The Crimson King
THE GIRL WHO STOLE THE SUNSET · August 21, 2026
The last sunset was dying.
A thin golden line remained along the edge of the world.
Everything beneath it was turning dark.
The floating city trembled.
Buildings drifted apart.
Bridges broke.
Thousands of books escaped from the Library of Lost Memories and flew into the sky like frightened birds.
Ren stood at the edge of the library.
Beside him were Aiko, Sora, and Kael.
Four people.
One night.
One impossible mission.
Stop the Void Gate.
Save the world.
And somehow save Aiko.
Ren looked at Kael.
“You said the gate opens inside the moon.”
“Yes.”
“How do we get there?”
Kael pointed toward the sky.
A giant silver train appeared between the clouds.
“The Moonline.”
Sora groaned.
“Again?”
Kael glanced at her.
“You have a better idea?”
“No.”
“Then get on.”
The train moved faster than before.
Stars became streaks of light outside the windows.
Ren sat opposite Kael.
Neither spoke.
Finally, Ren broke the silence.
“Why did you hide the truth from me?”
Kael looked out the window.
“Because you were happy.”
“I don’t remember being happy.”
“You were.”
“When?”
“Before the palace fell.”
Ren looked at him.
“You remember?”
“I remember everything.”
Kael closed his eyes.
“You used to follow me everywhere.”
Ren smiled faintly.
“I did?”
“You called me your hero.”
Ren’s smile disappeared.
“What happened?”
Kael looked at him.
“I failed you.”
“You were a kid.”
“I was your older brother.”
“You couldn’t have stopped it.”
“I could have.”
Kael’s voice became bitter.
“If I had been stronger, Mother would still be alive.”
Aiko looked away.
Kael continued.
“I spent eighteen years searching for her.”
“And found the Void.”
“Yes.”
“What did it tell you?”
“That the stars were created to imprison it.”
Ren frowned.
“And you believed it?”
“I saw the prison.”
Kael reached into his coat.
He pulled out a small crystal.
Inside it was a swirling black flame.
“The Void showed me the truth.”
Aiko stood.
“Put that away.”
Kael looked at her.
“You know what it is.”
“Yes.”
“What?”
Aiko’s voice trembled.
“A piece of the first darkness.”
Ren stared at the crystal.
“Why do you have it?”
Kael answered:
“Because I need it to destroy the Void Gate.”
Aiko shook her head.
“That’s exactly what it wants.”
Kael looked at her.
“You’re afraid.”
“I’m terrified.”
“Good.”
He put the crystal away.
“Fear keeps us alive.”
The train suddenly stopped.
Everyone was thrown forward.
Ren looked outside.
The moon filled the entire sky.
A gigantic black doorway had opened across its surface.
Dark clouds spiraled around it.
Aiko whispered:
“The gate.”
Kael stood.
“We’re here.”
The train doors opened.
Cold wind rushed inside.
Ren stepped onto the moon.
The ground was silver.
The sky was black.
Far away stood an enormous palace.
Its towers reached into the darkness.
Kael looked toward it.
“That’s where the Void Gate is.”
Sora pointed.
“Something is moving.”
Hundreds of black creatures emerged from the palace.
Void Beasts.
Kael drew his sword.
“Stay behind me.”
Ren stepped forward.
“No.”
Kael looked at him.
“I can fight.”
“I know.”
Ren raised the Star Sword.
“But this time, we fight together.”
Kael smiled.
For the first time, Ren saw the older brother he had once known.
“Like old times.”
The creatures charged.
The battle exploded across the moon.
Kael moved like lightning.
His black sword cut through the Void Beasts.
Sora’s camera fired magical flashes.
CLICK!
A giant blue dragon appeared from one photograph and swept the creatures away.
Sora stared.
“I really need to understand how this camera works.”
Aiko raised her staff.
Golden chains wrapped around the monsters.
Ren ran through the battlefield.
Every swing of his sword created glowing symbols in the air.
He wasn’t simply fighting anymore.
He was drawing.
Every movement created something.
A shield.
A bird.
A giant wave of light.
A wall of crystal.
His imagination had become magic.
Then the palace doors opened.
Everything stopped.
A man stepped outside.
He wore a white mask.
His clothing was covered in silver stars.
Kael froze.
“No…”
Aiko’s eyes widened.
“That’s impossible.”
Ren looked at them.
“Who is he?”
Kael whispered:
“Your father.”
The man removed his mask.
Ren stared.
It was the same face from the memories.
His father.
But his eyes were completely black.
“Ren.”
The voice was calm.
Ren stepped forward.
“Are you really my father?”
The man smiled.
“Yes.”
Kael raised his sword.
“You’re not him.”
The man laughed.
“You always were stubborn.”
Kael attacked.
Their swords collided.
CLANG!
A shockwave threw Ren backward.
Kael and the creature fought across the moon.
Aiko screamed:
“Kael!”
The creature struck him.
Kael fell.
Ren rushed forward.
“Stop!”
The creature turned.
“Come to me.”
Ren stopped.
“Why?”
“Because you are my son.”
Ren looked at him.
“You’re not my father.”
The creature smiled.
“Then why do you remember me?”
Ren’s heart tightened.
Memories appeared.
His father carrying him.
Teaching him to draw.
Laughing with him.
Holding him during storms.
Ren whispered:
“You…”
The creature stepped closer.
“I loved you.”
Kael shouted:
“REN! DON’T LISTEN!”
The creature raised his hand.
Darkness surrounded Ren.
Aiko ran toward him.
“Ren!”
The darkness pulled him upward.
He couldn’t breathe.
Then he heard Aiko’s voice.
“Remember who you are!”
Ren closed his eyes.
He remembered.
Aiko laughing.
Sora making terrible jokes.
Kael protecting him.
His mother’s smile.
His father’s real voice.
And one final memory.
His mother standing before the Star Gate.
She wasn’t afraid.
She was holding baby Ren.
She whispered:
“The darkness can imitate anyone.”
Ren opened his eyes.
“You’re not my father.”
The creature screamed.
Ren’s Star Sword exploded with golden light.
The darkness shattered.
The creature stepped backward.
“You reject me?”
Ren raised his sword.
“I reject the lie.”
He struck.
BOOM!
The creature’s body cracked.
Black energy poured from it.
A huge shadow emerged.
The creature had only been a shell.
The real Void appeared.
It was enormous.
Its body stretched across the sky.
Its eyes were countless.
Its voice shook the moon.
“YOU CANNOT DESTROY ME.”
Ren stared upward.
“Maybe not.”
He raised his sword.
“But I can close the door.”
Kael struggled to stand.
“Ren!”
Ren looked back.
Kael threw the black crystal toward him.
“Use it!”
Aiko screamed:
“No!”
Ren caught it.
The moment he touched the crystal—
Darkness entered his body.
His golden star disappeared.
His eyes turned black.
Aiko rushed toward him.
“REN!”
Ren couldn’t hear her.
He stood completely still.
Then he whispered:
“I can hear everything.”
The Void stopped.
“What?”
Ren looked upward.
“I can hear the stars.”
Thousands of tiny lights appeared across the moon.
Each one spoke.
Not with words.
With memories.
Ren understood.
The stars weren’t prisons.
They were locks.
And the Void had been trying to convince Kael otherwise.
Ren looked at his brother.
“You were tricked.”
Kael stared.
“I…”
The Void screamed.
“NO!”
Ren raised both hands.
Golden light and black darkness spiraled around him.
Aiko ran toward him.
“Ren, stop!”
“I have to.”
“You’ll disappear!”
“I know.”
Aiko grabbed him.
“Don’t leave me.”
Ren looked into her eyes.
“I promised.”
“What?”
“That I’d find another way.”
Aiko cried.
“How?”
Ren smiled.
“I don’t know yet.”
The Void attacked.
Ren raised his sword.
A giant star appeared above him.
The final sunset suddenly returned.
Golden light covered the moon.
The Void screamed.
Kael joined Ren.
Then Aiko.
Then Sora.
Four people.
One light.
The Void Gate began closing.
But the black crystal in Ren’s hand shattered.
A massive crack appeared across his chest.
Aiko screamed.
“REN!”
He fell.
She caught him.
The moon began collapsing.
Kael looked at them.
“We have seconds.”
Sora shouted:
“Then move!”
They ran toward the Moonline.
Behind them, the Void screamed.
“THE BOY WILL ALWAYS RETURN TO ME!”
Ren looked back.
For one second, he saw something inside the darkness.
A throne.
A shadow sitting upon it.
And beside the throne—
His mother.
Alive.
Ren froze.
“Mom…”
The figure opened her eyes.
She whispered:
“Don’t trust the sunset.”
The Moonline doors opened.
Aiko pulled Ren inside.
Kael and Sora followed.
The train launched away from the moon.
Behind them, the Void Gate closed.
The moon returned to normal.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Then Ren opened his eyes.
Aiko was beside him.
“You’re alive.”
Ren smiled.
“I told you.”
She hugged him.
Sora looked through the window.
“Guys…”
They turned.
The Earth was visible below.
But something was wrong.
The sunset was completely gone.
Not fading.
Not hidden.
Gone.
Kael stood slowly.
“No.”
Ren looked at him.
“What?”
Kael pointed toward the horizon.
A massive black crown appeared around the Earth.
The Void hadn’t been defeated.
It had only changed its target.
And then every star in the sky went dark.
A single message appeared across the heavens:
THE LAST SUNSET WAS NEVER THE END.