The sharp antiseptic scent of the hospital room was the first thing Jai noticed.
His eyes opened with a gasp.
For one brief second, he saw the sterile ceiling above him.
Then everything disappeared beneath blinding gold.
Jai found himself kneeling on polished marble.
His head was bowed.
Before him stood a presence so overwhelming that his entire body instinctively refused to rise.
A woman sat upon an enormous golden throne.
Her skin was an almost luminous white, while a thin white veil completely concealed her face.
Emperor Dominatrix.
Golden light filled the chamber.
But it wasn't merely light.
It was pressure.
Power.
An aura so immense that every breath Jai took felt as though it had to fight its way into his lungs.
"Son."
Her voice echoed through the chamber.
"Do you understand why I spoke those words to you?"
Jai tried to raise his head.
The pressure forced him lower.
"This power you have received is both powerful..."
Her voice became heavier.
"...and dangerous."
The golden aura intensified.
"And understand something else."
Jai's arms trembled against the floor.
"Wherever you go..."
A faint amusement entered her voice.
"...problems will follow you."
Jai gritted his teeth.
He wasn't afraid.
At least, he refused to admit that he was.
But the sheer difference in strength between them was horrifying.
Dominatrix laughed softly.
"See?"
Jai looked upward with difficulty.
"I have not released even one percent of my power."
Her golden presence pressed him farther toward the floor.
"And yet you kneel."
Then, just as suddenly—
The pressure vanished.
Jai nearly collapsed forward.
He took a deep breath and slowly pushed himself upright.
Dominatrix remained seated upon her throne.
"You desire strength."
Her voice became calm.
"If you truly want to become strong, then fight for it."
Jai listened carefully.
"And fight for justice."
The words settled inside him.
Jai finally found enough courage to speak.
"Madam..."
Dominatrix tilted her veiled head slightly.
"What exactly are these powers?"
No answer.
Jai continued.
"Who are you really?"
Still nothing.
"And who was the person you warned me about?"
The air seemed to become colder despite the golden light.
Jai's expression tightened.
"There is someone else."
Dominatrix remained still.
"A man with black hair and red eyes."
For the first time, Jai thought he sensed a change in her presence.
Small.
Almost impossible to notice.
But there.
"He keeps appearing in my dreams."
Jai stepped forward.
"Sometimes I see him in a strange room."
"Sometimes..."
He hesitated.
"...I see him killing people."
Dominatrix said nothing.
Jai's voice became more urgent.
"Who is he?"
"Why do I feel connected to him?"
"Do you know him?"
Beneath the white veil, Jai could almost imagine her smiling.
"Son."
Her voice became strangely gentle.
"You will understand everything..."
The gold around her began to fracture into countless glowing particles.
"...when the correct time arrives."
"Wait!"
The throne disappeared.
"Tell me—"
Everything shattered.
Jai's eyes snapped open.
Cold sweat covered his body.
His hospital gown clung to his skin.
He stared upward.
The hospital ceiling had returned.
For several seconds, he simply breathed.
Then he turned toward the window.
Darkness.
Night had fallen.
Jai slowly sat up.
His body felt...
different.
He moved one arm.
No pain.
He moved the other.
Nothing.
He carefully stood.
The terrible burns and injuries from the explosion were gone.
Completely healed.
Jai stared at his hands.
Three days of injuries... gone?
Whatever treatment the doctors had used had worked far better than he expected.
Even more surprising—
His disguise remained intact.
Arthur's face still looked back at him from the small mirror near the bed.
Jai lightly touched his cheek.
Even after nearly dying, the disguise didn't collapse.
Mable's refined artifact truly was extraordinary.
He needed air.
Real air.
Something untouched by visions, explosions, kings, and prophecies.
Jai quietly left the room.
The hospital garden was almost completely empty.
Night-blooming flowers filled the air with a rich fragrance.
Jai walked slowly between the plants until he found a simple black wooden bench.
He sat down.
For the first time in what felt like days, no one needed anything from him.
No one was attacking him.
No one was asking questions.
No one was dying.
Jai leaned back.
The moon hung high above the garden.
Its light was unusual tonight.
Blue.
Not merely pale moonlight.
A deep, almost supernatural azure glow spread across the plants and stone paths, making the entire garden look like the shore of some silent, otherworldly sea.
Jai stared at it.
Something about the light felt familiar.
Then footsteps approached.
Jai turned.
A man walked toward the bench.
His appearance immediately caught Jai's attention.
White skin.
Vibrant blue hair.
And eyes the color of a deep ocean.
The stranger wore a brown shirt beneath a finely made brown coat, along with black trousers.
He sat beside Jai as though they had arranged to meet.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
The man smiled.
Jai returned a cautious smile.
"Hey, mister."
The stranger looked toward him.
"What are you doing at a hospital this late?"
Jai glanced over the man's body.
"You don't look injured."
The stranger chuckled.
"Neither do you."
Jai's expression tightened slightly.
"Are you a patient?"
The man's sea-blue eyes remained fixed on him.
"Are you an outsider?"
Jai immediately answered.
"I'm a patient."
Too quickly.
The stranger noticed.
Jai continued.
"The doctors healed me."
The man nodded.
"And what happened to you?"
Jai hesitated.
"An accident."
"What kind?"
"A large explosion happened at the palace."
The stranger's smile changed.
Only slightly.
"Oh."
Jai looked at him.
"So you were there."
Jai froze.
The man turned toward him fully.
"You were inside the palace when it happened."
Jai felt cold.
"How do you know that?"
The man's smile widened.
"Because..."
He leaned back casually.
"...I am the reason it happened."
Silence.
Jai's entire body went rigid.
The stranger continued.
"And you..."
His eyes sharpened.
"...are trying very hard to hide who you really are."
Jai slowly stood.
The man's smile became cruel.
"Mr. Jai."
Jai's heart stopped for a second.
"How do you know my name?"
The man rose calmly.
"I think you already know the answer."
"No."
Jai stepped toward him.
"I don't."
The stranger started walking away.
Jai's hand moved instantly.
Golden light flashed.
His sword materialized in his grip.
He swung—not at the man's body, but close enough that the golden blade tore through the air beside him.
A warning.
The blue-haired stranger stopped.
Then slowly looked back.
He smiled.
No fear.
No surprise.
Nothing.
"Don't worry."
Jai tightened his grip.
"We will meet again."
The man's sea-blue eyes gleamed beneath the strange moonlight.
"And when we do..."
His smile widened.
"...it will be an extraordinary day."
Jai narrowed his eyes.
"For you."
A pause.
"And for this entire kingdom."
Then he vanished.
There was no flash.
No sound.
One second he stood there.
The next...
nothing.
Only empty moonlight remained.
Jai's sword stayed raised.
Sweat slowly rolled down his face.
The peaceful garden suddenly felt suffocating.
He knew.
Jai's breathing became heavier.
He knew my real name.
Not Arthur.
Not his disguise.
Jai.
Which meant—
He probably knows everything else too.
His identity.
His family.
Perhaps even Aureon.
Jai slowly lowered the sword.
He said he caused the palace explosion.
Was he the mysterious man who had destroyed the artifact controlling Abinay?
Was he part of the Shadow Ledger?
Was he the King Abinay had spoken about?
Too many questions.
No answers.
Jai remained in the garden for what felt like only a few minutes.
But slowly, the strange blue glow began to disappear.
Golden light stretched across the horizon.
Morning.
Jai blinked.
Morning?
He looked toward the sky.
Had he really been sitting there that long?
A voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Mr. Arthur?"
Jai turned.
A nurse approached with a doctor beside her.
"What are you doing out here?"
Jai slowly lowered his hand from the sword hilt.
"Just getting some air."
The doctor looked relieved.
"It's good to see you awake."
Jai frowned.
"How long was I asleep?"
The doctor's expression became slightly surprised.
"You don't know?"
"No."
"Three days."
Jai stared.
"Three?"
The doctor nodded.
"You were unconscious for three full days after the explosion."
Jai looked toward the hospital building.
"What about my brother?"
"And my friends?"
"They returned to the palace once their conditions stabilized."
The doctor smiled faintly.
"But they came here every day."
"They were waiting for you to wake."
Before Jai could answer, footsteps sounded behind them.
"Bro."
Jai turned.
James.
He walked stiffly toward him.
The injuries were obvious.
Dark bruises covered his skin.
His movements were still unnatural, as though every step hurt.
Jai immediately walked toward him.
Then, without warning, he hugged him.
James froze.
Completely.
"...Bro?"
Jai tightened the hug for a second.
James slowly raised his hands.
"What happened to you?"
Jai released him.
Then his eyes moved across James's injuries.
His expression changed.
"Why are you still hurt?"
James opened his mouth.
Jai turned toward the doctor.
"Why wasn't he treated?"
The doctor's posture stiffened.
Jai's voice remained quiet.
But the anger beneath it was unmistakable.
"Why is he still covered in bruises?"
The doctor immediately explained.
"Sir, his injuries require a Tier 6 Healing Artifact."
Jai listened.
"We only possess four artifacts of that level."
"And each one?"
"Requires three days to recover after use."
Jai looked back toward James.
The doctor continued.
"After the explosion, we had several critically injured patients."
"We prioritized those at immediate risk."
Jai's expression remained hard.
"You were one of them."
The doctor began listing the others.
"Prince Zayn."
"Young Arthur."
"One of the Royal Guards."
"And you."
Jai slowly understood.
"James was stable enough to wait."
The doctor nodded.
"We planned to treat him today."
James shrugged.
"I'm alive."
Jai looked at him.
"That's not the point."
James smiled faintly.
"It kind of is."
Jai said nothing.
Then a verse surfaced in his mind.
The weight of worlds rests on my hand,
A hero's heart, a frozen plea;
I see the storm engulf the land,
With strength enough to only see.
Jai closed his eyes.
His anger faded.
Not because the problem was solved.
But because he finally understood what truly bothered him.
It wasn't the doctors.
It wasn't the hospital.
It wasn't even James's bruises.
It was himself.
He possessed Aureon.
Golden blood.
A legacy tied to Emperor Dominatrix herself.
He had visions of impossible places.
Enemies could appear inside his dreams.
A stranger could see through his disguise with a glance.
Someone had remotely turned Abinay into a living bomb and destroyed part of a royal palace.
And despite everything Jai possessed...
he had been unable to stop any of it.
James was hurt.
Arthur had been burned.
Zayn had nearly died.
King Borin had lost part of his hand.
And Jai—
Jai had been thrown through the palace like everyone else.
Powerless.
His fingers slowly curled into fists.
What is the point of having power if I can't protect anyone?
For the first time since awakening Aureon, Jai didn't feel proud of his potential.
He felt small.
Painfully small.
This world was filled with monsters whose power stood far beyond his understanding.
And now those monsters knew his name.
Jai opened his eyes.
James was still standing in front of him.
Alive.
For now.
But Jai couldn't escape one terrifying realization.
If he remained this weak...
the next time something happened, there might not be a Tier 6 Healing Artifact waiting to save everyone.