Chapter Twelve:The Thirteen Awakened — Part One
641 Words
The earth continued to shake.
Cracks spread across the Garden That Never Slept like dark veins crawling beneath the marble paths.
The silver flowers that had bloomed for centuries began to wither before Nysera's eyes.
One by one, their glowing petals fell into the wind.
The palace had changed.
It was as if the empire itself was holding its breath.
The thirteen masked figures climbed from the darkness beneath the garden.
None of them hurried.
None of them spoke.
Each wore a silver mask carved with a different expression.
One smiled.
One wept.
One looked furious.
One had no expression at all.
Their black robes touched the ground without making a sound.
Nysera instinctively stepped back.
Her heartbeat echoed in her ears.
"Who are they?" she whispered.
Prince Kaelor tightened his grip on his sword.
"I don't know..."
"But they don't feel human."
Prince Zepharion's face became colder than anyone had ever seen.
His golden eyes remained fixed on the tallest masked figure.
"No..."
"It can't be."
The tallest figure slowly tilted his head.
"You still recognize us."
His voice sounded strange.
Not old.
Not young.
Almost as though many people were speaking together.
Zepharion answered quietly.
"I watched you die."
The figure laughed.
A slow...
Empty...
Terrifying laugh.
"You watched our bodies die."
"Our oath never did."
The garden suddenly became silent.
Even the wind disappeared.
Nysera noticed something strange.
None of the butterflies had returned.
Not one.
Almost as if every living creature had fled.
The tallest figure took another step.
The marble beneath his feet turned black.
Grass became ash.
Flowers crumbled into dust.
Life itself seemed to retreat from him.
Kaelor whispered,
"That's forbidden magic."
The figure looked toward him.
"Nothing is forbidden..."
"...to those abandoned by the gods."
Without warning—
Another figure lifted a single finger.
The air exploded.
A wave of invisible force threw Kaelor across the garden.
He crashed into a stone pillar.
The pillar shattered.
"Kaelor!" Nysera cried.
Before she could run to him, Zepharion stepped in front of her.
"Stay behind me."
Golden light burst from his body.
His divine power spread across the garden.
For the first time...
One of the masked figures stepped back.
The tallest one smiled beneath his mask.
"So..."
"The First Prince has not forgotten his strength."
Zepharion raised his sword.
"I remember enough."
"I remember the night you betrayed the empire."
Silence followed.
Then the tallest figure spoke words that made Nysera's blood run cold.
"We did not betray the empire."
"The empire betrayed us."
The masks all turned toward Nysera.
Together, they bowed.
"My Queen."
Nysera stared in disbelief.
"I'm not your queen."
"We have the wrong person."
"No," the tallest figure replied.
"The world has the wrong memory."
Before anyone could answer—
A deafening roar echoed across the palace.
Every window shattered.
Every tower trembled.
Far above them...
A beam of black light shot into the heavens.
It pierced the clouds.
The night sky began to change.
Stars disappeared.
One by one.
Until only thirteen stars remained.
The tallest figure looked up and whispered,
"The heavens remember."
Zepharion's expression changed instantly.
"Impossible..."
"The celestial seal is breaking."
Nysera looked toward the sky.
She didn't understand what was happening.
Yet something inside her did.
Her chest began to glow.
A warm light spread beneath her skin.
Golden markings slowly appeared along her arms.
The same symbol she had seen on the forgotten throne.
The Crown of Thirteen Stars.
The masked figures dropped to one knee.
Not because they feared her.
Because they recognized her.
And somewhere beneath the palace...
Beyond the Black Door...
Something ancient opened its eyes.
A voice echoed through the darkness.
Soft.
Patient.
Almost... relieved.
"She has awakened."
Then the chains around the Black Door broke.
The first lock fell to the ground.
The sound echoed through the entire empire.
- Writer
