Kuoh was a Beacon of a New Age
The city of Kuoh, once just another human town, now pulsed with a heartbeat that resonated beyond any single world or faction. Its skyline shimmered with enchantments arcane wards from the Underworld, divine seals blessed by the fallen, draconic runes from the Far East. They wove together like the threads of a grand tapestry, unseen by most, yet felt by all.
It was a city rebuilt not with bricks alone, but with vision.
And at the center of it all stood a young devil whose fire refused to be caged.
Riser Phenex.
Not a tyrant. Not a politician. Not even a ruler in the traditional sense.
But a presence.
He was the light people followed because they believed in it. The warmth they craved in a cold world of endless war, betrayal, and pain.
Kuoh had become more than a neutral territory. It was the beating heart of a dream.
A dream where peace was more than an ideal. It was law.
And that law had welcomed beings from every realm.
Temples stood beside nightclubs. Divine shrines beside arcane towers. Riser's neutral zone had blossomed into a cultural utopia one that defied tradition, prejudice, and prophecy.
And for one ancient soul, it was almost too much.
Tiamat was witnessing a New World
The sound of her heels echoed softly against enchanted stone. Magic hummed beneath her with every step, responding to her presence like it knew her name.
Tiamat walked beside Riser down the golden hallway of her underground treasury, wide eyed and quiet for the first time in millennia.
"I still don't understand," she said softly, her voice like a storm calmed by awe. "You gave me land. A treasury. Freedom. Why?"
Riser smiled faintly, his golden eyes gleaming. "Because I meant what I said when I offered you a place. Not a cage. A home."
She stopped, looking up at the crystalline constellations embedded in the ceiling. The effect was breathtaking an eternal sky captured in her palace. "This is divine work."
"Merlin designed it using leyline flow. Kaijin's golems forged the obsidian marble. I approved every gem, every enchantment," Riser replied casually. "Because if I want the greatest familiar dragon in existence by my side, she deserves something worthy of her name."
Tiamat slowly walked through the bathing chamber, the steam from the divine hot springs curling around her in reverence. "Even my old hoards weren't like this. This isn't just wealth"
"It's you're symbol," Riser said. "But not power you have to hoard. It's yours, Tiamat. Yours to share. Or not. You're free like I said."
She turned, Her wide eyes locking with his. "Free" she whispered. "It's been so long since I felt it. Every realm wanted to use me. Bind me. Fear me."
"And I won't," Riser replied gently. "I'd rather earn your loyalty than chain it."
Tiamat's gaze softened. "You already have, Sun King. I think, I think I made the right choice."
She reached out, placing a hand on his cheek gently, reverent. And for the first time since arriving in Kuoh, Tiamat smiled.
The Hearts of Fire burn brightly
The stars had taken their place in the night sky, casting their gentle glow through the balcony archways of the Phoenix Estate.
Riser stood alone at first, his arms folded behind his back, golden aura gently flickering in rhythm with his thoughts. Below him, the city bustled races of all kinds mingled without fear, without hate.
"Admiring your work my king," came a voice from behind.
He didn't need to turn to know her presence.
Thalia stepped into the moonlight, her armor replaced by a flowing red dress that hinted at her savage elegance. In her hands were two glasses of wine.
"I figured you'd be up here. Brooding. Planning. Playing philosopher king," she teased with a smirk.
"Guilty," he said, taking a glass.
Thalia sipped and leaned on the balcony beside him. "You know when I first joined you, I didn't give a damn about cities or ideals. I just wanted to fight. Burn things. Feel alive. Feel needed."
She looked at him, voice softening. "But then I saw how you lead. Not with fear. Not with arrogance. But with belief. You believe in us. In me."
"And I never will stop," Riser said, his voice steady. "Because I know what all of you are capable of. I trust you, Thalia not just as my peerage member but as the woman you are becoming."
Her cheeks flushed. "You don't understand. I don't want to just fight for you anymore. I want to belong to you."
Riser met her gaze, gently placing his hand over hers. "You already do. Mind, soul, and body."
Before she could say more, a familiar voice cut through the tension.
"Of course she's here first."
Artoria stepped into the light, clad in a silver dress that shimmered like moonlight. Her posture was regal, yet her eyes betrayed a flicker of vulnerability.
"I swore myself to House Phenex. Swore to protect your legacy," she said, moving closer. "But lately it's not just about duty anymore."
Riser smiled like the morning sun. "Then what is it?"
She stood inches from him now. "It's about you. You challenge me. Inspire me. Not as a king but as a man who refuses to let the world stay broken. Too have left me broken."
A third voice joined them one full of smug laughter and mischievous charm.
"Well, isn't this touching?"
In a flash of violet light, Merlin appeared in her starlit robe, floating just above the balcony before landing gracefully beside them.
"Thalia, Artoria did you two rehearse this?" she teased. "Because I've been mooning over our dear Riser longer than either of you."
Riser rolled his eyes. "Ever the flirt, my beautiful Merlin?"
She stepped behind him and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Flirting is how I keep my sanity. But with you it's more. I seen what you would become the moment our eyes first met."
She whispered in his ear, "And I want to be one of the woman by your side when you reach the summit."
Riser closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in the moment three powerful women, each unique, each irreplaceable, each drawn to the flame he carried.
He was only fourteen. And yet, somehow, he stood at the center of something far more dangerous than any war
Love sealing their fate with a kiss that shattered any of the doubt they'd ever had.
Down below, the city pulsed with laughter and music. The Phenex flame glowed like a golden lighthouse amid the nightlife its dance floor filled with sacred gear wielders, valkyries, yokai, and spirits, all moving as one.
On the rooftop, Seraphs from Heaven observed from afar, their wings folded in silent contemplation. Some wanting to join but fearing falling if they've ever think about it. From the shadows of the Underworld, the Satans watched, calculating.
And from far beyond, the dragons whispered in forgotten tongues.
"The Queen of Chaos smiles," one murmured in awe. "She has chosen her flame."
The Beginning of Everything
Back on the balcony, the four stood side by side, not speaking.
No more words were needed.
Below them, Kuoh was alive. It was more than a city.
It was proof.
Proof that the world could change.
Proof that devils could be more than monsters.
Proof that a boy named Riser Phenex, reborn from fire and fate, could rise to become not just a king
but something eternal.
As the wind brushed against his face and the stars danced above, Riser whispered, "This is still only the beginning of my journey."
And beside him, three hearts beat in unison.
One for loyalty.
One for honor.
One for love.