The air turned thick with the smell of blood.

The ground cracked under their feet, sharp and dry like splintered bone.

The sky dimmed, glowing embers drifting down like dying stars.

For the first time, Arthur and the crew came face-to-face with the ones who actually ran this world.

The Blood Clan.

The Bone Clan.

The Ember Clan.

They hadn't been hiding. Hadn't been waiting. They'd just been watching.

And now?

Now they were done watching.

The tavern?

Gone. Not blown up. Not burned down. Erased.

Like it had never been there. The people? 

Same. Not dead, just… gone.

Like a deleted file. And in their place stood the three who ruled everything.

These weren't men. Not demons. Not even gods.

They were concepts, wrapped in flesh that shouldn't be able to hold them.

The one in the middle stepped forward first.

He wore flowing crimson robes.

His skin looked like veins, glowing, twitching, like his whole body was just blood moving around bones.

His eyes?

Liquid darkness. Alive. Watching. He smiled gently.

"Do you know how many worlds have fallen before you?" he asked.

His voice was calm. Kind, even.

The kind of voice that never had to shout.

Because nothing ever lived long enough to make him raise it.

Arthur's grin stretched wide.

"Oh?"

His Eyes of Sloth flickered lazily. His Eyes of Wrath sparked with heat.

"That's cute," he said.

The Bone King stepped up next.

His body moved wrong

Bones twisting, snapping, reforming with every step like his skeleton couldn't decide what shape to take.

His face? A skull, but not dead.

Just unfinished.

"You find this funny?"

Arthur nodded."Yeah. Because you're acting like you've already won."

He stretched his arms out wide.

"But we haven't even started yet."

The Ember King exhaled. And instantly everything changed. Not the temperature.

The meaning of air itself caught fire. Breathing felt wrong.

Like the concept of oxygen had been set ablaze.

Amelia laughed.

"Adorable."

She tilted her head.

Her Eyes of Lust glowed with something way older than her smile.

She inhaled on purpose and with one thought, she made the fire want her.

It bent. It softened. It gave in.

Poof. Gone.

The Ember King narrowed his eyes.

"Interesting."

No rage. No panic. Just observation.

Because this wasn't a war.

This was a test.

And now?

They were watching for real. Liam stepped forward. The world shook a little.

He didn't crack a smile. Didn't raise his voice. Didn't put on a show.

He was just there. And that was enough.

His Eyes of Pride flared.

His golden aura lit up like a second sun behind him.

"You three talk too much."

That's all he said.

The Bone King smiled wider.

The Blood King chuckled.

The Ember King exhaled again.

And then

They moved.

Everything exploded at once

The Blood King raised a hand and the veins inside their bodies turned against them.

The Bone King took a step and their skeletons started to come undone, piece by piece.

The Ember King exhaled and their existence began to burn from the inside out.

It wasn't an attack. It wasn't even a move.

It was just what happens when the kings decide you've lost.

Because in this world?

The Three Kings don't lose.

Not before. Not now. Not ever.

Everyone felt it.

Lucius stumbled.

Athena gasped, clutching her chest.

Liam's golden aura flickered. Even Camila, who had seen time fold and snap, winced under the weight of it.

But Arthur?

He just smiled.

"Alright," he said casually.

His Eyes of Sloth glowed dim. His Eyes of Wrath lit up like a fuse.

"Then let's change the rules."

He lifted one hand

And reality broke protocol.

The Blood King's veins froze.

The Bone King's words vanished mid-thought.

The Ember King's flames turned to mist and drifted harmlessly away.

Because the fight?

It had never started.

Because the kings?

They'd never had permission.

Arthur had never once acknowledged their authority. And the second he rejected their claim

The world backed him up. For the first time… ever? The Three Kings were confused.

They were supposed to control everything. They were the rulebook. The script. The endgame.And Arthur just didn't care.

He didn't break their power.

He just refused to play their game. And suddenly?

Their grip loosened. Just a little. Just enough.

They hesitated. It was barely a pause. A blink. But for Liam? That was enough.

Golden light exploded around him, not magic, not aura. Something deeper.

Something real. He didn't fight back. He didn't resist. He rewrote the entire field.

And just like that, the war actually began.

The Blood King's body twisted, veins pulsing, the air shaking like it couldn't hold him in.

The Bone King tilted his skull, shifting and reforming, glitching in and out like reality couldn't decide what he was.

The Ember King? He exhaled again and the sky caught fire. Not the real sky.

But the idea of it.

The battlefield, the buildings, the city, It all started burning in meaning.

Not destroyed. Just... erased.

Ashes waiting for someone to decide what they'd be next.

Liam wasn't impressed. Because he didn't move through the world.

The world moved through him. So he kept walking. The second Liam moved

The Blood King snapped his fingers. And Liam's blood turned on him.

Not magic. Not a trick. Just the truth.

His heart should've stopped. His veins should've ruptured. His body should've hit the ground.

But it didn't. Because Liam didn't acknowledge the attack. Liam didn't recognize the idea of losing. Not because he was arrogant, but because Pride doesn't allow it.

So he just smiled. "Pathetic."

He didn't counter the Blood King's power.

He just made it irrelevant.

The Bone King moved next. And everything broke. Not like a glass shatter.

Like a puzzle pulled apart, one piece at a time.

Because bone? It's more than what's inside your body.

It's structure. Shape. Framework.

And in that moment, the Bone King erased the idea of structure itself.

The battlefield? Gone. 

The sky? Gone.

The ground? Gone.

No shape. No form. No rules. Just void.

Because if there's no bone, nothing holds together.

Liam just laughed.

He didn't need form to win. He just needed to be. And right then, the Bone King knew.

He'd lost. The Ember King exhaled. One breath. And with it

He burned the concept of victory. It didn't matter who hit harder.

It didn't matter who moved faster. It didn't matter who had more power.

Liam couldn't win.

Not because of a spell.

Not because of a trick.

Because the Ember King had rewritten the law of the moment. And at that moment?

Liam should've lost. That's when Arthur grinned.

Reality cracked
Like glass under pressure.

"You guys," he said, voice low, almost amused, "really don't get it, do you?"

Everything stopped.

The Blood King wavered.

The Bone King froze mid-shift.

The Ember King's flames faltered.

Because Arthur hadn't moved.

Hadn't lifted a hand. Hadn't even blinked. And somehow

The fight was already over.

Arthur never saw it as a fight.

Never took it seriously.

And that?

That was way worse than losing.

Because the Three Kings had one belief:That their power was absolute. That their win was guaranteed.

But Arthur?

Arthur had never considered them a threat.

And the moment they realized that

They feared him. The battlefield reformed.

The city snapped back. The people reappeared like they'd never vanished at all.

Because Arthur allowed it.

The Three Kings still stood.

Still alive. Still dangerous. Still absurdly powerful. But they didn't move.

Didn't speak.

Didn't strike.

Because now?

They'd seen it.

Not just Liam.

Not just Amelia.

Not just Lucius.

They'd seen Arthur.

And for the first time in forever

They hesitated.

Liam let out a breath, golden light dimming.

He glanced at Arthur.

"You really know how to kill the mood."

Arthur laughed."Nah," he said."I just made sure we get a real fight later."

He turned to the Three Kings.

"Right?"

They didn't answer.

Didn't blink. Just stood there. Thinking. And that was the problem.

Because once you start thinking?

You're not invincible anymore.

You're just another piece in the game.