Alfred and Nicolo stood uncertain, caught between confusion and fear. Suddenly, a guard hurried over, his face grim. "We're returning to the Kingdom of Novels," he announced.
The words hit Alfred like a jolt, sending a tremor through his entire body. He was shaking to his core.
Nicolo's mind raced with questions. Who could do such a thing? Why? How could anyone destroy the Green Kingdom? He thought of the King of the Kingdom of Caves - how had he died? The king had his sword with him. So how was this possible?
These questions spun in Nicolo's head, pulling him deeper into thought. Then, slowly, the truth began to take shape. There was only one answer: the sword. The king's sword of the Kingdom of Caves. But who wielded it? And how?
Many kings stood there, each guarded by their own soldiers - all carrying their swords. Then how had the assassin killed the king and escaped without a trace?
Before they could find answers, a thick mist began forming over the sea, curling and spreading with unnatural speed. The air grew heavy, making it difficult to breathe.
The guards closed in around Alfred and Nicolo, ready to protect them. But then, through the swirling fog, a figure emerged, gliding toward their ship in a small boat. His eyes glowed a fierce, unsettling red.
The moment he stepped onto the deck, a heavy, suffocating pressure slammed into everyone like a storm about to break. His eyes burned with an intense red light, cutting through the dim surroundings as if seeing directly into each soul.
The air crackled with raw, untamed power, and an invisible force pressed down on the crowd, suffocating and overwhelming.
Whispers turned to gasps, shock and anxiety spreading like wildfire. No one dared move. All felt it - the overwhelming presence of a force far beyond their understanding.
Suddenly, the world spun and darkness closed in. Alfred and everyone else were knocked unconscious.
But in the fading haze of his vision, Alfred caught one last thing - the devilish smile of that mysterious man.