"What do you think, Antrea?" Thranduil asked, carefully surveying the young girl.
They were tucked away in his makeshift lab, a room thick with the rich scent of crushed herbs, ancient parchment, and the sharp, metallic tang of raw mana. The morning light filtered weakly through high, narrow windows, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air. Attached securely to her silky black hair was a pair of intricately carved artificial horns that hummed with a faint, iridescent glow. "It should help safely purify your magic a little," he added with a warm, encouraging smile.
Antrea swung her legs happily while perched on a tall wooden stool of Thranduil's own meticulous craftsmanship. She reached up, her dark fingers carefully touching the smooth texture of the horn. "Don't I look incredibly scary?" she asked, a playful, low snarl escaping her lips as she tried to look menacing.
As she tilted her head, her massive black wings fluttered wildly in excitement, accidentally sweeping a row of glass potion bottles right off the edge of the cluttered table. Before they could crash and shatter against the stone floor, the bottles froze mid-air and floated flawlessly back to their exact spots with a single, careless flick of Thranduil's hand.
Adorable, he thought to himself, a soft chuckle escaping his throat. He turned back to his notes, flipping a crisp page of parchment. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen you game in a while," he noted casually. "Is everything alright?"
"Well... to be perfectly honest, if I skip dimensions right now, I'm terrified someone from the upper realms would immediately track me down," Antrea said slowly, her dark wings drooping slightly as her timid nature returned. She rested her chin on her hands. "I think I'll be significantly safer just staying right here with you guys."
She looked up, expecting a reply, but Thranduil had gone completely rigid. He wasn't paying a single shred of attention to her anymore. His sharp elven ears twitched, and his intense gaze was locked entirely onto the dark corner of the laboratory.
An uninvited guest had entered the room without either of them noticing.
Areia stepped smoothly out from the heavy shadows, fully suited up in her polished leather and steel vanguard armor. Her posture was perfectly straight, the playful girl from the riverbank completely locked away behind a mask of absolute, unyielding focus. Her purple eyes burned with a clear, fierce resolve.
"Thranduil," Areia said, her voice cutting through the quiet room like a honed blade. "I need your help."
.....
"How long do you plan on resisting?"
The disembodied voice drifted mockingly from the suffocating, infinite shadows. Dan swatted violently at the empty air, his fist cutting a desperate arc, but his knuckles came into contact with absolutely nothing. The enclosed space was completely black—a void so dense it felt physical—but Dan's hair seemed to emit a faint, eerie glow. His usual pitch-black hair with its subtle strands of crimson had been violently interchanged; his mane was now a striking, blood-red color laced with deep strands of jet-black.
He panted softly, the sound of his ragged breathing echoing off the invisible walls of the abyss. Sweat dripped from his chin, vaporizing before it could even hit the ground.
"Physically, you've only been trapped yourself here for barely more than a week," the voice said slowly, echoing from every direction at once. "But mentally? Mentally, you have spent agonizing years within these walls. You successfully climbed the peak of the tower and you got your ultimate wish... but going back down is proving to be even harder. Just give in. You are never leaving this tower, Dan. Not with that fragile mindset of yours."
Dan panted harder, his knees shaking as he tried to stabilize his footing in the dark. Just how long have I actually been trapped in this hellhole? he thought frantically, his mind fracturing. I successfully got Isis all the way to the gate of reincarnation... but this godforsaken thing just won't let me go.
"You see, the ultimate problem you have is that you are constantly holding yourself back," the taunting voice came again, closer this time, practically whispering into his ear. "Your parents and the entire human kingdom died a horrific death just to save your life. But it shouldn't have been so. Even back then, you possessed the raw, cataclysmic power to change things. But instead? You ran like a coward. The world itself is actively trying to destroy you because you are a cancer corrupting its very system. You are simply too powerful for this reality, Dan... but you hold yourself back too much. You think you're being generous? But no. You will never be anything more than a disease to anyone who gets close to you."
"No..." Dan said slowly, his voice hoarse, scraping against his throat.
"What?" the voice asked, a mocking hint of curiosity rippling through the dark.
"I have friends... and people who aren't scared of me," he growled, his slitted eyes flashing with a sudden, defiant spark of magic as he bared his teeth.
"Go to sleep, kid," the voice commanded coldly, the illusion of patience completely vanishing. "I'll plunge you into yet another endless state of sleep. By the time you finally wake up from this one... I think things outside will have drastically changed."
The psychic shockwave rippled violently through his mind like a physical blow. Immediately, the red-haired boy's consciousness shattered, and Dan collapsed face-first into the absolute darkness, his body going completely limp as the void swallowed him whole.
"Master! Master, wake up!"
A gentle yet persistent hand tugged firmly at Dan's clothes.
"Just a few more minutes..." Dan muttered sleepily, turning away from the voice. He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut as he pulled the thick, comfortable cotton sheets even tighter around himself, burying his face into the soft pillow.
"You can't keep sleeping in like this, it's highly unhealthy," Areia said softly, her voice carrying a rare, comforting warmth. "Also... your Dad explicitly gave me your daily schedule," she muttered, the crisp sound of pages turning echoing in the quiet room as she flipped through a heavy bound notebook.
Dan sat upright instantly, the sheets throwing off his chest as he stared directly at Areia.
The little girl visibly flinched at his sudden, aggressive movement and took a tiny, cautious step back from the bed, but she kept her deep purple eyes locked tightly onto his.
Dan's eyes were wide with a mixture of profound shock and disorientation. "You're... you're a kid?!"
"Of course I am. And so are you," Areia sighed, letting out a small huff as she closed the heavy book with a soft thud. "What on earth is wrong with you today? Are you feeling sick? If so, we should absolutely visit the castle nurse right away."
"No..." Dan muttered, his mind spinning as he lazily scratched his messy mane of bright red hair. "It's not that. But... I feel like I've completely forgotten something incredibly important," he said, tightly holding his head between his palms as a faint, ghostly ache throbbed behind his eyes.
"Oh," Areia tilted her head, her pristine white hair shifting over her shoulder. "Maybe it's because your Mum promised to take you exploring out in the valley this afternoon?"
"Yeah..." Dan sighed heavily, prying himself away from the warmth of the mattress and getting off his bed. "Yeah, that's gotta be it."
He walked over to the tall, polished silver mirror standing in the corner of the room, picking idly at a few stray strands of his red hair. He stared at his small, unblemished reflection. Yeah, that's right. I'm Prince Dan of Ha'val. Of course I'm just a kid. I'm sure whatever I forgot wasn't actually that important anyway, he thought to himself, forcing the lingering shadows in his mind to fade away.
His eyes flickered through the mirror's reflection toward Areia, who was standing just a little bit taller than he was. Her striking white hair reached well below her waist, and she was tightly fitted into a neat, professional leather training outfit with a small practice sword strapped securely to her waist. She was holding the massive scheduling book tightly against her chest, her small, childlike hands barely big enough to grip the heavy leather cover.
A sudden, playful spark ignited in Dan's chest. "I'm feeling a bit mischievous today," he smiled, a confident smirk breaking across his young face. "Forget the schedule book, Areia. Why don't we just go out and have some real fun today?"
"I am pretty sure your Dad would be incredibly upset with both of us," Areia replied instantly, her inner knight speaking up. She paused, looking at his eager expression, and let out a soft, defeated sigh. "But... if that is truly what you wish, Master," she said, carefully setting the massive book down onto the unmade bed.
She turned back to face him fully, crossing her small arms, her small nose suddenly crinkling in disgust. "But first... I highly think you should clean up. I'm pretty sure the fish you ate for dinner yesterday is actively trying to suck the literal air right out of my lungs."
"I'm offended!" Dan declared, a massive grin breaking across his face as he took a dramatic step closer.
Areia backed away slowly, her purple eyes tracking him as Dan began taking slow, exaggeratedly predatory steps toward her. With a bright, mischievous glint in his eyes, he suddenly lunged right at her. "I, the ultimate Stink Monster, shall make you pay dearly for your insolence!!!" Dan yelled at the top of his lungs.
Areia let out a rare, melodic giggle as she whipped around and bolted straight out of the bedroom, her leather boots sliding slightly on the polished corridor floors. Dan was hot on her heels, his arms outstretched like claws.
"Master, stop!" she yelled back over her shoulder, her white hair flying behind her like a banner. "You'll fall!"
"Why on earth are you so fast for a human?!" Dan faked a ferocious dragon roar, his chest heaving as he tried to close the gap in the long, sunlit hallway.
"I'm a knight! Have you completely forgotten, you stupid dragon?!" Areia laughed, her voice echoing off the high stone arches. "I'd love to slay you right here, but I absolutely do not want any of your stink anywhere near my blade!"
With a graceful pivot, Areia bolted to the right, ducking around a massive marble pillar. She stopped short after a few paces, completely breathless from laughing, and turned around. A heavily panting Dan followed her slowly, his hands resting on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath.
"For a great and powerful dragon, you are incredibly weak, Master," she smiled, not a single strand of her long white hair out of place.
"No fair!" Dan panted, his face completely flushed. "You're just way too fast! I was running at absolute top speed, and it felt like you were barely running at all!"
"Again, I am a knight," Areia reminded him, a proud, beautiful smile gracing her lips.
"I've got you now!" Dan suddenly roared, using the last of his energy to spring forward.
He managed to grab Areia squarely by her shoulder, trying his absolute best to subdue her and drag her down. There was an intense, chaotic, and thoroughly awkward struggle as the two kids wrestled for dominance, before both parties completely lost their footing. In a wild, tangled blur of cotton nightwear and tough training leather, they crashed hard onto the floor together.
For a second, the hallway was dead silent, and then a massive fit of shared laughter erupted through the corridor.
It was a well-known fact within the castle walls that Areia simply outclassed Dan in every single way imaginable. She was a prodigy knight, after all; even at her remarkably young age, her raw speed and combat instincts meant she could easily subdue most grown warriors in the kingdom. But she only ever acted fragile and let her guard down around the prince. She was his sworn protector, his shield, and his closest friend.
"Get off me!" she laughed hysterically, pressing her hands against his chest to push him away. "I don't want to be completely taken over by the stink!"
"No way! I am absolutely not letting you go until you are fully corrupted!" Dan replied stubbornly, pinning her down with all his weight as the bright afternoon sun poured through the castle windows, painting the happy memory in gold.
"You guys are at it again."
A warm, deeply melodic voice drifted down from the far end of the corridor. Dan and Areia both looked up from their tangled mess on the floor, their laughter dying down into breathless grins.
Queen Lizzy stood a few paces away, the brilliant morning sun catching the wild, voluminous mane of crimson hair that sat over her head like a beautiful, untamed tornado. She shared the exact same piercing, naturally intense eyes as Dan—the kind that looked ready for a fight at any given moment—but in no way did it clash with her staggering, regal beauty. She smiled warmly at the two children, revealing rows of distinct, sharp dragon-like teeth.
"Good morning, troublemakers," she said, her voice dripping with maternal fondness.
"Mum...?" Dan uttered without even thinking, the word slipping past his lips before his mind could fully process it. A sudden, unexplained ache throbbed violently in the center of his chest.
"What else am I supposed to be?" Lizzy laughed, the sound clear and bright as she began walking toward them across the marble floor. "Some kind of weird bug?"
She stopped short. Areia was staring directly at Dan, her playful expression completely vanishing. Reaching up with a small, gentle hand, the white-haired girl tenderly wiped away a single, stray tear that had somehow crossed his cheek. She sat up slowly, her purple eyes filled with a deep, instinctual worry.
"Is something wrong, Dan?" Lizzy asked, her own voice instantly dropping into a tone of pure anxiety. She rushed forward, dropping to her knees on the polished floor and grabbing her son, carefully examining his face and shoulders. "Tell me, are you in pain? Were you hurt somewhere while you two were wrestling?"
"I... I don't know," Dan muttered, thoroughly confused as he reached up to scratch his eyes. The tears just kept welling up, blurring his vision. "I can't seem to stop crying. I feel perfectly fine, Mum... but at the same time, I really don't feel fine at all."
The hazy colors of the memory warped and blurred, spinning forward through time like a dream.
A few years went by in the blink of an eye. Dan was now fourteen.
He sat comfortably on the wooden stands overlooking the vast royal training grounds. The air inside the arena was hot, thick with the scent of old leather, sawdust, and the sharp ring of iron. Down in the center of the court, Areia was moving like an absolute demon. She ran around the obstacle course like an extremely fast, dangerously agile squirrel, her movements a blur of flawless white hair and dark leather armor.
She vaulted cleanly over a series of tall wooden dummies, dropped into a low, fluid roll, caught herself on a set of monkey bars, and flipped through the air. She landed effortlessly on her feet and immediately went into a dead sprint, maintaining every ounce of her explosive momentum without breaking a sweat. She had been pushing herself at this insane pace for hours, and Dan hadn't gotten tired of watching her for even a single second.
"You literally promised you were going to teach me how to do that!" he huffed sourly from the stands, resting his chin in his hands.
"I don't think you physically can," came Areia's lightning-fast reply.
Even while speaking, she didn't slow down. She dived cleanly through a small, moving hoop in the wall, ducked beneath a sweeping iron mallet, and shattered a heavy falling axe with a single, reinforced punch from her armored fist. Arrows suddenly shot from hidden mechanisms in the walls, but she parried them all in a shower of sparks with her twin daggers, never once breaking her stride.
"You should really try giving me a little bit of encouragement, you know!" Dan pouted, standing up from his seat and crossing his arms defensively. "Not only am I completely magicless right now, but I'm still totally weak in the physical department! How on earth is that fair?!" he yelled down at the field.
Areia abruptly halted, her chest heaving as her pale face dripped with sweat. She stood perfectly still, her long white hair clinging to her neck as she stared up at him. She looked at him for a long moment, as if he had just uttered something truly horrible, her purple eyes narrowing.
"What exactly do you need those things for... when I am always going to be by your side?" she huffed, wiping her brow.
"Yeah, yeah," Dan waved his hand airily, his cheeks flushing slightly as he walked down the steps of the stands. "I just hate it when I'm always the only one being protected. I'd really like to protect *you* for a change."
"That would be incredibly nice, yes," Areia smiled, a rare, soft expression breaking through her fierce warrior persona. She walked over to the edge of the railing as he stepped down, gratefully taking the white towel he held out to her and using it to wipe the sweat from her face.
"To be honest, I thought you'd immediately reject the idea and utter one of those stiff, knightly codes," Dan said, awkwardly scratching the back of his red hair.
"First of all, I know I address myself as a knight to outsiders, but I'm basically just your personal guard," Areia shrugged, casually swinging the towel around her hand. Then, her deep purple eyes grew remarkably warm, locking onto his. "If I would ever want anyone in this world to protect me, it would be none other than you, Master. But then again... I fully plan on becoming the strongest being alive, so you won't ever have to worry about that."
"How can you say such an incredibly embarrassing thing with a completely straight face?!" Dan stammered, a bright crimson flush spreading rapidly across his face. He quickly looked away, clearing his throat before turning back with a confident, cocky smile. "Also, like hell I'd ever just let you be the strongest! That number one spot is strictly reserved for me the moment I finally gain my magic. And when that day comes... I'm going to officially make you retire from being my guard."
"You foolish prince!!!"
A voice roared like thunder through the shattered corridor, tearing the peaceful dreamscape to pieces. The golden sunlight vanished, replaced by an oppressive, suffocating grey mist.
"He wasn't worth it! His parents and the entire kingdom died to save his pathetic life, and here he is, running around the world going on fun adventures without even avenging them!"
"He should be killed!" another voice screamed from the blinding fog. "Let's tie him to a horse and drag his body along the town square!"
"My family died because of you!" a ragged woman shrieked, emerging from the mist as she hurled a large, jagged stone directly at Dan's face.
*Slash!*
In a flash of silver light, Areia appeared out of nowhere, her blade splitting the massive boulder cleanly in two, forcing the projectiles to miss him entirely.
"Master, I think we need to leave right now. The refugees are getting dangerously rowdy," Areia muttered under her breath, her eyes darting across the swelling, angry crowd. But Dan stood there like an empty husk. His eyes were wide, staring blankly ahead, completely paralyzed. Seeing he wasn't keen to move, Areia grabbed him tightly by the wrist, using her raw strength to forcefully pull him away from the screaming mob.
"I died for your sake, along with a considerable amount of good warriors and men! Yet here you are, wasting away!"
An intense, razor-sharp voice cut through the air. Dan violently pulled his wrist out of Areia's grip and turned back. Standing tall in the mist was his father, King Arthur. His black hair, usually tied back in a neat, royal ponytail, was scattered, matted, and dripping with fresh blood. His usually calm, handsome face was twisted into a mask of pure, demonic fury.
"Avenge me!!!" Arthur roared, the sound rattling Dan's teeth.
Another man materialized right beside the king. His long blonde hair swept over his armored shoulder, but the metal plate across his chest was torn open by a massive, hollow wound. It was Mr. Flynn—his dad's best friend and legendary knight.
"Avenge me!!!" Mr. Flynn roared.
Then, Queen Lizzy materialized right beside them, her wild red hair smoking with black ash. "Avenge me, Dan!"
Within seconds, the entire desolate landscape was filled with the legions of the dead, all screaming, pointing their bloody fingers, and demanding vengeance. Far behind them, where the proud Kingdom of Ha'val once stood, a massive, smooth rock floated eerily in the sky. The kingdom was in absolute ruins, replaced by an impossibly large, bottomless crater in the earth.
"Kill them all!" the dead people roared in unison. "After all, it is *your* fault that caused the death of every single person here!" Arthur yelled.
"The kingdom your father and I sought to protect was completely destroyed because of your mere existence!" Lizzy shouted angrily, her sharp teeth bared. "The absolute least you could do is slaughter those people who sought to kill you!"
The overlapping screams echoed violently inside his brain, his mental state deteriorating rapidly under the psychological torture. Dan held his head between his hands and dropped heavily to his knees, screaming in pure agony. Hot, thick blood began streaming down from his eyes like tears.
"I didn't mean to! What am I supposed to do?! I'm weak!" he cried out into the void.
"Come off it!" his father yelled, stepping closer, his bloody hand slamming onto Dan's shoulder. "We know you have the absolute power to destroy this entire world! Stop playing the good kid and put those powers to use! Kill them all, Dan! Kill and avenge those who protected you with their literal lives!"
Dan slowly raised his bloodshot eyes to look at his parents and the massive army of dead citizens rallying behind them. The land was entirely desolate, devoid of life, vegetation, or food. The living and the dead were moving as one, coming together to punish his existence and his foolish, peaceful beliefs.
Dan's eyes flickered slowly, the light in them dying out. His pupils and irises began to dissolve, rapidly being replaced by a large, hollow, pitch-black ring.
"Yes... I ought to—" he began slowly, his voice completely devoid of emotion.
"What are you doing, Master?!, Stop spacing out!!"
Areia's desperate voice pierced through the darkness. Suddenly, a cataclysmic storm erupted. Areia yelled, shielding her purple eyes as a harsh, howling gale began tearing the very fabric of the world apart. "Take my hand, Master! Let's get out of this place!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, trying her absolute best to out-shout the roaring storm.
Dan just stared blankly at her, his dark, ringed eyes not moving a single millimeter.
"There should be a shelter somewhere nearby," she muttered, looking frantically around the empty void.
In an instant, a torrential downpour began. Massive waves of lightning assaulted the earth, exploding all around them. Defying Dan's complete reluctance to take her hand, Areia forcefully threw a large, heavy traveling cloak over both of them. She lunged forward, using her own armored body to pin Dan down against the earth, shielding him completely. The heavy rain struck the cloak with deafening force, but the water couldn't breach its dense, reinforced properties. Wrapped tightly in Areia's embrace, the howling wind seemed to slightly die away.
"I know it's bad," Areia whispered into his ear, her trembling fingers gently creasing through his messy red hair. "Yes, it's absolutely horrible. Your home is completely gone... your parents, and everything you ever loved, taken away in a single day. But please... please don't lose hope, Dan. I am right here with you. You will never be harmed as long as that fact remains true. Please, Dan... don't give up," she said softly, hugging him with a vice-like grip as the storm raged violently outside their cloak.
*BOOM!*
A blinding beam of pure electrical current struck straight through the sky, hitting the cloak and discharging directly into Areia's back. She grunted heavily, grinding her teeth in immense pain as she took the full, catastrophic force of the lightning strike right on her spine.
Dan's eyes widened, and he made a move to speak, but she immediately stopped him, tightening her hold.
"It's... it's totally fine," she whispered, forcing a small, breathless smile through the pain. "I'm insanely tough, remember? I could honestly take lightning strikes like this all year long and still be perfectly fine. So don't worry about me... just try to get some rest. I don't know how a storm like this can just appear out of nowhere, but I don't think it's going to stop anytime soon. Please sleep, Dan. I know you're so, so tired."
"What about you...?" Dan asked, staring up at her face.
In the dim, sporadic flashes of the lightning strikes that managed to sneak beneath the heavy cloak, Dan saw her beautiful, reassuring smile once again.
"I'm practically built for this," she whispered softly, her purple eyes shining with unyielding devotion. "Get some rest. When you finally wake up... it'll be my turn to sleep. Please, Master... please, Dan... get some rest."
Areia's voice carried through the chaos like a soft, enchanting melody. Slowly, the heavy darkness began to feel warm again. Dan found himself drifting away, his heavy eyelids closing tiredly as the suffocating pressure in his mind began to ease.
*Yeah... that's right,* he thought to himself slowly as his consciousness completely drifted into a deep sleep. *Areia is still right here by my side. As long as she's here... I can pull through anything.*