Page 4
Inside the Hall of the Redwoods, silence hung like a living creature pressing on the chests of those present. It was not a natural silence… rather, it was filled with something ancient, something everyone recognized but no one dared to name.
Prince Kylan slowly lifted his head from the open book in front of him, as if the pages themselves had forced him to speak. His eyes were calm, but behind that calmness was something like a distant storm.
He said in a low voice, but it cut through the hall like a blade:
"They've started moving… The Boro family is not the real problem."
No one moved.
Even the torches on the walls seemed to stop dancing for a moment.
Then King Eron's voice exploded as he struck the ground with his heavy staff, the echo reverberating through the hall:
"You speak of them again?!"
Kylan did not respond immediately. He only closed the book slowly, as if closing it meant shutting a door between two worlds. But his eyes remained fixed on something no one else could see.
Alya, in the corner of the hall, did not move, but she was watching. Her gaze was more fixed than usual… as if she knew what was happening, or at least part of it, but chose silence.
The air inside the hall suddenly changed.
No one had entered… and yet everyone felt an additional presence in the room.
A shadow appeared among the hall's pillars—unclear, formless, nothing but a dark idea in motion. Only Kylan saw it, and perhaps Alya as well.
The shadow bowed slightly and whispered in a voice not heard but directly understood in the mind:
"The Great Balance has begun to tilt…"
Then it vanished as if it had never existed.
Faint whispers rose among the guards, but no one dared speak aloud.
Kylan suddenly raised his head again, but this time his features were harsher. He shut the book firmly and said in a sharp voice uncharacteristic of him:
"The name Kaelis… should not have been mentioned here."
The entire hall froze.
Even King Eron stopped for a moment, as if time itself had choked.
He stepped forward for the first time since the beginning of the meeting, his voice low but filled with the weight of kings:
"Kaelis…"
The hall's expressions changed.
That name was not just a name.
It was something buried.
Something that was supposed to have ended long ago.
The king said slowly:
"Kaelis… those who betrayed the Boro family with their honor, and refused to help them… and even refused to take part in their slaughter… it was said they all disappeared."
He paused, then continued in a darker tone:
"Then why are they being mentioned now in a book that should only contain dead history?"
No one answered.
But the tension kept rising, as if the walls themselves were preparing to explode.
And suddenly…
A warning horn sounded from outside the castle.
A long, sharp sound, like a metallic scream being slaughtered.
One of the guards rushed inside, gasping, his knees barely holding him:
"The northern borders… have been breached!"
Everyone exchanged quick glances.
The guard continued, his voice trembling:
"A unit from the Kingdom of Wintermark… bearing the white wolf insignia… was seen near the mountains!"
The king's face changed for a moment, but before he could speak…
Reno the Storm smiled.
A smile that was not reassuring.
It was the smile of someone who had finally found what he had been waiting for.
He tilted his head slightly and said:
"Finally… I've found something worth the two swords."
The king ordered firmly:
"Seal the castle immediately!"
But before anyone could move…
Another voice rose from the outer gate—strong, confident, as if it did not enter but announced its presence:
"Welcome, winter wolves… to the black bear's den."
A moment of silence fell.
Then the scene shifted…
In the Mountains of the Tribes, Kingdom of Boro.
The air there was different, heavier, as if it carried the memory of the land itself.
Lorian stood before Adam, his eyes fixed on him as if reading something no one else could see.
He said calmly:
"You don't know what you're truly carrying."
Adam tightened his fist, his voice sharp:
"And I don't want to know."
Lorian stepped closer, lowering his voice even more:
"You will… when the sword starts choosing instead of you."
At that moment…
The sword "Slayer of Lions" rose in Adam's hand involuntarily.
As if something inside him pulled it upward.
Then it happened.
A flash.
It was not a complete vision… but an image exploding inside the mind.
An ancient knight standing in a dark arena, facing a colossal dragon. Screams, fire, and a torn sky. Then a single strike… that brought the beast down.
But the blood was not red.
It was black.
Covering the entire sword.
Adam returned to reality suddenly, gasping as if his soul had left him for seconds.
"What… what is this?"
Dairion slowly turned toward him, his expression changing for the first time since the beginning.
He said in a low voice:
"The sword… has started opening its eyes on you."
A heavy silence.
Then something else began.
It was not outside Adam… but inside him.
A voice.
Calm.
Terrifying.
"You are not Noll… nor Kaelis… then who are you?"
Adam froze in place.
He looked at his hands as if seeing them for the first time.
For the first time… he did not know the answer.
And behind him, Lorian was watching silently.
But this time… he was not merely waiting.
He was waiting for a specific collapse… as if he knew the true beginning had finally started.