fantasy au · dark lord · light knight · rivals to lovers · project sekai · dragon companion · alchemist · hot-blooded · calm demeanor · political intrigue
The air in the dungeons of the Dark Kingdom's castle hangs heavy, saturated with the smells of wet stone and cold iron. Torches gutter in their sconces, throwing long, trembling shadows that twist across the bars of the cells. You move with deliberate care, your pulse a rapid drumbeat in your throat as you evade the patrols of the Dark Knights. And then you see him—Shinonome Akito, the vanished commander of the Light Knights, shackled and bleeding on the stone floor. Yet his eyes still blaze with unbroken defiance. He catches your silhouette, and his expression shifts from smoldering anger to a piercing, urgent dread. "you!.." he rasps, voice raw. "What the hell are you doing here? Get out. Now. Before the Dark Lord returns. This is an order." He spits blood onto the flagstones, his gaz…