On the shore of a beach far from the coasts of the port city of Theseus, Prince Maximilian sat by a campfire eating some roasted fish while his men sharpened their swords. Four days had passed since they had left that night when the city was engulfed in flames, leaving behind everything that could bind him except the memory of his wife and unborn child.

- “My lord, I have returned from my exploration” – Sitting next to Maximilian, Vargas dropped onto the sand, sighing deeply with the accumulated tiredness of two days of patrolling the perimeter and interior of the island.

- “Try to catch your breath and eat a little, we have enough time. You have worked hard in your work, my faithful right hand, give yourself some credit.” – Even though Maximilian’s face had a smile on it, in Vargas’ eyes that expression felt so distant as if it were hiding the deep sorrow he carried inside.

- “Prince Maximilian, you must not force yourself. I know that this has been a great loss for you, my lord, but if you do not rest, you will not have the strength to go to war.”

- “War, the meaning of my life summed up in one word, my faithful Vargas. Until a few days ago I thought that my life had taken on another meaning at the side of that woman. But fate has a subtle way of making fun of me.” – Throwing the fish scraps into the fire, Prince Maximilian put his hands on his head, lowering his face with an expression full of helplessness.

With tears unable to flow from his dry eyes, Maximilian briefly recalled some moments he shared with his wife in that old mud house in the city of Theseus.

- “Max, have you thought of a name for the baby when it’s born?” – Sitting at the foot of the window, caressing her swollen belly, Aurora looked sweetly at Maximiliano’s face, who couldn’t take his eyes off those green gems that delighted him during the day.

- “I'm not good with names, I think it would be better if you choose it.”

- “Oh come on Max, I can’t believe a man as intelligent as you would have trouble choosing a name for his child” – With a smiling expression on her face, Aurora took her husband’s hand and brought it to touch her belly so that she could feel the baby’s kicks. It was the moment she felt the small twinges in her palm that the prince had a brief flash of a distant past.

- “Astra would be a good name if it were a girl”

- “Astra?”

- “Yes, the name of my paternal grandmother”

- “Astra is a good name, I like it” – Smiling as she gave her husband a kiss on the lips, Aurora wrote down in a notebook the date and the name the father had chosen for his son.

- “If it's a boy, we'll name him Maximiliano, like his father.” – Writing that name in the notebook as well, Aurora looked up at the blue sky through the window, her delicate face filled with hope.

- “You know Vargas, I would have liked you to be my son’s godfather” – Saying those words with his gaze lost in the fire of the bonfire, the prince stood up from his seat and stretched his arms a little while he began to walk slowly. He was immediately followed by his assistant, who began to give him the details of his observation on the island.

- “As we thought, my lord, the island is uninhabited. However, according to the ancient writings I have been collecting, there are certain ruins within it.”

- “Ruins?”

-“Yes, they are buildings of what appears to be an ancient civilization.”

- “I guess these are ruins of the Lupus tribe.”

- “No my lord, they do not seem to belong to any of the primordial tribes” – With an air of uncertainty in Maximilian’s mind, the two men walked to the camp’s main tent to record Vargas’ discoveries.

Meanwhile, inside the walls of the city of Kalifuto, the people of Sidelia gathered in the streets in complete silence as the procession of the invading army escorted the remains of King Ambrose and Princess Suthi.

Sitting atop his camelius, holding the bridle in one hand and the baby in the other, Remius could feel the angry stares being fixed on him.

This anger was completely understandable, since it was the price to pay for having taken the life of a king so beloved by the people. And yet, due to the martial code, the people could not take out their fury on him, since King Ambrose had died in a duel worthy of their challenger.

- “Their gazes are like arrows that pierce the back of your neck” – Moving forward with his steed to approach his lord, the faithful advisor stood alongside his lord to cover his left flank from any possible attack.

- “It is normal, Gideon, a people like this may bend their flesh to defeat, but they will never do so in spirit. They may obey us for a while, but the spark of rebellion could strike at any moment” – With the steed slightly raising its head above the crowd, the prince quickened his pace to quickly reach the royal palace.

Coming out to meet them through the main door of the palace, the silhouette of an elderly man leaned on a staff while extending his right hand, giving the signal to the horsemen to stop.

- “I must ask you to stop please”

- “Don’t you know who you’re blocking?”

- “Yes, I know that perfectly well. An ungrateful son who has raised his hand against a man he considered a father.”

- “How dare you say that!” – The moment Gideon unsheathed his sword to attack the old man, Prince Remius let out a deafening scream that made his advisor stop dead in his tracks, who quickly dropped the sword to the ground while the baby in the prince's arms began to cry in anguish.

- “It's incredible that he brings a little one to the front line of battle, it's simply inconceivable” – Without realizing when the baby was snatched from his arms, Remius got off the camelius and approached the old man who was looking at him defiantly.

- “Give it back to me”

- “Oh, this baby is important to you I see.”

- “Yes, she is the daughter of a woman to whom I owe my life”

- “And where is that blessed woman?” – Keeping silent at the old man’s question, Prince Remius bowed his face slightly and turned his gaze back where two of his men were arriving carrying a coffin.

- “Mmmmm, it is indeed a terrible night for all. This poor creature has lost its mother and this country has lost its father. Just for tonight I will give you a truce, young prince; but tomorrow when we discuss the terms of surrender, I hope you will have a better appearance.” – Returning the baby to his arms, the old man turned around and gave instructions to the servants to escort the prince and his men to the chambers he had previously prepared.

- “My lord, who was that man?”

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- “Gideon, if I hadn’t stopped your momentum, you would be cut into a thousand pieces now. That old man, as weak as he looks, is none other than Archduke Eleazar Bonaparte. That man has been the combat teacher of at least two kings throughout the history of the royal family.” – With sweat running down his forehead, the prince could barely breathe a sigh of relief at seeing that he was able to save the life of his escort, who barely realized what was happening.

- “Give the order to escort King Ambrosio’s remains and sword to the throne room. Also hand over the princess to her personal maids to escort her to her chambers.”

- “As you command, my lord. And in the case of Lady Aurora’s body, how do we dispose of it?” – Stopping dead in his tracks in the main corridor of the palace, the prince thought for a moment in silence and told his advisor to take the healer’s body to the chamber of the royal court physician.

Accompanying Gideon, two soldiers carried Aurora's covered body on a stretcher. They made their way through the east wing of the palace until they crossed an open space of what appeared to be an inner garden.

- “Commander Gideon, was this woman someone very important to our lord?”

- “Indeed, the body of the woman you are escorting owes our lord his life. So this is the least we can do for her.”

- “But don’t you think it’s strange?”

- “What do you mean, corporal?” The soldiers suddenly stopped to uncover the blanket covering Aurora’s corpse, showing Gideon something that might seem strange to anyone looking at the body.

Part of Aurora's skin had a greyish tint in the form of tiny patches, as if an infection were visible to the naked eye. However, the strangest thing that occurred before Gideon's eyes was that Aurora's pubic area was oozing amniotic fluid.

- “Wasn’t she supposed to have finished giving birth already? Then why is this fluid flowing? Unless…” – As if an ominous chill ran down his spine to the nape of his neck, Gideon looked at his men and quietly gave them the order to hurry to the royal palace doctor’s office.

“Bam, Bam, Bam”

- “Who’s knocking on the door so insistently? Can’t you see what time of night it is?” – Opening the door to the office, a slightly hunched figure appeared, adjusting his glasses while squinting.

- “You are not members of the royal palace guard. Who are you and what do you want here?” – When the healer was about to suddenly close the door out of fear, Gideon put his foot in the way and pushed the door hard, throwing the healer back.

- “Look carefully at this emblem. Can you recognize it?” – Extending his hand to the face of the healer, that bronze medallion with the effigy of the royal family of Sidelia had been given by Eleazar to Prince Remius. With that metal piece, any servant of the palace had to obey the request of the guest to show it.

- “I see you are guests of the palace. Tell me, what is it that you seek from me at this hour? Is any of you hurt?”

- “No, none of us have any injuries. We came to ask you to take care of preserving this corpse for at least five days. However, while we were transporting it here, something happened that caught our attention.” – Uncovering Aurora’s body before the perplexed gaze of the healer, the grayish patches that until recently were tiny and scattered across the body, now completed larger patterns as the flow of amniotic fluid became more abundant from the woman’s cervix.

- “Is this woman dead? Are you absolutely sure? Because I’m not in the mood for jokes!” – Touching the skin on Aurora’s arm, the healer felt a slight warmth that did not correspond to someone who had recently died.

- “There is no reflex in the pupils, nor is there any response to nervous stimulation to the puncture. There are no clinical signs that tell me that she is alive, however, her body temperature is as if she were and despite everything, contractions are seen in the lower abdomen”- Clearing the consulting room floor, the healer gave the order to the soldiers to carefully place the body while he prepared some lighting in the place to proceed to open Aurora's legs.

- “The dilation hasn’t let up since the last birth, the canal is still 10 cm open and I can see something. You big guy with silver hair, point the light with that mirror over here, quickly.” – A little annoyed by the way the healer was talking to him, Gideon did as he asked very reluctantly.

- “Did I see anything?”

- “Yes, there is another baby in there. But I can’t see any neonatal movement, so the creature may have died from hypoxia.”

- “Hypoxia?”

- “Yes, from where I am looking, her skin is blue-gray. Like this woman’s.” – Lifting his face completely surprised by what he saw, the healer fell to the ground, hitting his butt against the cold floor of the office. At the same time he stammered without being able to understand what was happening before his eyes.

Aurora's skin was completely darkened, in a blue-gray tone, just like the time when she was a child and lived with her adoptive mother in the fields of the kingdom of Antioch.

- “Quick, don’t let a single one of these disgusting Maneki escape!” – Kilometers away from that nation cloistered in the sands, a contingent of soldiers belonging to the Rivera house faction carried their swords unsheathed, brandishing the cold metal against the tender flesh of defenseless citizens who fled in horror at the barbarity that consumed innocent life on that infamous night.

- “Please have mercy. We swear that we have no intention of rebelling against the king.” – Despite her pleas, a woman who was kneeling with her hands together as if praying to the goddess, briefly felt the tip of the rapier pierce her heart.

- “The king has been too clear with those of your kind, damn Maneki trash. If you do not accept to live as slaves in this kingdom, you only have the option of dying like the filthy beasts you are”- Pushing the body with a kick, the knight pulled out the blade of his sword and shook the blood forcefully against the grass.

- “Lieutenant, we found two women inside this hut. Come quickly.” – The man clicked his tongue in great annoyance, turned around and walked to the stone hut where an old woman was sitting at the foot of a bed, accompanying a woman who had been asleep for several years.

- “My lord, have mercy on her. She is my daughter and has been ill for several moons now. She is not a threat to you.” – With her body shaking from her years, the old woman got up from the chair to try to get on her knees, being stopped by the soldier’s hand, who slowly made her sit back down on the chair.

- “So this is your daughter. Is that correct, old lady?”

- “Yes, my lord, she was a very lively woman until a few years ago when a tragedy occurred in which she lost her daughter. As if it were a curse, she fell into a deep sleep and not a single healer has been able to bring her consciousness back.” - With her eyes slightly moistened as she told that story, the old woman's fragile voice could barely be heard in the silence of the hut.

- “Old lady, you have been a good mother. There is no need to cry, you have done more than enough for your daughter.” – Looking into her eyes with a smile on his face, the lieutenant approached her and gave her a hug, then plunged a dagger into her back until he reached her heart.

- “Shhh, rest, old woman. Don’t say a word, just sleep next to your daughter” – Putting his finger to his mouth in mockery, the soldier threw the old woman’s body onto the bed where the sleeping woman was. He gave the order to his men to pour oil on the women and then set them on fire.

- “You are a damn Vladimir, for a moment even I believed that you were someone who had a heart” – With a very familiar tone as if they had known each other for a long time, one of the soldiers spoke to the lieutenant who took off his helmet to fix his hair.

- “Of course I have a heart, it’s just made of stone” – Laughing out loud, Vladimir Rofocale, Baronet of the Andreas territory, was a lichen thirsty for achievements to climb the ranks of the kingdom’s nobility. Having just received the title a few days after the incident on the day of the coronation, the lieutenant of the royal guard felt that his path to success was assured as long as he obediently followed the orders imposed on him.

- “There is nothing left to do in this village. Mount your horses and let’s go to the next village. The night is still long and the mission continues until there is not one left standing” – Smiling meanly, Vladimir pulled hard on the reins of his mount and began to gallop with impetus. Leaving behind him a sea of flames that collapsed the walls of the old hut in the middle of the darkness of the moor.

- “Fuck you! I’m telling you to get that baby out right now.”

- “And I’m telling you that under no circumstances am I going near that.” – Back at Kalifuto’s palace in the royal consulting room, Gideon was arguing heatedly with the healer, who refused to come even a few steps closer to Aurora. Who had surprisingly shown signs of having returned to life, but in a wild state that needed to be subdued by two men.

- “Commander, we are almost out of strength! Do something.” - Pushing Aurora’s torso against the plank with great difficulty, the soldiers avoided the teeth of the crazed woman.

- “Damn it! I’ll apologize later for this.” – Taking a deep breath as he summoned his combat form, Gideon launched himself at Aurora with his right arm visibly increased in size. He landed a punch to the woman’s jaw, who let out a scream like a beast as she was knocked out by the blow.

- “Healer, are you ready to do your job?” – Turning towards the mederi that was still on the ground, Gideon’s eyes showed an expression of annoyance that seemed threatening to the healer.

- “Okay, I’ll do it now. Clear the area and let me do my job.” – Grumbling as he muttered insults under his breath, the healer took a forceps and opened the birth canal to hold the baby’s head. Little by little, the baby came out of its mother until it was finally outside, starting to cry loudly.

- “In all my years of life, I swear I have never seen anything like what happened before my eyes tonight.” Taking the baby in his arms, Gideon looked at the dark-skinned girl with silver hair with great suspicion.