Adam took a step forward — then froze when he noticed Cassia tense.The situation teetered on the brink of catastrophe — one wrong move could unleash a bloodbath of unimaginable proportions.
"Katerina," Adam began, but she cut him off sharply:
"No!Don't you dare call me that!"
For Katerina, her husband's words blurred into meaningless noise.All her attention was locked on her dying child.
Her trembling hands worked tirelessly, casting healing spells over and over, desperately trying to hold her son in the world of the living.
Tears streamed endlessly from her beautiful blue eyes, her cracked lips whispering hoarsely:
"My baby... please... don't die... Open your eyes, I'm begging you... Live, sweetheart, LIVE! Don't leave Mama..."
Her voice quivered with agony:
"You promised you'd always stay by my side... Gray, please! Wake up! Don't die... please, don't die..."
She stared in horror as her hands became stained with his blood.Her mind grew hazy, and through the fog she heard someone speaking of "Gray" and "prophecy."These words only fueled the storm of her unraveling emotions.
"HE'S MY SON! MY BABY!"Her shriek of anguish tore through the Acropolis.
Her body shook with sobs, but her blood-soaked hands continued to glow faintly green, desperately trying to heal the gaping wound in the boy's chest.
When she realized he hadn't been breathing for half a minute, Katerina's sobs turned into bloody tears.
Thoughts tangled.She leaned down, pressing her lips against his tiny mouth, trying to breathe life into him.
"No, no, no..." she whispered, shaking her head frantically, refusing to look away.
She could feel his body growing colder.The thread of life slipping away.
Kneeling, cradling his small frame against her chest, Katerina strained to hear even the faintest heartbeat.
Her eyes, weeping crimson, darted between despair, hatred, and desperate pleading.
In those moments, memories flooded her mind — happy, golden moments.
His first "Mama."His loving gaze, where she was his whole world.His carefree laughter.Their recent playful squabble, just moments before this nightmare.
She remembered the last, sorrowful glance he gave her before she sent the accursed priest flying.
Her lips trembled as she lifted her head once more, unable to look at his lifeless face.
Katerina felt utterly betrayed.By her husband.By the gods.By the cursed world itself.Even by Gray — who had promised never to leave her.
And now here he was, her three-year-old baby boy, lying cold and still.
She was powerless to save him.
What kind of mother am I?What a fool... What a failure...It felt as if her heart was being torn to pieces.The world collapsed around her.
"Please, don't leave me... Come back to me, come back to your sister... I need you, my son... Please, please, please..."
{Somewhere deep in the darkness}
The child felt nothing.He could not move.He could only observe.
[Darkness. Again darkness.So familiar. So distant. So calm.And yet... not the same.Once more — nothing but darkness.]
[What is this? Where am I?I remember the blade in my chest.Wait... where's the blade? Where's my body?Ah. Right. Darkness.Only darkness remains.That's how it always was.]
[But... what are these memories?Did I make them up?Maybe it's better to just surrender to the void?]
[NO, YOU LITTLE BASTARD. DON'T YOU DARE GIVE UP.]
A furious roar tore through his consciousness.The black void was splashed crimson.
Gray felt a bloodthirsty gaze burn into him.Rivers of blood flowed around him.Blinding, agonizing patches of light flickered in the darkness.
Hundreds of human silhouettes trembled before the bloody stare.He could feel their terror, their unwilling pull toward him.
"FIGHT, BRAT. It doesn't matter why. It doesn't matter how.JUST FIGHT.Your mother and sister are waiting for you," the distorted voice roared.
And then — he heard it.A familiar, desperate sobbing voice:
"Don't leave me, dear... please... Gray, come back... come back to me, come back to your sister... I need you, son, please..."
It sounded so far away.And yet so achingly familiar.
The pain from the "lights" was nothing compared to this.
Without hesitation, Gray lunged toward the sound.Tears blurred his vision, the agony almost unbearable — but he didn't care.
'I have to fight.I have to reach that voice.I refuse to hear that heartbroken cry again.I REFUSE.'
"Adam, Alaric, Fulvius... I... will never forgive you," Katerina thought, her grief and thirst for revenge interrupted by a sudden cough — then gasping, ragged breaths.
"I WON'T!"Gray's cry burst from his bloodied lips.
"MY SON!!!"Katerina sobbed."You're alive! You're alive! Thank the gods! Mama's here, Mama's with you!Just breathe, baby, just keep breathing... That's it... good boy..."
She wept with relief as her healing magic stabilized his fading life force.
Confirming that Gray was no longer in immediate danger, Katerina's expression turned terrifying.Her gaze could have made even the fiercest demon tremble.
"Cassia! Initiate emergency evacuation plan. No mercy! Reveal all sleeper agents!" she commanded, her voice cold and sharp as steel.
"Yes, ma'am!" Cassia saluted crisply before melting into the Acropolis's shadows.
A moment later, she reappeared behind Eva — driving a dagger into the woman's arm, forcing her to release Grace.
The little princess, unconscious from shock and terror, was quickly secured by Cassia's tail as she disappeared again into the shadows — reappearing beside her mistress.
At the same time, a handful of loyal noblemen launched desperate attacks against the palace guards, buying precious seconds for their queen.
"Ma'am, I have the princess. Is the young master stable?" Cassia asked breathlessly.
"He'll survive," Katerina replied grimly.
Without wasting time, Cassia pointed to the sky and unleashed a "Signal Flare" — exploding into a black firework that darkened the clear blue heavens.
By the time the guards realized what was happening, it was already too late.
"KATERINA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Adam roared.
"Didn't you hear me?Your child is dangerous! He's a child of darkness!He's not even your blood!Look at his hair! He's not our son!"
"Listen to reason! Prophecies aren't jokes — especially not the Great Prophecies!He's destined to destroy humanity!"
"PROPHECY? EMPIRE? HUMANITY?TO HELL WITH ALL OF THEM!"Katerina exploded."To hell with your prophecy!To hell with your Empire!To hell with my worthless bastard husband!To hell with your precious god!To hell with this entire damned world — if anything else happens to my family today, I swear, I'll make sure your prophecy comes true myself!"
"Listen carefully, Adam," she growled."I swear right here and now:If you don't move aside,I will hunt down and destroy every last vermin in this Province of Light.DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"
"Or maybe you're afraid of a crippled child whose magic core you yourselves shattered?"
It pained her to speak such words — but she knew she had no choice.
Escaping from the capital with two children, one of them wounded, was next to impossible otherwise.
"Adam," she said coldly."I'll say it one last time.Let me leave peacefully, and I promise you'll have time to prepare for my vengeance later."
"Or try to stop me, and I'll tear this entire city down around your ears."
"Your choice."
Around her, magic gathered like a looming storm.Her slender blade gleamed, ready for a bloody dance.
Adam hesitated.
Today had gone terribly wrong.
Originally, he intended only to confirm whether Gray possessed the element of darkness.
If confirmed — given the worldwide eclipse during his birth, his jet-black hair, and the signs — Adam would simply report to the Empire and await orders.
But no — everything was thrown into chaos by Apollo's unexpected arrival.
Under the god's orders, the Church had been forced to act.
Adam's rule depended on Church support — he had no real choice.
Somewhere deep down, he had hoped Katerina would understand — that she would support humanity's survival over her personal grief.
But now...Seeing the raw, murderous fury in her eyes...He knew she would never forgive.
All eyes were upon him.
The king's decision would determine the fate of the Province of Light.
He stared into Katerina's face one last time — searching for even a hint of doubt.
There was none.
Only burning rage and unshakable resolve.
Finally, Adam lowered his hand and gave the order:
"Let them go."
"There's no point in killing a cripple.He no longer poses a threat to the nation... or to humanity."