I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 824: PRELUDE: Ymir Kings

“This marks a great moment in our history and in our lives, my children.”

The voice that rang out was feminine and divine, not just beautiful, but otherworldly. It resonated in a way that seemed to bypass the ears entirely and speak directly to the soul, echoing through the vast space of whiteness.

The figure speaking stood bathed in radiant white light so brilliant it was almost impossible to look at directly. The illumination didn’t just surround her, it seemed to emanate from within her, pouring out like she was the source of all light in existence. Her form was initially obscured by that divine glow, features hidden behind the overwhelming radiance.

Before her, three young men knelt in postures of respect. Their heads were bowed, their backs straight, their hands resting on their knees in perfect symmetry.

All three were her children.

Her sons.

Her purpose made flesh.

As they knelt there in silence, the faceless white figure began to shift and change. The light dimmed just slightly, enough to reveal features beneath. Ymir’s true form emerged from the brilliance like a sunrise breaking through morning mist. Her eyes opened, bright amber irises glowing with an intensity that rivaled the light surrounding her, and fixed upon the three figures before her.

“Eden. Lucifer. Samael.” She spoke their three names.

“There is no stronger bond than what you three share. The three of you are destined to save everyone, to save us. Together, you will achieve this monumental task alongside the Princesses of Khaos.”

“We will not disappoint you, Mother,” Lucifer responded first, raising his head to meet her gaze. His expression was deadly serious and also visible respect and affection. His golden eyes, brilliant, almost molten in their intensity glowed brightly as he mouthed the words.

Ymir’s stern expression softened, melting into something warmer. A gentle smile curved across her lips, transforming her from a goddess of terrifying power into something more approachable, more maternal.

“As long as you remain together and stay united, nothing will stop you,” she said. “And nothing will ever harm us.”

Then she moved, gliding forward with grace until she stood before her eldest son. She looked down at him with eyes full of pride.

“Eden.”

“Mother,” he replied, lifting his face to meet her gaze.

Eden’s eyes were unique among the three brothers, a mesmerizing blend of gold and amber that swirled together like molten metal, catching and reflecting the divine light surrounding them. A bright, genuine smile spread across his face, radiating confidence.

Ymir looked at him for a long moment, taking in the sight of him, before speaking again. “You will lead your brothers and this world. You will transmit our knowledge and our purpose to the descendants who come after us. You will be fair when fairness is needed, merciful when mercy is called for, and arduous, uncompromising and hard when that is what the situation demands.”

“I shall be all of this, Mother,” Eden promised. “I will not falter.”

Ymir reached out, her luminous hands moving to his hair. She ran her fingers through it gently, tenderly, in a gesture so achingly maternal it seemed almost out of place coming from such a divine being. She held his head like that for several heartbeats, silently blessing him, before finally releasing him and turning toward her other two sons kneeling behind Eden.

“Lucifer,” she called, her gaze settling on the middle brother.

“Mother,” Lucifer responded crisply, his posture somehow becoming even more perfect despite already being flawless.

“You will support your brother as his closest companion, always by his side. You will be his support in every way that matters, his family, his brother, his most trusted advisor. You shall counsel him when he needs guidance and lend him your shoulders when the burden grows too heavy to bear alone.”

“I will, Mother,” Lucifer nodded without hesitation. “I swear it on everything I am and everything I will become.”

Ymir’s smile widened slightly. Then she turned her attention to the final figure.

The youngest.

“Samael.”

Samael remained kneeling, his head bowed low, his long jet-black hair cascading down his shoulders like a waterfall of darkness. The contrast between his dark hair and his pale skin was quite a sight. He didn’t move, didn’t look up, didn’t make a sound.

“Samael,” Ymir called again, more gently this time. She reached out her hand toward him, her fingers seeking his face.

Finally, slowly, Samael raised his head.

Where Eden’s eyes held gold and amber warmth, and Lucifer’s held golden fire, Samael’s eyes were dark amethyst, deep purple like the twilight sky just before true darkness falls. They were beautiful, haunting, and carrying a hint of sadness despite his young age.

Ymir’s expression softened even further as she looked at him. Her hand found his cheek, cupping it gently as her thumb stroked across his pale skin with infinite tenderness.

“My youngest child,” she whispered, and there was heartbreak threaded through her love. “Your burden will be the hardest of all to bear. You will hold the Sins and the evil that rules this world and threatens to consume it. Forever you shall be the Vessel of darkness, so that everyone else may bathe in the light.”

Samael didn’t flinch neither protest. His dark amethyst eyes simply gazed up at his mother with acceptance. “I will hold it, Mother,” he said quietly. “I will carry it all.”

Ymir’s eyes shimmered slightly, with pride, with sorrow, and with love. She leaned down slowly, and pressed her lips tenderly to Samael’s forehead.

“If you need help, when you need help, lean on your brothers,” she said softly, her lips still close to his skin. “They will be there for you, always. And I…” She paused, pulling back to look into his eyes once more, “I shall be there when you need me most, my son. You will never be alone in the darkness. Never.”

She straightened then, stepping backward to take in all three of her children at once.

“Stay together and stay united,” she said, her voice rising stronger. “Never forget your purpose. You do this for your siblings, for your family, for a greater and more peaceful future for all of us, for every soul that will ever exist in this world and beyond.”

The light around her intensified, growing brighter and brighter until it was almost blinding. Her form began to fade back into that brilliant radiance, becoming once again more concept than flesh.

But her final words echoed long after her physical presence had dissolved completely:

“Together, my sons. Always together. That is how we win. That is how we survive. That is how we save everything.”

***

The sky burned.

Massive tears had ripped through the fabric of space, revealing churning voids of raw chaos beyond. Flames of impossible colors licked at the edges of those wounds, spreading across the heavens like an infection.

The space around them distorted and warped, bending in ways that defied physics and reason. Objects in the distance appeared close, while things nearby seemed miles away. Gravity itself felt uncertain, fluctuating between crushing weight and weightless drift.

The air was overwhelmed by the smell of pure and destructive energy and divinity clashing against each other in violent opposition. Smoke billowed everywhere, mixing with colors that spread across the battlefield in a nightmarish blend of crimson blood and black ash.

Everywhere, from every direction came the echoing sounds of battle. Swords crashing against swords with deafening rings. Spells colliding and exploding in cascades of destructive energy. Screams of rage and hatred. The roar of unleashed power tearing through everything in its path.

And in the middle of this apocalyptic chaos, two figures stood facing each other.

“Do you remember what Mother asked of us that day, Samael?” Eden asked. He stared at the figure before him, at his brother, bleeding and wounded but still standing.

Samael’s expression twisted. Pure coldness mixed with hatred radiating off him in waves. His dark amethyst eyes burned with betrayal and rage as he stared back at Eden.

“Stay together and united,” he spat out.

“Then…” Eden slowly reached out his hand, palm up, fingers extended. “Accept my hand, little brother. I will forgive you. We can end this now.”

“You started this, Eden,” he growled. Behind him, massive black wings spread wide, darker than the smoke filling the air, darker than the void tears in the sky above. They stretched out like shadows given form, each feather seeming to absorb light itself. Above his head, a halo materialized and hovered, but unlike Eden’s it pulsed with dark energy, crackling with purple lightning.

Eden’s eyes turned cold, like all the warmth had been sucked out of them in an instant. “Elysia, you mean?” He said her name like it was nothing, like she was nothing. “What is a mere woman compared to the bond we share, brother? I would kill her a hundred times over if it was necessary. A thousand times. You both disobeyed our Mother’s decision, but you…” He paused, his gaze boring into Samael’s, “you are different. You still matter. Now accept my hand, Mael.”

Samael gritted his teeth in answer.

“You only ever thought about yourself, Eden,” he said, biting down on each word like he wanted to tear them apart with his teeth. His entire body trembled with barely contained rage. “Lucifer will leave you one day, you know he will. And what will you become then? What will be left of the great Eden when you’re finally, truly alone? You are the one who destroyed what Ymir wished for. Not me. You.”

Silence fell between them, just for a heartbeat, maybe two.

“…”

Eden stared at Samael for a long, unreadable moment. His expression was completely blank, giving away nothing about what he was thinking or feeling.

Then, slowly, wings sprouted from his back.

Unlike Samael’s wings of shadow and darkness, Eden’s were radiant, brilliant white feathers that seemed to glow with their own inner light, each one perfect and pristine. They unfurled behind him like a divine banner, massive and powerful radiating divinity.

Above his head, a golden halo materialized and hovered. Where Samael’s pulsed with dark energy, Eden’s burned with pure, blinding light.

“So be it.”

The Third Game begins now…