Kingdom Reboot: Rise Of The Conquest System

Chapter 2: The Beginning After The End

Aurelius looked up from the moldy straw. A young woman sat in the cell across from his. She had short blonde hair that looked like it had been cut with a dull knife. Her eyes burned with fury even in the dim light. Something about her seemed dangerous.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Does it matter?" she said coldly. "We're both going to die anyway."

"I'm Aurelius."

"I know who you are," she said. Her voice carried old anger. "Commander of the First Order. The king's favorite. Though that won't help you now."

The hate in her voice wasn't aimed at him. That was good. He had enough enemies already.

"What did you do?" he asked.

She was quiet for a long time. Then she spoke without looking at him. "I tried to kill someone who deserved it."

Days crawled by in the cold stone cells. Aurelius paced like a caged wolf while questions ate at his mind. How had Victor built such a perfect trap? How long had he been planning this?

The woman mostly stayed quiet. But sometimes she would answer his questions about life down here. About which guards could be trusted and which ones liked hurting prisoners.

On the second day, she finally told him her name.

"Seraphina," she said when he asked again.

"Who did you try to kill?"

Her laugh was sharp and bitter. "The High King's advisor. Victor."

That got his attention fast. "Victor? Why?"

"Because he murdered my family," she said simply.

"That cannot be right," Aurelius said. "Victor might want power, but he's not a killer."

Seraphina looked at him with cold rage in her blue eyes. "How would you know? You only see what he wants you to see."

On the third day, she told him more. Her father had been a lord who spoke against Victor's ideas. Victor had planted fake evidence in their house. Her parents died while she watched from the crowd.

"I was twelve," she said quietly. "Old enough to remember everything. Old enough to swear revenge."

Aurelius felt sick. If she was telling the truth... "Why did you not tell the king?"

"Tell him what? That his trusted advisor is a liar? You think he would believe some nobody over Victor?"

By the fourth day, Aurelius started believing her. The pieces fit too well. Victor's rise to power. How certain nobles had vanished over the years. Always legally. Always with proof of their crimes.

"He has been planning this for years," Seraphina said. "Getting rid of anyone who might stop him. I was not the only one who tried. I was just the only one who got caught."

"But the proof against me," Aurelius said, talking more to himself than her. "My own man said I was guilty."

"Tortured, most likely," she said simply. "Victor is good at breaking people. Making them say what he wants."

On the fifth day, Aurelius asked to see the king. The guards laughed. On the sixth day, he tried again. Still nothing.

"He will not see you, will he?" Seraphina said when she noticed how quiet he had been.

"No," Aurelius admitted. "The guards say he is too hurt to face me."

"Victor's poison runs deep," she said quietly. "Once he plants doubt, it is hard to dig out."

By the seventh day, Aurelius finally faced the truth. Victor had played them all. The king. The nobles. Even him. They had all been pieces on Victor's board.

"I should have seen it," Aurelius said. "The signs were there."

"Do not blame yourself," Seraphina replied. "He has had years to perfect his lies."

"Not everyone fell for it," Aurelius pointed out. "You saw through him."

"Only because he killed my family," she said. "Hard to miss someone's true nature when they murder everyone you love."

A loud crash cut her off. Then shouting. The sound of steel on steel echoed through the stone halls above them.

Aurelius jumped to his feet. "What in the hells?"

The guard at the end of the hall dropped his dice. His hand went to his sword as more battle sounds came from above. Men screaming. Armor clanking. Weapons ringing against each other.

"Someone is attacking the palace," Seraphina said. She pressed against her cell bars, listening hard.

The guard looked terrified. He kept looking between the stairs and his prisoners like he could not decide which was worse.

"Let me out," Aurelius commanded. "If the palace is under attack, you need every sword you can get."

"I have orders to keep you locked up," the guard said. His voice was shaking.

"Your orders do not matter if we are all dead," Aurelius shot back. "You know who I am. You know what I can do. Let me help protect the king."

A huge crash shook dust from the ceiling. The guard jumped like the stones might fall on him.

The fighting sounds got louder. Someone was winning up there, and it did not sound like the royal forces.

The guard's nerve finally broke. He ran to Aurelius's cell and opened the door. "If you betray me, I shall hunt you down myself."

"You have my word," Aurelius said as he stepped out.

The guard gave him a sword. It was not his usual blade, but it would serve. "Her as well?"

Aurelius looked at Seraphina. "Will you fight beside me?"

"Against Victor?" She smiled like a wolf. "I thought you would never ask."

They ran up the dungeon stairs together. The palace halls were chaos. Dead guards lay in pools of blood. Tapestries burned on the walls. It had started. Victor was staging a coup. It had to be him.

Aurelius's heart pounded as they ran toward the throne room. They had to reach the king. Had to protect him.

But they were too late.

King Aldric knelt in the middle of his throne room. Blood ran from a cut on his head. Victor stood behind him with a sword at the old man's throat.

"Well, well," Victor said when he saw them. "The great Commander Aurelius. Here I thought you were safely locked away."

"Let him go," Aurelius snarled. "Your fight is with me."

"My fight is with everyone who stands in my way," Victor replied. "The king is weak. He lets demons kill our people while he talks with elves and fairies. He cares more about being liked than being strong."

"He is a good man," Aurelius said.

"Good men get people killed," Victor spat. "Time for a real leader. Someone who puts humans first."

King Aldric raised his head. Even facing death, he looked noble. "Aurelius, my boy. I am sorry I doubted you."

"Too late for apologies," Victor said. He pulled the sword back.

"No!" Aurelius charged forward.

Victor drove the blade deep into the king's chest. Blood poured out as the good man's life left his eyes.

Rage exploded in Aurelius's chest. He threw himself at Victor with wild fury. Their swords clashed in a deadly dance. Victor was skilled, but Aurelius was better. He had always been better.

He drove Victor back step by step. His blade found gaps in the traitor's defense. Soon Victor was bleeding from many small cuts.

"You killed him," Aurelius roared in rage. "You killed the best man I knew."

Victor stumbled and fell. Aurelius's sword point pressed against his throat. One push would end this. One movement would avenge his king.

"Do it," Victor wheezed. "Kill me. Become the monster you think I am."

Aurelius raised his sword. Justice demanded Victor's death. The king's blood cried for revenge.

Pain suddenly exploded between his shoulder blades. Cold steel went through his heart from behind. He looked down to see a sword point coming out of his chest.

He turned slowly. Sir Marcus stood there, but something was wrong. His face was pale and his hands shook. Sweat covered his forehead despite the cool air.

"Marcus?" Aurelius gasped. "Why?"

Marcus's mouth opened but no words came at first. His eyes jumped to Victor, then back. "I... I had to," he whispered. His voice cracked. "You do not know what he... what he can do."

Fear filled Marcus's eyes. Raw terror that went deeper than any torture.

Seraphina screamed his name as Aurelius fell. She tried to reach him but Victor's men held her back.

Aurelius dropped to his knees. Blood filled his mouth as his vision went dark at the edges.

Victor stood and brushed dust off his clothes. "You always trusted too much, Aurelius. Too noble for your own good."

Darkness closed in. Aurelius felt his life slipping away like water through his fingers. All he could think about was Mileena's face.

If only I could go back, he thought desperately. If only I could fix this.

A voice echoed in his dying mind. It sounded old and tired.

Would you trade anything for a second chance?

"Yes," Aurelius whispered with his last breath. "Anything."

Light exploded behind his eyes.

[CONQUEST SYSTEM STARTING...]

[CHECKING HOST...]

[SOUL MATCH FOUND]

[OFFERING DEAL...]

Words appeared in his fading sight. They pulsed with their own light.

[WOULD YOU TAKE THE POWER TO CHANGE YOUR FATE?]

[WARNING: ALL POWER HAS A PRICE]

[YES/NO]

With the last of his strength, Aurelius focused on one word.

Yes.

[DEAL ACCEPTED]

[STARTING REGRESSION...]

[WELCOME TO YOUR SECOND CHANCE]

The world exploded into white light. Then warmth. Then silk sheets against his skin.

His eyes flew open.

Mileena was above him again. Her beautiful face was flushed with passion. Her body moved against his in that same slow rhythm. Her auburn hair fell around them like a curtain.

But this time, he could see blue words floating at the edge of his sight.

[CONQUEST SYSTEM ACTIVE]

[HOST: AURELIUS MORALES]

[REGRESSION: SUCCESS]

"Mileena," he gasped. His hands gripped her waist tighter than before.

"Yes?" she breathed. Her eyes were closed as she lost herself in their joined bodies.

"What time is it?"

She opened her eyes and looked at him strangely. "Just past nine in the morning. Why? Are you expecting someone?"

Looking at her, Aurelius realized something. He was back to the day it all started. Any moment now the guards would come bursting through his door. Which meant he had only minutes left.

Minutes to save the king. Minutes to stop Victor. Minutes to change everything.

And this time, he would not fail. He could not.