Chapter 1: The Silver Collateral
The world is a Shogi board, and five thousand years ago, the players flipped the table.
The Great War didn't just break the world; it shattered the Heavens and the Hells alike. Angels, Fallen Angels, Humans, Norse-aligned beings, and we Demons—everyone bled. They say God died in that war. The Angels don't confirm it, and the rest of us are too busy scavenging the ruins of our own history to care.
My name is Aren Valis.
Once, the name Valis made the earth tremble. Now, it's just a fading inkblot on a map. We are an old House, a proud House, and a dying House. And I? I'm the outlier. I'm the owner of a Broken Watch. You'll understand what that means soon enough—usually, it means trouble.
The War Room: House Valis Estate
The atmosphere in the grand hall was suffocating. My father, the King of House Valis, stared at the holographic map projected over the stone table. The blue borders of our territory were being devoured by the aggressive crimson of House Arcano.
"If we lose the Southern Ridge, we are a landless House," my father muttered, his voice raspy. "We will be ghosts."
"We cannot become vassals!" my eldest brother roared, slamming his fist down. "To serve the Arcano family is to admit that the Valis blood is thin!"
I stood in the shadows of the corner, leaning against a pillar. I watched them argue. It was a loop. Pride versus survival.
Suddenly, the heavy oak doors groaned open.
The air didn't just get colder; it got heavier. The Arcano entourage marched in, led by a presence that demanded the room's oxygen. Arielle "Ari" Arcano, the second daughter of their Great House, walked with a stride that made the very floor seem to submit.
She didn't look at my brothers. She didn't look at the map. She looked directly into the shadows. Directly at me.
"House Valis," Arielle's voice rang out, melodic but sharp. "My father is a benevolent King. He respects the 'Old Prestige' of your name. He will halt the territorial absorption today... on one condition."
My father stood tall. "What is the price, Lady Arcano?"
"I am building my personal board," she said, a playful, dominating smirk tugging at her lips. "I am missing a Silver Piece. I require a direct descendant of the Valis main line. No cousins. No distant relatives. I want a son of the King."
"Never!" my father hissed, his demonic aura flaring. "I will not sell my children to balance a ledger!"
The Sacrifice
The room erupted. My brothers reached for their hilts. The Arcano guards shifted into combat stances. The House was about to die in a blaze of meaningless glory.
I stepped out of the shadows.
Slowly, I pulled a band from my pocket and tied my hair back, exposing the dull, fractured metal of the Watch on my wrist.
"Father," I said, my voice cutting through the noise. "I'm going."
"Aren, get back!" my father bellowed, his eyes wide with fury and shame. "I told you to stay inside! I will not deal with your life!"
I walked past my brothers and stood before the Arcano heiress. I looked my father in the eye. "There is no room for feelings in House matters, Father. The survival of the House is the finality. If my presence on her board saves our lands, then the trade is already made."
Arielle Arcano let out a sudden, melodic laugh. It wasn't mocking; it was delighted.
"You're interesting," she purred, stepping closer until I could smell the faint scent of ozone and expensive perfume. "I wasn't just looking for a Silver. I was looking for you, Aren Valis. The wielder of the Broken Watch."
I didn't flinch. I let a small, sharp smile play on my face. "So, the esteemed second daughter is so desperate for talent that she's hunting through the ruins of 'fading' houses to fill her board?"
Arielle's eyes flashed with a dangerous, flirty spark. She leaned in, her voice a whisper for me alone.
"I don't play with 'talent,' Aren. I play with anomalies. And you... you're the biggest anomaly in this Academy."
She turned to my father, her hand resting provocatively on my shoulder.
"The deal is struck. Your lands are safe, King Valis. Your son belongs to me now."