The stolen carriage rolled smoothly out of the city gates. It wasn't just any transport; it was a luxurious, gold-trimmed caravan designed explicitly for high nobility, commandeered straight from the Baron's private stables. Lexel sat up front holding the leather reins, acting as the driver, completely unfazed as the two massive stallions cantered steadily down the dirt road.
Inside the plush cabin, Anthierin peeked out the velvet-draped window. She watched the stone walls of the small city of Einjaar slowly shrink in the distance until they disappeared entirely behind a bend in the road.
She let out a heavy, complicated sigh. She leaned forward and slid open the small wooden partition window connecting the cabin to the driver's seat.
"Hey, Lexel?" "Yeah?" Lexel replied lazily, not even turning around. "Aren't you worried?" Anthierin asked, chewing her lower lip. "I mean... you just murdered a Baron in broad daylight. In front of his entire city."
"Nah."
"I'm serious!" Anthierin snapped, lightly smacking the wooden partition. "I think that we may have made the wrong move...?"
"Nope," Lexel said, shaking his head. He casually adjusted his grip on the reins. "Think about it, Rin. If he wanted me dead, would he have hesitated to kill me if he actually had the power to do it? Especially if he could keep his own hands clean? He already proved it."
Anthierin blinked. "G-Good point," she muttered reluctantly.
Silence fell between them for a few moments, save for the rhythmic clopping of hooves and the gentle sway of the premium carriage.
"It's going to be a long way to the next city," Anthierin noted, resting her arms on the window sill.
"What do you want to know about me?" Lexel asked bluntly, completely shattering the quiet atmosphere.
Anthierin flinched, her cheeks instantly warming up. "I... Who said I wanted to know anything?!"
"Do you not?" Lexel asked, glancing back over his broad shoulder with a knowing smirk.
Anthierin crossed her arms, looking away with a quiet, defeated huff. "...I do."
"Can you believe what I'm about to tell you?" Lexel asked, keeping his eyes on the dirt road ahead.
"I'll... try?" Anthierin raised a skeptical brow.
"I come from a distant land called the Three Realms," Lexel declared.
Anthierin blinked. "Like, there are literally three of them?"
Lexel nodded. "There is the Mortal World, Hell, and Heaven."
"I see."
"You must've never heard of them," Lexel said, a hint of grandeur in his voice.
"Correct. But I'm still trying to believe you, so keep going."
"My name is Lexel Torga. The family name, Torga, is a sacred one in the Three Realms," Lexel explained, sitting up a little straighter on the driver's bench. "I dare say we are the most influential family to ever exist there."
"Sooo, you're like nobles?"
"Royalty, to be precise," Lexel corrected. He glanced back over his shoulder and shot her a charismatic wink. "The things I said to Mera back at the banquet were not a lie."
Anthierin leaned heavily against the windowsill, her eyes already rolling so hard they practically stared at the ceiling of the carriage. "So what, your father is a king?"
"An Emperor," Lexel corrected firmly, waiting for the gasp of awe.
"Emperor? What's that?" Anthierin asked, genuinely confused.
Lexel's confident smirk faltered. He looked back at her, completely baffled. "Hm? You don't know what an Emperor is?"
"Hmm, no," Anthierin mumbled lazily, resting her cheek against her arm as she watched the passing trees.
"An emperor is the king of kings," Lexel explained, gripping the reins.
"King of kings, huh? So... like a god? Like Goddess Aether?" Anthierin asked.
Lexel tilted his head, genuinely considering it for a moment. "I don't... know... maybe?"
"Nice one," Anthierin chuckled, thoroughly convinced he was just spinning a tall tale now.
Lexel rolled his eyes. "I'm serious. I even have multiple mothers. There is my birth mother, Cecile, then Mother Selena, and Mother Maria. Also Mother Luna and Mother Lumina."
"What?!" Anthierin snapped her eyes open, staring at the back of his broad shoulders in sheer disbelief. "And he's still alive?!"
"Of course he is!" Lexel laughed loudly, the sound echoing over the rattling carriage wheels. "Though... sometimes when they all get mad at him, he runs away from home."
Anthierin's expression shifted. The amusement completely vanished from her face, her eyes turning dark and somber as the memory of the thundering storm and the slamming wooden door rushed back into her mind. She pulled her knees up slightly.
"Did he... return?" she asked, her voice suddenly very small.
Lexel didn't catch the heavy shift in her tone. "Of course he did!" he grinned, completely lost in the fond memory. "He took me and my two brothers away—'for bonding,' he said! Turns out, he was just hiding us all in the mortal world until the wives stopped wanting to kill him! Hahahaha!"
Lexel's laughter faded. He glanced back at the small wooden window, catching the distant, guarded look on her face. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing," Anthierin answered quickly, turning her head to stare out at the passing trees. "Keep going."
Lexel studied her for a second longer before turning his attention back to the dirt road. His relaxed, lazy demeanor vanished entirely.
"Alright," Lexel said, his golden eyes sharpening into something dangerous and cold. "I'm here to stop the madness going on in my home."
Anthierin blinked, suddenly pulled from her own heavy thoughts. "Hmm? What madness?"
"My home is being invaded as we speak," Lexel stated, his grip tightening slightly on the leather reins. "The reason I'm here is to stop that."
"By who?" Anthierin asked, leaning slightly closer to the wooden partition.
"This very world," Lexel answered.
Anthierin furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"
"Do you love this world, Rin?" Lexel asked, his gaze fixed steadily on the dirt road ahead.
Anthierin went quiet. She looked out the window at the passing trees, thinking of her mother leaving in the storm, the brutal arena matches, and the greedy Baron who had just tried to steal everything from them.
"...That's a difficult question," she finally muttered.
Lexel smiled faintly. "That's a good start."
Anthierin rolled her eyes, crossing her arms defensively. "Okay then, Mr. P-R-I-N-C-E. So you are off to destroy this world?"
"Well, Dad didn't explicitly specify that I should destroy the place. I just need to stop the invasion," Lexel said with a casual shrug of his broad shoulders. "But if it comes to it... it comes to it, then."
Anthierin let out a sharp, genuine laugh. "You're going to fight the Emissaries?"
"The what?" Lexel raised his brows, glancing back at her in genuine confusion.
"The Emissaries are the stuff of legends," Anthierin said, rolling her eyes. "They are like the ultimate guardians who safeguard this world, safeguarding the Goddess Aether herself."
"How many of them are there?" Lexel asked.
"It's a legend, Lexel. I don't even know if they actually exist or not."
"What are they guarding against?" Lexel pressed.
"Who knows? You?" Anthierin laughed.
Lexel chuckled. "I hope they provide a challenge."
When Lexel didn't hear a reply, he peeked over his shoulder through the wooden window. Anthierin had fallen fast asleep, her breathing peaceful as she rested her head on her folded arms.
A moment later, the carriage wheel hit a massive, jagged rock, violently jolting the entire cabin.
Anthierin received a brutally rude awakening as the top of her head smashed directly into the wooden ceiling of the carriage. "Aagh!"
"Hahaha!" Lexel roared with laughter from the driver's seat.
A furious, red-faced Anthierin immediately slammed the wooden partition shut.
Hours passed as the carriage rolled into a dense, ancient forest. Dusk settled in, painting the woods in dark, heavy shadows, but Lexel kept the horses moving long after the stars adorned the night sky.
Eventually, the tree line broke, opening up into a vast, moonlit plain. However, as they traveled down the dirt road, Lexel noticed a solitary figure walking along the main path ahead, carrying a massive sack slung over his shoulder.
Hearing the heavy cantering of the approaching stallions, the figure stopped and slowly turned around.
Lexel yanked the reins, his golden eyes narrowing as he instantly recognized the silhouette in the moonlight.
"You motherfucker..."