The Illegitimate Flame: Bride of Ashes - Chapter 108-A Promise in the Dark

The year is 407 AD and Rome is at the precipice. In the West, a usurper by the name of Flavius Claudius Constantinus has declared himself emperor. By doing this, he and his traitor legions have fractured the Western Roman Empire into two. At the same time, the north bleeds! Countless germans swarm across the borders of the Empire and pillage its lands in their ruthless raids. Alaric, King of the Goths, rises to a position of prominence and threatens the ancient capital of the dying Empire with his barbarian hordes. As if things weren't bad enough, rumors from the east state that a mysterious power rises within the fogs of war, threatening to drown the Empire in a river of blood.

As a response to these threats, the indolent emperor Honorius has given orders to his supreme commander Flavius Stilicho to reclaim the province of Gaul from the usurper. However, should he leave the heartland of the Empire undefended, undoubtedly Alaric would invade. Thus, under the threat of barbarians at the gates, Stilicho dispatches a young roman general by the name of Titus Claudius Marcellus to bring an end to the reign of the usurper. Will Rome fall to the tides of barbarians and traitors alike? Or can Marcellus restore a world collapsing around him? Find out in Heir of Aurelian!

I came from hell, looking for redemption! –“Revelation”
…………
What is redemption?
I think it should be a process in which a good person becomes bad and then becomes good again.
It’s like our clean birth, contaminated by the dust of one life, and then clean death.
Well, this is just a story. …

- Description from Uukanshu

William Medici was not born into this world—he was reborn into it. But fate has already decided his role. He is not the hero. Not the noble king who rules with honor. He is the villain.A system lurks within him, not as a guide, but as an ever-present spectator—one that delights in chaos. It grants no power freely, offers no redemption, only a whisper:The world is a stage. Your role is the villain. Play it well.In a realm where betrayal is currency and power is the only law, William does not resist fate—he embraces it. Every alliance is a move on the board. Every rival, a piece to be sacrificed. Every betrayal, already foreseen.But even a villain is not invincible. Enemies rise. Shadows scheme. And the system watches, amused—waiting to see if he will fall...Or if he will burn the world to prove that even fate can be rewritten.But one question remains:“Who summoned him… and what do they want in return?”--------------------------------AUTHOR HEREWilliam Medici starts off seeming wholesome—but don’t be deceived. He’s selfish, cunning, and manipulative to the core. This is a true villain’s journey.What makes this story stand out isn’t just the dark MC, but the deep world-building, unique power system, and layered, three-dimensional characters that evolve with every twist.more things(1) the first arc is introduction of the world so other is no deep manipulation or action but from the second arc the main chaos starts manipulation. killing and obviously charm.(2) The mc is cunning not because I say so but because he is.(3) the will be new chapters regularly.

[Ding! Sorceress Beauty Merlin from Camelot has added you to a chat group full of beautiful maidens!][Ding! You've claimed the title of Supreme Demon Lord!][Ding! Fairy Queen Ophelia tagged you in a post!][Ding! Medusa sent you some of her spicy videos, shut your blinds before watching!][Ding! Your dog has been transformed into the Ancient Black Dragon Veligrpyh!]James Kang, once the youngest heir to the multi-trillion-dollar Hart Global Corporation, has everything anyone could dream of: money, luxury, and freedom. But his life is hollow—friends are fake, family distant, and his days are a blur of shallow extravagance.One late, lonely night, James gets a notification:[Congratulations! You have been added to the Ancient Multiverse Chatroom!]Thinking it's some cringy online role-playing game, he decides to entertain himself and plays along, proclaiming himself the “Supreme Demon Lord.”The group, filled with titles like:[Princess of the Azure Seas][Dragon Emperor of Ashvale][Goblin Slayer Supreme][High Priestess of the Sun][Fafnir, the Pet Wyvern]And they seemed hilariously invested in their roles.What starts as a joke takes a bizarre turn.The more James participates, the more he notices strange phenomena: glowing runes on his skin, magic artifacts materializing from nowhere, an elder dragon in his garage, and a sudden mastery of dark magic.Things escalate when a private group chat, run by a perverted female King Arthur, invites him to [The Table of Beauties], a circle of god-tier roleplayers… or so he thinks.Soon, James learns the truth.The chat is an interdimensional nexus connecting real worlds where magic, legends, and gods exist. His casual banter and fake roleplay have turned him into a living, breathing Demon Lord, complete with a castle in Hell, loyal monster armies, and reality-warping powers.To make matters even crazier, his “friends” start visiting Earth, and they’re nothing like he imagined!