The Sword and The Shadow - Chapter 272 – Banquet 2

Oscar, a destitute young boy, died in a tragic accident and was reborn in the forgotten realm. As a member of the lowly Birch tribe, his solace comes from the fragments of a guardian's spirit, residing in his soul. After the decimation of his family in the hands of a powerful race known as the dreads, he embarked on the part of revenge, leading him to the path of transcendence.

DESTINY GAMES. It has been 85 years since Earth-11 became aligned with Yggdrasil and 73 years since Icon became the first demigod from Earth. Icon, as the first demigod, was privileged to weave the thread of fate for everyone. He was supposed to cut off Yggdrasil and free Earth-11 from the grasps of the other Earths and their god kings. That’s why everyone helped him climb the tower of Destiny. But instead of ridding earth of Yggdrasil, he turned the destiny of mankind into seven rings of immortality. The first ring was for the immortality of power. The second was for the immortality of the knowledge. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth were for the immortality of the mind, energy, body, and soul. The last ring, the ring of the paragon, was made to rule them all. Icon kept the ring of the paragon for himself and became a dictator. He ruled with an iron fist for many years. His was a reign of terror. But he was eventually vanquished by the collective effort of the world. It has been 62 years since then. Icon is no more, but the damage he had done still remains. Earth-11 is still connected to Yggdrasil. The deadly games of the Tower of Destiny still remain, and the fight for the seven rings of immortality still continues. Kelvin Thorn has just awakened his ability. It came at a good time too since he is running for his life. The ability he awakened saved him, but it came with a cost. He must climb the tower of destiny under the witness of the whole world and accumulate destiny, or he will die. His situation is not unique. Everyone that awakens, which is mostly everyone, must climb the tower of destiny. It is one of the curses that Icon left behind before he died. But Thorn is different because the seventh ring found him. The tower of destiny is where everyone granted power by destiny, be they humans, non-humans, or otherworlders, must fight in games of might, skill, and knowledge to gather the power of destiny. They will either die or eventually overcome death. Kelvin will be one of the latest in the line of billions of others in this struggle.

Talent.As a demon born into a prestigious family like the Tenebris, Cale lacked nothing, except talent.Talent, to surpass his twin sister, who was better than him in every way.Talent to earn the approval of their mother, the cold and ruthless Matriarch.It wasn’t mere rivalry; his very life depended on it.But, no matter how hard he trained or how low he stooped, using forbidden methods to grow stronger, he never succeeded. He couldn’t awaken his bloodline, nor defeat his sister in a single duel.“Just give up already. You’re only making it more painful for yourself,” she would say every time.He was pathetic, and he knew it.But giving up on life was never an option.“One more time... I’ll try it one more time.” That was how he always responded to her scorn.Was it ego? Or a desperate desire to prove everyone who waited eagerly for his downfall wrong?Cale didn’t know. But he always stood up again.No matter what they said, he refused to surrender.Not to his mother.Not to the world.Not even to his sister.If the world stood against him, then he would crush the world.-------------------------“Wow. That’s an incredible backstory for a villain.”I flipped through the worn pages of an old book, my only functional eye open wide.“But where did this come from? It wasn’t here before.”I’d read this romance fantasy novel back in my childhood, and as far as I remembered, Cale Tenebris never had a backstory.“Did I grab the wrong book?” I tilted the cover to check the title.[Curse of the Crown]It was the same one.“Did I skip this chapter before?... Whatever.” I shrugged, turning the page again as I slowly lost consciousness.And then I died.

Raymond traveled to the exam room of the college entrance examination.