CHAPTER 13: THE ROYAL VAULT
1649 Words
The deep toll of the ancient bell echoed across the underground kingdom.
BOOOONG...
The sound vibrated through every stone wall.
Through every ruined tower.
Through every heartbeat.
Silence followed.
Then—
The entire city came alive.
Ancient runes ignited along the streets like rivers of silver fire.
Crystal lamps that had remained dark for centuries burst into light.
Massive gears hidden beneath the city groaned as forgotten machinery awakened.
Selene looked around in astonishment.
"It's..."
"...changing."
The Guardian Drake slowly bowed its enormous head.
"The kingdom recognizes its Queen."
---
Far across the plaza...
The towering palace began to move.
Dust cascaded from its silver spires.
Huge doors, each over fifty feet high, slowly parted with a deafening rumble.
GRRRRRR...
A blinding silver light poured from within.
Every Royal Guardian immediately dropped to one knee.
Even Captain Nadia instinctively lowered her head.
Only Ronan remained standing.
His expression darkened.
"No."
"It shouldn't open yet."
Kael's eyes never left the palace.
"The Vault only opens for one person."
Selene frowned.
"What is the Royal Vault?"
The oldest guardian answered before Kael could.
"It is where every Moon King and Moon Queen entrusted their greatest treasures..."
"...and their darkest secrets."
---
A cold wind swept across the plaza.
From deep inside the palace...
Footsteps echoed.
Slow.
Measured.
Not hurried.
Every person instinctively turned toward the entrance.
Out of the silver light emerged an elderly man wearing faded white robes.
His long silver beard reached his waist.
A crystal staff rested in one hand.
Despite appearing frail...
His presence filled the entire plaza with quiet authority.
Selene blinked.
"I thought..."
"...everyone here was gone."
The old man smiled gently.
"Not everyone."
His silver eyes settled on Selene.
"I have waited a very long time for this day."
He walked down the palace steps with surprising grace.
Each step caused glowing flowers to bloom from cracks in the stone.
When he finally stood before Selene...
He bowed deeply.
"Welcome home..."
"...Your Majesty."
---
Ronan's grip tightened around his sword.
"It can't be."
"You died."
The old man looked toward him.
"No."
"I simply waited."
"You hid yourself for eight centuries?"
"I guarded what was entrusted to me."
Kael inclined his head respectfully.
"High Keeper."
The old man nodded.
"Lycan King."
Selene looked between them.
"You know him?"
Kael answered,
"He served every ruler of the Moon Kingdom."
"The Keeper of the Royal Vault."
The old man smiled.
"My name is Alaric."
"I was your mother's advisor."
Selene's heart skipped.
"My..."
"...mother?"
Alaric nodded.
"I held you the night you were born."
He looked at her with eyes full of warmth.
"You had far more hair than most babies."
A faint laugh escaped Selene despite everything.
"You cried until your father carried you."
"And the moment he did..."
"...you fell asleep."
Tears stung her eyes.
These weren't legends.
These were memories.
Someone had actually known her parents.
---
Ronan suddenly stepped forward.
"Enough."
His voice echoed sharply across the plaza.
"We're done pretending."
Black energy surged around him.
The cracked Silver Crown glowed ominously.
"I didn't wait twenty-one years..."
"...to lose everything because of one old man."
Alaric calmly turned toward him.
"You already lost..."
"...the day you chose ambition over loyalty."
Ronan's face hardened.
"You know nothing."
"I know exactly what happened."
The old Keeper's voice remained calm.
"I watched you open the palace gates."
Silence.
Every eye turned toward Ronan.
Captain Nadia whispered,
"So it really was him..."
Ronan laughed.
"I did."
"And I'd do it again."
"You murdered your own King."
"I ended a weak dynasty."
"You murdered innocent children."
"They stood in my way."
Even Ronan's own soldiers looked disturbed.
Selene felt sick.
This man...
Had destroyed her family without remorse.
---
Kael slowly stepped beside Selene.
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Don't listen to his hatred."
But Selene wasn't looking at Ronan anymore.
She was staring at Alaric.
"You said..."
"...there were secrets inside the Vault."
He nodded.
"There are."
"Will they tell me why all of this happened?"
"They will answer many questions."
"But they may also break your heart."
Selene looked toward the open palace doors.
Silver light continued spilling into the ancient city.
For some reason...
It felt familiar.
As though she had walked those halls before.
Alaric extended a wrinkled hand toward her.
"Come."
"The time has come for you to learn the truth."
Just as Selene reached for his hand—
A scream echoed from inside the Royal Vault.
Not one scream.
Hundreds.
The silver light flickered violently.
Alaric's gentle smile vanished.
His face turned deathly pale.
"No..."
He whispered.
"That seal..."
"...should never have broken."
From deep within the palace...
Something laughed.
A voice old enough to make even the Guardian Drake tremble.
"At last..."
The laughter echoed through the Royal Vault.
Deep.
Ancient.
Neither male nor female.
It reverberated through the palace walls until every crystal chandelier trembled.
"At last..."
The silver light pouring from the palace dimmed.
One by one, the crystal lanterns lining the entrance flickered.
Then turned black.
The warmth Selene had felt moments ago vanished.
An icy chill swept across the city.
Alaric staggered backward.
His crystal staff slipped from his hand and clattered onto the marble floor.
"No..."
"It cannot be."
Kael immediately stepped in front of Selene.
"What is it?"
The old Keeper's hands trembled.
"The Shadow imprisoned beneath the Vault."
Silence.
Even Ronan frowned.
"I thought it was only a legend."
Alaric slowly looked toward him.
"Legends exist because someone survived to tell them."
---
The Guardian Drake spread his wings.
His eyes remained fixed on the palace entrance.
"Eight hundred years ago..."
"...before the Moon Kingdom fell..."
"...there was another enemy."
Selene looked at him.
"Another?"
"It had no body."
"No name."
"It fed on hatred."
"It whispered lies."
"It turned brothers against brothers."
Captain Nadia lowered her sword.
"You mean..."
"The civil war..."
The Drake nodded.
"It didn't begin because wolves hated each other."
"It began because something wanted them to."
A heavy silence settled over the plaza.
Selene slowly turned toward Ronan.
"You mean..."
"...you weren't acting alone?"
For the first time...
Ronan didn't answer immediately.
---
The laughter returned.
Closer this time.
"Still blaming mortals..."
"How amusing."
A cloud of black mist drifted from the palace doorway.
It twisted through the air like living smoke.
Wherever it passed...
Flowers withered.
Stone cracked.
Even the silver light retreated.
The Royal Guardians instinctively lowered their spears.
Not out of obedience.
Out of fear.
The mist gathered into the shape of a man.
Tall.
Elegant.
His features constantly shifted, never remaining the same for more than a second.
Only his eyes stayed unchanged.
Completely black.
No pupils.
No whites.
Just endless darkness.
Selene felt a sharp pain in her chest the moment she looked at him.
As if something deep inside her blood recognized him...
And rejected him.
---
The stranger smiled.
"My..."
"...how you've grown."
His gaze rested on Selene.
"I remember the night you were born."
Kael's claws extended instantly.
"You will not come any closer."
The man chuckled.
"You've become stronger, Lycan King."
"But..."
He looked at Kael with mild amusement.
"...you still cannot kill me."
"Who are you?" Selene demanded.
The stranger bowed politely.
"I've had many names."
"Some called me the Whisper."
"Others..."
"...called me the End of Kings."
Alaric whispered,
"No..."
The man's smile widened.
"My true name..."
"...has been forgotten."
---
Without warning...
He disappeared.
Selene felt a gust of cold air behind her.
Before she could react—
A hand gently brushed a strand of hair from her face.
She spun around.
He was standing inches away.
"You have your mother's eyes."
Kael struck immediately.
His claws sliced through the stranger's chest.
But instead of blood...
The body dissolved into smoke.
The stranger reappeared several meters away, laughing.
"You see?"
"You cannot cut a shadow."
---
Ronan watched silently.
His expression had changed.
The confidence from moments earlier was gone.
"You..."
He whispered.
"You were supposed to remain sealed."
The stranger tilted his head.
"And yet..."
"...here I am."
"You promised me power."
"I gave you power."
"You promised I would rule."
"You nearly did."
The stranger's smile became colder.
"But mortals are so impatient."
Selene frowned.
"So..."
"...you're the one who manipulated him?"
The stranger looked genuinely offended.
"I merely whispered."
"He made his own choices."
He glanced at Ronan.
"I never forced you to betray your King."
"I simply asked..."
"...whether you thought you'd make a better one."
Ronan's face paled.
The realization hit everyone at once.
The war...
The betrayal...
The massacre...
Had all begun with a whisper.
---
Alaric slowly picked up his crystal staff.
His voice was firm despite his age.
"You will never have the Moon Throne."
The stranger smiled.
"I don't want the throne."
His black eyes shifted toward Selene.
"I want..."
"...the one who can unlock what lies beneath it."
Selene instinctively stepped backward.
"What do you mean?"
Instead of answering...
He pointed toward the center of the palace.
The marble floor began to shake.
Ancient gears groaned.
A massive circular platform slowly rose from beneath the ground.
At its center...
Rested a magnificent silver crown.
It floated above a crystal pedestal, bathed in pure moonlight.
Unlike Ronan's corrupted Silver Crown...
This one radiated warmth.
Hope.
Life.
The Guardian Drake immediately bowed.
"The Crown of the Moon Kings."
Every Royal Guardian followed.
Only Alaric remained standing.
His eyes were fixed not on the crown...
But on the black shadow smiling beside it.
His voice trembled.
"The true trial..."
"...is only beginning."
The shadow's smile widened.
"Choose wisely, Princess."
"If you take the crown..."
"...you inherit not only a kingdom..."
"...but every enemy that comes with it."
Selene looked at the ancient crown.
Then at Kael.
Then at the terrified faces surrounding her.
She knew that once she made her choice...
There would be no turning back.
- Writer
