So, to summarize before I start explaining myself:

I don’t think Ralsei is the prince from the legend. I do however believe he is actively updating his résumé so when the prophecy comes into play he fulfills a loophole by being’dark prince shaped’.

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When we first meet Ralsei, his town is mysteriously empty. No citizens. No guards. No royalty. Further, the town shows no evidence of an attack or other forms of distress which throws doubt into the postulation that there could’ve once been a community that was forced to leave.

By completing chapters 1 and 2, the castle and town become occupied by refugees. Amidst those refugees are the King of Spades and the Cyber Queen.

So now we have a kingdom. It has subjects. It has a king. It has a queen.

On paper, these are all the things you’d need to have a proper kingdom. The pieces don’t properly fit, but they should be enough to pass a cursory check. Letter of the law vs Spirit of the law.

So… that leads to the question: Who is the intended prince from the dark?

Lancer seems like an obvious contender… except he introduces himself as the “Teardrop-headed kid. From the legend”—suggesting Lancer does indeed have a future role to play, but not necessarily as the prince from the dark.

Frankly, I have no idea who the intended prince could be. As far as we know, we might not have even been introduced to him yet.

So, assuming Ralsei is trying to insert himself into the legend… that begs the question of why.

When we first enter the dark world in Ch1, there’s a lot of iconography reminiscent of the Titans revealed in Ch2. It’s probably a safe assumption that the Titans are directly related to Ralsei’s true goals. But whether that’s to thwart them on his terms or set them in motion… I really don’t know.