The prologue opens in the midst of a violent colosseum battle. A king watches as a young human woman he loves fights for her life against a Bloodborn contestant. Despite his efforts to intervene and draw the Bloodborn's attention away from her, he fails repeatedly. The woman is knocked to the ground, and a killing blow seems imminent.

In that desperate moment, the king looks up into the stands and locks eyes with the Bloodborn prince, who stands smirking with a cigarillo at his lips. The king understands the unspoken deal: the prince will spare the human woman's life, but only in exchange for something that will destroy the king's kingdom. Without hesitation, the king nods, silently selling away his realm to save her.

The prince signals his contestant, who deliberately hesitates just long enough for the human woman to drive her sword through the Bloodborn fighter's chest. Now only the king and the woman remain, and only one can claim the prize. The king recognizes that the deal he just made has left him only one way out—his own death. He reflects that three hundred years of life has been more than any creature deserves.

Knowing the woman won't strike first, the king initiates their final confrontation. He plays the role of aggressor convincingly, pushing her to unleash her full devastating power, even though every wound he inflicts on her causes him pain. When her blade reaches his chest, surrounded by Nightfire, she realizes too late that he has tricked her into killing him. She tries to pull back, but he grips her wrist and tells her to end it.

As he dies, he gazes into her distinctive silver eyes—eyes he always found beautiful but never told her so. He sees strength, determination, and worthiness in them, believing she deserves the power and position that his death will grant her. The prologue closes with the cryptic note that the king would recognize this truth again "the second time he died."