Episode 13: The forgotten prince
1179 Words
Episode 13: The Forgotten Prince
The Hollow Beasts charged like a tidal wave.
Their deafening roars shook the hidden camp as they tore through trees and earth. Their glowing green eyes burned with madness, yet beneath their monstrous growls were faint cries that sounded painfully human.
“Protect the children!” Elias shouted.
The Ashen Circle formed a defensive line.
Kael rushed forward without hesitation.
His sword carved through the first beast’s claws before spinning to knock another away. Unlike ordinary enemies, he deliberately struck to disable rather than kill.
Aurelia noticed.
“He’s still holding back…”
Rowan nodded while casting glowing barriers around the villagers.
“Because he believes they’re victims, not monsters.”
⸻
Lyra raised her crystal staff.
The floating shards around her glowed silver.
“Celestial Array.”
The crystals scattered into the air, forming a massive circle above the battlefield.
Thousands of tiny stars appeared inside it.
A gentle silver rain fell across the camp.
Every Hollow Beast touched by the light slowed down.
The darkness covering their bodies weakened.
For a brief moment…
Their human faces appeared beneath the corruption.
A mother reached toward her frightened son.
A young soldier whispered his wife’s name.
An old man fell to his knees crying.
Then the darkness swallowed them once again.
Lyra lowered her staff, breathing heavily.
“It’s not enough…”
“The corruption is too deep.”
⸻
Aurelia’s heart ached.
“They’re still alive inside.”
“There has to be a way to save them.”
Before Rowan could answer, the largest Hollow Beast roared.
Its body suddenly began changing.
Black crystals erupted from its back.
Its muscles expanded.
The ground cracked beneath its feet.
Elias stared in horror.
“The Beast King…”
“It evolved.”
⸻
The enormous creature fixed its glowing eyes on Aurelia.
Then, in a strained human voice, it spoke.
“…Heir…”
Everyone froze.
It wasn’t growling.
It was speaking.
The creature took another step.
“…Run…”
Aurelia frowned.
“What?”
The Beast King slammed both fists into its own head.
As if fighting something inside.
“Run…”
“…before…”
It screamed.
Darkness exploded from its body, sending everyone backward.
When the smoke cleared…
Its human voice was gone.
Only the monster remained.
⸻
Kael stepped in front of Aurelia.
“Stay behind me.”
The Beast King charged.
Kael met it head-on.
Their collision shook the battlefield.
The monster was unbelievably strong.
Kael blocked one strike.
A second.
A third.
On the fourth…
His sword cracked.
Everyone gasped.
Kael stared at the thin fracture running through the center of his blade.
“This has never happened…”
The Beast King roared triumphantly.
⸻
Before it could attack again, Rowan slammed his staff into the earth.
Golden chains of light burst from the ground, wrapping around the monster’s legs.
“Now!”
Lyra understood immediately.
She lifted both hands.
The stars above the battlefield aligned into a single glowing constellation.
A beam of silver light descended from the heavens.
It struck the Beast King directly.
The creature howled in agony.
The corruption surrounding it began peeling away like burning paper.
For one brief moment…
The monster disappeared.
Standing in its place was a young man wearing the tattered armor of the old royal army.
His eyes were filled with tears.
He looked directly at Aurelia.
“…Princess…”
“You…”
“You survived…”
Then darkness consumed him again.
⸻
Aurelia’s breath caught.
“He knew me.”
Rowan’s expression slowly changed.
“No…”
“It can’t be…”
He stepped closer despite the danger.
“I know that armor.”
The old guardian’s voice trembled.
“He’s one of the Royal Phoenix Guard.”
“The soldiers sworn to protect your father.”
The realization struck everyone.
The Hollow Beast wasn’t born a monster.
It had once been one of Elyndor’s greatest knights.
⸻
The Beast King broke free from Rowan’s chains.
It roared louder than ever.
Then…
It ignored Kael.
Ignored Rowan.
Ignored everyone.
It charged directly toward the children hiding behind the camp.
Aurelia ran.
“No!”
She threw herself between the monster and the terrified children.
Kael shouted her name.
Lyra tried to cast another spell.
They were too far away.
The Beast King’s enormous claw descended.
Aurelia closed her eyes.
“I won’t move.”
“If a queen cannot protect children…”
“…she doesn’t deserve a crown.”
⸻
Silence.
She slowly opened her eyes.
The claw had stopped only inches from her face.
The Beast King’s entire body trembled violently.
Its glowing eyes flickered.
Green.
Gold.
Green.
Gold.
A single tear rolled down its monstrous face.
Then…
It slowly lowered its hand.
Its human voice returned.
“…Your Majesty…”
The Beast King knelt.
The battlefield fell silent.
Every Hollow Beast stopped moving.
One by one…
They also knelt.
Not to the monster.
To Aurelia.
⸻
Golden light burst from the three Heart Marks on Aurelia’s wrist.
The light spread across the battlefield like the first rays of dawn.
Every Hollow Beast touched by it became still.
Their pain eased.
Their eyes softened.
They were no longer attacking.
Lyra watched in disbelief.
“The Hearts…”
“They’re answering her compassion.”
Even Rowan had tears in his eyes.
“I’ve waited twenty years…”
“…to witness this.”
⸻
Suddenly, the peaceful moment shattered.
A violent explosion echoed from the center of the camp.
A figure in black armor stepped through the smoke.
It wasn’t Lucien.
It wasn’t Nyra.
This knight wore armor trimmed with crimson and carried a massive war hammer glowing with dark runes.
His helmet concealed his face completely.
He looked at the kneeling Hollow Beasts with disgust.
“Failures.”
Without warning…
He slammed his hammer into the ground.
Dark shockwaves spread in every direction.
The kneeling beasts screamed.
Their bodies exploded into clouds of black ash.
Aurelia stared in horror.
“No!”
The knight looked at her calmly.
“Our king has no use for broken weapons.”
Kael’s expression darkened.
“Another Eclipse Knight.”
The stranger removed his helmet.
His face was scarred, his eyes cold as steel.
“I am Commander Darius.”
“The Third Eclipse Knight.”
He rested the enormous hammer on his shoulder.
“The king has grown tired of waiting.”
He smiled.
“So he sent me…”
“…to end your little rebellion.”
The air around him grew heavy.
Even Kael instinctively tightened his grip on his cracked sword.
Rowan whispered under his breath,
“He’s stronger than Lucien…”
Far away, atop a hill overlooking the battlefield, a lone traveler watched everything unfold.
His face was hidden beneath a weathered hood.
Strapped across his back was an elegant silver spear.
As he watched Aurelia stand before Darius without fear, he smiled faintly.
“So…”
“The heir has finally begun to awaken.”
He turned and disappeared into the night before anyone noticed he had been there.
- Writer
