Chapter 19: The Oracle of Elaris
868 Words
The journey back to the capital was painfully slow.
Master Kael’s condition worsened with every passing hour.
His breathing had become shallow, and despite the royal physicians’ best efforts in the field, the crimson wound across his chest refused to close.
“It isn’t an ordinary injury,” one healer whispered.
“It’s… spreading.”
Thin crimson veins crept outward from the wound, crawling beneath Kael’s skin like living roots.
The sight unsettled even Bashan.
“How can a sword wound do that?”
The healer lowered his head.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Azul rode beside Kael’s carriage in silence.
His thoughts returned to the mysterious warrior.
He could have killed us.
Why didn’t he?
The question lingered.
If the Crimson Order truly wanted him dead, why let the Vanguard escape?
⸻
By sunset, the Royal Vanguard entered the capital.
The citizens who usually lined the streets to cheer returning soldiers instead watched in fearful silence.
News of the Eastern Watchtower had already spread.
Now Master Kael’s bloodied return only deepened the kingdom’s unease.
Inside the palace, the King wasted no time.
“Summon the Royal Council.”
“And send for the Oracle.”
The ministers looked at one another in surprise.
“The Oracle?” one of them asked.
“I thought she left the kingdom years ago.”
The King replied quietly,
“She did.”
“But there is only one person alive who understands the curse carried by the Crimson Order.”
⸻
The next morning…
A lone carriage approached the palace gates.
It bore no royal crest.
No soldiers escorted it.
The guards watched cautiously as the carriage door opened.
An elderly woman stepped onto the stone road.
Her silver hair flowed to her waist, yet her movements were graceful.
She carried a long staff crowned with a crystal that glowed faintly blue.
The palace guards immediately knelt.
“Lady Elaris…”
She acknowledged them with a gentle nod before entering the palace.
⸻
The Royal Vanguard gathered outside the King’s chamber.
Curiosity filled the room.
“Who is she?” asked the spear-wielding girl.
Bashan shrugged.
“Never heard of her.”
Azul noticed something strange.
As Lady Elaris walked past him…
The crystal atop her staff shimmered brightly.
She stopped.
Slowly turning toward Azul, she smiled.
“So…”
“It is you.”
Azul blinked.
“You know me?”
“I knew of you…”
“…before you were born.”
The hallway fell silent.
Even the King looked surprised.
Lady Elaris stepped closer.
She placed two fingers gently against Azul’s forehead.
Instantly—
A flood of visions consumed him.
He saw the Endless Stream under a crimson moon.
Two children stood on opposite banks.
One surrounded by blue light.
The other by silver flames.
Behind them stood a woman whose face he could not see.
She whispered only one sentence.
“When the crown is divided, only sacrifice can restore the kingdom.”
The vision vanished.
Azul stumbled backward, breathing heavily.
“What… was that?”
Lady Elaris’s smile faded.
“The future.”
“No…” she corrected herself.
“One possible future.”
⸻
Hours later, the Royal Council assembled.
Lady Elaris stood before the ancient crystal beneath the palace.
She examined the growing fractures in silence.
Then she closed her eyes.
“The seal is failing faster than expected.”
The King frowned.
“Can it be restored?”
“Not by ordinary means.”
“Then tell me what must be done.”
She turned toward Azul and Bashan.
The two rivals instinctively straightened.
“The Endless Stream did not awaken one heir.”
“It awakened two.”
The room became deathly still.
Lady Elaris continued.
“One carries the Heart of the Stream.”
She looked at Azul.
“The other carries its Strength.”
Her gaze shifted to Bashan.
“Separated…”
“…you will fall.”
“But together…”
“You may yet stand against what sleeps beneath the waters.”
Bashan folded his arms.
“I don’t need anyone’s help.”
Lady Elaris chuckled softly.
“That is exactly what your predecessor said.”
“My predecessor?”
She nodded.
“The last bearer of the Stream’s Strength.”
“What happened to him?”
For the first time…
Sadness filled her eyes.
“He challenged the darkness alone.”
“And he never returned.”
Silence consumed the chamber.
⸻
Late that night…
While the palace slept, a shadow slipped through the eastern wall.
No alarm sounded.
No guard noticed.
The intruder moved with unnatural grace through the dark corridors until reaching the infirmary.
Master Kael lay unconscious.
The shadow stood over him.
“So…”
“You survived.”
A crimson dagger slowly emerged from beneath the stranger’s cloak.
“I won’t make the same mistake twice.”
The blade began descending toward Kael’s heart…
When suddenly—
A voice echoed from the doorway.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
The assassin froze.
Standing at the entrance was Lady Elaris.
Her crystal staff burned with brilliant blue light.
For the first time…
The intruder’s confident smile disappeared.
- Writer
