said gave me this authority I have right now. He gave me unmatched support that could break the pillars of heaven with a single touch." As the shadows disappeared, the void also continued to shrink.
"The devil loved me, an entity that fell from heaven. He caught me in his palm and cradled me with his arms." When everything disappeared, all that was left was the throne room Raphael had come into moments ago.
"A devil, you say? I guess he is. But to tell you, there's one thing I learned from all the things that I experienced." This time, only a small amount of black smoke manifested inside the throne room and Raphael saw that this time, it was behind Pier again.
Particularly on the throne.
Raphael's eyes widened when he saw another creature appear. However, unlike the previous ones that manifested, the creature's arms were wrapped around Pier's waist.
"I will burn heaven down with the devil by my side." Pier closed his eyes when the man's touch soothed his senses. He leaned his head back into the reassuring shoulders that comforted him.
"And I have succeeded. I have destroyed that heaven with my devil and you know what I plan next?" Pier was not talking to Raphael anymore.
Instead, he was talking to the man that supported him.
"I plan to make that devil a god."