Chapter TwelveThe Thirteen Awakened — Part Two
668 Words
The sound of the broken lock rolled across the empire like distant thunder.
From the highest mountains...
To the deepest forests...
Every creature stopped.
Birds abandoned the sky.
Wolves lifted their heads and howled together.
Even the rivers seemed to pause.
Something ancient had awakened.
Back in the Garden That Never Slept, Nysera stood frozen.
The golden markings on her arms continued to glow.
They spread slowly across her shoulders like streams of living light.
She gasped.
"It burns..."
Prince Zepharion caught her before she fell.
His face was filled with worry.
"Fight it."
"I don't know how," she whispered.
The tallest masked figure watched quietly.
"You cannot fight your own blood."
Nysera looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
Instead of answering, he pointed toward the palace.
"Listen."
At first...
She heard nothing.
Then...
Voices.
Hundreds of them.
Whispers floated through the night.
"Our Queen..."
"She has returned..."
"Open the last door..."
Nysera covered her ears.
"Make them stop!"
The voices only became louder.
Kaelor forced himself to his feet.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"Those voices..."
"I can't hear them."
Zepharion looked at Nysera.
"Only you can."
The words filled her with fear.
Why only her?
Why now?
Before anyone could speak again, the sky cracked with a blinding flash of silver lightning.
The thirteen stars above the palace began to move.
Slowly at first.
Then faster.
Until they formed the shape of a crown.
Every masked figure lowered their head.
"The Crown of Heaven," one whispered.
"It has accepted her."
Suddenly, the ground beneath the garden split open again.
This time, it revealed a staircase.
Black stone steps spiraled deep beneath the palace.
Cold air drifted upward.
It smelled of old rain and forgotten time.
No torch lit the passage.
Yet a faint blue glow pulsed from somewhere below.
The tallest figure stepped aside.
"It is waiting."
Nysera looked at the staircase.
"What is?"
"The answer."
Zepharion immediately shook his head.
"No."
"You cannot go down there."
"Why?"
His voice was unusually sharp.
"Because if you do..."
"You may never come back as the same person."
Silence hung between them.
Kaelor looked from the staircase to Nysera.
Then back to Zepharion.
"You've been here before."
Zepharion did not deny it.
Instead, he slowly removed the black glove from his right hand.
Nysera's eyes widened.
Across his palm was the same glowing symbol that marked her skin.
The Crown of Thirteen Stars.
"You..."
"You have it too?"
His expression darkened.
"I was chosen."
"But I was never worthy."
Nysera stared at him in disbelief.
Before she could ask another question, a loud cry echoed from the palace towers.
A young guard stumbled into the garden.
His armor was cracked.
His face was pale with terror.
"Your Highness!"
Zepharion rushed toward him.
"What happened?"
The guard struggled to breathe.
"The Emperor..."
Everyone held their breath.
"...has disappeared."
The words struck the garden like a blade.
Kaelor frowned.
"Disappeared?"
"We searched every chamber."
"The throne room."
"The royal vault."
"The temple."
"He is nowhere."
The guard lowered his voice.
"But..."
"We found this."
He held out a small object wrapped in red cloth.
Zepharion unfolded it.
Inside was the Emperor's crown.
A long crack split it through the center.
Resting inside the broken crown was a single black feather.
Caelis.
Nysera's heart tightened.
"No..."
"He wouldn't..."
She remembered the kindness in her brother's eyes.
He had come to save her.
Hadn't he?
Zepharion looked at the feather without speaking.
Then he quietly said,
"This is exactly what they wanted."
Nysera frowned.
"What do you mean?"
He closed his hand around the feather.
"Someone is trying to start a war."
At that very moment...
Far below the palace...
Beyond the Black Door...
A second chain began to crack.
The ancient voice laughed softly.
"One lock has fallen..."
"Twelve remain."
And in the darkness...
Two glowing crimson eyes opened beside the first pair.
The ancient prison was not holding one forgotten being.
It had been hiding thirteen.
- Writer
