Lupesia Palace — Royal Treatment Room
Kristen: "Okay, everyone move! Only one doctor stays!" 😤
King Richard: "Excuse me? This is the royal treatment room!"
Kristen: "And your son is dying. Do you want to argue about room arrangements or save him?"
King Richard: "…" 😶
Rowan: "I like her."
Leo: "Of course you do. She has the same survival instinct as you—absolutely none." 😑
Kristen ignored them.
She climbed onto the bed and sat directly on William's stomach.
Everyone: "WHAT THE—?!" 😶
Doctor: "MISS! YOU CANNOT SIT ON THE PATIENT!"
Kristen: "Then tell him to wake up and make room!" 😤
Rowan covered his mouth.
Rowan: "She's sitting on our eldest brother."
Leo: "I have eyes, Rowan."
Kristen closed her eyes and placed both hands on William's chest.
A warm green light emerged beneath her palms.
The light spread gently across his body, illuminating the dark crest on his wrist.
The room immediately grew colder.
Doctor: "That energy… It's responding to the curse!"
Kristen: "Then let it respond faster!"
The pendant around her neck shone brightly.
And somewhere beyond reality, William heard her voice.
---
William — Between Worlds
Darkness.
Not calm this time.
It was thinning, like a veil being torn apart from the inside.
William stood in the fractured world, but the ground beneath him had become unstable. Cracks widened, and light bled through them in sharp lines.
Queen Elda was no longer standing far away.
She watched him closely.
Elda: "She's pulling harder." 😏
William: "…I can feel that." 😐
The air trembled.
Not wind.
Something alive was pushing through reality itself.
Elda stepped back slightly.
Elda: "Your return is accelerating."
William looked down.
The cracks beneath him revealed something beyond the strange world.
A room.
A bed.
Several faces.
And a girl standing over him.
William narrowed his eyes.
William: "So that's the real world."
Elda: "Yes."
William: "And she's the one doing this?"
Elda: "She's forcing the connection open."
William watched the girl through the fractured light.
Even from here, he could recognize her stubborn expression.
William: "She's going to hurt herself."
Elda: "She doesn't seem particularly interested in protecting herself."
William sighed.
William: "Of course she isn't."
Elda's expression became serious.
Elda: "Listen carefully, William Campbell. If she fails, you will not return."
William: "I know."
He stepped towards the widening fracture.
The ground beneath his feet shattered into light.
---
Reality — Campbell Palace
The room was under immense pressure.
The furniture trembled, and the green light surrounding William pulsed with every beat of Kristen's heart.
Doctor: "Energy output is rising again! Her core channel is spiking!" 😨
Rowan: "SHE'S DOING IT AGAIN?!" 😭
Leo narrowed his eyes.
Leo: "No… this is different."
Kristen's earth magic was no longer spreading outward.
It was moving inward, focused and precise.
The floor beneath her feet glowed with an ancient resonance, as though the palace itself recognized the power she carried.
Kristen: "…Stay with me." 😟
The pendant flared.
A thin crack appeared in the air above William's chest.
It wasn't a physical crack.
Reality itself was beginning to split.
King Richard stepped forward.
King Richard: "What is that?!"
Leo answered quietly.
Leo: "A bridge point."
Rowan: "A bridge to where?!"
Leo: "Probably wherever our brother's consciousness is trapped."
Rowan: "PROBABLY?!"
Leo: "Would you prefer that I lie?" 😑
Kristen gritted her teeth.
Kristen: "I can hold it… just a little longer. But this much power isn't enough. I need more physical contact!"
Doctor: "What kind of contact?!"
Kristen opened her eyes.
She looked at William's face.
Then at the glowing pendant.
Then back at William.
Kristen: "Don't blame me for this."
Everyone: "FOR WHAT?!"
Before anyone could stop her, Kristen leaned down and pressed her lips against William's.
The room fell completely silent.
Rowan's jaw dropped.
Rowan: "SHE'S KISSING OUR BROTHER!" 😭
Leo stared at them.
Leo: "No… she's stabilizing the connection through direct contact." 😐
Rowan: "SHE COULD HAVE WARNED US!"
King Richard: "SOMEONE EXPLAIN WHAT IS HAPPENING IN MY PALACE!"
The doctor hurriedly checked the instruments.
Doctor: "The energy fluctuations are decreasing!"
The green light spread around them, no longer violent or unpredictable.
Beneath the palace, roots of magical energy extended through the earth, anchoring the structure and distributing the strain.
The crack stopped widening.
It neither expanded nor closed.
It held.
Kristen finally pulled away, breathing heavily.
Kristen: "Please… wake up."
For the first time, William's chest moved with a deeper breath.
---
William — The Crossing
William reached the edge of the fracture.
Light poured through it.
Warm light.
He could hear voices from the other side.
Rowan shouting.
Leo trying to silence him.
King Richard demanding explanations.
And one familiar voice telling him to wake up.
William closed his eyes briefly.
William: "What a noisy family."
Elda smiled.
Elda: "Go, William Campbell."
He paused.
William: "Try not to cause more problems while I'm gone."
Elda: "No promises." 😏
William stepped forward.
The fractured world shattered around him.
And his consciousness crossed the boundary.
---
Reality — Campbell Palace
The crack in space flared brilliantly.
Then it sealed like glass healing itself.
The green light vanished.
Kristen staggered as the remaining energy rushed back into her body.
But she remained standing.
For one terrifying second, William didn't move.
Then—
His chest rose sharply.
He inhaled.
His eyes opened fully.
Everyone froze.
Rowan: "…He's back." 😭
Doctor: "His vitals are stabilizing! They're returning to normal!" 😨
King Richard released a long, controlled breath.
King Richard: "Good."
Leo stared at his brother, relief finally replacing the tension in his face.
Kristen looked down at William.
Kristen: "Finally. Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused me?"
William blinked slowly.
His vision was blurry, but he could make out her face.
William: "…Who are you?"
Kristen's expression darkened.
Kristen: "WHAT?!"
Rowan: "OH NO. HE'S LOST HIS MEMORY!" 😭
Leo: "He woke up three seconds ago."
William slowly turned his head towards the shouting.
William: "Why is Rowan screaming?"
Rowan: "BECAUSE YOU WERE DEAD!"
William: "I'm fairly certain I'm alive."
Leo: "Welcome back, brother."
William looked at Kristen again.
Then his gaze dropped briefly to the pendant around her neck.
Something flickered in his memory.
A barren land.
A cracked sky.
A woman dressed in black.
And a voice calling him back.
To be continued....