The chanting grew louder.
Not prayers.
Not blessings.
Farewell chants.
Ancient words spoken only when the kingdom had already accepted loss.
King Kevin's arms felt heavier with every step.
Both children slept against his chest.
One warm.
One cold.
Mother Telsa walked ahead, her staff striking the marble floor with a dull, hollow sound.
Each strike echoed like a countdown.
They reached the outer sanctum—
a circular platform carved directly into the mountain, open to the burning sky.
Beyond it… space.
Mars trembled beneath their feet, as if the planet itself was begging them to hurry.
Kevin's voice cracked.
"You said he is not evil," he whispered.
"Then how can the answer be death?"
Mother Telsa stopped.
For a long moment, she said nothing.
Then—
"I have destroyed armies. I have erased bloodlines. I have sealed gods."
She turned.
"But I cannot destroy a child… who has not yet chosen who he will become."
Kevin looked up, hope flickering painfully in his eyes.
"Then what do we do?"
Mother Telsa closed her eyes.
Her voice broke for the first time.
"We remove him from the planet."
THE FAILED EXECUTION
She held out her hands.
Dark light gathered around the cursed child—
spells older than the kingdom itself.
The air screamed.
The mark near the baby's eye pulsed violently.
Mars howled.
The spell shattered.
Mother Telsa was thrown backward, crashing into a pillar.
Her staff split in half.
Silence followed.
She struggled to stand, breath ragged.
"It rejects me," she whispered.
"The negative force is protecting itself."
Her eyes met Kevin's.
"If I try again… the planet will fracture."
Kevin clutched the children tighter.
"So he lives?"
Mother Telsa shook her head slowly.
"Not here."
THE ASTEROID FALL
A sudden impact shook the sky.
A blazing object tore through the atmosphere, crashing far beyond the sanctum—
an asteroid, broken and burning, embedded near the edge of the planetary ring.
Dust and fire rose like a scar across space.
Mother Telsa stared at it.
Her breath stopped.
"That impact… created a pocket."
Kevin frowned.
"A pocket?"
"A place the planet no longer feels," she said softly.
"A wound… disconnected from Mars itself."
She looked at the cursed child.
"For a short time… he can exist there."
Kevin understood.
Tears streamed freely now.
"You're asking me to abandon my son."
Mother Telsa stepped closer.
"I am asking you to save both of them."
THE EXILE
They reached a small emergency vessel—
ancient, unmanned, meant for lost cargo and dying stars.
Kevin kissed the peaceful child's forehead first.
Then… the cursed one opened his white eye.
Not crying.
Not afraid.
Watching his father.
Kevin collapsed.
"I'm sorry," he whispered again and again.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
Mother Telsa gently took the cursed baby.
Wrapped him in a sealed cradle.
She hesitated.
Just once.
Then placed him inside the vessel.
The door closed.
The launch sequence activated.
Kevin screamed as the ship detached, drifting toward the asteroid's shadow.
A single life… cast into darkness.
Mars went still.
The fire slowed.
The tremors weakened.
The planet breathed again.
THE UNEXPECTED VOICE
As silence settled—
A calm mechanical voice echoed across the sanctum.
"Unidentified lifeform detected."
"Energy signature: Non-Martian."
"Approaching trajectory confirmed."
Mother Telsa turned sharply.
Her eyes widened.
In the distance, a sleek airship emerged from hyperspace—
silver-blue, marked with symbols unknown to Mars.
The voice continued.
"This is a research vessel from Neptune."
"We are tracking a rare negative-energy anomaly."
"Do not interfere."
Kevin froze.
Mother Telsa whispered—
"They felt him…"
The ship changed course.
Heading straight toward the asteroid.
Toward the child.
Her hands clenched.
"What we cast away… has already been claimed."
TO BE CONTINUED…