Heir to the Ultimate Power

CHPT 7

The massive midnight thunderstorm rolled heavily across the imperial palace grounds, covering the sky in pitch-black shadows. Old Jared moved quickly through the dark, narrow stone corridors, his legs shaking with a mixture of absolute terror and sudden adrenaline. Kael followed right behind him like a quiet ghost, his eyes glowing with a very sharp, hidden golden light through the darkness.

"The main vault path is just ahead," Jared whispered, his voice cracking as he stopped near a massive stone corner. "But two elite guards are standing right outside the heavy archway. If they see us, they will kill us."

"Keep walking smoothly, Jared," Kael replied softly. "Do not stop, and do not look back. Remember my promise to you."

The old servant swallowed hard and stepped out into the open hallway, his heart beating violently against his ribs. The two heavy guards immediately noticed his presence, their metal armor clinking as they lifted their sharp, gleaming spears.

Before the guards could even utter a single shout, Kael appeared right behind them with blinding speed. He tapped the backs of their necks with a tiny fraction of his hidden Sun-Core energy, using a gentle touch. The two massive sentries dropped instantly to the cold floor like empty sacks of grain, completely knocked out.

Jared looked back in absolute, wide-eyed shock, his hands trembling as he stared at the motionless soldiers. "How did you do that? You are supposed to have no mana in your body!"

"I told you I would protect you from the shadows," Kael said, pulling the guards into a dark storage closet. "They are only asleep for now. Let's move fast before the next rotation arrives."

"You are not a normal human, Kael," the old man whispered, shaking his head in pure amazement. "Your power feels even more terrifying than your father's old legends."

"We don't have time to talk about my power," Kael surged gently, nudging his shoulder forward. "Lead the way to the inner sanctuary, Jared. My mother is running out of time."

They ruthlessly cleared three more paths, with Kael silently knocking out every single sentry using his invisible pressure. Jared moved forward in a complete daze, feeling amazed as their cruel oppressors fell one after the other. Soon, they finally breached the outer layer of the secure Inner Alchemy Sanctuary.

Suddenly, a bright red light flashed across the stone walls, and a loud, piercing bell began to ring out. The sheer number of missing guards had accidentally triggered a silent magical boundary array hidden in the floors.

"The alarm!" Jared screamed, his face turning completely white as the sound echoed through the massive palace. "They know we are here! We are dead! They will butcher my family!"

"Calm down, Jared!" Kael shouted back over the noise, his voice sounding firm and full of resolve. "The doors of the deepest vault are right in front of us. Break the lock now! Do not be afraid, nothing will happen to us," said Kael.

Deep inside the royal sleeping chambers, King Alden, Queen Eleanor, and the bandaged Princess Seraphina were jolted awake. The unexpected sound of the grand alarm caused the King to jump from his bed, his face twisting in fury.

"What is the meaning of this?!" King Alden roared, slamming his fist against the wooden wall. "Who dares to breach my core?"

"A powerful phantom has entered the alchemy sector, Your Majesty!" a head guard shouted, bursting into the royal bedroom. "Dozens of our elite sentries have been neutralized in total silence!"

"Assemble every single soldier!" Queen Eleanor shrieked, her purple eyes flaring with a dangerous, murderous magical fire. "Seal every exit! I want this intruder caught and skinned alive before the sun rises!"

"It must be that trash Kael!" Princess Seraphina growled through her thick white facial bandages, her voice full of spite. "Kill him! Don't let him leave this palace alive!"

The entire imperial palace erupted into pure, unadulterated chaos as hundreds of royal guards flooded the hallways with bright torches. Kael’s pacing turned completely explosive as he moved ahead of the old servant, his fists moving like lightning.

He smashed through a wave of ten guards, sending them flying into the stone walls using invisible telekinetic waves. He made sure not a single weapon or stray spell could reach the old man behind him.

"The main vault doors are right here!" Jared yelled, pointing his shaking finger at a massive pair of iron doors. "The lock requires a special royal key, but I know the manual release bypass hidden underneath!"

The old servant dropped to his knees, his bleeding hands working frantically on a small panel near the bottom of the iron doors. With a loud, heavy mechanical click, the massive iron doors finally swung open, revealing the royal vault.

"I see it!" Jared gasped, rushing inside the glowing room toward a beautifully decorated golden pedestal at the very center. Resting on top of the pedestal was a small, sparkling glass bottle filled with a bright blue liquid.

"The Spirit Cleansing Antidote!" Kael said, his chest heaving as a wave of pure emotion washed over him. "We actually found it. My mother is finally going to live."

"Take it and let's get out of here!" Jared cried out, desperately grabbing the glass vial and handing it to Kael. "The execution squad is already coming down the main hallway! I can hear their heavy boots!"

Kael stuffed the precious antidote securely into his bosom, turning around to sprint out of the open vault doors. But instead of following him, old Jared suddenly collapsed heavily onto the cold stone floor, clutching his chest.

The old man began to gasp violently for air, his face turning an unnatural, terrifying shade of blue under the dim vault light. The long-term exposure to the greenhouse's poisonous herbs, combined with the terrifying stress of the night, had caused his weak lungs to completely give out.

"Jared! What is wrong?!" Kael panicked, dropping to his knees beside the older servant and grabbing his shoulders. "Get up! We have to move right now! The guards are almost at the door!"

"I... I can't move," Jared choked out, his body trembling violently as he struggled to draw a single breath of air. "My chest... it burns so bad. My legs are completely dead, Kael."

"Please, you have to manage to escape from them!" Kael begged, his voice cracking with pure, human panic. "If they find us together in this room, everything we did tonight is ruined! We will both be executed!"

"No! You did this to me!" Jared screamed in a ragged, agonizing whisper, tears of pure betrayal running down his pale face. He pushed Kael's hands away from his chest with the last ounce of his remaining strength.

"You implicated me in your crazy revenge!" the old servant wept bitterly, his eyes wide with a mixture of immense pain and anger. "I told you I didn't want to get involved! I told you I only had a few days left!" He realizes he cannot escape. He panics. He screams: "I told you! I told you not to drag me into this. My daughter will die because of me!”

"I promised I would protect you, Jared! I am going to get you out!" Kael pleaded, his heart ripping into pieces.

"You lied to me!" Jared shrieked softly, his voice fading as he began to lose consciousness from the lack of air. "You said nothing would happen to me! But now... now they are going to murder my poor daughter because of your pure selfishness!"

"I will save her too! I swear it!" Kael cried out, his mind spinning into a state of absolute, soul-crushing guilt.

"Leave me alone, you monster," the old man groaned, his eyes rolling back as his body went completely limp on the floor. He lay there, breathing in shallow, ragged gasps, hovering right at the literal point of death.

A loud, deafening explosion rocked the room as the outer vault barriers were violently blown apart by dark purple magic. Queen Eleanor's elite execution squad burst into the hallway, their heavy steel armor gleaming under the red emergency lights.

Kael stood frozen in absolute, agonizing conflict as the heavy footsteps drew closer and closer to the open vault doors. He knew he had the god-like power to blow the entire execution squad away and carry the old servant out on his back.

But if he unleashed his true Sun-Core energy right here, his hidden identity would be completely exposed to the Queen and King. The royal family would instantly realize he was the phantom, and they would execute his hostage mother, Elara, in her cell before he could reach her.

If he maintained his broken dog cover and hid in the shadows, the brutal guards would slaughter old Jared right in front of his eyes. The heavy wooden doors began to creak loudly as the royal magic smashed against the final lock.