Phoveus

Phoveus was once a Moniyan soldier from the borders of the Lantis Mountains. His unit, made up of fourteen hardened warriors, was well known among the locals for their reckless bravery, fighting the Abyss using dubious but effective methods.

During a disastrous Empire offensive, Phoveus was forced to summon the power of an evil god to turn the tide. Despite the lives he saved, Phoveus was labeled a sinner for conspiring with a demon. On the way to his execution, the Evil God attempted to take over Phoveus' body, but Phoveus took advantage of the situation to bond with the Evil God in a stone monolith. While the Empire continues to condemn Phovéus as a sinner, those on the border will forever consider him a hero.

The nameless monolith, beneath the crimson twilight of Moniyan's sky, the scent of blood wafting in the cold air hinted at a horrific battle not long ago.

The wheels of a prison cart bounced shakily over rocks as it was pulled along the mountain road. "Farewell to yesterday, to forgotten glories, on this familiar night. Open my chest and engrave this oath in the hearts of those on the border..."

In the carriage, a shadowy figure revealed itself through a gap in the cage. His armor broken, his face mutilated and his empty eyes glinting coldly in the moonlight.

"Silence!"

A soldier screamed as he hit the cart, interrupting the mumbled song. Growing anger rose to his face as he cursed the prisoner:

"We lost thirteen thousand good men in this battle! And what you did... it's like spitting on their graves!"

The wind rose like a sharp knife. After a few moments of silence, Phoveus turned and retreated into the darkness. The voice rang out from the cart once again, but this time it was not the chants of the border guards. Instead, thirteen names were whispered over and over again. These seemingly ordinary names once brought joy and hope to the villages of the Lantis Mountains. These were the names of fathers, brothers and sons who had protected the border for generations. But now they were just names written disdainfully on a piece of Moniyan Border Regiment paper.

“Your men will be remembered as sinners and traitors, just like you.”

At this moment, a stone monolith carried in the same wagon began to move. Phoveus watched in disbelief as an eye slowly opened on the monolith; the same eye that led him to this destiny. She focused on Phoveus, reflecting the madness in his eyes.

This meeting was not a coincidence. Centuries ago, Phoveus' ancestor sealed an evil god atop a great pillar. The pillar eroded over the years until it finally became a monolith on the border of the Moniyan Empire and the Abyss. After this fateful battle, the monolith was placed in the wagon to be moved. Phoveus knew everything about the demon, and the demon knew everything about him.

“Take back my power and claim everything that is rightfully yours…”

Phoveus remained silent but did not notice his hand unconsciously moving towards the whispering monolith. The thirteen names echoed again in the darkness, this time accompanied by the sound of nails scraping against stone. He had invoked these names countless times. They were etched into his soul, as were the trusting eyes, the exhausted smiles, and the exhausted faces that responded.

But all that was no more. All that remained were the anonymous tombstones erected at the border. The border they protected with blood and tears and from which they could not find peace even in death. Phovéus is then reminded that names are only useful to the living.

When the Abyss began to relentlessly attack Mount Lantis Pass, trying to break the Empire's defensive line, a desperate Phoveus found himself staring at a giant demonic eye. He felt as if the eye was peering into his soul, searching for something... "Ah, he desires power overwhelming enough to stop this senseless slaughter."

Under the influence of the demonic entity, Phoveus and his men managed to rout the Abyssal forces that day. The trumpet of momentary victory and the frustrated howls of the Abyss were carried to the center of the Empire, fueling the Empire's ambitions to reconquer lost territories.

Thus, the Imperial Knight Tigreal was sent to the pass with a force of thirteen thousand soldiers. They arrived in good spirits, with their golden armor shining in the afternoon sun. But when the fighting began, Phoveus realized that these men had lived in the light for too long and had forgotten how insidious the darkness could be.

The cunning of the Abyss and the inexperience of the Empire's field commanders caused their entire second regiment to be surrounded by the Abyssal forces. Phoveus looked desperately at his men still holding the line, their battered bodies refusing to fall, and closed his eyes. He told Tigreal that he would rather be cursed by the world than let another comrade become a nameless tombstone. Defying Tigreal's orders, Phoveus called to the eye. When he appeared before him, he used his blood to break the demon's seal.

An instant later, Phoveus slammed into the middle of the battlefield and began pushing the Abyss back, giving Tigreal and the remaining soldiers time to retreat. But in the eyes of the Empire, there was no greater sin than colluding with a demon. On the other hand, the lives of the soldiers he saved had no consequence on his crime. Phoveus was branded a traitor and imprisoned for execution.

Back in the chariot, demonic power began to wrap around Phoveus' arms like hellish chains. Spikes protruded from it and pierced deep into Phoveus' flesh. Finally! The Evil God had patiently waited and plotted for this very moment, and now he was about to take the flesh and blood of his former enemies.

The cart turned, revealing Phoveus' calm face in the moonlight. There was a determination in his eyes that a desperate man should not have had. Phoveus suddenly grabbed the chains and, with the weight of his own soul, began to push the demon back into the monolith. The more the demon struggled, the tighter the chains became. In the process, Phoveus' body and soul began to merge with a monolith as its power flowed into him.

"We are alike in one way. We have the patience of wise men, hiding our true ambitions or that fateful day. Unfortunately, you will never have the chance to know the words engraved on the back of this monolith..."

Phovéus wiped the dust from the monolith, revealing the ancient oath engraved on it:

“Our will is your eternal fetter.”

The cage burst into pieces to reveal Phoveus, covered in chains and pulsing with power. With a heavy step, he backed heavily towards the border, dragging the monolith behind him.

The monolith now imprisoned two souls, but Phoveus had never felt so liberated, for he had finally gained the power to save his people.