[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-reborn-king":3,"chapter-the-reborn-king-the-reborn-king-chapter-458":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Reborn King",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},1100641,1437,"Chapter 458: Prince Darius","the-reborn-king-chapter-458",458,"\u003Cp>Stepping off his ship, Adrain looked around and took a deep breath of the warm desert air. His face started to sweat underneath the mask in an instant, but he pushed his discomfort aside, staring at the welcoming party sent to greet him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Welcome to my home, Duke Almaris.\" Prince Darius walked over to Adrian, \"That mask must get stuffy in such a hot climate, no?\" His accent was thick, and he spoke fast. Adrian stayed silent for a half a second longer than he should have, trying to tell if he heard correctly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Giving a smile that couldn’t be seen, he shook his head, \"The discomfort of my mask is nothing compared to that you would feel if I took it off.\" Adrian politely said, making Darius chuckle. \"And please, Adrian is enough.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a nod, Darius smiled and turned to the side, indicating for Adrian to join him in his carriage. \"Please follow me. I know why you have come, but before that, let us talk.\" Adrian didn’t stand on ceremony and followed Darius, letting his crew deal with the other matters. Inside the carriage, he took a closer look at the Prince and wondered how he could stay cool with his thick, cotton-like black hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two sat in silence, Darius watching Adrian and Adrian admiring the sights of the new city that was completely foreign to everything he knew. Buildings weren’t made of thick stones and mortar like in the empire, opting for thinner structures that stayed cool relatively easily. The journey was quick, and stepping out, Adrian looked around in amazement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Palace was made of a type of sandstone that featured intricate and beautiful engravings all over. Pillars held up large arches as fuana expertly complemented them, providing much-needed colour. Adrian, however, noticed the hidden wealth in everything. Gold and silver adorned everything. It wasn’t too showy, but the perfect amount, complementing the sandstone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the small courtyard, men sat around, obviously belonging to the nobility, under a large gazebo, leaning on cushions, staring at the centre of the garden, enjoying a group of women who danced an elegant dance in loose-fitting clothes that only covered their privates with thin silk hanging over them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adrian took his seat next to Darius. In the Empire, it would have been rude to sit so close, but the Lisaponics were different. Keeping a distance was a sign of distrust or dislike. Fine wine was served as servants stood a respectable distance away. One of the Unyielding moved to taste the wine, but Adrian waved it off, not believing Darius would poison him so openly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I must say. My previous home was truly a bastardised version of the real thing.\" Adrian said, full of admiration as he lifted the mask slightly to take a sip of the wine. Darius only did the same after watching Adrian accept his hospitality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Who was your previous master again. Savid. No...\" Darius acted confused, swirling the glass of wine. \"Safod. No, not that. Ah, yes, Safrid. It is a pity we couldn’t help a fellow brother and sister of Khors when they fell.\" Darius shook his head and looked at Adrian, \"It is amazing how quickly you switched to a new leash, Duke.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The things we do to survive, Prince Darius, and like I said, Adrian is fine. A man of your standing doesn’t need to show such respect.\" His words made Darius laugh. Turning to watch the dancer, he sighed with a deep smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your words are sweet like Oleander, Lord Almaris.\" Adrian smiled and carefully fitted his mask so it wouldn’t fall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sweet things are lovely even if they are bad for us.\" Adrian smiled, \"And I hope that when I leave, that sweet taste will be something we can all enjoy.\" Darius laughed again and shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My father might not think so. He loves bitter tastes.\" Stretching, he put his drink down and lazily leaned into the mountain of cushions he sat on, \"Unfortunately, Your Emperor left a sour one.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A mistake he hopes to make up for.\" Adrian reached into his breast pocket. The servants and Unyielding tensed simultaneously, both expecting to fight in that second. Only when both men waved their soldiers off did the peaceful atmosphere return. Pulling out a gem box, Adrian slid it over to Darius, opening it at the same time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Darius looked at the black gem within and held it up to the harsh sun. \"The Imperial colours of the Lindonfall family. I was under the impression that these were illegal to own.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A small token from His Majesty in hopes of rebuilding what could have been,\" Adrian said with a smile. Darius stared at it and sighed, carefully putting it back in its box.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I appreciate the Emperor’s thoughts, but such gems are considered cursed in Lisa.\" Darius smiled and pushed it back to Adrian, \"Is this an insult or a warning?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A thoughtful gesture.\" Adrian took the box back, putting it in his pocket, \"He knows its meaning in your lands, but to him this is an item that is more valuable than gold and silver. Besides, if they were cursed, would his Majesty have been able to carve an Empire before he was thirty?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And make an enemy of the Church and Severia. Blessings and curses are hard to differentiate.\" Darius looked into Adrian’s eyes, the only thing visible from behind his mask, \"This is why you are here. Has he gotten desperate?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course not.\" His words dragged, \"He just wishes to make up with Cyrus during an eventful time.\" Darius didn’t believe it and watched the dancers. Adrian could tell he was appearing weak. \"You say a blessing and a curse are hard to differentiate, but I don’t think so. It’s simply a matter of perspective.\" Darius raised his eyebrow and gave back his attention. \"When the Divine King was born, did the power of time not say it was a curse?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adrian took a deep breath before taking his mask off. Darius’s eyes widened seeing his real appearance. His nose had been chopped off and his face split in half, held together by a large, ugly scar. \"To the church, he was a curse, the vengeful remnants of Khors. To the Followers, he was hope, a blessing, here to free them from the shackles of Sol. And look, the Followers live, forever fighting their holy war against the church.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And you dare claim the Blood Child is anything like the Divine King.\" Darius spat on the ground in disgust, \"I understand your point, but he is another tyrant of Sol, here to ensure the cruel overlords’ destruction of man.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So the Chruch of Sol calls him heretic and the Followers of Khors call him a tyrant of Sol.\" Ardian smiled. It was ugly to anyone who saw it. \"Yet what has he done. Destroyed all relations with the Church to forge his own path.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Darius laughed from the deepest pit of his stomach. \"It was a masterful move creating the Pantheon.\" Shaking his head, he laughed again, \"They claim that all the Gods are right and humanity has tarnished their name. To some, they offer freedom, believing their views are correct, as long as they see the Gods as family, you will be fine. But to their enemies, they declare war, saying it is their duty to restore the world to its purest form. So what is it? A perfect religion to justify religious freedom or a sinister plot born to fuel his ambition.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why not both?\" Adrian said without hesitation, surprising Darius, \"Why can’t it be right and wrong. We are human, and even though His Majesty is a Blessed One, he is human at the end of the day. He has created a way for everyone to be free. Some chose to accept this truth, whilst others must be taught.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s disgusting.\" Darius downed the wine in his glass, holding it out afterwards for a servant to refill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And yet no one dares to correct him. The church will try and fail. We have already prepared for them and Severia.\" The confidence in Adrian’s voice didn’t go unnoticed, making Darius fall into thought. Adrian paused and leaned forward. \"His Majesty isn’t bloodthirsty. He wants the Lisaponics to be with him, to see what he does, and understand that he is more than rumours created by his enemies think him to be.\" Adrian paused, \"And his ambition can perfectly align with Lisa’s if we can see eye to eye.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your words are so sweet, Lord Almaris.\" Darius said after a few seconds of silence, \"But maybe too sweet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A perfect balance is always required. His Majesty is one man. He needs friends and allies to make sure things do not swing too heavily one way, Your Highness. We are a land so heavily influenced by Sol and Gaia, making Khors feel out of place within the Pantheon. This can change.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Darius sighed and grabbed his wine. \"This isn’t a terrible offer if what I think you are saying is true.\" Darius looked into the red wine and sighed, \"Let us enjoy the entertainment.\" Adrian didn’t push and grabbed his own glass, leaning back and doing what Darius wanted.\u003C\u002Fp>",1545,"2026-06-03T11:17:51.400Z","2026-06-03T11:17:48.775Z",1,"novelbin.me","db997d70fffdf2d0d99e30be9dad406f7c93d584fd69f7689fa7b49916560a20","the-reborn-king-chapter-459","the-reborn-king-chapter-457",487,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-reborn-king-cover.jpg"]