Crown Of The Forbidden Heir

The Goddess Who Owns My Fate

CHAPTER 3 

 THE GODDESS WHO OWNS MY FATE

One moment I was in the throne room, surrounded by the council and the elders who had just recognized me as heir. The next moment—everything exploded into a blinding white void. No floor. No sky. No sound. Just pure light ripping through my senses like fire.

I staggered forward, clutching my chest.

“What—what’s happening to me?” I shouted, my voice echoing like it was bouncing through ten different worlds.

A voice answered from everywhere and nowhere at once.

“Kael.”

My name. Spoken with power so ancient it felt like the earth itself had whispered it.

I spun around. “Who’s there? Show yourself!”

The blinding light folded in on itself, compressing into the shape of a woman—tall, glowing, almost painfully beautiful. Her silver hair floated as if underwater. Her eyes were galaxies. Her skin shined like moonlight reflected on still water.

She didn’t walk toward me.

She glided.

The Goddess.

I knew instantly. My blood recognized her before my mind did. A sharp pressure burned in my chest, the mark Amara had awakened—my lineage mark—now blazing like molten iron.

I dropped to one knee, not from respect alone but from raw power pressing down on me.

“Y‑You’re real,” I whispered. “You’re actually real.”

She raised her hand slightly, and pressure lifted from my shoulders.

“Rise, Kael,”she said, voice soft but ringing like temple bells.

“You kneel to no one.”

I stood, trembling. “Why am I here? What do you want from me?”

Her gaze pierced straight through my fear.

“Your destiny.”

The void cracked open, splitting into a swirling storm of shadows and flames. Through the tear, she forced my eyes to see another world—a world not far from mine.

And I saw chaos

Cities burning. Mountains collapsing. Armies marching like storms. Creatures I had no names for tearing through streets. Five enormous fortresses, each representing a kingdom, all locked in endless war. Blood soaked the ground like rainwater.

I stumbled backward.

“What is this place?”

“The Outer Realm,”** the Goddess said.

“A world connected to yours. A world doomed.”

Fire rained from a blood-red sky. A giant dragon made of shadows spread its wings over an entire city. People screamed. Armies fell. Not one person could fight back against the thing.

My stomach twisted.

“This is… this is worse than death.”

“It will become your world too,” she replied calmly, “if you do nothing.”

I forced myself to look at her. “And what do you expect me to do? I barely know how to control my powers. I only just found out who I am. How can I stop that?”

She lifted her hand, and the void shifted again.

This time, I saw myself, but older. Stronger. My eyes glowing with demonic fire. My skin covered in dragon-scale markings. Magic crackling around me like living lightning. Behind me stood an army—millions—bowing.

Then I saw myself face the five kingdoms.

Not as a victim.

Not as a hunted heir.

But as something else entirely.

A conqueror.

My throat went dry. “That’s me?”

“That is the you who fulfills destiny,” she said.

“The you who survives the war coming to your kingdom.”

She stepped closer. I could feel her warmth, her divinity, her ancient judgment.

“You are not just heir to the kingdom, Kael.”

“You are heir to three bloodlines—Demon, Dragon, and Sorcerer.”

My chest tightened as she extended a glowing hand toward it.

“Your demon blood gives you wrath.”

“Your dragon blood gives you strength.”

“Your sorcerer blood gives you dominion.”

Her eyes glowed brighter.

“Combined… they make you unstoppable.”

A pulse exploded through my body. I gasped, falling to one knee again as heat surged like molten fire through every vein. My fingers curled into fists as raw power hammered against my bones.

“Stop—! I can’t—!”

“Endure,” she commanded.

“There is no world where you remain weak.”

The images of the Outer Realm flashed again—the screaming, the fire, the armies kneeling before an unseen ruler.

“Why me?” I shouted. “Why was I born with all this? Why couldn’t someone else be chosen?”

Her expression softened, almost sad.

Because the worlds needed someone who carries all three.”*

“But—why?” I pressed. “What did these kingdoms do? Why must they fall?”

The void shifted again.

I saw the five kings sitting in a semicircle around a massive floating crystal—the Heart of Realms. They whispered to each other, plotting. Their faces twisted with greed and hunger. They wanted to tear the veil between realms, use the chaos as fuel for their own power.

My power.

My bloodline.

“They want you dead,” the Goddess said.

“Because your existence threatens their rule.”

I clenched my fists.

“So they want to destroy my kingdom just to stop me?”

“Yes. And they will succeed… unless you stand.”

Her voice turned darker, heavier.

“Unless you conquer.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to conquer anyone.”

“No man does,” she said kindly.

“Until the world forces him to become more.”

I swallowed hard. My heart hammered like a war drum.

“What exactly do you want from me?”

Her answer was simple.

“I want you to win.”

Suddenly, she reached forward and pressed two fingers to my forehead.

A blinding pain shot through my skull.

I screamed.

Memories that weren’t mine flooded me—memories of dragons soaring through burning skies, demons tearing down fortresses, ancient sorcerers casting spells strong enough to split the moon.

Power slammed into me like a tidal wave. My eyes rolled back.

I saw symbols. Runes. Spells. Blood magic. Dragon fire. Demon sigils. Worlds collapsing. Kingdoms rising. Armies kneeling.

Every vision felt like someone was burning new truths into my bones.

Then everything stopped.

The pain vanished.

I was lying on the ground, shaking, covered in sweat. The Goddess stood over me, her expression unreadable.

“What… did you do to me?” I breathed.

Her lips curved slightly.

“I unlocked what your blood refused to awaken on its own.”

I sat up slowly. “All those visions… all those powers… that was real?”

“Yes.”

“And I’m supposed to face five kingdoms? Alone?”

She stepped back and lifted her hand again.

Through another tear in the void, I saw armies—but this time, they weren’t fighting each other.

They were gathering behind me

Thousands of warriors from my real people.

Sorcerers. Demon-born fighters. Dragon riders.

All kneeling.

Not out of fear.

But loyalty.

“You will not fight alone, Kael.”

“Your people have waited generations for your return.”

Hearing that felt like a punch to the chest.

“My… people…”

“Yes.”

Her gaze warmed, almost proud.

“They know the prophecy. They know the heir with three bloodlines will rise. And they know you will rebuild what was lost.”

My hands trembled.

“And the kingdoms?” I asked.

“They will hunt you.”

“They will fear you.”

“They will try to kill you before you reach full power.”

“And in the end…”

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

“You will break them.”

Silence swallowed the space.

I breathed hard, trying to make sense of everything. “Why show me this now? Why not wait until I was stronger?”

“Because your enemies already move,” she answered.

“The five kingdoms have felt your awakening. They will come for you soon.”

A cold shiver ran down my spine.

“And her?” I asked quietly.

“She helped me awaken my power. Will she be in danger?”

The Goddess tilted her head thoughtfully.

“Everything connected to you is in danger. But she made her choice when she chose to guide you.”

I clenched my jaw.

“Then I’ll protect her.”

“That is good,” she said softly.

“Because she will be the only one who understands the war you must lead.”

A deep hum rattled the void.

She looked upward. “Time is ending. You must return.”

My heart raced. “Wait—what about my powers? I still can’t control all of them. I don’t even know how to separate them.”

She smiled faintly.

“You will learn. The blood will guide you.”

“And your people will teach you the rest.”

The void began collapsing, light spiraling around me.

“Goddess!” I yelled. “Tell me one last thing—why does all this start with me?”

She raised her glowing hand.

“Because you are the only one strong enough to end it.”

The world shattered.

I hit the floor of the real throne room, gasping, grabbing at my chest as power surged beneath my skin like living fire.

Lyra rushed to me instantly.

“Elias! Hey—Elias! Talk to me! What happened? You were gone, your eyes, they turned white!”

I swallowed, trembling.

“I saw her,” I whispered.

“The Goddess.”

Amara froze.

“What did she say?”

I looked up at her, my voice shaking with fear and something darker and something hungrier.

“She showed me another world.”

“She showed me five kingdoms coming for

us.”

“She showed me what I have to become.”

Lyra's eyes widened. “And what is that?”

I rose slowly to my feet, feeling the new power burning under my skin, thrumming like a living beast begging to be unleashed.

I met her gaze.

“A king no one can destroy.”