2022-12-15 00:06:45MORNING
Ramsay and Noah were the first to wake. They stepped outside the house and went straight to the same stone they had been struggling to lift for days.
Zussorender woke moments later and went to check on the two royal princes, but when he didn’t see them in their room, he rushed outside, fearing they might have run away.
The moment he stepped out, he stopped—relieved to see them training. Zussorender cleared his throat, making them turn toward him.
The princes immediately stopped and greeted in unison, “Good morning, master.”
“Morning,” Zussorender replied, and the princes returned their focus to the stone.
Zussorender walked between them. With a mere thought, he lifted the stone beside his chair using magic, floated it over, and set it down neatly beside the two stones the princes had been struggling with.
Then he said to the royal princes, “You both know I don’t need words or gestures to move anything with magic. That is because I have mastered it, unlike you both who are new to it".
He continued, “Magic is something you are born with—something that lives inside you. It wants to be released, not buried. But remember this: when you let it out, you must remain its master. Never let it master you.”
He stepped back slightly, and said, “Now… do exactly as I taught you. Stand upright.”
The two princes obeyed. He instructed, “Close your eyes. Breathe slowly.”
They inhaled and exhaled, steady and controlled. He continued, “Now look inward. Find your magic.”
As they focused, a sudden surge of power rushed through their bodies.
“I can feel it!” Noah said, excited.
“I feel it too,” Ramsay added, smiling.
“Good. Now open your eyes. Direct that energy into your hands. Let it flow through you… and release it toward the stone with the intention of what you want that energy to do", said Zussorender.
The two royal princes did exactly as Zussorender instructed, and to their shock, the stone lifted—rising steadily under the force of their shared magic.
Energy flowed visibly from their outstretched hands toward the stone.
“We did it, master!” Noah said, smiling widely.
“I guess we did,” Ramsay added, happy but trying not to show it too much.
“Thank you, master. So we really do have magic,” Noah said.
“You shouldn’t get too excited,” Zussorender replied calmly. “You still have much to learn. But if you remain patient, you will learn everything you need to know.”
“Wow… we did it,” Noah said again, unable to contain his joy.
---THREE DAYS LATER (AXRAX)
King Raynold and four other kings gathered in the great palace hall of Axrax:
King James of Lythridite, King Marcus of Domitrus, King Michel of Samuzia, and King Josh of Micapus.King Raynold sat on his throne, while the other kings sat on chairs arranged before him.
“Welcome, your majesties. I thank you all for answering my call,” King Raynold said.
“The pleasure is ours, your royal majesty,” replied King Michel.
“I summoned you here concerning King James’s request,” King Raynold continued.
“And what was his request, your royal majesty?” asked King Josh.
“If you don’t mind, King James, tell them yourself,” King Raynold said.
“Yes, your royal majesty,” King James said with a respectful bow.
“Your majesties,” King James began, “I request permission from the great king to improve the standard of the army… and to raise more soldiers.”
“You all heard him. That is why I gathered you—to hear your advice and opinions", said King Raynold.
“You must not allow that, your royal majesty,” King Michel said firmly.
“And why is that?” King James asked, turning to him.
“If we start raising an army now, there will be confusion among the people. They may panic, thinking a war is coming. We cannot allow that,” King Michel said to King Raynold.
“I agree with King James, your royal majesty. We’ve enjoyed peace for a long time, but we know nothing lasts forever. Raising more armies and improving our standards is preparing for the future—whatever it may bring", King Marcus replied.
He paused, then added, “And… I dream about Marcelos once in a while. In those dreams, he awakens.”
“Is that true? Do you really dream about Marcelos?” King James asked King Marcus, but King Marcus remained silent.
“Do you dream about Marcelos, King Marcus?” King Raynold asked.
“Yes, your royal majesty,” King Marcus answered.
“Your royal majesty, we cannot raise an army because of a dream—or because of their assumptions. And we all know King Marcus loves war. That love for war is what caused the Varlyn and their Nylin army to leave, which should never have happened," King Josh said.
“That’s not true! Those beasts—the Nylin—were never meant to live among humans. They fed on my people!", King Marcus snapped.
“Are you saying the Great King Hope was wrong to accept them? And no one knows if they truly fed on your people. You waged war on them before we could investigate", King Josh responded.
King Marcus smirked and said, “And what was I supposed to do? Sit back while they fed on my people?”.
King Josh rose to his feet. He said to King Raynold, “Your royal majesty, the Varlyn lived in peace with Great King Hope. History records nothing evil about them or their Nylins. But when you banished their Nylins from all kingdoms, the Varlyn left as well—they refused to abandon their companions".
He paused, but continued, “I am not questioning your judgment, your royal majesty, but we never investigated the matter because King Marcus insisted they were killers—which may not be true. Now he wants us to stir panic among our people by raising more troops".
To further affirm, he added, “We are not at war. There is no need for a larger army. Every kingdom already has five hundred thousand soldiers, and Axrax has one million, five hundred thousand. I see no reason to raise more.”
King Josh then sat down, but King James stood up and said, “Your royal majesty, it is true we’ve enjoyed peace, but now is the time to plan for the future. Evil cannot be fully erased. It waits in the shadows for the moment we lower our guard. We cannot assume Marcelos will sleep forever. There may be people plotting to awaken him. That is why we must prepare—not when danger arrives, but before it comes.”
King Raynold leaned back on his throne. He thought for a while before saying, “Well, you are all right in one way or another. But I will not give my decision now. Return to your kingdoms and discuss the matter with your councils. Then inform me of your final decisions.”
“Yes, your royal majesty,” all the kings said in unison.
King Raynold convenes the kings of Lythridite, Domitrus, Samuzia, and Micapus to discuss King James’s request to raise and strengthen his army. King Michel and King Josh argue against it, fearing public panic and citing past conflicts with the Varlyn and their Nylin.
King Marcus supports King James, citing potential future threats and dreams of Marcelos' awakening. King James urges preparation for the future rather than waiting for danger to arrive.
King Raynold decides to delay his decision, instructing the kings to consult their councils and report back.
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ETHUSA RETURNS
Silence swept through the entire castle, pressing down on the grand hall and spilling onto the balcony. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath. Every eye was fixed on Ramsay. Every ear strained toward him. They waited—not just for words, but for direction, for certainty, for something to anchor their resolve.Ramsay looked down at the army gathered below. At the sheer number of them. For a moment, he closed his eyes and drew in a slow, steady breath, feeling the cold morning air fill his chest. When he opened them again, his gaze was calm, grounded—and when he spoke, his voice did not waver.He began, “If someone had told me years ago that the responsibility of saving mankind—of restoring everything that has been lost—would fall on me and my family, I would have called it a lie.”His voice carried easily, firm but honest. He continued, “We were just kids only trying to grow. Trying to live. Waiting for the day we would come of age and inherit our kingdoms after the passing of our rul
THE CALL TO ARMS
Dah stood frozen. Noah sat frozen. Shock and confusion settled over them as Esther’s words hung in the air; "You have to die".Neither of them understood it. The meaning refused to settle, slipping away each time they tried to grasp it. Noah searched Esther’s face, looking for certainty, for clarity—but found neither. Dah exchanged a brief glance with him, his brow furrowed, his thoughts racing in the same direction.Perhaps the wine still lingered in her blood.!Perhaps sleep still clouded her mind.The celebration had stretched long into the night, and Esther had been among those who drank deeply. The idea took root easily—that exhaustion and lingering intoxication had twisted her words, that she had spoken without fully understanding what she meant.Still, Noah needed certainty. He leaned closer, his voice calm but edged with urgency. He asked quietly, “Why? Why would I have to die for Ethusa to return?”Esther did not answer immediately. She remained lying still, eyes unfocused, as
THE MIDNIGHT RESOLVED
Esther held the crystal in her hands, turning it slowly as if testing its weight and shape. Sunlight filtered through the trees, glinting off its polished surface, and she could feel it—not just as a gemstone, but as a vessel of immense and incomprehensible power. Even after its link with Noah, the memory of its strength lingered like a faint pulse beneath her fingertips. She allowed herself a small smile, glad to see the joy on everyone else’s faces. After all their trials, the crystal was finally in their hands.To the others—including Noah—the crystal appeared ordinary. The moment it had finished speaking with him, its consciousness seemed to vanish, leaving nothing behind but a smooth, cold stone. The mind and will that had challenged, tested, and chosen were gone, invisible to anyone else.Noah alone understood what had truly happened. The crystal now rested in his possession, safely kept in the chamber he had claimed. Its presence was familiar, yet it carried a weight no one co
THE LIGHT OF CHOICE II
Noah remained silent. The man’s words struck him harder than he expected, sending a ripple of shock through his thoughts. Confusion followed, thick and unsettling. He let the words sink into him slowly, turning them over in his mind. He could not understand why the crystal claimed his fear had not been of losing, but of being chosen—of winning.After a moment, Noah spoke. He lifted his gaze to the man and said, “I think you are mistaken. You say my fear was of winning instead of losing like the others, but I don’t understand what you mean. I was scared of losing just like the others, not afraid of being the chosen one.”The man did not react immediately. When he did speak, his voice was calm, certain. He said, “I have been inside your mind, Noah. Even if you deny it, even if you hide it from yourself, what Lindsey once said to you still echoes there. It lingers. It speaks to you. The idea that you could be a great King.”Noah frowned. He replied, “That’s not possible. My brother is al
THE LIGHT OF CHOICE
Everyone was now on their feet as Noah prepared to approach the crystal. Each of them silently wished, hoped, that he would be the chosen one. If he were, it would mean that their efforts and suffering had not been in vain. It would also reaffirm that they could always trust Esther’s instincts.Not only that, it would mean the crystal had not merely toyed with them, but had tested their strength to find someone truly worthy of the power within. It would also mean that Ramsay had been wrong.Yet the chance of Noah being the chosen one was slim. Even though they hoped for it—simply because he was the last—the crystal might still reject him, just as it had the others. It could manipulate him, play with him, crush him. If that happened, everything Ramsay had warned them about would be proven true.The fate of everyone now depended on Noah being the chosen one. If he were not, they would lose the power within the crystal—the only force capable of defeating Marcelos. Perhaps, then, every li
THE TRIAL OF NOAH
After Kinsley lost, the chamber fell into a suffocating silence. No one spoke, yet the truth lingered in the air like a bitter taste: Kinsley hadn’t simply failed—he had been tricked.The others felt it. They had watched his trial closely, seen how the question cornered him with no clean answer, no true path to victory. The more they thought about it, the more it felt deliberate… as though the crystal had never intended to let him win in the first place.Whispers spread through the group—not spoken aloud, but sensed in glances, in tension, in the tightness of their breaths.Maybe Ramsay had been right all along. Maybe the crystal really didn’t want to help them. Maybe it was playing with them—offering slivers of hope only to snatch them away the moment anyone came close.The pattern seemed too clear now: Every trial looked winnable… until the final moment, where something twisted, shifted, or turned impossible. The crystal dangled victory like bait—and then denied them cruelly.Yet de
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