Chapter 9: The Boy Who Was Chosen
635 Words
The c***k spread across the crystal with a sound like shattering ice.
The chamber trembled.
Tiny fragments of glowing blue crystal drifted into the air before dissolving into sparkling dust.
Azul instinctively stepped back.
“What is happening?”
The King remained silent.
His eyes never left the ancient relic.
“It has never cracked before,” he murmured. “Not in the history of our kingdom.”
The Queen’s expression grew pale.
“Does this mean…”
The King nodded slowly.
“The seal is weakening.”
A heavy silence settled over the chamber.
Azul looked from the crystal to his parents, confusion written across his face.
“I don’t understand. What seal? What does any of this have to do with me?”
The King took a deep breath.
“Everything.”
He walked toward one of the faded murals carved into the chamber wall.
It depicted two young warriors standing side by side before the Endless Stream.
One was surrounded by brilliant blue light.
The other was cloaked in silver flames.
Behind them towered a monstrous figure with crimson eyes.
“This mural is over a thousand years old,” the King explained.
“It tells the story of the Founding Brothers.”
“The first kings of Azul?”
The King nodded.
“They were not brothers by blood.”
“They were brothers by choice.”
Azul studied the mural carefully.
“They fought together?”
“They saved the kingdom together.”
The King’s voice became solemn.
“But after the war, they disappeared without a trace.”
“No one knows whether they died… or became part of the Endless Stream itself.”
Azul’s gaze remained fixed on the two warriors.
For some reason…
The one wrapped in blue light looked strangely familiar.
⸻
At that very moment…
Across the palace grounds, Bashan stood alone in the training arena.
His thoughts were anything but peaceful.
He remembered the impossible strength that had surged through his body in the forest.
The effortless blow that had staggered the Shadow Fang.
It didn’t make sense.
Determined to test himself, he lifted the heaviest training sword in the arena.
Normally, it required two grown soldiers to wield.
Bashan grasped it with one hand.
To his surprise…
It felt weightless.
His eyes widened.
“No…”
He swung the massive blade.
BOOM!
A violent gust of wind exploded across the arena.
Wooden practice dummies were thrown into the air.
Several stone pillars cracked down the middle.
The sound echoed throughout the palace.
Guards rushed toward the arena.
“What was that?”
Bashan stared at the sword in disbelief before quietly setting it back on its stand.
He couldn’t let anyone know.
Not yet.
⸻
Deep beneath the Endless Stream…
Darkness stirred.
A single droplet of glowing blue water fell into an endless abyss.
Plink.
The sound echoed for what felt like eternity.
Then…
Two enormous crimson eyes slowly opened.
A deep, ancient voice rumbled through the darkness.
“The Heirs…”
“So… they have finally awakened.”
Massive chains stretched into the darkness, wrapped around a colossal silhouette hidden beneath the water.
One chain snapped.
CRACK!
The sound echoed across the underground prison.
Far above, birds erupted from the Forbidden Forest in frightened flocks.
The Endless Stream glowed brighter than it had in centuries.
Back inside the hidden chamber, the crystal pulsed once more.
The King closed his eyes.
“It’s begun.”
Azul looked at him anxiously.
“What has?”
The King met his son’s gaze.
“The war our ancestors sacrificed everything to prevent.”
Outside, storm clouds rolled across the sky, swallowing the afternoon sun.
For the first time in generations…
The Kingdom of Azul stood on the edge of a destiny it could no longer escape.
- Writer
