Volume 1 chapter 2 - Truth

The sound of the door crashing open echoed through Azire's room, jarring him out of his thoughts. His heart skipped a beat as he looked up to see Ruby standing in the doorway. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with disbelief. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The book he had been reading slipped from his grasp, thudding softly against the floor.

Azire's gaze shifted between Ruby and the book, the suddenness of her appearance unnerving him. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. The air felt thick with something unspoken, something heavy. Then, before he could fully process the situation, Ruby collapsed to the floor, her sobs breaking through the silence.

Azire's pulse quickened, his feet moving of their own accord as he rushed to her side. His hands hovered over her shoulders, unsure how to comfort her in this moment of utter breakdown. "Ruby," he whispered, his voice a mixture of confusion and concern. "What's wrong? What happened?"

She shook her head, her sobs wracking her small frame. With great effort, she wiped her tear-streaked face, looking up at him with eyes full of regret. "I was hoping you wouldn't find this... I thought I could protect you from it. I thought I could shield you from this world's dangers," she choked out, her voice cracking under the weight of her guilt. "But I've failed."

Azire was frozen, the words sinking into him like cold, heavy stones. He couldn't make sense of it. Ruby had always been there for him, always kind, always the protector. To see her like this... it felt as if the ground beneath him was crumbling.

Her breath came in shaky bursts, and she sniffled, trying to regain some composure. "How far did you read?" she asked, though the question felt like a verdict rather than a plea.

Azire swallowed hard. He could feel his pulse in his ears. "All of it."

She exhaled slowly, as though the air itself had turned thick with sorrow. Her expression shifted then, her gaze darkening. "So now you know," she said softly, almost to herself. "Now you know what you are. A demon."

The word hit Azire like a blow to the chest. The venom in her tone startled him, as if the word carried not just a label but a profound accusation. His heart began to race, unsure of how to respond, or even what was happening.

"What about you?" His voice faltered, but he pressed on, desperate for answers. "What are you, Ruby?"

The sudden shift in her demeanor was like a switch had been flipped. She stood up quickly, her movements sharp and purposeful. Azire instinctively took a step back, unease crawling up his spine.

Ruby—no, not Ruby—looked at him with a coldness that made his blood run cold. "You can stop calling me that now," she said, her voice unrecognizable, as though she were shedding a skin.

Azire's breath caught in his throat. "What do you—"

Before he could finish, she lunged at him. The flash of silver was so fast he barely registered it. An enchanted pocket knife, its blade gleaming with a sickly green tint, hovered in her hand. Poison. The realization hit him in an instant.

Azire rolled out of the way just in time, his heart thundering in his chest. He scrambled backward, his hands reaching for anything—anything that might save him. "RUBY, STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Her eyes locked onto him, wild with fury. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!" she screamed, her voice ragged and raw. "YOU RUINED IT THE SECOND YOU OPENED THAT BOOK!"

Her hands shook, but the rage burning in her gaze remained unwavering. "I am Ara. Queen of the Humans."

The words hit Azire like a slap. His mind reeled, unable to process what she had just said. This wasn't Ruby—this was something else entirely, something terrifying.

Another strike. The blade cut through the air, grazing his arm. Azire stumbled backward, the sharp sting of the wound spreading like fire across his skin. He knocked over a chair in his haste to escape, his mind scrambling for a way out. "Why are you doing this?!" he shouted, his voice strained with panic.

Ara's lips twisted into a cruel, bitter smile as she circled him, her steps predatory. "You demons think you can have everything. You think you can just take and destroy, without any regard for those you leave behind. I've seen it before, felt it when your kind slaughtered my people. You're a blight on this world." Her eyes blazed as she leaned closer. "I'm here to finish what was started."

Azire's breath caught in his throat, his mind spinning. "Finish what? What are you talking about?"

Ara's laugh was bitter and low. "Long ago, my people fought a war to drive your kind back. When your precious king fell, we thought it was over. We thought we had won." She paused, her gaze darkening. "But now, it's not over. Not until I've destroyed every last one of you."

Azire felt his knees go weak, as if the floor had been ripped from beneath him. This was his reality now—his worst nightmare had come alive. But there were still so many questions, so many things he didn't understand.

Before he could think another thought, Ara lunged again. Her knife was aimed straight at his heart.

Instinct took over. Azire rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding death. His breath was ragged, his chest tight with terror as he scrambled toward the door, every movement desperate. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, RUBY?!"

Ara's voice followed him, harsh and taunting. "To end the demons once and for all. I tried to keep you safe, keep you in the dark, but now that you know…" Her hand clenched the hilt of the knife, eyes burning with resolve. "I have no choice but to kill you."

Azire's pulse raced as he dashed out of the room, his feet pounding against the stone floors as he fled. But the hallway seemed to stretch on endlessly. His mind screamed at him to keep running, but the weight of her words lingered in the air, suffocating him with every step.

As he neared the exit, the guards noticed his frantic movements—and, more importantly, the woman chasing him, knife in hand, her eyes gleaming with murderous intent.

"STOP HIM!" Ara screamed, her voice carrying through the halls. "HE TRIED TO KILL ME!"

The guards hesitated, confusion written across their faces. But Azire's terror was undeniable. One of them stepped forward, his voice urgent. "Come with me, now."

Without a second thought, Azire followed, his legs carrying him down dark corridors, around corners, through stairwells, every turn an attempt to outrun his fate.

But Ara was relentless. Her fury was unmatched. Her magic twisted the very air around her as she surged forward. "You think you can run from me?!" Her voice was laced with venom.

With a single sweep of her staff, a burst of dark energy erupted through the walls. Azire could hear the screams, the crackling of fire, as she carved a path of destruction behind them. He didn't dare look back. He just had to escape.

The streets outside the castle greeted him with a scene of devastation. Buildings were ablaze. The scent of smoke and death lingered in the air, thick and suffocating.

Azire stumbled forward, his breath ragged, trying to make sense of what had just happened. "We have to—" he began, but the words caught in his throat as a cold voice rang out from above.

Ara stood on the castle's roof, her eyes blazing with the fury of a storm.

"You can't run from me," she called down, her voice carrying on the wind.

With a flick of her wrist, a storm of razor-sharp ice shards flew toward them. Azire didn't have time to think. The guard with him acted immediately.

he shouted, and a gust of wind enveloped them, lifting them into the air just as the ice shards slammed into the ground, tearing apart everything in their path.

Azire watched in horror as the destruction unfolded below. But the guard didn't stop. They were carried farther away, farther from the nightmare.

Until the next blow came.

An arrow struck Azire's shoulder, its pain searing through him like fire. His body jerked with the impact, but there was no time to slow down, no time to stop.

He clung to the guard's arm as they were swept away, soaring farther from the capital, from the chaos. But even as they fled, Azire couldn't escape the images in his mind—the burning city, the people who had once called him their prince—now gone, reduced to ash.

With a final, desperate breath, Azire found himself dropped onto the edge of a distant mountain. The view before him was haunting. The world below was consumed by flames. People were fighting, dying—everything he had known was lost. Then suddenly the guard collapsed from an injured abdomen and slowly perished.

Tears filled his eyes, blurring the world before him. He had lost everything.

But there was no time for grief.

The only thing left now was survival.

Azire turned his back on the burning kingdom, the destruction behind