The winds of winter howled through the desolate plains surrounding the crumbling ruins of the once-glorious Lianyun Palace. Towering stone walls, now scorched and broken, stood as silent witnesses to the massacre that had shattered the kingdom. The once-prosperous land, where peace reigned and prosperity flourished, was now a fractured, war-torn shadow of its former self. The great castle was but a shell, hollowed by fire, blood, and betrayal.
Amid the stillness, a lone figure stood at the edge of the broken walls, his dark silhouette barely visible against the dimming sky. His name had once been spoken with reverence, a prince destined to rule, to bring prosperity back to his people. Now, he was known only as the "Forgotten Prince"—Li Wei, the last surviving heir to the throne of Lianyun.
The memories of that night haunted him as though they were seared into his very soul. His mother's desperate screams, the sharp sound of steel cutting through flesh, the blood of his family staining the marble floors of his palace. His closest confidants, his blood brothers, had turned against him, swept up in a conspiracy that killed his father and crushed his royal family. They had betrayed him, taking everything—his birthright, his family, his kingdom.
Li Wei's once vibrant eyes were now cold and distant, the flicker of innocence that once resided within them extinguished by the horrors of the past. His hand gripped the hilt of the sword at his side—a blade passed down through the generations, its edge now stained with the blood of those who had dared to cross him.
"I will take it all back," Li Wei whispered into the howling winds, his voice barely audible, yet laced with an unrelenting promise.
Years had passed since that fateful night, but his thirst for vengeance had not wavered. Every step he took now was a step toward reclaiming what was rightfully his. The throne of Lianyun, the blood of his ancestors, the future of his kingdom—they had been stolen from him, and he would stop at nothing to get them back.
His heart, once filled with the love of his family, now pulsed with a singular purpose: to destroy those who had wronged him. To erase the names of those who had taken everything from him.
But revenge, like the poison that courses through his veins, threatened to consume him entirely. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw their faces—those who had betrayed him, those who had robbed him of everything. Each name was etched into his mind, each death a debt still owed. Yet, even as his desire for vengeance grew, the hollow ache inside him refused to fade.
Li Wei's kingdom lay in tatters, his people scattered and broken. The few remaining loyalists who had once served his family were now hiding in the shadows, too terrified to act. The palace was now occupied by the enemy—his uncle, Xian Yue, who had seized the throne in a brutal coup. Xian Yue, the man who had once been his father's closest ally, now ruled with an iron fist, his cruelty unmatched.
Li Wei's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of hooves pounding against the earth. His body tensed instinctively, his hand tightening around his sword. His years of training had made him keenly aware of his surroundings, a skill he had honed during the countless battles he had fought in secret.
A figure approached from the shadows, riding swiftly, her silhouette barely discernible against the darkness. The figure reined in her horse, coming to a halt just a few paces from him. Li Wei's sharp gaze pierced through the night, locking onto the newcomer.
She was clad in dark armor, her face hidden beneath a hood and a mask of iron. Her presence was like a storm, wild and untamed, yet there was an aura of strength surrounding her—a strength Li Wei could sense even through the veil of secrecy she maintained.
"You should not be here," Li Wei said, his voice low but commanding.
The figure dismounted, her movements swift and calculated. She didn't flinch at his warning, her posture unwavering.
"And yet here I am," the woman's voice was steady, a hint of challenge in her tone. "You've been hunting me. So, I thought it was time we met face to face."
Li Wei's eyes narrowed. He had been tracking her for days now, a shadow in the night, never revealing her true intentions. The whispers had reached his ears—an enigmatic warrior, one of the last of the fallen noble families, working in the shadows to take down the tyrant that now ruled the land.
"Who are you?" Li Wei asked, his voice laced with suspicion.
The woman stepped forward, her dark eyes glinting beneath the mask. "I am Hua Ling. And you… you are the prince who has been lost to time."
Li Wei's heart skipped a beat. Hua Ling. The name was familiar to him, but he couldn't place it. She was no ordinary warrior; there was something in her presence that made him uneasy.
"I am no prince," Li Wei replied coldly. "Not anymore."
Hua Ling tilted her head, studying him closely. "You still wear the title, whether you wish to or not. And you still fight like one—like a king who has been betrayed by his own flesh and blood."
Her words struck a chord deep within him, a reminder of the truth he could no longer escape. The fire of revenge that had once burned so brightly inside him now smoldered with an unsettling intensity.
"And what is it that you want?" Li Wei asked, his tone hardening, the suspicion still lingering in his chest.
"I want the same thing you do," Hua Ling replied, her gaze unyielding. "To destroy those who tore our world apart. To watch as they burn for their treachery. I want war, and I want justice. And you, Prince Li Wei, are the one who will bring it."
For the first time in years, Li Wei felt a flicker of something other than rage stir within him. It wasn't trust, not yet. But there was something in her eyes—a shared understanding, a connection born of pain and loss. It was a connection he had longed for, even if he couldn't admit it.
He didn't respond immediately. Instead, he turned his gaze back to the ruined kingdom that had once been his home, his heart heavy with the weight of what had been lost.
"I will take it all back," he whispered again, this time more to himself than to Hua Ling. "I will burn everything to the ground, and they will pay for what they have done."
Hua Ling stepped closer, her hand resting on the hilt of her own sword. "Then let us begin," she said softly.
And thus, the dark journey of vengeance began—one that would lead them through bloodshed, war, and a forbidden love that neither could avoid.