My footsteps echoed through the hall, breaking the silence of the night. The sound was minimal compared to the roaring of my beating heart. The palace hall, usually bustling with maids and workers, was eerily empty tonight. Everyone had been dismissed for the ritual and told to pray for the "New Light."

That light was supposed to be me, but I knew I didn’t deserve it.

Looking out the window, I saw the sprawling kingdom, the kingdom that, from this night on, I would rule. The scene was breathtaking. Vendors filled the streets, their stalls glowing like fireflies in the dark. The city never truly slept, earning its title: the "Sleepless Kingdom."

A smile briefly touched my lips, but it faded as my eyes fell on the sacrificial dagger. Stories older than the kingdom itself claimed it was forged from the bones of ancient beings, creatures said to hail from realms beyond mortal comprehension.

I turned my gaze to the heavy wooden door of my father’s chamber. In all my years, I had never felt this much fear or guilt approaching it.

Gripping the dagger tightly, I took slow, deliberate steps toward the door. Each step echoed louder and louder in my ears until the sound seemed to transform into whispers. I knew it was just my mind playing tricks on me, letting fear seep into my thoughts.

I stopped in front of the door, my breathing quick and shallow.

CREAK

The door opened slightly, releasing a sweet, intoxicating fragrance that overwhelmed my senses. Inside, the room was blanketed with flowers, from the most common to the rarest blooms that only blossomed once a century.

This had been my father’s final wish: to have his chamber filled with flowers from his beloved garden, alongside blooms so fragrant they would mask the metallic scent of his blood. As an Awakened, and the strongest Awakened at that, only the rarest flowers could achieve such a feat.

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As I approached his bed, I saw his still body. He wasn’t dead; I could see the faint rise and fall of his chest. He had been placed into a deep sleep using narcotics he had grown himself.

Following tradition, I cleaned the dagger on my white robes and raised it high above my father’s body.

Sweat trickled down my forehead as I held the blade aloft, frozen by fear.

Considering my father was an Awakened, the effects of the drugs wouldn’t last long. I had to act quickly before he woke and avoid causing him unnecessary pain.

Trembling, I let my hands fall. The dagger descended, but before it struck, his eyes snapped open.

It was too late.

The blade pierced his throat, and it was anything but shallow.

My father writhed and struggled, his hands clawing desperately at the dagger. Blood gushed from the wound, covering the room in crimson.

I stood paralyzed as the warm liquid dyed my once pristine robes red.

His eyes locked onto mine, filled with rage and betrayal. Blood trailed down his face, pooling at the corners of his mouth.

And then, with a heavy _thud,_ his body slumped back onto the bed.

I caught my reflection in the pool of blood, but what I saw wasn’t me. It was the face of a traitor, a failure who couldn’t fulfill his dying father’s final wish.

I touched my blood soaked face, my voice trembling as I whispered, "What have I done?"

My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the floor. Running my fingers through my golden hair, I smeared it with red, the color of my sin.

Suddenly, a light emerged from my father’s lifeless body, a small, radiant sphere. This was the token, the ultimate power passed down through generations, revered as a divine blessing.

But before I could comprehend it, a shadowy figure materialized beside the sphere. It reached out to claim the light, but as soon as it touched it, sparks erupted. The creature recoiled in shock, its form shuddering. And then, just as abruptly as it appeared, it vanished without a trace.

The sphere of light floated toward me and, without resistance, absorbed itself into my body.

That night, I mourned. I wasn’t sure if my grief was for my father, now deceased, or for myself, someone doomed to spend the rest of eternity suffering in this wretched world.