The light filtering through the high hall windows was cold, as if the moon itself had decided to watch what would happen that night. The ancient stone of the old walls was not only a witness to history, but it seemed to carry its whispers... whispers of trials, decisions, tears.
Valerian stood at the entrance, his shoulders tense like the string of an old bow, and his eyes restless, not settling on anything in particular. His hands were sweaty despite the coldness of the hall, and the torchlight reflected on his tense forehead.
[The system message he saw earlier]
You have been summoned by King Yaram to appear before him regarding the "Outbreak Incident." Your fate will be determined based on how consistent you are with the investigation's proceedings. Please be honest, or prepare for the consequences of exposure.
He knew the message wasn't just an administrative alert. He felt something creeping behind its words a veiled threat, and an eye watching him even in his restless sleep since the virus appeared.
A guard approached him and opened the heavy door, revealing another world. The grand hall, the throne room, with its corners adorned with forgotten engravings from a bygone era, and a ceiling crowned by a blue dome inlaid with stars... At its center, sat the king.
Yaram, with an aura unlike any other. His eyes were like mirrors to a storm. No one needed an explanation for why everyone respected him... or feared him.
The king gestured silently. Valerian stepped forward until he stood before the marble steps leading to the throne, then knelt.
"Raise your head, Valerian."
He lifted his head slowly, as if the king's eyes weighed on him like a boulder.
"You were the only one among all the students from the northern wing who came out of the outbreak unscathed. Isn't that right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. I... I didn't suffer any symptoms."
"Strange. The virus leaves no one. Our enemies made it for that very purpose. And it spares only those who are... immune. Or... carrying something we don't know." Yaram added.
He paused for a moment. Then he added slowly:
"Or... someone who knew in advance what was going to happen."
Something moved in Valerian's chest. A faint pulse of fear, or maybe anger. But he couldn't raise his voice or retreat.
"I don't understand, Your Majesty."
"I think you understand very well."
The king rose from his throne. His steps were calm, but carried the weight of fateful decisions. He approached Valerian, standing directly before him, gazing at him with a look that seemed to strip the veil from his soul.
"Did you betray the continent? Did you know about the timing of the virus? Did you help bring it in? Were you the bridge?"
The questions lashed at him like whips, one after another, leaving marks unseen.
"I did none of that."
"Swear it."
"I swear on my honor, and on all I believe in, that I am not a traitor."
The sound of the oath echoed through the hall walls, as if the walls themselves were weighing his truth. The king looked at him for a moment, then gestured, and another man emerged from the shadows.
It was the Commander of the Royal Guard, General Drais. A man who knew no mercy and had no love for excess words. He stood beside the king without speaking, his mere presence a threat.
"General Drais will interrogate you now. And I want the truth, just the truth. No invention, no evasion."
"Where were you on the night before the outbreak?"
"I was in my room, on the fourth floor of the eastern wing. I was studying."
"Witness?"
"No one. I was alone."
"That doesn't help you."
"Because I didn't think I needed to provide witnesses for being alone!"
A sudden silence. Even the king seemed to notice the sharpness of his voice.
"You are clever, Valerian. No one denies that. But intelligence doesn't protect you from suspicion—sometimes it causes it."
The king drew closer, until his face was right before Valerian's.
"Do you have anything that clears your name? Just one thing... besides your words?"
Here Valerian hesitated. He had no proof. His secret ability couldn't be revealed, nor used here. But...
"I have friends... They'll ask about me if I disappear. They'll defend me. Didn't the investigation show I was the only one avoiding contact with the infected student before his death?"
"And that raises suspicion, not reassurance."
"Or maybe it shows caution? I felt something was wrong with him... I avoided him for that reason." Valerian replied without hesitation.
The king looked toward the general, then back at Valerian.
"Tell me, Valerian... Have you ever felt you were different from others?"
A question out of context, but it pierced Valerian like an arrow.
"Sometimes..."
"So have I." Yaram smiled a quiet smile.
He paused for a moment, then turned his back and returned to his throne. He sat, resting his chin on his palm.
"You know... when I was a child, my brother survived a plague that took all the other children of the palace, and he alone remained. He was silent, strange. And when he grew up, I learned why."
"Why?" Valerian whispered, filled with doubt.
"Because he wasn't like us. He was something else... different." Yaram replied immediately.
He rose again, then gestured to the guards.
"Let him go. But watch him."
Valerian froze. He didn't know whether he had survived... or entered a new phase of danger.
That same night
King Yaram ordered the end of the meeting, and everyone left except Valerian. He remained breathing heavily amid the dim lights and the shadows dancing on the walls as if they were watching his every move. His steps were heavy as he walked toward the door, unsure whether he had won or lost this battle.
Then, as if fate had decided to throw more complications onto his path, another person entered the hall, clearly carrying authority on his dark features. Edgar Lockard, Valerian's father. A silent man, with a strange command over his emotions, his icy features reflecting his approach to life as a whole. With golden eyes that reflected only coldness, and a tense brow like a guard who protected nothing but himself.
Edgar stood a few steps from the throne, contemplating what was happening before him. He didn't need to show any concern, or even pretend to care. He was from the Lockard royal family, and he knew exactly how to handle every situation with extreme composure, as if it were just another scene in his life.
As he entered, he noticed Claire Lockard, Valerian's sister, sitting in a corner of the hall. She was, unusually, wearing an expression of worry rarely seen on her face. Claire was always calm like an undisturbed lake, but in this moment, she had sensed that something was about to happen. She had felt in her heart a shift in the atmosphere, despite trying to hide it. It was a mixture of anxiety and suspicion, unsettling her quiet presence.
"It can't be just an accident... there's something strange."
But, in the other corner of the hall, sitting relaxed—he didn't care at all about what was happening. To him, all of this was just another show, no different from the other palace performances he saw daily. Raine had always been detached from engaging in matters that didn't serve his interests, and his brother's trial didn't concern him. He only wanted peace so he could settle in his comfortable place. That was his nature, often indifferent to what went on around him.
"What's the point? It's all just political manipulation."
The words were thrown to the nearby ears, but he didn't care that he spoke them aloud.
"All of this is a waste of time. My brother is nothing more than a student still trying to prove himself... and this whole attack on him makes no sense."
But despite his cold words, there was something in his voice that hinted at a lack of complete indifference. He was more comfortable staying away from this drama. Yet deep down, he knew this matter could grow into something greater. The entire family was in danger.
"Whatever is happening, we must deal with this campaign carefully, for time is no longer on our side."
Claire was looking at her father's face, and she could feel every word, but he did not radiate the reassurance she was searching for. She feared that there was something hidden in this grand mystery, something too big to be unraveled easily.
"Valerian, why do you insist on being so mysterious?" Claire murmured as her heartbeat quickened.
While everyone expressed their thoughts in a scene that reflected the harshness of House Lucard, Valerian was still standing in the corner, observing them. His heart was pounding, and all his thoughts were heading toward clarification and justification, but he knew he couldn't rely on words alone. He had to find a way to remain free within this trap.
Then he decided to turn to something more strategic.
"If you want the truth, then help me... but all of you are hiding behind your pasts. I'm different, yes... but that is not a sin."
"I won't ask you to believe me just based on my words. But... I will prove to you that I am innocent."
As he spoke, he looked directly into Yaram's eyes, trying to read his reaction. In the king's eyes, there were remnants of doubt, but also a hint of curiosity.
"I was told in the message I received from the system that I would be judged based on how consistent I am with the facts. What you failed to notice is that... I was the only one who had no direct contact with the infected before the incident."
Then he paused, ensuring everyone was following him.
"I closely observed the situation. When I saw the student who was infected with the virus, I felt something strange. I was the first to avoid direct contact with him. And since then, I completely stayed away from risk."
Edgar seemed to be weighing his words in his mind, while Claire was watching the scene intently, unlike Raine who appeared uninterested, though he was glancing back and forth from time to time.
"I don't have a supernatural ability to control the virus. I have an ability to sense danger... and that's what led me to choose to stay away from them. I sensed something abnormal. Maybe it was reckless behavior from a strange student, or maybe it was just caution. But I did what I had to do at that moment."
He added these words with complete relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his heart. Then he continued while looking directly at the king:
"I'm not hiding anything. I cannot be a spy or a traitor, because simply... I have no reason to be one."
There was no immediate response from the king, but he looked deeply at Valerian as if seeing him for the first time.
Then suddenly, an unexpected movement stirred, as the person who entered the hall did so with extreme calm. It was Evelyn.
When Evelyn entered the hall, she appeared completely confused. Her breaths were quick, and there was something strange in her eyes.
"Your Majesty... something unnatural is happening."
Evelyn sensed the abnormal tension in the scene the moment she stepped in. She knew that decisive moments might be upon them now, and her eyes were observing the shifts in the characters around her, including Yaram.
She tried to compose herself as she approached Yaram, her eyes glowing with unusual worry.
"I saw the future... and I saw what would happen if we don't act now. You are about to make a decision that will change everything."
Evelyn felt the tension rising in the hall and decided to reveal what she had sensed.
"Your future, Your Majesty, has changed again. But not in the way you expect. It is not as it was before."
"What do you mean?"
"I saw the image that was supposed to form in the future. But now... I see it shifting. Valerian is part of that change. The future no longer follows the path I foresaw. Something bigger is coming."
"I escaped from the academy before the virus spread because I felt something was going to change everything. I can't be completely sure of everything, but this vision... is not good."
King Yaram stood before her, his eyes filled with confusion. He knew Evelyn did not speak carelessly and that she meant what she said with great caution.
But they didn't have time to analyze everything now. Chaos had already begun to take shape.
At that moment, when Evelyn finished her speech, the mystery surrounding the hall had grown thick, as if the world itself was waiting for truths to explode at that moment. Everyone was in complete anticipation, as if their breaths had frozen in place.
But Evelyn wasn't content with those vague words alone. Suddenly, and amid the silence that engulfed the hall, her tone changed. She looked at King Yaram, then at Edgar, then at Raine, and her eyes closed on the image of a terrifying scene in her mind.
"It is... an ancient race. The Arkanis."
The words flowed from her as if they emerged from her depths, her face marked by real fear. But that fear wasn't just for her life, it was for everyone's fate. She looked at those present, pointing to the ground:
"This race... this strange human-like being... rises from beneath the ground and begins to rip apart others' bodies. It tears its own flesh to create from them another being, something stronger and darker. No one can survive this."
She shook her head as if recalling something horrible in her mind. This was not just fear of an ordinary disease. There was something deeper, something wrapping itself around humanity itself.
"The infection is not just a virus. It's the beginning of something greater. Something... savage."
Everyone stopped, as if they had heard the echo of those words resonate in their minds. King Yaram, who was always at the top of the hierarchy, a figure of power and prestige, seemed as if his eyes had widened slightly in astonishment. As for Edgar, known for his coldness, he showed signs of confusion.
Then came the voice no one expected, Raine's voice. He spoke calmly, but his eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"The Arkanis race? Do you mean what we're seeing now is just the beginning of something? That these monsters appearing now weren't there before?"
Evelyn answered him with a slow nod, as if acknowledging what no one wanted to believe.
"Yes, these are not just random creatures, but an ancient race. And they are now seeking to destroy us. Don't think the virus is the last thing we'll see. This epidemic is the beginning."
Then, as the words echoed through the hall, King Yaram's eyes were still watching her with suspicion, but it seemed something strange had been revealed in his mind.
"If this is what's happening, if the Arkanis have returned, will a mere cure for the virus be enough?"
The voice reverberated through the hall, but Evelyn confirmed slowly:
"Not a cure. It's only a temporary antidote. But it cannot stop them. It's only the beginning."
The entire hall took a deep breath, as if a new chaos had begun to emerge from every corner of the kingdom.
Then, in that moment of silence, King Yaram ordered further investigation into the evidence related to the incident. The caution in his eyes had dimmed, and he now sensed that matters were far greater than a mere betrayal by Valerian.
"Valerian... it seems the circumstances around you are more than just an isolated incident. You are innocent of the accusations. But we must be cautious, because what we say here may be the beginning of the end."
Valerian slowly lifted his head, astonished. He had survived the ordeal, but he didn't feel that his victory was complete. The bigger picture was still unclear to him. He continued to wonder what was truly happening in this land.
Then came King Yaram's speech, full of both doubt and certainty.
"I will not judge you now. But you will have to continue the investigations, and everything will unfold in due time."
At that moment, everyone welcomed the decision, and Valerian left the grand hall feeling he had escaped a dangerous trap—but was this the end? Or would the next step be even worse? He did not know.
On the other side of the kingdom, Alexis Lockard was planning something far greater than just a cure. The chaos that had swept across the continent had accelerated events in unexpected ways. And when he discovered a cure for the virus, he didn't simply want to save lives. He wanted something far bigger than that.
Alexis was sitting in a wide room, with his loyal servant, Edric. The two were discussing the next step, their eyes filled with intelligence and precise calculations.
"Edric, we have an irreplaceable opportunity. We've created the antidote, but we won't just hand it out to those in need. We want to sell this antidote. We'll make a fortune selling the cure while everyone thinks we're only trying to save people."
Edric looked at his master with questioning eyes, so Alexis continued in a deep tone, as if everything had already been planned.
"But I don't want wealth alone. Money isn't my goal. The goal is what happens after everyone gets the cure. The academy must... the continent must transform into something greater. We must have power, and I must be the one to decide everyone's fate."
Alexis's voice was low, but it carried something dark. There was something unusual in his gaze, something unsettling.
"I'll give this antidote to someone from the organization I joined. I'll make him the representative who presents the cure to everyone. At the same time, I'll collect the profits. But this won't be just business. It will start a series of events that will change everything. And the kingdom will find itself trapped in a power game it cannot escape."
Alexis smiled faintly, full of mystery:
"This isn't an ordinary game. This is the game of royalty. And I want to be the king. And when you have power... you can create anything you want."
At that moment, Edric seemed to feel the weight of these words. He knew that his master was planning something far beyond merely staying at the top. Alexis aimed to reshape everything, and he would put everyone in their place. But the question now: Will his plan succeed? Or will this be his final moment at the summit?
The darkness lightened a little, as if the forest had swallowed the creature's screams and settled into heavy silence. Alone, he remained standing there... that strange man who wasn't changed by the monsters, nor scratched by the madness that surrounded the place.
He moved steadily among the dead trunks, not looking back, not hesitating. Everything was going exactly as he expected… no, as he wanted.
A soft voice like a hiss came from one of the shadows behind him.
"Axel… the Mother of Curses is calling you."
He paused. For just a moment. Then turned halfway, with eyes that held neither obedience nor concern.
"I will return." He said it calmly… but what was left unsaid weighed heavier than words.
In his mind, images and thoughts flowed. The Mother of Curses… the one who believed herself his creator. Believed she had crafted her puppet and shaped his fate. But she hadn't realized that she was nothing more than a phase… a tool within a larger ladder.
Her voice whispered in his soul: "You are mine, Axel." But within him, he replied: "No, you are my plaything. And I… am merely the beginning of your end."
His body faded into the shadows, no trace and no trace of his name. Only the final whisper in the wind remained:
"The stray from fate…"