I’ve spent most of my life hiding my name behind a mask of iron and blood. To them, I’m Commander Rip — the ruthless general of the Fourth Kingdom. The monster cloaked in armor, the man who doesn't flinch when the battlefield runs red.

But my name is Slade.

And I’ve bled more for my people than any crown ever deserved.

I’ve built my kingdom from ashes, clawed my way through betrayals and broken promises. I know the weight of a throne — and the loneliness it brings. I never expected to want anything more than peace and power.

Then I found her.

Golden. Dazzling. Caged.

She wasn’t part of the plan. She was meant to be another of Midas’s victims — another pawn discarded in his glittering madness. But she wasn't.

She’s different. Older. Wilder. Unclaimed.

Now I find myself watching her like a storm on the horizon — unpredictable, dangerous, beautiful. She doesn’t trust me. She shouldn't. But gods help me... I want her to burn the world with me.

And if I have to go to war again, it won’t be for a kingdom.

It’ll be for her.

I was born in silence.

Molded in shadows.

Covered in gold not of my choosing.

Twenty-four golden ribbons grow from my back like wings I never asked for. I’ve been called divine. Cursed. Untouchable. A relic Midas kept hidden, never shown, never spoken of. I wasn’t his favorite — I was his secret.

And when I was taken by pirates, I thought I’d finally be free. But freedom has a price, and it came wrapped in dark armor and sharpened words. Slade. Rip. King. General.

He wears many names — none of them mine.

He bought me with blood and coin. He says he wants to protect me, not control me. But I don’t know what to believe anymore. I’ve lived too long in cages to trust a man with a key.

Still... when he looks at me, I don’t see chains.

I see fire. I see a future not built from fear, but from power.

I see the woman I could become if I let go of the girl who only knew how to survive.

I don’t know if I’m ready to fight for myself.

But I think... I’m ready to burn for him.