The palace of Aerinthal was unrecognizable.
Chandeliers swayed violently, scattering shards of reflected candlelight across the polished marble.
Courtiers froze mid-step, eyes wide, whispers of calamity running through the hall like wildfire.
Even the most composed dukes and nobles could not mask the chill of fear coiling in their stomachs.
At the center, King Aerion Skyfall remained seated on his gilded throne, storm blue eyes sharp beneath furrowed brows.
He could feel the panic in the hall, the tension in every breath, yet he exuded the calm of a man who had weathered storms before.
His deep navy tunic glimmered faintly under candlelight, silver wind motifs embroidered on his chest, cape trailing behind him like authority incarnate.
"Form protective lines!" Aerion commanded, his voice rolling like distant thunder.
"Evacuate the civilians and guests of the Gravemont household.
Every corridor, every passage shield them.
We will not bow to fear!"
Amid the chaos, Kael crimson eyes scanned the hall.
He noted the tremble of the courtiers, the precision of the soldiers, the unwavering calm of the King.
But it was a single figure that drew his attention a man whose presence radiated authority, danger, and arrogance all at once.
His laugh echoed softly, aristocratic and dangerous.
"You are embarrassing yourself, boy.
I am not a calamity I am just an old man."
Kael chuckled.
"Yes… yes, of course, Grandpa."
"Hahaha! Grandpa, oh, I like it.
First time in five hundred years someone dared call me that.
I'm Charles Ashborn the Third.
Charles's eyes glimmered with amusement and challenge.
Kael's gaze sharpened.
"Huh… five hundred years?"
Charles smirked.
"Shall we begin, boy?"
In an instant, Kael's gaze ignited with a furious red.
Air whirled violently around him as he combined it with his lightning element.
In the blink of an eye, he was face-to-face with Charles.
His fist beaming with purple , crackling with violet energy, slammed into the old man with the force of a gravity punch.
Kael hovered mid-air, every nerve alive with power.
"I thought you'd never ask," Kael said, a grin spreading across his face.
"So, this is the storm they speak of," Charles murmured, brushing off dust, his fire element shimmering faintly along his palms and sleeves.
The ground beneath his heels melted slightly as heat licked the marble.
Outside the shattered palace, Aerinthal soldiers witnessed the titanic display with awe.
Kael's command rang out.
"Protect the civilians! Move toward the cities! This is just the beginning!"
Obedient but trembling, they obeyed, leaving the palace grounds to Kael's duel with Charles
Kael unleashed a storm spears of air slicing outward in every direction as fire erupted around Charles, scorching the ground beneath his feet.
Their clash tore through the palace grounds; stone melted, trees crumbled into ash, and the earth split under the fury of their strikes.
Charles didn't falter.
Flames roared at his heels, stone melting beneath each step as he blurred across the battlefield.
Fire gathered in his fists, searing brighter than molten steel then he struck.
The impact hurled Kael through the palace wall in an explosion of dust and shattered stone.
Debris rained from above while onlookers stood frozen, their breath caught at the scale of destruction unleashed in mere moments.
As the dust thinned, Kael stepped through, sword drawn, a blaze of fire coursing along the full length of the blade.
His eyes burned, shifting from cold blue to a searing flame, ignited with elemental fury.
He lowered his stance right foot braced, left foot poised forward, blade angled for the strike.
Green-tinged air spiraled around him, twisting into the fire that danced along his weapon.
Every muscle coiled like a drawn bow, his very presence radiating lethal intent.
Kael's voice cut through the charged air.
"Finally… an opponent"
Dust and ash filled the hall, drifting through shattered windows as moonlight highlighted Kael's poised stance and Charles's fiery smirk.
Neither had yielded. Outside, far beyond the palace walls, the night remained ominously still… but something stirred.
A tremor rippled through the earth, subtle yet deep enough to unsettle stone.
An unnatural wind slithered across the city cold, heavy, whispering of something vast.
Beyond the horizon, shapes too immense to yet be seen began to stir.
Four presence like titan waking from a long slumber, their weight pressing against the world itself.
Kael's gaze snapped to the distance, his senses alight with the rising storm.
Charles followed, fire curling tighter around his frame, his eyes narrowing.
And in that suspended heartbeat, the palace, the city, and the duel itself stood poised in silence the fragile calm before an unfathomable storm.
To be continued.....