After the whole busy day practicing with elder, sambha has time that he wish to spend with his brothers and sister he met recently. Upuntil now he was alone in whole castle.
Free time without lessons, quite without anyone's supervision.
Not carefully planned hours divided between tutors and watchers.
It was just he and his... freedom.
He dragged Limbo through the inner paths with familiar excitement, darting ahead and doubling back, laughing as if the palace were suddenly smaller now that he was allowed to run through it without being stopped.
"Here!" Sambha called, pointing toward a cluster of trees near the outer edge of the inner grounds. "This one's my favourite."
Limbo followed at a steady pace, Rin and Gaja were a short distance behind.
The tree stood taller than the rest, it's roots partially exposed, thick and gnarled with age. Marks scratch into the bark told their own story —failed climb, successful ones, and stubborn attempts repeated over time.
Everything was included in Sambha talk.
"I climbed this before they noticed," sambha said proudly. "I hid there when I didn't want lessons."
Gaja chuckled. "That explains the scratches."
Ein smiled faintly, watching sambha scramble up the the lowest branch with practiced ease. He wasn't careless.
He was...practiced.
As if he'd stolen moments like this whenever he could.
They moved on.
Sambha showed them a small hall between two walls where sound echoes strangely, a patch of stone warmed perfectly by afternoon light, and a wide open ground near the inner gardens where children, rarely were allowed to play.
"And that way," sambha said, pointing towards a white stone structure partially visible between pillars, "is the common alter."
Rin titled her head. "Common alter of what?"
"Everyone goes there were offer respect and prayers," Sambha said while nodding head.
"When?" Gaja asked.
"Brahma-muhurta."
Rin blinked. "Brahma...what?"
Sambha stopped walking and turned towards her, surprised she didn't know. "The time before sunrise," he explained earnestly. "About forty-five minutes. Mother says it's when the mind is quite and the whole world listens better and answers."
Limbo glanced at him. "You woke up that early?" Somehow this term felt familiar to him but don't know why.
Sambha nodded. "Mother's does. Father too. So i do."
And if some time I didn't wake up father wakes me sometimes saying it's necessary for my own good.
But I don't know how.
Rin exchanged a glance with Gaja.
That ... required more than it should have, dedication and decipline.
They continue to walk.
The air shifted around them subtly as they moved deeper, the flow of mana changes with texture, not only heavier, but more organised. Limbo noticed it immediately.
Then sambha stopped.
Not abruptly, he wasn't stumbled suddenly.
He just... Stopped.
The laughter drained from his face, his steps slowed until he stood completely still.
"Sambha?" Rin called.
No response.
He stared ahead, eyes unfocussed, fixed on a point none of them could see. "Sambha," Gaja said more sharply.
Still nothing..
Rin stepped closer and reached at his shoulder. The moment her fingers touched him, his knees buckled.
Limbo caught him before he could hit the ground.
"Sambha!"
His body was warm. Breathing steady.
But his eyes—still opened —were locked on nothing. Rin checked him.
Limbo scan the area but didn't found anything.
"Gaja," Limbo said, already lifting him. "Run."
They didn't ask where
They ran.
A guard at a distance turned around at the sound of footsteps.
"Call a doctor!" Limbo shouted. "Now!"
The guard hesitated —then he saw the child in his arms.
He ran.
Another guard sprinted in the opposite direction.
By the time they reached Sambha's chamber, servants were already moving, clearing space, bringing water.
Sambha's mother arrived first in hurry.
She didn't cry out loud.
She crossed the room in second and knelt beside the bed as Limbo laid sambha down carefully.
"What happened?" She asked, voice steady but tight.
"He stopped," Rin said quickly. "Out of nowhere, just... Stopped."
The doctor arrived the moment later, hands already glowing faintly with diagnostic mana.
He examined sambha carefully.
Too carefully and thoughtful.
Minutes passed.
"I don't see illness," he finally said. "No external mana disturbance, no injury."
Nor the signs of poison. Then how?
Gaja spoke up. "He trained earlier. Then insisted on coming with us. He looked tired." The doctor nodded slowly. "Fatigue. Mental and physical."
Rin frowned. "That caused him to collapsed like that?"
The doctor hesitated. "It... shouldn't. Not normally."
That was when Limbo noticed it.
She enquire about his health and condition.
The look the two mothers shared.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
The elder entered next, followed by the second queen. She moved with composure but worry threaded clearly though her controlled expression.
That didn't last long as she saw sambha.
The king arrived last.
He took in the scene in one glance.
"Report," he said.
The doctor explained again.
The king listened.
Then said, "Delay training for two days."
The elder inclined his head. "Understand."
The king turned away fromthe bed.
"He will recover," he said. "Ensure rest."
That was all.
Rin felt her jaw tighten.
Gaja fists clenched.
Limbo didn't speak but something dark flickered behind his eyes.
The elder cleared his throat. "He needs rest. All of you should leave."
Servants moved them out gently.
Rin hesitated, looking back once.
Gaja followed.
Limbo turned to go—
— before he go, met the king's gazed.
For a moment, neither looked away.
The king saw it.
That anger in eyes, loud noises that was locked behind the close mouth.
Not reckless, but sharp.
Alive.
"Stay," the king said quietly.
The doors closed behind the others.
Silence settled.
"You are angry," the king said.
"Yes," Limbo replied.
Then king turned fully towards him. "Why may I know the reason?"
"Because you treated it like a schedule issue," Limbo said. "Don't you see, the child collapsing."
The king did not flinch.
"You think I do not care," he said.
"I think you're prioritising what comes next over what just happened."
A pause.
Then the king said, "you think care is softness."
Limbo didn't respond.
"I think," the king continues, "you have not seen what happens when preparation is delayed."
He gestured towards the door. "You carried him when he fell."
"Yes."
"You did not hesitate."
"No."
"That," king said, "is why you are here."
Limbo stiffened.
"You are not bound to this place," the king said. " Nor the chosen by it."
He stepped closer.
"But you act when others calculate."
The room become heavier.
"I will not explain everything," the king said. "Not at least yet."
Limbo met his gaze."I'm not asking everything."
"Good," the king replied. "Because what sambha carried is not power. It is reposibility."
"That he must carry."
He turned away.
"For now," he said, "your role is simple."
Limbo waited.
"Stay as you are," the king finished. "And do not mistake restraint for indefference."
The conversation ended there.
When Limbo finally left the room, the palace felt different.
It wasn't warmer like before, nor the colder.
Just aware.
And somewhere within, a child slept, unconscious.
Protected, and already carrying more than he understood and handle.
What's the mystery of sambha?
What king wants to say?
Will Limbo be able to solve this mysteries.
What is coming next?
Stay... With story to know more.
And help me in comments if you found it.