Chapter 8: Beneath the Palace
869 Words
Nyx dropped to one knee and pressed her palm against the arena floor.
The vibration came again.
This time, everyone nearby felt it.
The cheering crowd slowly fell silent.
“What was that?” Brakus asked.
Master Kael’s expression hardened.
“It came from below.”
King Joseph immediately rose from the royal balcony.
“Clear the arena!”
Royal guards sprang into action, escorting spectators toward the exits. At first, many protested, believing it was merely a precaution.
Then the ground trembled again.
A c***k appeared across the center of the arena.
The protests turned into screams.
⸻
“Protect the civilians!” Kael ordered.
The Royal Vanguard moved without hesitation.
Brakus planted himself between the panicked crowd and the widening c***k, using his massive shield to stop falling chunks of stone.
“Liora, take the eastern exit!”
She nodded and guided frightened children and elderly guests toward safety.
“Taren!”
“I’m on it!”
Like a gust of wind, Taren darted through the arena, helping guards lead people away before panic turned into chaos.
Nyx climbed onto the arena wall, scanning every corner.
“There’s no attack…”
She whispered.
“So what’s causing this?”
⸻
The tremors suddenly stopped.
Silence returned.
For a brief moment, everyone believed the danger had passed.
Then—
BOOM!
The center of the arena exploded.
Dust and shattered stone shot into the air.
A massive hole opened where warriors had been standing only moments earlier.
The Royal Vanguard instinctively jumped back.
When the dust settled…
A dark staircase was revealed beneath the arena.
It spiraled deep into the earth.
No one spoke.
King Aldren stared in disbelief.
“I’ve visited Azul many times…”
“There was never a staircase beneath this arena.”
“There wasn’t,” King Joseph replied quietly.
Master Kael stepped closer to the opening.
“It was sealed.”
“For centuries.”
⸻
“The Chronicles…” Queen Elenora murmured.
Every eye turned toward her.
She continued, “Ancient Mystral texts mention a hidden network beneath the Kingdom of Azul. They called it The Veins of the First Kingdom.”
Master Kael nodded slowly.
“I thought it was only a legend.”
“So did I.”
Cassian stepped beside Bashan, peering into the darkness below.
“Looks like legends have a habit of proving people wrong.”
Bashan smirked.
“Shall we find out?”
Before either prince could move, Kael raised a hand.
“No.”
The single word echoed with authority.
“If someone opened this passage today…”
“They wanted us to find it.”
⸻
Night fell before the arena could be secured.
The rulers gathered in the palace war room while engineers examined the collapsed structure.
On the table lay old maps of the capital.
None showed what lay beneath the arena.
“It’s as if an entire section of the city was erased from history,” Queen Elenora observed.
Master Kael unfolded a weathered scroll from the royal archives.
Its edges had almost crumbled with age.
“My predecessor left this.”
He pointed to a faded symbol—a circle crossed by three crimson lines.
“I never understood its meaning.”
Nyx’s eyes widened.
“The same symbol…”
She reached into her pouch and placed the crimson feather beside the scroll.
“It was carved into the feather’s metal clasp.”
Silence swept through the room.
The Crimson Order hadn’t just infiltrated the summit.
They had been searching for something beneath the palace.
⸻
Outside the council chamber, the Royal Vanguard waited.
“So…” Taren said, breaking the silence.
“Anyone else hoping this is just an abandoned wine cellar?”
Brakus laughed.
“I don’t think wine cellars usually make the ground explode.”
Liora folded her arms.
“If the Crimson Order wants whatever is down there…”
“We can’t let them reach it first.”
Azul looked toward the palace windows, where the moonlight reflected across the Endless Stream.
“For the first time…”
“I feel like we’re fighting an enemy we don’t understand.”
Bashan rested his sword across his shoulder.
“Then we’ll understand them.”
“And if that doesn’t work…”
He smiled confidently.
“We’ll beat them anyway.”
Cassian overheard the remark as he entered the hallway.
A grin spread across his face.
“Now that’s the Bashan I expected.”
The two princes exchanged another competitive glance.
Seraphina, standing a short distance away, couldn’t help but smile.
“They really never stop.”
“No,” Azul replied with a quiet laugh.
“They don’t.”
⸻
Deep beneath the palace…
Far below the newly opened staircase…
A single blue crystal suddenly flickered to life.
Then another.
And another.
The ancient corridor slowly illuminated, revealing towering stone statues lining both sides of the passage.
Each statue depicted a warrior wearing armor unlike anything known in the present day.
At the end of the corridor stood an enormous stone door.
Etched across its surface were six empty handprints.
The blue light pulsed gently.
As if…
It had been waiting.
For six chosen heroes to finally return.
- Writer
