Kael waited until night fully settled before moving.The palace corridors had grown quiet, servants retreating and guards rotating shifts under candlelight. He walked calmly through the western wing, hands clasped behind his back, every step measured.
No one stopped him,He was still a prince,Still family and he's trusted.That trust amused him.
He paused near a balcony overlooking the inner courtyard, gaze drifting toward the royal chambers recently assigned to the prophetic girl.
Light still burned inside… she's still awake,so did his brother.
He exhaled slowly.For years he had survived by understanding Diatrus better than anyone else. Fear had been his shield, obedience his weapon.
Diatrus never kept people close, never protected anyone nor allowed attachment.
Yet now…Everything was changing.And change created opportunity.
Footsteps approached behind him.A hooded figure stopped several paces away and bowed.
"My prince."
He did not turn. "Report."
"The concubine grows restless. She watches the girl constantly."
A faint smile touched his lips."Of course she does."
"And Lord Diatrus?"
The spy hesitated."He visits her chambers personally."
Kael finally turned.Interest sharpened his expression.
"Alone?"
"Yes, my prince."
Silence stretched as he absorbed the information.So the prophecy worked faster than expected.Very good.
"Continue observing," Kael ordered. "But interfere with nothing."
The spy frowned slightly. "Even if the concubine moves against the girl?"
"Especially then."
The spy bowed again and disappeared into shadow.
Kael returned his gaze to the illuminated window.Let jealousy grow and emotions complicate judgment.
The strongest tyrants fell not through war… but through feeling.And Diatrus, the indestructible Destroyer, had finally begun to feel.
Inside the royal chamber, Lyra stood near a table covered in open books.She had not meant to read them.
But the moment she touched the ancient pages, symbols began making sense instinctively, knowledge rising inside her like memory rather than learning.
Runes,binding spells and Demon contracts.
Her fingers traced a diagram showing a ritual circle meant to contain possession.
A sudden chill ran through her.Images flashed;A terrified child,a father chanting desperately,demons tearing through reality and Screams.
She staggered back, breath uneven.
The door opened immediately and Diatrus made an entrance.
His eyes narrowed the moment he saw her shaken expression.
"What happened?"
"I… touched the books."
His gaze shifted toward the open pages.Recognition flickered briefly,those were records of his origin.No one was permitted to read them.Yet he felt no anger but only curiosity which bewildered him.
"What did you see?" he asked quietly.
Lyra hesitated.
"A ritual," she said slowly. "A man trying to remove something from a child… but he lost control."
The air in the room grew colder…he went still.Most beings feared speaking about his past.
She described it without accusation and fear.
"My father," he said finally.The confession surprised even him.
Lyra looked up gently."He tried to save you."
"He tried to erase me."
Dark energy flickered faintly around him, responding to old memories.
"He hated what I was," Diatrus continued.
"My mother died giving birth to me,she was a shaman….and he blamed my existence."
The demons stirred inside him, restless with remembered pain.
"He summoned exorcists, Priests and Sorcerers but none succeeded. So he performed the ritual himself."
His jaw tightened."He summoned too much."
Lyra already knew the ending."The demons chose you."
"They consumed everything," he said calmly. "Including him."
Silence immediately followed.For the first time, the Destroyer spoke not as legend…
…but as the boy who survived.
Lyra stepped closer carefully."You were a child."
"I became a monster."
"No," she said softly. "You became someone who survived abandonment."
The words landed heavily,he gently looked at her sharply.No one had ever framed his existence that way.
Monster was easier,Monster required no forgiveness.But survivor…Survivor implied he deserved understanding.He turned away slightly.
"You see kindness where none exists."
"I see pain you never allowed to heal."
The demons inside him quieted again.Annoyingly and dangerously.
Peace followed her presence like an unwanted blessing.
He faced her again."Why do you not fear me?"
Lyra smiled faintly."Because every time you stand near me… you fight not to hurt me."
His breath stilled because she was right.And that terrified him more than prophecy ever had.
Outside the chamber doors, Sappira watched through concealed magic.
Every word, every expression,every softened glance.Her heart hardened with certainty.The girl was not merely a prophecy,she was already reaching places inside Diatrus no one else could touch.
That could not be allowed.If Diatrus changed…Everything She had built beside him would vanish.Her fingers glowed faintly as she summoned a small spectral messenger.
"Prepare the ritual," she whispered.
"Tonight."
The spirit vanished instantly…her decision was final.If fate insisted on protecting the girl…She would simply kill fate itself.
Elsewhere, Kael stood within his private chambers, studying a map of the empire.
He moved a single black piece across the board resting on his table.
"The concubine moves first," he murmured.
Another piece followed."The prophecy responds."
Then he placed a final piece representing himself."And I wait."
He smiled slowly.Because regardless of who survived,His brother,his brother's concubine or the prophetic girl.The throne would eventually stand empty.And he intended to be ready when it did.
Back inside the royal chamber, Lyra suddenly felt a sharp pulse of danger.
Her head lifted instantly…something dark moved through the palace..it was Diatrus nor his demons but something hidden,it watching and preparing.
Diatrus noticed her reaction immediately.
"What is it?"
She hesitated."I think… someone wants me dead."
His eyes burned instantly crimson."Then they have chosen death.