The night had come early over the Aurelion wildlands.
The twin suns dipped beyond the mountains, leaving behind streaks of crimson light that bled through the mist. The rivers glowed faintly, carrying reflections of broken stars, and the air smelled of thunder and dust.
Mukul had been restless since the messenger's visit.
He hadn't said much since hearing about his father's illness, but his silence carried enough weight for all to feel. Faith watched him from where she sat polishing her silver gauntlet. Luna leaned lazily on a boulder, pretending to be relaxed—but her eyes never left the surrounding shadows. Nira, meanwhile, sharpened her blade with slow, quiet movements.
The wilderness was rarely peaceful two nights in a row. Something always moved in the dark—beasts, spirits, and worse. Tonight, the quiet felt wrong. It was too heavy, too perfect.
"You're brooding again," Luna said finally. "That usually means something bad's coming."
Mukul didn't respond. He stood on the ridge, wind whipping his cloak, eyes scanning the storm-lit horizon. "I can feel it," he murmured. "We're being watched."
Faith stood too, summoning a faint glow of light around her by instinct. "Where?"
"Everywhere," he said—and the next second, arrows flew.
They cut through the air like black streaks of lightning. One struck the rock near Luna's head, sparking off her barrier. Another grazed Nira's arm, leaving a thin line of blood.
"Ambush!" Nira shouted, already leaping to her feet.
Figures burst from the trees and ridgelines—long-cloaked assassins, faces hidden, blades glimmering with poison light. Their movements were silent but deadly, precise as machine rhythm. These weren't local bandits; these were trained killers. Royal assassins.
Faith raised her staff and released a ring of light that flared outward, forcing a few attackers back. "These are from the Court!" she shouted. "Varcan sent them!"
Mukul's eyes hardened. "Then let's send them back in pieces."
He summoned his flame. Golden sparks exploded around his body, swirling into a blazing aura—but this world's energy twisted unpredictably, resisting his old control. His divine and Aurelion sides clashed like two storms meeting midair. The power surged in his veins, unstable and painful.
He parried one assassin's strike, then another, his movements fueled by instinct. Five blades came at him at once. Nira intercepted two with a flash of lightning, Faith deflected one with divine light, but the fourth caught Mukul's side. The poisoned blade bit deep.
The world slowed. He could feel the poison—the Rift venom—spread through his bloodstream, burning hot and cold at once. He staggered back, barely managing to create a burst of flame that turned the attacker to ash.
"Mukul!" Faith ran to him, her light flickering around his wound. "Stay still—I can heal, but it's unstable—"
He grabbed her wrist, shaking his head. "No… It's not poison. It's a trigger. Something's—"
Before he could finish, a burst of energy erupted from within him, throwing everyone back. Luna hit a tree, Nira crashed into the ground, and Faith was shielded by a barrier just in time.
The air cracked open around Mukul—a storm of fire and gold light swirling upward into the sky. The assassins froze mid-attack, blinded by the radiant force that poured from his body. Their cloaks tore away under the shockwave, revealing the crest of Solaryn's secret guard—the Emperor's silent killers.
But even they weren't prepared for what came next.
Mukul fell to his knees, clutching his head. Two voices warred within him—his own and another, older one. His memories—the human, the divine, and the Aurelion—all collided violently. The two lives he had lived refused to stay separate any longer.
Luna forced herself up, shouting over the roar of wind. "He's transcending! His soul—it's merging!"
Faith's eyes widened. "Transmigration…"
Lightning snapped across the sky as the energy storm reached its peak. The assassins tried to flee, but Nira's wrath fell upon them like thunder. Her blade cut through the remaining shadows—pure lightning cleaving dark.
Mukul's body glowed brighter, the golden armor on his form cracking, reforming, and reshaping itself in perfect harmony with his own essence. The old patterns of Solaryn flame fused with crimson runes of the Rift—the two energies that had once fought inside him finally aligning.
Flashes of memory poured through him.
He saw himself as the exiled prince, kneeling before Varcan's throne.
He saw his past life as the divine traveler who crossed realms beyond stars.
And now, he saw who he was meant to be.
One soul. One destiny.
The storm condensed into a single beam of light and sank back into his chest. The glow faded, leaving only quiet rain and the smell of scorched stone.
When the dust cleared, Faith, Luna, and Nira rushed toward him. Mukul was still kneeling but breathing steadily. His eyes, once bright gold, now shimmered with threads of red and white flame. His aura had changed—deeper, denser, perfectly calm yet unbearably powerful.
"Mukul," Faith whispered, "are you…?"
He stood slowly, brushing ash from his armor. His wound had vanished. "I'm fine," he said. His voice sounded different now—more resonant, almost echoing with two tones at once. "The rift inside me… it's gone. The transmigration—it's complete."
Luna gave a low whistle. "You look terrifying."
Nira smirked faintly. "You sound royal again. Guess we lost the old moody version."
A faint smile curved Mukul's lips, though his eyes burned with quiet fire. "No. You didn't. He's still here. All of him is."
He turned toward the remains of the assassins—only ashes and steel. "Varcan knows I'm alive now. Sending these men was his mistake."
Faith nodded warily. "He won't stop here."
"Good," Mukul said. "Then neither will I."
The wind howled again, scattering embers through the dark sky. Mukul raised his hand, watching the flames twist into a perfect, balanced sphere—golden light and crimson rift energy intertwining without resistance.
His eyes narrowed toward the distant line of Solaryn's glow on the horizon. "The prince they exiled is gone," he said softly. "Now begins the return of the Emperor's son."
And with that, the night bowed in silence before his awakening.