Kal woke up screaming.
His whole body jerked, eyes glowing faint gold. He twisted out of the knight's grip and hit the cold stone floor hard.
He looked around, breathing fast. His head throbbed.
"Where are we?" he shouted.
The knight stepped forward, calm but serious.
"You're in the Shadow Pass. Deep under the mountains. Safe… for now."
Kal stood up quickly. "We need to go back. My mom she's she's still fighting!"
The knight looked down for a moment.
"Your mother saved your life. She gave everything to protect you."
Kal's fists clenched. His legs felt weak.
He dropped to his knees.
Tears hit the ground.
"She said everything would be alright…"
The knight knelt beside him, silent.
Kal didn't speak again for a long time
Kal wiped his face and stood again. His voice was low.
"Where are we going?"
The knight looked ahead, guiding him down a dark path lit by glowing stones on the wall.
"My name is Darius. I was trained by your mother. I served her when she still ruled openly… before she went into hiding."
He looked at Kal seriously.
"Right now, we need to get you somewhere safe. And that place is not Kaldren. Nowhere is safe anymore."
Kal frowned. "But… we should tell the king, right? The queen—his wif—"
Darius shook his head. "Her brother."
"Oh…" Kal blinked. "Then shouldn't we tell her brother about this?"
Darius stopped walking.
"About that…"
At that exact moment…
Across the world…
Every king and queen in the six kingdoms fell.
Not by war. Not by armies.
By betrayal.
Trusted advisors. Guards. Mages.
People close to them. People they believed in.
Each one revealed their true face.
Each one carried a prism.
And each prism opened.
From Solhara's blazing palace to Mirelia's crystal halls under the sea…
From the skies of Caelum to the heart of Talran's jungle…
Light swallowed the thrones.
And the rulers vanished.
Locked inside prisms.
The world didn't know it yet.
But in one night…
The crowns had fallen.
Darius looked at Kal, his face heavy.
"It was the work of the Hollow Crown. And you're not the only one."
Kal stared at him, not understanding.
"All the heirs," Darius said, "are coming here."Kal wiped his face and stood again. His voice was low.
Kal walked in silence for a moment, then looked at him.
"Darien… back at the house, I don't know how, but I could control wind. I sent one of those men flying. It just happened."
Darien stopped walking. His face changed.
"That's impossible. You're Kaldren. Our people don't have elemental magic."
Kal looked down. "But I did. It felt like wind."
Darien stared at him for a moment, serious.
"If that was wind… then you might not be just Kaldren. That power belongs to Caelum."
Kal stood there, confused. Wasn't that wind? he thought to himself.
Darien reached into his coat and pulled out a folded map and a long, silver sword with black markings down the middle.
"This is the Knightblade," Darien said. "It belonged to the royal guards. It's yours now."
Kal held the blade carefully.
"Where are you going?"
Darien looked ahead. "This is as far as I can go. If we want to protect you… this is how we do it."
He handed Kal the map.
"When I'm gone, cut your finger and drop one bit of blood on the map. It'll show you the path. Follow it."
Kal gripped the blade tight.
Kal walked steadily, the Knightblade resting at his side. His thoughts kept drifting back to his mother. He forced himself to believe she was still alive. "She's not weak," he whispered. "She had to survive."
After two hours, something moved ahead in the shadows. Kal stopped and watched closely. A figure stepped out slowly, its movements sharp and controlled. It was about his size, but there was something wrong about it.
Its skin was pale and stretched tight over lean muscles, almost like sinew. Long, sharp claws extended from its fingers, glinting faintly in the dim light. It crouched low, ready to strike. Kal's hand instinctively went to the Knightblade at his hip.
The creature's eyes glowed red as it hissed low. Kal's heart pounded harder.
The monster screamed and ran at Kal fast. Kal ran to the trees and jumped from branch to branch. The monster jumped on a tree too and pushed off to get closer.
The monster swung its claws at Kal. Kal ducked just in time. The monster got up and tried to slash again. Kal blocked with his sword.
Kal tried to hit the monster, but it dodged. He took a deep breath and told himself to stay calm. His eyes started to glow.
The monster jumped from above. Kal swung his sword with wind magic. The wind cut the monster's side. It fell back, hurt.
The monster got back up, growling. Kal raised his hand and pushed out with wind. The blast sent the creature flying back into the trees. But it stood again, its face twisted and terrifying, then vanished into the shadows.
Kal looked around, heart racing. The monster dropped from above, fast and silent. Kal barely blocked it, but the hit sent him crashing back. He hit the ground hard and groaned in pain.
The monster rushed forward, ready to kill. Kal raised his hand without thinking—
Boom. A fireball shot out and hit the creature square in the chest.
It screamed as flames covered its body. The monster thrashed, then dropped to the ground, burning. Within seconds, it was dead.
Kal stared at the flames, breathing hard. He looked at his hand, then touched his eye.
"What… was