The Earth After Rebirth

The castle was pristine, it was erected on a rocky hill, with violent waters under it. A very thin bridge went from the isolated hill to the mainland. Clearly the King had always been paranoid, so he isolated himself, making his place of hiding impossible to invade with a large army.

He ran the whole kingdom at the comfort of his castle, occasionally sending soldiers to forcibly restore order. Although it was rare, he also on occasion showed himself, just to reignited the fear his people had for him.

He was someone who believed in ruling with fear and gaining respect through those means, instead of being admired. He deemed the latter a stain only the weak wore as a badge of honour. He believed a ruler was above his subjects, and that they were just chess pieces he could knock off the board as he pleased.

The castle was made of obsidian marble stone, for a normal hound it'd take them about an hour to reach the top of the hill and into the castle, from the foot of the hill. Even if they were running at full speed, though it'd take Hubris mere seconds to climb up there.

At the top there was a level ground, that was too big for just a single castle. The wall erected wasn't that tall, he didn't want to build something that was akin to a prison, as he saw them as prisoners not himself.

Two figures were walking in a hurry through the arched hedge gate, coming out of the castle. Their descent was quicker, it took them way less time to get to the foot of the hill, clearly they weren't normal hounds.

"Where the hell is he? He's late." The older of two growled.

"Any time now sir, things are a bit, chaotic there at the moment."

"Didn't we send soldiers to take care of that?"

"Another one sprung up sir, his royal highness told us not to worry about it."

"Not to worry about it? That kid seems to forget what I've done for him. He's still wet behind his ears." He said in an agitated panicky voice.

"Sir..." The young hound had no idea what to say, while he was loyal to Ammon, he was still respectful toward the King.

Ammon was his uncle, he was an elder that was very close to the King. He didn't know the whole story of what happened back then as he wasn't born yet, but he knows his uncle played a pivotal role in gaining the crown from a treacherous previous King. He was proud of that.

His father died during the war, so he didn't know anything about him. He was raised by his uncle, he raised him well considering he believed the propaganda he had fed him over the years. He was also a stubborn young hound who couldn't be swayed in his convictions, so he was completely loyal to his uncle.

They waited for about 15 minutes before a hooded figure came from the other side of the bridge running towards them.

"See, I told you sir. There he comes." He said with a smirk.

Ammon ignored him, he had already waited long enough. He was old, he didn't have the luxury to be sitting on his hands doing nothing with his time.

"Gage, you dumb idiot, you're late."

"I know sir, I'm sorry. Things are a bit hectic in the city." He said bowing slightly, paying his respects.

"What the hell is happening there?"

"Belial told people that something big was to happen within the city and you won't believe this." He paused to make sure they've heard every word.

"Well, speak, I don't have all day!"

"The rightful heir is back." The arachnid started his story from when they encountered the hound in the forest. He told them everything, he didn't leave out a single thing he knew about the situation.

"That snort nosed brat Naberius came back? Such nerves. We did him a favour by not sending him to an early grave with his father and he actually dared to come back, here? To reclaim the throne? Hahaha.

"He has a master does he? Like father like son. Always prioritised outsiders more than his people. That Wukong fella poisoned our previous King, now this Kiro person came here to stir up some more problems?"

The two didn't understand a word he was saying, they didn't know the full story, so they couldn't piece whatever he was saying together and come up with a coherent story.

"Uncle, are you okay?"

"Just a thorn on the side that needs to be plucked out."

He then walked up the hill, he turned and nodded to his nephew. Who understood almost immediately what he meant by that.

"Spin it however you like, but don't breathe a word of this to anyone, now take care of it." He continued up the mountain, leaving his nephew with Gage.

Gage didn't see it coming, as claws were buried deep within his neck. His eyes bulged in shock and murderous rage, he couldn't believe what was happening, was he the thorn on the side?

"Eligor, why, I thought we were friends." He said in-between gurgles of black liquid that had adorned his ugly hairy face.

"Traitorous bastard. You think I would keep around someone like you, who jumps at whoever is in power? No. My uncle admires loyalty more than anything.

"We weren't friends, you were a simple convenience, that's no longer useful. Naturally you'll be disposed of. Don't look so surprised. Think about your actions, while dying in this pool of blood. Maybe in your next life. You'll learn to be more loyal to your comrades."

He had said all this, but the light in his eyes had already dimmed. His body only spamsed involuntarily.

Ammon's face was ugly, as he opened the castle doors. He headed straight to the King's hall. He announced his arrival and waited for the King.

"Come on in, Ammon, my old friend." A voice said from the other side of the door, a deep commanding voice that sent chills down his spine.