In another part of the palace, A solitary door waited at the end of the corridor, untouched by worldly affairs.
In front of that door, a man stood with his head lowered in respect. He raised his hand, but it was obvious that he was scared with the way they were quivering.
But after channeling his will to the entirety, he clenched it and solemnly knocked on the door.
Knock! Knock!
" Come in," a soft but heavy voiced flew through the door and into the man's ears, causing his body to stiffen like he had just heard the voice of death itself.
Taking in a deep breath, he pushed the door open and walked in.
As he entered, he was greeted by a large room that was brightly lit due to the sheer amount of windows in the room and the overflow of sunlight passing through them. it was a bright and sunny day, but he, Theadon, could not enjoy it's beauty.
Inside the room, a large bed was situated at the center, although not as large as the Prince's, it was still larger than that of a commoner by a long mile. A middle-aged man calmly sat atop the bed, he held a book in his hand and golden rimmed glasses resting on his sharp nose.
The man had jet black hair, but there seemed to be a nice patch of white on the left side of his hair. It didn't seem like it was the sign of an aging head, but the simple design of a sophisticated man. And along with the silver eyes of his, he looked like a great man with a large ambition and a kind heart. One would never suspect that he had the most vilest of hearts.
Thud!
The sound of knees coming in contact with the marble floor spread through the room, causing the man on the bed, who still had a book in hand, to raise his head up and look at the other man annoyingly.
" Speak!" He commanded with a hint of annoyance. His words were simple, yet so complicated, as the one who was kneeling couldn't stop quivering.
But the white haired man didn't care, he was simply annoyed by the sudden intrusion and distraction from his book. But he knew that the man who was currently kneeling was a man of time and wouldn't come here to waste his phone seconds, so he must have something important to say.
" Royal Consort Henry.* Gulp*," he involuntarily gulped down a mouthful of saliva, as he stuttered and continued," Th-th-there has been news about the King and Queen, coming straight from the church," said the kneeling man to Consort Henry.
A look of interest and anticipation suddenly cross Henry's face, he seemed excited," tell me what it is! Hurry up!" He exclaimed with impatience laced in his voice.
" Lord Henry, the church has further spoken to our God, and it seemed that he had accepted your proposal. The priest had said that God Alzuras has heard your plea and sent a dozen Adepts towards the King and Queen. News about their demise should arrive in a few days," said the man, his body shaking. The royal Consort was evil. And the church was even more so, as they could no longer be called a holy place if they dared conspire against their rulers. Then again, Henry couldn't be called any less evil, as he was the most vile of them all. He was the one controlling and giving orders to the church. But what could he, Theadon, do? Even the Gods are on his side.
" Amazing!" Henry said as he jumped off the bed and stood with a triumphant expression on his face.
Twelve years! He had been persuading and coaxing Alzuras for twelve years!
Even though he knew that all of that was a futile endeavor, as what God would accept to scheme against their most powerful devotee, but he still tried, and now he had succeeded. But that was only because of one reason...the ten legendary artifacts.
If the king had not managed to gain the weapon they sought out for, Alzuras would have spared them and let them continue being the King and Queen of Solmara. But unfortunately, they had been able to get the Artifact. An artifact even the Gods coveted.
Even a god is prone to greed, as he wanted the weapon for himself and so decided to finally listen to the plea of the Consort and help him kill the king and queen. That way, they would not become as strong as him, Alzuras, a god. and he would still gain the weapon, which would allow him to become the kinh of all Gods.
If they died, Alzuras would gain the weapon and Henry would become the king! It was a win-win deal!
" Hahahah! This is great news Theadon! Hahahaha!" He couldn't explain the amount of joy that he was experiencing right now. No, it was impossible to explain! Finally, he would no longer be second. He would be the first, the one everyone respected!
Even if the King and Queen were powerful, so what? There's no way they can stop the assault of a dozen Adepts, especially since it would be a sneak attack!
" Theadon, rise. Bring the crown prince to dine with his dearest uncle, I have great news to share with him. Besides, It's only right he feasts with family before he is sent to the grave,"an evil glint flashed in his eyes as he spoke, causing Theadon to shudder in fear once more.
This man.... was evil...he wouldn't even let the child go!
" Well? Go now!" Immediately Theadon rose from the ground and turned around to leave.
As he stepped out of the room, he suddenly felt someone's gaze linger on him, but after looking around and saw no one, he classified it as just seeing things.
Maybe the Consort had made him feel that way after hearing his plan. It was still terrible though. To kill the crown prince. It seems Henry truly hates the royal family and wants to wipe them all out!
As Theadon walked away, he didn't notice that the painting on the wall right next to Henry's room looked different.
It was the portrait of the former Consort, and the eyes moved. Yes, the eyes of the portrait moved, as a small gasp of shock reverberated through the silent hallway.
* I must alert Sol!*
•••••
High above a sun-scorched wasteland of endless sand, an island hovered—too surreal for reality, too silent for myth. It pulsed with an ancient grandeur, casting shimmering light across the barren sands below like bright light in the dull of darkness.
Two figures tore from the floating island, their bodies tearing through the sky and diving onto the earth, cloaked in dust and divine purpose, they crashed onto the sand like wrath given form.
Boom!
A loud sound reverberated through the desert as sand flew up chaotically into the air the moment they landed, as a cloud of dust to rose and covered their glory.
As the cloud of dust cleared, it revealed two incredibly etheral figures. One man and one woman. The man had red hot hair with golden eyes that seem to be the substitute for the sun. The woman standing beside him also had the same traits of hair and eyes. She didn't have such at birth, but after marrying her husband and becoming the Queen of the human empire, Solmara, she had been blessed with these traits by the God they worship - Alzuras!
Yes, the Queen, her name was Nivea Althurion, making the man beside her obviously the king of Solmara, Micheal Althurion. These two were the parents of Solarien Althurion, the crown prince of Solmara.
" Great! We have finally gotten our hands on it!" Micheal said, his face brimming with joy as he held onto a strange looking sword.
It was jagged and old, its surface fractured like dried blood. Rust laced its edges like time's fingerprints. To the eyes of any man, it was a ruin, nothing more than scrap metal meant to be thrashed away.
To the blind, it was worthless. But to the divine, it was the last sin they'd risk everything to hold. Able to incite greed in the hearts of a celestial and cause bloody wars throughout the world. To simply call one of the legendary ten artifacts worthless, was like seeing a mountain of gold and calling it bronze, only a fool would not know it's worth.
" Yes my love. We've finally retrieved it. Those pesky demons were really something. How dare they try to steal it from us, and in our own empire. we really need to exterminate all those spies!?" Nivea said, a look of annoyance on her face.
" Don't worry love, at least we came out victoriously. Now let's hurry up and head back home, it would be Solarien's Awakening in two weeks. We cannot miss it,"
" You're right," Nivea exclaimed, a wide smile growing on her face. It was a smile so beautiful that even the coldest of hearts shall melt and fall in love.
" My little baby is now grown up. Hurry, hurry, we must get back! I haven't bathed for my child in two years!"
Seeing her sudden change, Michael could only shake his head helplessly as he chuckled," alright, let's get going,"
" I'm sorry your highnesses, but you're not going anywhere," A voice suddenly reverberated through the desert, causing the two royals to frown and activate their vein strength.
" Who's out there?!" Michael yelled, and as if in response to his words, a dozen silhouettes materialized in front of them. Their auras letting out a bone chilling feel that meant bad news. Each and every single one of them wore a hood with a rather familiar symbol.
It was a blood red symbol shaped like a skull being stabbed by a dagger. Yes, the same symbol that appeared on Sol's window after the bird crashed and exploded.
" Who are you?" Micheal asked. He wasn't afraid. But that symbol… he knew it—and he prayed he was wrong.
" Your highness, are you so ignorant that you've forgotten the voice of your most trusted General?" The leader of the group said, as he pulled his hood off, revealing a face full of white hair on both his head and face.
His eyes were silver, but he didn't look old, on the contrary, he looked rather young.
" Sylvester?"