Horrific Shorts: Zombie Edition

Chapter 2414: Story 2415: The Forgotten Fourth King

The name echoed across the battlefield.

"Malthor."

The Devourer’s voice rolled through the heavens like a storm.

The reaction was immediate.

The Throne King froze.

The Crimson Queen’s face lost all color.

Even King Arcturus lowered his sword.

Noah felt the Silver Crown pulse violently upon his head.

A memory struggled to break free.

A memory that had been buried deeper than any prison.

Far beyond the battlefield, beyond ruined cities and dead oceans, something awakened.

The world felt it.

Mountains trembled.

Ancient fault lines split apart.

Dormant volcanoes erupted across distant continents.

The planet itself seemed to fear what was coming.

Aiden stared at the ancient rulers.

"You all know who that is."

Nobody answered.

That silence spoke louder than words.

Above them, the Devourer laughed.

A terrible sound.

A sound filled with triumph.

"You erased him."

The monster’s crimson eyes burned.

"You erased his name."

The Throne King finally spoke.

His voice sounded heavier than ever before.

"We had no choice."

The Devourer’s laughter grew louder.

"That lie has survived for thousands of years."

Noah suddenly collapsed to one knee.

The Silver Crown blazed.

Pain exploded through his mind.

Memories flooded his vision.

He saw the ancient kingdom before its fall.

Four thrones stood within a magnificent hall.

Silver.

Purple.

Crimson.

And black.

Upon the fourth throne sat a young king.

Handsome.

Wise.

Beloved.

Malthor.

The youngest sibling.

The fourth guardian.

Unlike the others, he possessed a rare gift.

He could see possible futures.

Thousands of futures.

Millions.

He alone had foreseen the arrival of the Devourer.

He alone had warned the kingdoms.

And at first, nobody listened.

The vision shifted.

The four siblings stood together before the cosmic prison.

The Devourer screamed behind walls of celestial fire.

Victory seemed certain.

Then Malthor saw something.

A future.

A terrible future.

A future where the prison eventually failed.

Where the Devourer escaped.

Where every world died.

Desperate to prevent it, Malthor made a choice.

A forbidden choice.

He entered the prison alone.

To destroy the Devourer forever.

The vision shattered.

Noah gasped.

"He wasn’t a traitor."

The battlefield fell silent.

The Crimson Queen closed her eyes.

The Throne King looked away.

Both knew the truth.

Noah rose.

"You lied."

Neither ruler denied it.

King Arcturus stepped forward.

"What happened?"

The answer came from the Devourer itself.

Its enormous wings spread across the sky.

"Malthor failed."

Crimson lightning erupted.

The world trembled.

The monster’s voice darkened.

"He entered my prison."

The Devourer’s smile widened.

"And I consumed him."

Horror spread through every army.

Noah felt cold.

Very cold.

The Devourer continued.

"His body died."

Its crimson eyes gleamed.

"But his soul survived."

The monster looked toward the distant horizon.

Toward somewhere far beyond the battlefield.

Far beyond human civilization.

And then everyone saw it.

A black beam of light erupted into the sky.

Thousands of miles away.

Ancient.

Terrifying.

Alive.

The Devourer whispered one final sentence.

The words struck every heart like a blade.

"For ten thousand years, I have been feeding upon his hatred."

The Silver Crown cracked.

A thin fracture appeared across its surface.

Noah stumbled backward.

The ancient rulers looked horrified.

Because they finally understood.

The Fourth King had never escaped the prison.

He had become something else.

Something twisted.

Something broken.

Something that was now awakening.

And far away beneath a forgotten continent, a pair of black eyes slowly opened.

Eyes filled with endless sorrow.

And endless rage.