There was a gentle knock at his door. As he stirred awake, Teal entered. “Good morning, Young Master,” she said as walked up next to his bedside. Something about her looked a little off. Her hair reminded him of his mother’s from the other day. It was a bit unkempt with dozens of loose strands. Her eyes weren’t baggy but there was a slight tiredness in them.

“What’s wrong, Teal? Did you have a rough night?” He rubbed his eyes as he spoke.

“Yes, something like that,” she said with a thin smile. She reached behind her neck and he heard the unclipping of a chain. In her hand was a pendant, no, the pendant from the shrine behind the palace temple. “From today onward, this is yours, Young Master.” Without waiting for a response, she pulled him close and latched it closed. It felt heavy and a bit awkward around his neck.

“Why are you giving this to me?”

“I just thought it was time that I give this back to you too. You were the one who found it originally.”

“I guess I did, but I told you it was yours.”

“And now it’s yours. If you don’t want it after today, then you can give it to me tomorrow.”

He shrugged, “Is it almost time for the funeral?”

Teal stared at him for a moment. It was a bit strange but he didn’t say anything. Maybe the lack of sleep got to her more than he thought.

“Yes,” she finally said. “We were allowed to sleep in today. It should start in fifteen minutes.” Teal pushed off from the bed and grabbed his clothes for him. “Do you need some help with your clothes?” She asked, teasingly.

“I’m not a kid anymore. Go and wait outside or something.”

“Yes, Young Master. Let me know if you need me.”

She closed the door behind her and he rolled out of bed, changing into the clothes. They were light and comfortable clothing, mostly in the color black with a splash of red at the collar and cuffs. On the back was the Kheonyth Kingdom’s symbol, two crossed claws over two crossed wings. Simple, but eye catching and recognizable.

He craned his neck and saw nothing but a drab and dreary room. It was fitting, for the day, but he didn’t like it. He felt a bit odd walking to the curtains and he felt his gaze shifting down. Kieran threw them open and let the sunlight through. It was clear skies as far as he could see. The trees swayed with the blowing of the wind, a howl brushing past his window. Below, he saw a rather well armored soldier look up at him. A strange sensation washed over him, akin to deja vu. He wasn’t sure if it was one of his brothers’ royal guards or his parents’ but he was sure he’d seen the guard somewhere before. Time was running short and he had no time to guess.

He combed his bedhead the best he could manage and burst out the door. “I thought fifteen minutes would be a good amount of time, but couldn’t you have woken me up a little earlier?”

“I thought it’d be best for you since you’ve been having trouble recently, right?”

“I guess. Anyway, we better hurry.”

As Kieran started down the hallway, he realized Teal wasn’t following. When he turned back, he saw her with a deep frown. “What’s wrong?”

“I-I’m sensing a lot of presences.”

“Is one of them disrupting your Flow?”

She nodded.

This wouldn’t be the first time this happened. Though Teal’s detection barrier was difficult for people to perceive, it wasn’t impossible. Certain people, like Alexandra, had this kind of disrupting effect on her too. It wouldn’t surprise him if it was one of the royal guards.

“Is it something we should worry about?”

“I-I’m not sure. Let’s go, Young Master…”

They walked through the castle taking turns down similarly looking halls. It was disorientating to say the least. There were a few big open rooms that had some life to them, like the room at the entrance to the castle and a few of the guest rooms. After about a few wrong turns, Teal took the lead and brought him to the right room. Two guards stood outside as well as a dozen or so servants. The doors stood in stark contrast with the rest of the castle. They were made of brighter, slightly maroon, maplewood.

He entered and saw his family gathered around a closed black casket, along with a temple priest in the back. He counted the present members. There were five, if he included himself. “They have yet to arrive,” said Drastan. “Lyla was delayed once again, but Hansgath should be here soon.”

“Are we going to wait for them?”

“Yes,” said his mother. “But there is a part that must be done now. Come.”

He stood next to her and the priest began to recite words from the book in his hands. It was the holy text of Bel’ekah, The Kon’bel. The text was uncomfortably familiar. Many of the lines read were the exact same as the ones used during his Scaling. The very ritual that determined him as Colorless.

“May his blessing guide you to his side,” said the priest. “That concludes-!”

The whole castle shook and a loud explosion deafened them all for a moment. A second later, another explosion came from the wall behind the priest. Chunks of the wall flew everywhere, and built up dust filled the air. Silhouettes filled the space where the wall used to be and Kieran’s eyes went wide as he saw one of them with a torch.

In an instant, the entire room was destroyed in an earth shaking blaze as the fire devoured all the dust in the air. He wrapped himself and as much of his family as he could in his shadows. The fire never ate through his Essence. A barrier was erected around them just in time and bore the brunt of the damage. As the fire faded, just as quickly as it came, the barrier crumbled away. A bolt of Fire Essence flew at the king, but he blocked it with his scaly hand. “Who dares attack the Demon King of Kheonyth!” As intimidating as he looked and sounded, the attackers didn’t shy away. A stream of Essence bolts all came in at once.

“Do not be afraid. There’s a reason the king doesn’t go into battle anymore.”

Drastan and Baumor both unleashed their gifts. It was more magnificent and complete than most he’d seen in battle. While the common soldiers often lacked one or more of the main traits, his older brothers had them all, except for wings. Drastan hurled a ball of volatile Essence at the attackers that completely enveloped one of them. The man dropped to the ground while letting out blood curdling screams. The men stepped past their dying comrade and revealed themselves. They wore chain and plate armor, and at their sides were fine steel swords and other weaponry. One pulled out his mace and shield, putting up his guard as he walked toward the prince. While his face was obscured by his helmet, the two five pointed stars on his shoulder showed he was a knight.

“Surely you mock us,” Baumor said as he pointed at the marking. “You think Kheonyth’s royal family would fall to attacks carried out by lowly silver ranked knights?” Drastan allowed Baumor to engage the knight. Kieran didn’t know how strong Baumor was, but he knew he also moved up from Upper to High Demon not too long ago.

As they exchanged blows, however, Kieran and Drastan knew something was off. First, the royal guards from the outside weren’t rushing in. With an explosion making that much noise, they should have appeared by now. Secondly, a High Demon should have finished off a Low ranked silver knight already. Right before their eyes, Baumor took cut after cut. The knight seemed a bit unsteady with his shield and had discarded it after blocking a few attacks. Now, the silver knight used his free hand to land punches to Baumor’s gut and arms.

“What’s going on?!” Baumor’s face was in disbelief.

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“These are false!” Yelled their father as he tore the arm clean off one knight. The shoulder mark claimed he was a bronze knight.

“You dare try to deceive us with your ranks!” Drastan snarled. “You humans have less honor than I thought.”

None of the attackers reacted to Drastan’s taunts. They simply pushed in and surrounded them. At least half a dozen knights were battling with their father while another joined in to exploit the weakened Baumor. Drastan held back three by himself. Kieran watched in horror as more men poured through the opening in the wall. His mother tugged at his sleeve. She didn’t look like he expected. Fear was not the primary expression on her face, but determination. “We cannot stay here, My Dear. Neither of us can stand up to them if your brothers are having trouble. We must escape and tell the guards.”

He nodded, not completely grasping what she said. She grabbed his hand and led him to the door. While they were left well enough alone for the most part, once they started moving, the attackers switched their focus and bombarded them with spells. Kieran and his mother both conjured barriers that shattered under their rain of Essence. A dozen icicles threatened to pierce them straight through. The shadows at their feet expanded like a crashing wave, catching and shattering the ice. Four pierced his veil. His mother spun around and crushed two with her claws.

“Wun und vass!”

A blade of air cut through the remaining ones.

“Young Master! Your Majesty!”

“Teal!” Kieran cried out.

“Come with me, we have to escape now!”

As they ran out into the hallway, they saw the two royal guards fending off more of the attackers. The servants were nowhere to be seen. “Unleash your gifts,” his mother commanded. Scales grew around their bodies and their nails grew and sharpened into claws. Even with the boon of their gifts, they had difficulty winning. One of the guards swung his halberd in a wide arc, causing his two opponents to retreat a step. He used the opening to sweep the leg of one and pin the other to the wall. “Go, Your Majesty,” he yelled.

The three of them ran for it. Kieran blasted the prone knight with a shadow bolt and Teal followed up with a wind blade. They continued down the labyrinth-like halls until they reached one of the wider areas. Two servants were cowering behind the meagre furniture and under the tiny four legged tables. When they saw them, they immediately stood at attention.

“You two,” his mother said. “Where are the teleport rooms?”

They exchanged glances and the man spoke, “This way, Your Majesty.”

Teal grabbed onto Kieran’s hand, “No! We can’t go that way.”

“Teal, I know you found the way to the room where the funeral was being held, but now isn’t the time to argue with the people who’ve been here longer than us, okay? We’ve only been here a day at most.”

“More people crossed my barrier from over there!”

That instantly shut him up.

“Some of us ran that way. They must have gotten the king and queen’s royal guard,” the maidservant said.

“What if it’s the intruders,” Teal said.

“We arrived with a dozen of them,” his mother declared. “Unless the enemy has brought a ludicrous amount of elite troops, they could not defeat them easily. We must take this chance. One of the royal guards also carries the communication crystal with Hansgath and Lyla. We must inform them immediately so that they do not come.”

Kieran reversed the grip and pulled Teal along. They followed the two servants down the hall and paused once they saw two armored men marching their way. A sense of dread filled the now forming pit in his stomach as he failed to identify them as friend or foe. Teal’s grip on him tightened.

“Your Majesty!” cried the guards as they sped up their pace. “We have looked all over for you.”

His worry subsided once he heard them speak and saw the emblem on their chests.

“Quickly. His Majesty and our sons are being attacked-”

Kieran’s vision blurred as red began to soak his mother’s black dress. Out the window, he saw a battle going on between knights and royal guards. They were outnumbered two to one. While the royal guards struck down the attackers, they were slowly being whittled down. Once they were killed, they were pulled to the side and stripped of their armor. His mother looked down at the pointed end of the halberd piercing through her stomach.

The servants both turned and dashed away in the direction they came from, throwing down obstacles to block the way before anyone else could act. His mother turned to him with her beautiful dark eyes and said, “Run, My Dear.”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” Teal said as she slammed both men with bolts of Essence and ran with Kieran in tow. He watched as a tear streamed down his mother’s eye and she turned back to face the attackers.

“T-Teal…”

“I know, Young Master, but we can’t do anything now. We have to go.”

They stumbled over the broken vases and knocked over table stands, navigating the halls as best they could. They ran past hiding servants and ignored the myriad explosions ringing out through the castle.

As they entered another open area, a group of four enemies appeared. They immediately attacked, flinging deadly spells like the icicles at them. Kieran’s self-preservations overtook his shock and he managed to manipulate his shadows the same way he did inside the funeral room. The attackers descended on them.

“Is this one of the princes?”

“Yes, they’re all wearing black, remember?”

Kieran didn’t have a sword nor did he have claws like most other Blessed. In fact, neither did Teal. He spared a glance her way and saw her horn sticking out more than usual. He didn’t have any more room to pay attention to her, though.

He dodged the sword aimed at his neck and managed to wrap his shadows around the other enemy’s mace, weakening the blow significantly. He closed the distance on the sword wielder, even as his instincts screamed for him to run away. But he had no other choice. Kieran got in close and shot him with a point-blank shadow bolt. The armor crumpled, and he followed up with another. A hand grabbed onto his hair. He felt the man’s unusually sharp nails dig into his scalp and in the next moment, was thrown across the room.

He landed on his back and had all the air knocked out of him. Warm liquid trailed down his head and he saw blood when he rolled over. They were strong. Way too strong. He and Teal had no chance.

But they had to try.

Pushed to the brink, Kieran invoked the words that help expel the Essence inside of him, that shaped his Flow. It was something a certain red-haired demon had often advised him against doing when in a limited person battle.

‘The element of surprise is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal. While invoking the words gives you more power, hiding what spell you will use is often more important.’

This wasn’t one of those times.

“Jarl und vass!”

A massive amount of Essence surged through his body and to his hand, shooting out with so much force, his arm jerked back. The two conjured barriers to protect themselves but they were broken with ease. Kieran unleashed another, “Jarl und vass!” as he used the time to rise to his feet.

They rolled out of the way. He sprinted at the man he’d already hurt and willed his Flow, his shadow tendrils to wrap around his legs, halting his movement altogether. The man swung with his sword. Kieran predicted it, but he was slow. It cut his arm and part of his chest, yet he pushed through.

“You think I’d fall for that again?”

The knight slammed his free hand against Kieran’s exposed back. He dropped to all fours. The shadows withdrew an inch. Kieran grit his teeth and angled his hand, “Jarl und vass!”

The spell was off center. It grazed the knight’s armor, and exposed his side before crashing into the wall. Kieran brought his arms up and blocked the incoming kick. His willed his shadows away, focusing on the outstretched leg and yanked. The knight fell prone and Kieran threw himself on top of him. He grabbed the man’s helmet.

“You bastard,” the man grunted, as he held back Kieran’s arms. He flipped him over in one motion and stabbed a dagger into his side.

“Argh!” Kieran felt the strength leave his arms.

“Make sure to finish him,” said the other man as he brought down his mace.

Kieran rolled over at the last second. The weapon crushed his shoulder but he survived. The pendant, still attached around his neck, fell to the ground in front of him, the inside opened. Panting and with warmth leaving his body, his eyes ignored it and searched the room for Teal.

Teal…?

The man he fought was now towering over him. He pressed the sword against his neck. “You must be Kieran. The useless prince, huh? I’ll commend you, I guess. You were a bit stronger than I heard.”

One of the men attacking her was on the ground. Blood flowed from the gash in his chest. But he couldn’t find her. He kept searching. Searching. Searching… She was bleeding all over. Her simple white dress, her beautiful sky-colored hair, her warm kind smile… All of it was covered in blood.

“Still, in the end you were nothing special. I just let my guard down, that’s all. All these years of your life were spent doing nothing of note. You might be able to fight, but you could never rule.”

She backed against the wall, refusing to fall down as she held onto her broken arm while blood streamed down her face. She couldn’t even open one of her eyes. Her opponent, the remaining knight, was also wounded. He staggered toward her and raised his sword. Their eyes met and she gave him a weak smile.

“...on’t… D-don’t…” Kieran muttered through pained breaths.

“I heard you were Colorless so I guess I’m doing you a favor here-” he pressed the sword deeper. “Hey, are you listening? Whatever. Pass on quietly, okay?”

“Te...al…”

Before he could see what happened next, everything went black. The beat of his heart grew weaker and weaker till only silence remained.

The last thing he saw was the inside of the pendant with a number he couldn’t register. All he could tell, was that it changed.