Crack in destiny

"My… lady…"

"RUN!"

The guard whispered his final, desperate gasp before his body fell limp.

The assassin's gaze shifted upward, locking onto a silhouette framed against the dim light of the window.

Elyssia stood frozen, wide-eyed in shock, her breath catching as the horror unfolding below seared itself into her mind.

"What… what is going on?"

Her voice trembled, the words spilling out weakly as she staggered back toward the crib. Instincts overrode paralysis as she reached for baby Zal, her hands shaking uncontrollably.

In a voice choked with fear, she called out for help.

"Maids… someone…"

Her words faded into the suffocating silence, the eerie stillness blanketing the Elysium Quarters like a shroud. The once-lively halls now felt like a cemetery, bereft of life or answer.

Elsewhere in Drakon Keep, within the lavish quarters of Kaedryn's other wives, Lady Draviana stood on her balcony, a faint, knowing smile tugging at her lips. Her gaze lingered on the distant glow emanating from the Elysium Quarters.

Beside her, Lady Elira leaned against the railing, her face shadowed with unease.

"I never thought Cecilia would go this far"

Elira murmured, her voice barely audible over the cool night breeze.

"She's going to plunge the entire Keep into chaos… Draviana..."

Draviana exhaled a slow stream of smoke from the elegant silver pipe poised between her fingers. Her soft chuckle drifted into the night, laced with amusement.

"Relax, Elira"

She said smoothly.

"Let her enjoy her desperate ploys. After all, she is the elder wife. If she manages to extract that brat's so-called divine soul-seeds, it'll be to our advantage. Prince Zal will no longer stand in the way of our children's claim to the throne."

Elira's brow creased. Though Draviana's words were undeniably logical, the pit of unease in her stomach only grew deeper. Something… something felt off, as though the fragile strings holding their schemes together could snap at any moment.

But Draviana, unconcerned by her companion's worries, continued in a calm, measured tone. Her voice dripped with satisfaction, as if she were savoring every second of the unfolding chaos.

"Let's not lie to ourselves, Elira. Kaedryn adores that mountain girl—Elyssia. It's obvious her children already hold an advantage in his eyes. No, Zal is the closest to becoming the rightful heir to the Drakon legacy. If Cecilia kills him, her rivalry with Elyssia will end, yes… but her recklessness will seal her fate. When Kaedryn returns to find his beloved son dead, his rage will know no bounds. Perhaps he'll even take Cecilia's head."

Draviana's lips curled into a sly smile as she took another long, deliberate drag from her pipe. The ember flared briefly, reflecting against her sharp crimson nails.

"And when Elyssia is left shattered, broken beyond repair from losing her only male-born child… well, Cecilia won't be there to protect her precious Alexander and Amara. Their future will darken under our influence. It's only a matter of time before the power falls entirely into our hands."

The thought drew soft laughter from the two women, a chilling melody swallowed by the silver glow of the moonlight.

Far above, the storm-laden clouds split apart as a procession of glowing wings pierced the darkness. The spectral wings of the noble house patriarchs shone like stars beneath the ominous glow of the moon, their auras leaving trails of luminous energy across the jagged mountain peaks below.

Leading the procession was a fiery, dragon-shaped pair of spectral wings, their flames licking hungrily at the wind. Kaedryn flew at the forefront, though his movements carried a distracted edge, as if his thoughts were elsewhere.

"Kay."

The voice was heavy, familiar, and steady, coming from beside him. Its owner was surrounded by blue lightning mantra energy, his two fairy-like spectral wings crackling with aggressive sparks of lightning.

"What's eating at you, old friend?"

Kaedryn blinked, as if pulled back from a distant place. His fiery wings flared briefly with irritation as he let out a heavy sigh.

"What? That obvious, huh?"

He shook his head, the unease in his golden eyes betraying his attempt at nonchalance.

"It's Elyssia and Zal. I can't stop thinking about them. I've left them exposed back at the Keep. Vulnerable. That's not like me, Lancelot. I don't leave my people undefended."

His gaze drifted toward the horizon, where the dark sky kissed the jagged edges of the mountains. His voice dropped, laced with tension.

"But it's not just them. Cecilia… she's different lately. Too quiet. She's always been ambitious, but now? Now she feels like a blade drawn in the shadows. I can't shake the feeling she's planning something dangerous."

Lancelot brushed aside a stray lock of golden hair tossed across his face by the wind, a faint, knowing smile tugging at his lips.

"It's Elyssia and Zal, sure. But it's more than that, isn't it?"

His tone softened, probing, before hardening with resolve.

"You're not the only one feeling it. I've got the same itch under my skin—just not about the Keep. For me, it's the reports from the Holy Temple."

He glanced back at the other patriarchs trailing behind them. Their spectral wings shimmered like fragments of shattered rainbows, glowing faintly against the dim backdrop of the encroaching night. Turning his attention forward again, his tone grew steely.

"If the reports are true, and it's a matured-stage Calamity Scavenger rising in the wastelands of Eldorin, things are going to get ugly fast. No single early-stage Imperium Ranker—not even you—can take on a beast like that alone."

Kaedryn said nothing. His response was a slow, measured exhale, the silence of someone who understood the weight of the truth but chose not to speak it aloud.

Without another word, his fiery wings flared brighter, and he surged forward, accelerating into the waiting darkness.

The Elysium Quarters were a suffocating tomb of silence and death. Unconscious bodies littered the polished stone floors, their pale, lifeless faces twisted in expressions of terror as though their very essence had been siphoned away.

A thick, poisonous haze cloaked the halls, its sickly purple tendrils snaking through every crevice like a living parasite. It blanketed everything it touched, corrupting the once-pristine chambers with its ominous presence.

Inside the master bedroom, Elyssia stood trembling, her back pressed into the cold stone corner. Her arms wrapped tightly around Zal, clutching the infant as though her very soul depended on it. She stared at the figure before her, fear and fury warring in her dull green eyes.

The acrid stench of miasma scorched her throat, each breath searing her lungs and leaving a vile, bitter taste on her tongue. It seeped deeper into her frail, weakened body, robbing her of what little strength she had left. Her vision swam, the walls tilting and spinning in a cruel dance around her. Still, she refused to collapse.

"What... do you want, Cecilia?"

Elyssia demanded, her voice trembling but defiant despite the weight pressing on her chest. Her words carried the fragile resolve of a cornered prey refusing to surrender.

From the flickering shadows cast by the chandelier's dim light, Cecilia emerged. Her every step exuded an eerie elegance, her snake-shaped staff glowing faintly with a toxic radiance.

Purple mist coiled lazily around her, a serpentine manifestation that mirrored the malice etched in her expression.

Cecilia's dark, glossed lips curled into a mocking smile as she took in Elyssia's pale, pain-stricken face. Sadistic amusement gleamed in her eyes.

"Oh, my dear little mountain girl"

Cecilia purred, her voice dripping with venomous sweetness.

"You look so… fragile. It's almost pitiable."

She took another deliberate step forward, the air around her growing heavier as more mist bled from her staff, wrapping the room in its choking grip.

"I came to offer you a gift," she continued, her smile widening. "At least let me see my sweet step-son. Zal, isn't it? Such a divine name for a little gift from the heavens."

Elyssia's legs trembled, but she shifted her body instinctively to shield Zal from Cecilia's predatory gaze. Her breaths came in shallow, labored gasps, her body still ravaged by the trials of labor. Yet she mustered what little strength she had left, her voice cracking with desperation.

"Cecilia, please…"

She rasped, pressing her back harder against the wall as though she could merge into the stone and escape. Her arms cradled Zal protectively, her fingers trembling with every word.

"We don't like each other, I know that. But I would never harm your children. You're going too far—Kaedryn won't stand for this."

Her voice faltered, tears welling in her eyes, blurring the venomous haze that filled the room. She clung to hope, however fragile.

"Think of your children"

She pleaded, her voice cracking under the weight of her fear.

"Do you really want them to grow up without a mother?"

Elyssia's words felt hollow, even to her own ears. She knew, deep down, that there was no stopping Cecilia. That hatred—seething, consuming, and absolute—had burned in her rival's eyes for far too long. Still, she had to try. For Zal. For the faint sliver of a future her son might still grasp.

But her attempt to reason with Cecilia had the opposite effect. The calm, pretentious mask Cecilia wore cracked, shattered by a surge of unrestrained fury.

Her face twisted, her lips curling into a snarl as she gripped her staff so tightly that the wood groaned under the pressure.

"You stole everything from me"

Cecilia spat, her voice trembling with venom.

"His love, his care, his attention—everything that was mine. And now your son? Your precious 'Child of Light'? The one blessed with divine soul-seeds, destined to change the fate of the empire? Even as an infant, he casts a shadow over my children, over my legacy!"

The miasma around Cecilia thickened, swirling like a predator circling its prey. It coiled around her staff, trailing up her arms in writhing tendrils of sickly purple energy. The chamber seemed to darken as the oppressive aura bore down on Elyssia.

"I won't allow it, Elyssia"

"Not this time. You've taken enough from me. Today, I take everything back."

With a sharp tap of her staff against the floor, the room trembled. Shadows surged to life at Cecilia's command, and the assassin emerged from their depths like a specter summoned from the void. Before Elyssia could react, a blur of motion descended upon her.

A sharp blow struck the back of her head, and the world tilted violently. Pain exploded through her skull as she crumpled to the ground, her vision flickering like a dying flame.

A piercing cry shattered the suffocating silence, echoing through the chamber. It was Zal. The infant lay sprawled in ragged white cloth, his small fists flailing in fear. Elyssia, her limbs weak and trembling, clawed at the stone floor, desperately reaching for her child.