2022-12-15 00:08:47The kings of each kingdom convened urgent meetings with their councils. They discussed raising more soldiers and strengthening the standards of their armies.
The discussions quickly turned heated—voices clashed, arguments erupted, and even some council members exchanged blows as the pressure of the looming threat weighed heavily on everyone.
---TWO DAYS LATER
Noah jolted awake, breathing heavily, his heart racing from a frightening dream of himself transforming into a dragon. He pushed himself up and glanced out the window. Morning light filled the room.
As he looked around, he realized Ramsay wasn’t there. He stepped out of the room.
In the dining room, everyone was already seated, their meals in front of them.
“How come you’re all about to eat without waking me up?” Noah asked, his voice drawing everyone’s attention to where he stood.
Ramsay, visibly relieved and happy to see him awake, rose from his seat and hurried to his side.
“Are you alright? You’re not feeling pain anywhere, are you?” Ramsay asked gently.
“What kind of question is that? Why wouldn’t I be alright?” Noah replied, genuinely confused.
Gabriel leaned back in his chair and said, “Because you’ve been unconscious for the past two days.”
“Unconscious? That’s a joke, right?” Noah asked, staring at them.
“No, it’s not,” Lythia replied softly. “You’ve been unconscious for the past two days. I prayed to the gods to make you well. I’m glad you’re awake now.”
“That’s impossible… I… I… why can’t I remember anything from last night?” Noah said, confused.
“You mean the day you fainted,” Ramsay corrected gently. “That was two days ago, not yesterday.”
“Two days? What happened? How did I become unconscious for that long?” Noah asked.
“You collapsed after stopping the knife Master threw at you,” Ramsay explained.
“I stopped the knife? Why don’t I remember that?” Noah said, trying hard to recall the memory that wasn’t there.
Zussorender’s calm but firm voice cut in, “Both of you, come sit and eat. Noah, you should rest yourself. Sooner or later, what happened will come back to you.”
The two royal princes walked to the table and sat down.
As they ate, Gabriel looked at Noah. He said to Noah, “I think it’s best you know… because I’m going to miss you.”
“Know what?” Noah asked.
“I’m going with Mother to spend some days with our grandparents,” Gabriel said, excitement brightening his face.
“That’s very good. I’m going to miss you too,” Noah replied with a smile.
After breakfast, the three of them saw Lythia and Gabriel off, then returned home.
Zussorender sat on his chair, his sticks resting on the floor beside him, while the two princes stood before him.
“Ramsay has been trying to stop the sticks while you were unconscious, but he couldn’t,” Zussorender said.
Then he asked Noah, “So before we begin today’s training, let me ask you something, Noah. Are you okay—and are you able to train?”
“Yes, I am—and I’m ready,” Noah said.
“Good. The reason you both failed to stop the stick is because you were trying to use your minds to control your magic, something you haven’t learned yet. I told you that", said Zussorender.
He paused to look at both princes, and continued, “You’ve only learned how to summon your magic and control it with your hands, not your mind. Whenever I threw the sticks at you, instead of stopping them with hand-controlled magic, you expected your minds to do the work—even though you’ve never trained your minds to control it.”
Ramsay stepped forward slightly, and asked, “What about what Noah did that night?”.
“That is different. Noah forcefully summoned his magic and controlled it with his mind. That is why he can’t remember what happened—because he pushed himself beyond what his body and mind were ready for", Zussorender said.
He pointed at them both, and continued, “Now, to stop the stick, do exactly as I’ve taught you. And concentrate.”
“Okay, Master,” both princes said in unison.
Noah and Ramsay stepped back a few paces, positioning themselves.
They inhaled and exhaled slowly, summoning their magic. They felt the energy surge through their bodies, warm and alive. Both stretched their hands forward.
“We’re ready now,” Ramsay said to Zussorender.
Zussorender reminded them, “Remember before you release your magic, you must always give it a purpose.”
They nodded.
Zussorender lifted two sticks and hurled them toward the princes. As the sticks rushed forward, Noah and Ramsay released their magic—and both sticks froze in the air right in front of them.
Every stick and stone around Zussorender lifted into the air and shot toward the princes. Noah and Ramsay focused, releasing their magic with purpose, and stopped every single one. They exchanged excited smiles, pleased with their progress.
---NIGHT
Zussorender led the two princes deep into the forest, unaware that he had prepared a trap ahead of time.
As they walked between the thick trees, Zussorender suddenly vanished. The princes froze, fear tightening their chests.
“Master?!” they called out.
“Don’t be afraid,” Zussorender’s voice echoed around them.
“Where are you, Master?” Noah asked.
“I am there with you… and I am not there with you,” his voice answered, drifting like a whisper through the darkness.
“Where are you, and why did you disappear?” Ramsay called out, trying to stay calm.
“Don’t worry about that. I brought you here so you both could train", Zussorender’s voice replied.
“Train? What does that mean? And why does it have to be in this forest—and at night?” Ramsay asked, confused.
“Don’t try to run away, because you won’t be able to. All you need to do is stop the spears", said Zussorender.
“What spea...”, said Noah.
Before Noah could finish, a spear shot out of nowhere, slicing through the air toward them.
Both princes threw themselves aside, rolling across the forest floor to dodge it.
“Now you see the spear. Make sure you stop all the spears from killing you. I will watch from here. Succeed and you are one step forward," Zussorender’s voice said.
The princes rose to their feet, alert and tense. Noah muttered, “Killing? I don’t like the word killing".
There was no response from Zussorender.
“You heard him,” Ramsay said as he walked toward Noah. “We have to do as he said.”
When they met in the middle, Ramsay added, “We don’t know where the spears might come from, so we need to watch each other’s backs.”
“Okay,” Noah agreed.
The two princes stood back-to-back, scanning the dark forest, ready.
Suddenly, spears shot at them from different directions again and again.
The princes dodged, rolled, and stopped each incoming spear with their magic—constantly shifting positions, covering each other’s blind spots—completely unaware that Zussorender was peacefully sleeping at home.
They didn’t sleep at all. They fought through the entire night, blocking and avoiding the endless barrage until morning, when the attacks finally stopped.
At last, Zussorender arrived. Noah and Ramsay were sitting on the ground, exhausted, surrounded by spears scattered everywhere.
“Well done, boys,” Zussorender said.
“We might die in your hands sooner or later,” Ramsay replied tiredly.
“I have a question for you, Master… where did you get all these spears?” Noah asked, barely able to lift his head.
“They aren’t real spears. They’re illusions created with a spell", Zussorender said.
“You mean… these spears are not real?” Ramsay asked in disbelief.
“Yes,” Zussorender answered—and instantly, all the spears faded into nothing.
The princes stared in shock.
“So we were stopping and dodging things that aren’t even real?” Noah asked.
Zussorender explained, “That’s why it’s called illusion. It looks real when it is not—and if the spear hurts you, you feel pain because you believe it is real. I created them so they could train you and scare you into thinking they might kill you.”
He smiled proudly, and continued, “Now I see you both are ready to truly train and learn magic. Let’s go. I made you breakfast.”
“Can’t you just teleport us home, please?” Ramsay groaned. “I don’t think I can feel my legs anymore.”
“Then stay here,” Zussorender said, turning to walk away.
“Wait, Master!” Noah shouted, scrambling to his feet—while Ramsay remained lying on the ground, too tired to move.
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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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