The palace did not tremble when Castel entered. It flinched. Not from his steps—but from the thing that moved with him. Something unseen. Something heavy enough to press the air flat. Cion stumbled a half-step behind him. Rell, Aideon, and Krince were already waiting. Too still. Too silent. They had felt it coming.
"Open the portal." No greeting. No explanation.
Just command. Rell raised his hands, voice tightening as he spoke:
"Where light and darkness meet...
open—and bring forth my will."
The air split.
Not gently.
It ripped.
Darkness spilled outward like ink dropped into water—thick, alive, swallowing light as it twisted into a ring of violent black. Beyond it. A forest. Moonlit.
Drowned in fog. Waiting. Castel stepped through.
No hesitation. Aideon followed. Krince caught Cion's arm as he passed.
"What the fuck did you do?" he hissed. Cion's throat tightened.
"I—"
He didn't get to finish before they felt it Castel anger.
Krince shoved him forward. Rell entered last.
Behind a palace pillar Astelion ran. Heart racing. Breath burning. She dove through the portal just before it sealed shut. The Void It wasn't silent.
It growled. Low. Endless. Alive. A crack split across its surface—like something vast had clawed from the inside and nearly broken through.
Castel walked straight to it. Of course he did.
His fingers brushed the barrier. His left eye ignited gold. His right burned blue. He turned.
"All of you..." A pause.
Then—
"...are fucking useless."
The words didn't echo.
They hit. The council dropped instantly—knees slamming into earth so hard dirt burst around them.
"We are useless! Forgive us!"
The Void rumbled. Then something deeper answered.
Something older. Krismont. Castel smiled.
Wild.
Sharp.
Wrong.
A voice tore from within the Void—
"You evil abomination." Castel tilted his head slightly.
Almost amused.
"Well... hello, dear father-in-law."
"You took my child."
"I did."
A smile. Slow. deliberate.
"And I married her."
The dragon king slammed his tail into the barrier. The world cracked with the impact. The barrier held.
Krismont staggered. Furious.
"You're getting old," Castel said lightly.
"She is NOTHING like you!" Krismont roared.
Something shifted. Subtle. But lethal.
"You slaughtered my parents." The air changed.
He didn't raise his voice. Didn't need to.
"But here I am."
A step closer.
"Showing you mercy." A pause.
"For my wife's sake." Behind the dragon king A shadow stepped forward. Peeling out of darkness.
Taking shape.
Tas.
Human form.
Still.
Cold.
Astelion's breath caught.
"...Father..." His eyes didn't soften. Not even a flicker.
"You do not love her," Tas said.
"This is obsession." Castel laughed. Soft. Deadly.
"You must be the bitter ex." A tilt of his head. A cruel glint.
"Should I tell you how beautifully she moans my name"
"How dare you!" Tas roared
"SILENCE!" The forest shook. Trees bent. The ground cracked. Castel only turned away. Bored. Done.
"I've had enough." He faced the council.
"Stand." They obeyed instantly. His hands pressed against the barrier. Both of them. Power surged.
His eyes burned—pure gold.
"Take hold," the council chanted, voices shaking,
"and bind those who are not of us"
Castel didn't wait. He dragged a blade across his palm.
No hesitation.
No flinch.
Blood fell.
The Void drank it.
Black turned red. Red thickened. Spread. Hardened.
Stone. Inside hundreds of dragons roared. Not rage.
Not fury. Fear. Tas moved to them. Krismont didn't. He stared at Castel. Hatred. Grief. And something far worse.Fear.
The Palace
Arastella froze mid-step.Something tore through her chest. Not pain. Connection. Voices. Thousands.
Screaming. Her knees hit marble.
"Father—Tas—what's happening—?" Pain flooded her veins. Burning. Spreading. Consuming.
"Papa—" Her scream shattered the chamber. Guards rushed in. Maids followed. Too late.
"I feel them—" Her body trembled violently.
"He's hurting them—" Her skin began to glow.
Red.
White.
Unstable.
"It's not my pain..." Her voice broke.
"It's theirs." Images slammed into her mind— Claws against crimson stone. Krismont roaring.
Tas running. Blood sealing the sky itself.
"His blood—he used his blood—STOP HIM!" Her body arched. The palace trembled.
"I promised..."
Her voice cracked.
"Peace..." A whisper now. Broken.
"But he's turning my world into a prison." The connection snapped. Silence. She collapsed inward. Shaking. Fading. One final whisper. Cold. Certain.
Her eyes burned.
"I will kill him." Darkness took her.
The Forest
The chanting stopped. The Void stood sealed.
Not by magic. By blood. Castel stepped back.
Unbothered. Untouched.
"Rell. Portal." Before stepping through, he looked at Krismont. Calm. Cruel. Certain.
"She will visit." And then he was gone. The council followed. One by one. Cion lingered. Staring at the red prison.
"...Fuck." Then he left too. Silence returned.
Heavy. Unforgiving. Astelion ran forward. Voice sharp. Urgent. Desperate.
"Ile volema utzen nser ropoi!
Aima durf imi lymeno hege lla icht knono!"
(She will save our people! Blood can be washed away—but never made pure again!)
She ran. Jumped. Dove through the portal just before it closed. Krismont finally collapsed. The red walls reflected in his eyes. Grief. Rage. And something fragile.Something dangerous. Hope. Because his daughter was alive. And somewhere. She had felt it.