My Taboo Harem System

Denzel stared at the man standing in front of him.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

The stranger had Denzel’s face.

Not similar.

Not close.

His face.

The same jaw. The same nose. The same dark hair.

Even the shape of his eyes was almost identical.

The only difference was what lived behind them.

Denzel’s eyes were human.

The man’s glowed with an unnatural blue light.

Black markings crawled from beneath his collar and disappeared beneath his sleeves, shifting faintly as though something beneath his skin was breathing.

Denzel tightened his hold around Sophia.

’This is getting ridiculous.’

He had spent the last few minutes discovering that the king might be his father, that his mother had hidden the truth from him, and that the royal seal apparently recognized his blood.

Now he had a brother.

A murderous one.

The man tilted his head.

"You look disappointed."

Denzel stared at him.

"I was hoping for someone uglier."

Sophia blinked.

The Knight’s mouth twitched.

The man’s smile disappeared.

"You still have that mouth."

Denzel frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"You’ll remember."

"I’d rather not."

The man’s eyes narrowed.

For the first time, uncertainty crossed his expression.

Then he laughed.

"You really don’t remember anything."

"No."

"Good."

He stepped forward.

The Knight immediately moved between him and Denzel, sword raised.

"One more step."

The man’s gaze dropped to the blade.

"You still carry royal steel."

The Knight’s expression hardened.

"And you’re still talking."

He smiled.

"I remember you."

Her grip tightened.

Denzel glanced at her.

"You know him?"

"No."

The answer came too quickly.

The man laughed.

"She does."

"I said no."

"You were there when they took me."

The Knight’s face changed.

Only slightly.

But Denzel noticed.

He had become very good at noticing things lately.

"You saw him?" Denzel asked.

The Knight didn’t answer.

The man stepped closer.

"She watched."

The Knight’s sword rose another inch.

"Enough."

"You watched them drag me beneath the palace."

"Enough."

"You watched the king seal me away."

The Knight’s jaw tightened.

"I was a child."

The man’s smile returned.

"So was I."

Silence filled the chamber.

Denzel looked between them.

The pieces weren’t fitting.

But there were too many pieces now to pretend there wasn’t a picture.

The king.

His mother.

The royal guard.

The woman who had survived Eldoria.

And this man.

His brother.

Denzel looked down at Sophia.

"You said you found the record."

Sophia nodded.

"Before he attacked me."

"What did it say?"

Her eyes moved toward the man.

"About him."

Denzel’s expression tightened.

"What did it say?"

Sophia swallowed.

"That the king had two sons."

The man’s smile faded.

Sophia continued.

"One was named heir."

Denzel’s chest tightened.

"And the other?"

Her gaze shifted toward him.

"The other was called the King’s Son."

Denzel stared.

"That’s it?"

"No."

Sophia shook her head.

"The record said the second son wasn’t supposed to inherit the throne."

The man laughed quietly.

"He wasn’t."

Denzel looked at him.

"Then what were you supposed to do?"

The man’s eyes hardened.

"Protect him."

Denzel’s brow furrowed.

"Me?"

The man nodded.

"You were the heir."

"And you?"

"I was your shield."

Denzel looked at the black markings covering his arms.

"That went well."

The man’s expression darkened.

"The king changed the plan."

"Of course he did."

Denzel looked toward the sealed doors.

"Everyone keeps saying the king did something. Nobody actually tells me what."

The man stepped closer.

"He feared you."

Denzel frowned.

"Why?"

"Because the royal seal chose you."

Denzel looked down at the pendant hanging against his chest.

The blue light had faded.

"But it chose you too."

The man’s smile returned.

"No."

He touched the burning seal on his chest.

"It was forced into me."

Denzel’s expression changed.

The man continued.

"The king needed a weapon."

His fingers curled.

"So he made one."

The Knight lowered her sword slightly.

"And you let him?"

The man looked at her.

"I didn’t have a choice."

Denzel stared at him.

For the first time, the anger in the man’s eyes looked different.

Not hatred.

Pain.

Then it vanished.

He raised his hand.

Blue energy gathered around his fingers.

"Denzel."

The Knight stepped backward.

"Get Sophia away."

Denzel shifted Sophia behind him.

"Can you fight him?"

"Probably."

"Probably?"

"I haven’t fought a royal monster with your face before."

"Fair."

The man attacked.

The floor cracked beneath his feet.

Denzel barely raised his sword before the man’s fist slammed into it.

The impact sent him sliding backward.

Sophia screamed.

"Denzel!"

"I’m fine!"

He wasn’t.

His fingers were numb.

The man appeared in front of him again.

Denzel ducked.

A blue blade of energy passed over his head and cut through the wall behind him.

Stone collapsed.

Denzel rolled across the floor and came up on one knee.

’Okay.’

He looked at the crater.

’Definitely not normal.’

The Knight attacked from the side.

Her sword struck the man’s shoulder.

He caught the blade.

She pulled.

He didn’t move.

"You haven’t changed."

The Knight’s eyes narrowed.

"Neither have you."

He threw her across the chamber.

She crashed against the stone wall.

Denzel’s stomach dropped.

"Hey!"

The man turned.

That was enough.

Denzel rushed forward and drove his sword into the man’s chest.

The blade stopped.

The royal seal on the man’s chest flared.

Denzel’s sword shattered.

Both brothers stared at the broken weapon.

Denzel looked at the handle remaining in his hand.

"...That was expensive."

The man looked down at the blade embedded against his chest.

Then back at Denzel.

"You really are him."

Denzel’s expression hardened.

"Who?"

"Our father."

Denzel’s blood ran cold.

The man pulled the broken sword from his chest.

The wound closed immediately.

"You fight exactly like him."

Denzel raised his empty hand.

"I don’t know whether that’s an insult."

"It is."

The man attacked again.

This time Denzel wasn’t fast enough.

A fist struck his stomach.

His feet left the floor.

He slammed into the glass prison.

Sophia caught his arm.

"Denzel!"

He coughed.

"I’m starting to dislike family reunions."

The man walked toward them.

"You shouldn’t have come here."

Denzel pushed himself upright.

"Funny."

He wiped the blood from his mouth.

"That’s what everyone keeps telling me."

"You don’t understand."

"No."

Denzel looked directly into his brother’s glowing eyes.

"That’s the problem."

The man stopped.

Denzel stepped away from the broken prison.

"I don’t know who my father is."

He pointed toward the ceiling.

"I don’t know why that king thinks I’m his son."

He touched the pendant.

"I don’t know why this thing keeps reacting to me."

Then he looked at the man.

"And I definitely don’t know why you think killing me is going to solve anything."

The man’s expression became cold.

"Because if you live, the king will use you."

"Maybe."

Denzel shrugged.

"Then let him try."

Sophia stared at him.

"Denzel..."

The man laughed.

"You still don’t understand."

"No."

Denzel’s eyes narrowed.

"But I’m beginning to."

The blue glow around the man’s body intensified.

Denzel felt the pendant grow warm again.

THUMP.

The royal seal on his brother’s chest responded.

THUMP.

Denzel’s heart followed.

The entire chamber trembled.

The man froze.

"What did you do?"

Denzel looked at his pendant.

"I didn’t do anything."

The blue light spread from the pendant across his chest.

The same three-lined circle appeared beneath his shirt.

The man stared.

For the first time, genuine fear appeared in his eyes.

"No."

Denzel looked up.

"What?"

The man backed away.

"No."

He grabbed his chest.

The royal seal on his body began cracking.

Black markings spread across his neck.

Sophia took a step forward.

"What’s happening?"

The Knight rose slowly from the floor.

She stared at the two brothers.

"The seals are reacting."

Denzel looked at her.

"Meaning?"

"They’re connected."

The man suddenly screamed.

Blue energy exploded from his body.

Denzel raised his arms as the force slammed into him.

Sophia grabbed his waist.

The Knight drove her sword into the floor to keep herself from being thrown backward.

The chamber shook violently.

Then—

silence.

Denzel lowered his arms.

His brother was on one knee.

Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

The blue glow around him had disappeared.

He looked at Denzel.

Not with hatred.

With fear.

"What are you?"

Denzel stared back.

"I was hoping you could tell me."

The man slowly stood.

"You don’t know."

"No."

"Then you’re already dead."

He turned toward the sealed chamber doors.

Denzel frowned.

"Where are you going?"

The man stopped.

"The king has awakened."

Denzel’s expression changed.

"What does that mean?"

His brother looked over his shoulder.

"It means he can finally leave the throne."

Denzel felt the temperature in the room drop.

The man smiled faintly.

"And when he does, he’ll come for you."

The doors behind him began cracking.

Denzel tightened his fists.

"You said you wanted me dead."

"I do."

The man looked at him.

"But not yet."

The Knight raised her sword again.

"You expect us to let you walk away?"

The man’s eyes flashed blue.

"You don’t have a choice."

Before she could attack, the royal seal on his chest opened like an eye.

Darkness swallowed his body.

Then he disappeared.

The chamber became still.

Denzel stared at the empty space.

Sophia moved closer.

"He’s gone."

"Yeah."

The Knight pulled her sword from the floor.

Denzel looked at the shattered blade lying nearby.

"He broke my sword."

The Knight stared at him.

"That’s what you’re worried about?"

Denzel glanced at her.

"It was a good sword."

Sophia almost laughed.

Then the floor shook again.

Her smile disappeared.

Denzel turned toward the doors.

A deep sound rolled through the stone.

Once.

Twice.

Then a third time.

THUMP.

Denzel’s pendant burned.

His knees almost buckled.

Sophia grabbed his arm.

"Denzel?"

He looked down.

The royal seal was glowing beneath his shirt.

And somewhere far above them—

the king laughed.

Not faintly.

Not distantly.

Clearly.

Denzel could hear every word.

"Come home, my son."

His blood ran cold.

The Knight looked at him.

"What did you hear?"

Denzel didn’t answer immediately.

He stared toward the ceiling.

For the first time since entering Eldoria, he understood something.

The dungeon wasn’t trying to keep him out.

It had been leading him here.

Every door.

Every statue.

Every record.

Every secret.

Even his brother.

They weren’t obstacles.

They were pieces of a path.

A path that ended with the king.

Denzel looked at Sophia.

"Can you walk?"

She nodded.

The Knight tightened her grip on her sword.

"What are you thinking?"

Denzel looked toward the staircase.

"We’re going back."

The Knight frowned.

"To the throne room?"

"Yes."

"That’s exactly what he wants."

"I know."

Sophia looked worried.

"Then why?"

Denzel touched the pendant.

Because somewhere inside him, beneath the confusion and anger, something had changed.

He no longer wanted answers from the king.

He wanted the truth.

And if the king really was his father—

Denzel wanted to look him in the eyes when he asked the question.

"Because I’m done running."

They started toward the stairs.

Behind them, the broken glass prison reflected their figures.

Three people moving toward the darkness.

And beneath their feet, deep inside the ancient foundations of Eldoria, something else began to wake.

Not the king.

Not the brother.

Something older.

Something that had been waiting beneath the royal bloodline long before Denzel was born.

The pendant pulsed once.

Then a voice whispered inside Denzel’s mind.

[Royal Bloodline recognized.]

Denzel stopped.

The Knight looked back.

"What is it?"

Denzel stared into the darkness ahead.

A second message appeared.

[First Seal: Broken.]

Then another.

[Second Seal: Awakening.]

Denzel’s expression hardened.

’Of course.’

He started walking again.

’Why would anything in this place be simple?’