That night, we reached the capital under the cover of darkness.
The Elder’s Home loomed ahead—tall, sealed, silent. Its walls drank the moonlight, the street stretched out too still, too empty.
I peeked beside the corner of the wall. An old guard in a white uniform was in his booth, head bent over papers, the warm desk lamp’s light pooling across his face.
The plan was in motion exactly as we’d rehearsed.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNyPKZqlLqg
Only now… it felt a hundred times more real.
My heart pounded against my ribs. The cap of Ash’s uniform sat low on my brow. Sweat ran down my cheek.
I can’t believe I’m doing this. What’s wrong with me? If Lucy or Tyler sees me, I’m dead.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOppcP78EYv
No. Don’t think about the fallout. Not yet. 21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgykmirWAOF
Tonight, I’m not the good boy, Sis.
The guard flipped a page. Routine. Bored. Easy.
“What’s taking her so long?” I muttered under my breath.
Then—movement.
“There she is.”
Gina staggered into the light. Sweat plastered her hair to her face, and dirt streaked her skirt. She looked half-broken, clutching her ribs.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFbcySTtdNl
Not just a good looter—Gina was a hell of a performer.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIjsW6fgwH
She half-collapsed against the booth.
“HEYY—Kid, you alright? What are you doing out here?” The guard’s rough voice snapped to alertness, boots scraping against the floor as he moved closer.
“HELP! Please, my brother! He’s choking—I Need Help!”
The guard froze, eyes scanning hers for a lie. She gave him none. Every twitch, every tremor sold it.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtG3tcsfeN
“Where is he?”
“This way! Behind that bush—HURRY!”
She didn’t wait for his permission—just bolted.
He cursed and followed.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJ1qXpmgFn
“Whoa, wait, slow down—!”
She threw a glance over her shoulder, right at me.
The signal.
“YOSH.” I moved.
Ash’s uniform swayed around my frame, the stolen ID clipped to my chest. And the only weapon I had on me was a pocketknife.
The scanner at the gate beeped—a match.
The side door resisted under my palm. My pulse jumped.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGr7lSRLQr
“Come on. Hurry. Hurry,” I muttered, shoving harder. Click—It gave way at last.
From somewhere outside, the guard’s voice drifted back:
“Ha! Candy stuck in your throat? You scared me there.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NtblCtGqr
“Thanks, officer!” Gina’s voice carried faintly.
He was heading back.
I slipped through the checkpoint. My chest was a drum.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpFnc5dgU0i
“Phew… too close.”
The air inside was still and sterile, like the smell of locked rooms and bleach. My palms were slick. I forced my pace to stay measured—Whatever happens, just don’t run, Don’t look lost. Just walk.
Officers hunched over clipboards, murmuring to each other. Some looked up—too slow to notice me yet.
I kept moving—deeper into the forbidden land. Past the checkpoint, I angled toward the back.
Just act natural. Walk like Ash would. Head down.
A stairwell waited, marked Ground Level. In this place, that meant the basement.
I descended cautiously, one hand trailing the cold wall, breath shallow. The door at the bottom stood ajar. I peeked through—
Lucy.
Seated, alive, but in a plain white gown—like the others. Not prisoners, not quite patients. Something in between.
Her face was calm, unreadable. Around her sat others—patients of all ages in the same pale clothing—waiting for… something.
Huh… I think she’s doing alright. Isn't this the Elder’s Home? And how dare they treat her like that? We were never poor for her to dress like that, darn it.
No time to think.
Footsteps—back at the stairwell. Guards.
I was about to step into the room when more boots echoed from the side halls.
“Oh, no. The guards are coming back.”
I spun, searching for an exit, but more were closing in. No way back. Then I saw it—a staircase.
Up, then.
The Roof.
The rusty staircase loomed ahead. I took it two steps at a time. Higher than I’d planned. Higher than anyone would expect.
I burst through the hatch. A stiff wind slammed into me, the rooftop stretching wide under the night sky. From here, the whole compound was visible.
And right beside me—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBXLtbnQD2W
A massive, military-grade rocket launcher.
“Holy shit…” I whispered.
Voices. Boots on the metal stairs coming to the roof.
“Did they notice me?”
I ducked under the launcher’s shadow. Pressed flat against cold steel. Don’t breathe.
A Social Officer stepped out. Lean frame, black hair tied back in a low ponytail, a trim but untidy beard shadowing his jaw. His glasses slid low on his nose, catching the light just enough to hide the fatigue in his eyes—black, steady, and sharp. The kind of eyes that had seen too much and slept too little. His blue uniform gleamed faintly under the floodlights—crisp, precise, yet somehow weary.
He lit a cigarette. Smoke coiled around his face as he leaned against the railing beside the rocket launcher, exhaling slowly, as if stealing a moment from the storm.
My foot nudged a loose girder. Squeak.
His head turned.
I clenched my eyes shut. God, please—don’t let it be me.
He squinted toward the launcher, suspicion narrowing his gaze—
But another officer burst out behind him, barking:
“Oi, Sal—break’s over. The prince is here.”
Sal flicked the cigarette into the wind, cursing under his breath.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡof0mMswDEW
“The… prince?” he echoed, his tone rough, irritated, like the word itself left a bad taste.
My stomach lurched. The Prince of Paradysia? This night can’t get any worse.
“Come on, everyone’s in position,” the second barked.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA76RHzr1oH
“Yeah, yeah.” Sal left.
Silence sagged like a curtain. Relief hit me so hard my knees wanted to give. My chest deflated like a punctured drum.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAoFK4spQz
I rose and edged toward the rooftop rail. The sight stole my breath.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoj5OSnXci
The compound stretched like a chessboard, drowned in white floodlights. Security patrolled in rigid lines. But beyond the compound’s edge, there was no ground. Just endless clouds, swirling in a vast emptiness, like the edge of the world had been torn away. No barriers. No horizon. Just void.
“What the hell is this…?”
A rattling noise pulled me left. I looked down into the prison sector. Rows of prisoners strapped to poles in a cross at the edge of the void—hands bound, eyes wide.
Some cried.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ992EY6Yrc3
Some begged.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4Qb1dkSd7
Some screamed themselves hoarse.
My legs locked.
Two figures entered the clearing. One broad and older, a mustache bristling beneath his nose, medals blazing across his chest like stolen fire. A Crownguard General, without doubt.
And beside him—
“Ash?” My breath caught. “Don’t tell me the trial is in there?”
He stood rigid, shoulders squared, jaw tight.
The general’s voice carried sharp as steel:
“Your duty is simple. Aim for those you know are guilty. Killers, traitors. Tonight, they descend into First Heaven.”
Ash stepped onto a firing platform—designed like a grotesque pitching machine, its heavy rotary gun mounted with adjustable barrels. Ammo belts fed into its side like veins. The barrels spun and spat in a mechanical storm, mechanical storm, merciless.
“This is like the ones at the wall,” Ash muttered, fingers brushing the controls.
“Fulfill your duty, soldier,” the general barked, voice sharp and commanding—like a hound trained to bite. “Pass this, and your dream will come true.”
“Yes, Captain Greg.” His voice broke as he obeyed.
He raised the clutch. Hands trembling. He fired once. Dummies exploded, straw spilling across the platform.
“Hmm.” The general nodded. “She’s healthy. Now—the prisoners.”
Real people this time. Their breaths came ragged, faces wet with tears.
“Please, Lord, forgive me, Lord.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5bDjxheET
“I swear I can make my life better, let me protect my son. He's just an infant.”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGJruJpAPU
“Hurry up, would ya?” a prisoner barked.
Ash’s clutch wavered. His jaw clenched. His entire frame shivered under the floodlights.
“You have no time to hesitate. A criminal is a criminal. Fire.”
The order landed like a blade.
Ash muttered, low, broken: “This is for my family.”
Then he pulled the clutch.
BRATATATAT!
Blood erupted. Bodies collapsed.
Then, with a hideous, practiced mechanism, the limp corpses were hurled into the void—one by one—collapsing soundlessly into nothing.
I staggered back. My stomach lurched as if my heart was about to tear itself out of me.
“No… no, this isn’t real. It’s just a nightmare.”
But it was real. Too real.
“Ash… What are you doing? Please come back.” I whispered. My voice cracked.
“This isn’t you.”
That wasn’t a trial—it was an execution.
Then came a commotion—the rumble of boots below, precise and heavy. I leaned closer, scanning the third-floor pavilion across the compound.
And then he appeared.
A young man, maybe Tyler’s age.
Tall, with striking blond hair that caught the dim light and golden eyes that seemed to burn through the dark. A jagged scar ran across his cheek, gleaming faintly like a mark of fate. His ceremonial robes shimmered—a deep green and gold—beautiful, regal, but far too heavy for someone so young. They belonged to a man twice his age, twice his cruelty.
Crownguards flanked him in perfect silence, their armor black as oil. The boy walked between them as if he owned the air itself—like he saw everything, felt everything… and cared for none of it.
The Prince of Paradysia.
Caesar Roya
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He stopped at the balcony overlooking the platform below, resting one arm lazily against the balcony rail. His eyes swept the crowd with open disdain.
“So what’s the delay?” His voice cut through the air—frustrated, untimely, like an unpredictable storm about to break. He turned sharply, still leaning against the balcony, his coat catching the light. “And who’s the director here?”
His tone was sharp, impatient, dripping with the arrogance of royalty.
From the shadows, an elderly man shuffled forward. His coat was the pale green of a surgeon, his hands trembling. He bowed so low his glasses nearly slipped from his face. Wrinkles carved deep lines down his cheeks—years of service, of submission.
“M-My Prince,” the man stammered. “I am Harold, the medical director of this facility. I… I did not expect your honored visit.”
“Neither did I,” Caesar muttered, his lip curling slightly. “Yeah, well…father, uhm—” Covering his mistake, “I meant the late king believed I should experience ‘The Cure’ first hand before his passing, and so here I am.”
“My deepest condolences, My Prince,” Harold said softly, relief flickering in his voice at the smooth recovery.
“But you’re right on time, and enjoy as ‘The Cure’ is about to begin.”
“Alright, so what are we waiting for? I haven't got all night...” Caesar ordered.
“As you command.” The director bowed again.
The prince leaned forward, eyes narrowing as the machinery stirred below—his expression unreadable, somewhere between curiosity and quiet fury.
Inside his thoughts, there was something darker.
No one cared for Father. They speak of my coronation before his body is cold. Heartless swines, every one of them.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrrZ6H2NJc
They think I’ll fill his shoes, play their pretty prince forever. 21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9g4xIzL4mI
No. 21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMucT6u3SQ
I’ll change this world. I’ll be the Prince of Order.
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…
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I pressed tighter against the rooftop rail, breath shallow. My thoughts tumbled, raw.
“Cure? What? Where’s the Cure? How does this help Lucy? Is her life some sort of entertainment?” I hissed at the whole thing.
The compound’s iron gates groaned open.
Patients shuffled out. Wrists bound. Their steps faltered like broken clockwork. Social officers awaited at the gate, rifles hovering inches from their skulls.
“If any of you try something funny,” one guard barked, “the punishment will be severe. Test us, if you dare.”
The line moved on, dragging its chains of silence.
And then it came.
Mist.
Thin at first, curling along the horizon like breath on glass. The wind carried it in, swallowing the platform in pale shrouds.
The patients froze, blinking. Then their faces changed—lit by wonder.
A golden glow shimmered inside the mist. A soft, beckoning light.
They saw something I couldn’t. Their arms stretched forward, reaching for visions invisible to me. Smiles cracked across their faces as if they had glimpsed heaven itself—loved ones. Salvation. A cocoon of radiance calling them home.
One by one, they stepped into it.
And then the truth revealed itself.
“The Cure” writhed. It wasn’t light—it was limbs. Tendrils. Organic rods, dozens, hundreds, unfurling from a monstrous shape veiled in fog. A sky-beast, a kraken of the clouds hovering above, its cocoons pulsing with colors too bright, too wrong. Each patient lured in, embraced by its cocoon-like limbs, and then dissolved. Flesh and bone melted into liquid light, siphoned into its gaping maw.
Bright. Beautiful. Horrific.
A predator disguised as paradise.
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“No… no, what’s happening?” I whispered, my voice breaking. “What is that thing? Why is everyone going near it? Stop! No! NO!”
I cried on the rooftop, disappointed in Ash, and everything kept getting worse.
The prince smirked, his golden eyes gleaming with cruel delight.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3FKiGfEVW
“And that monster,” he said, voice calm, “is what we call The Cure?”
I’d climbed the ladder to save Lucy. Instead, I’d climbed straight into the belly of something worse.
Patient after patient stepped forward. None came back.
Another stumbled, shrieking as the light betrayed them, then vanished into nothing. The others didn’t even flinch. They couldn’t see. Couldn’t think.
No blood. No remains. Just silence.
The silence was worse than the screams.
And then—
“Lucy?”
The mist shifted, parting just enough to reveal her. She stumbled forward, pale, fear etched across her face. Her white gown tangled around her legs, slowing her steps, but still—she pushed on.
“No… please, no…” My throat burned. My nails dug into my palms. “Stay back. Don’t go further.”
I want to yell louder, but I couldn’t draw their attention, and I will be in deeper trouble, drawing every eye, every gun.
She walked anyway. Toward the edge.
Gunfire cracked. Warning shots sparked at her feet.
“Hurry! Move!” a guard barked at the gate.
My vision tunneled. Something in me snapped like I am being watched. As I saw the creature, or rather the Cure, above the mist, turning towards Lucy.
“I can't lose her.”
The cap slid from my head. The uniform fell from my shoulders. I climbed on top of the rocket launcher, heart tearing itself apart. My voice ripped loose, unthinking, unstoppable—
“LUUUUUCYYYYYYY!”
Every head snapped toward me. Guards. Prisoners. The prince. All eyes.
Lucy froze, trembling, her eyes finding mine.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhhxC6shaP
“Hu—Hugo?”
The mist swelled behind her. The Cure loomed, camouflaged, its vast grey body blending into cloud. Tendrils twitched, waiting.
“no, no, no—No, NO—” My chest seized. “LUCY LOOK OUT!”
She stumbled back, falling. The monster uncoiled.
And then—
BOOOOM.
A missile roared across the compound and slammed into the creature. The fog ripped apart in a shockwave of fire and wind.
Gasps. Screams. Chaos. Even the prince staggered at the blast.
KA-BLAM! Another missile struck—this time at the pavilion targeting the prince. The balcony buckled, the entire building shuddering under the blow. I clung to the launcher, stone dust choking the air.
Blades thundered above. Black. Silent. Deadly.
A helicopter sliced out of the night sky, its rotors shredding the mist into ribbons. Men in black armor dropped from its belly, rifles spitting fire.
The Cure shrieked, sliding back into fog.
The Elder’s Home exploded into chaos. Blue uniforms against black suits. Bullets sparking off stone. Shouts. Screams. Smoke.
“HUGO?!”
Ash’s voice cracked across the din. He stood near the command post, General Sergus beside him, both turning at me—at the helicopter.
“WHAT THE HELL’S GOIN’ON DOWN THERE?” Greg roared, his face pale, as the prison was in disarray and concern.
“Sir—the prince is under attack!” a guard shouted, rushing to him.
“HUUUGOOO.” Ash ripped through the noise, and I heard him and saw him looking at me in shock and confusion.
I didn’t care. My voice tore free.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzoLOIe4Chm
“ASHH! LUCY—LUCY’S DOWN HERE!”
Ash’s face drained white.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRKIa1ZOa41
“No… not Lucy.”
He bolted. Leapt into one of the mounted war machines. Its missile racks whirred to life, barrels glowing.
“HOLD IT, SOLDIER!” Greg thundered. “Stand Down—That’s An Order!”
Ash didn’t flinch.
“SOLDIER!”
Ash’s jaw clenched. His hands gripped the controls like steel. His voice was a blade:21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKXOPkBfEm
“I promised I’d protect her. MOVE, General.”
The machine roared toward the Prison wall. Steel bullets tore into the wall, blasting stone and concrete into the night. With every strike, with every shot, the prison wall and the Elders’ Home crumbled piece by piece.
“Get the men to the other side!” Ash commanded, teeth gritted, eyes ablaze.
Greg’s fury shook the air. “You’ll pay for this, soldier!”
But Ash had already carved the hole—an opening to salvation.
“Yosh! Ash will be here any minute now!”
I scrambled down from the launcher, lungs burning, desperate to reach Lucy.
Thunk.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYd6WpLeZnp
My boot clipped a lever.
Fwoooosh—KRA-KOOOM!
A missile ripped free, screaming skyward before curving. Too fast to stop.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYy1Mn5Dp6l
It slammed into the helicopter.
By sheer luck, the blast slammed onto the creature—the flying kraken, The Cure—out of the mist. It crashed, stunned, thrashing.
“Oh, no…” I gasped, vaulting down from the launcher onto the compound.
The night split apart. Fire bloomed. Blue uniforms against black suits. Deafening gunfire. Heat slammed me back. The courtyard became an inferno of smoke and broken bodies.
And in the middle—
Lucy.
Through the fire and ash, she stumbled, coughing, her white gown scorched. She groped her way toward the gate, blind and desperate, hands out like an animal searching for escape.
“Lucy! Over here!” I shouted, waving, shoving through the chaos.
Her head snapped toward my voice. Our eyes met across the smoke. Relief punched through me—she was alive—
Then the shot.
BANG.
A bullet tore through her chest.
Her body jerked. She staggered forward once, twice… then fell, crumpling into the dirt. White cloth bloomed crimson.
With the silver bullet landing in front of me.
My eyes widened in disbelief. My voice stuttered.
“Lucy? No… no no no no!”
And through the mist came a man in black, tall with a mask, hatred radiating as he strode towards Lucy, towards us, shooting anyone in his radius as he walked towards me like a serpent waiting for the venom to take hold until he arrived in time.
I crashed through the crossfire, bullets tearing the ground at my heels. I didn’t care. I dropped beside her, dragging her limp body into my arms.
Her blood was hot—too hot. It drenched my hands, my chest, and the uniform.
“Lucy, stay with me—Ash is coming! We’ll get you out!”
Blood spread across her gown, scarlet swallowing white. She smiled weakly, lips quivering.
“Oh, H…Hu…go… you’re alright.”
Her fingers brushed mine. Cold. Too cold.
“I’m… going to visit Mom’n Dad for a while. I’ll be back soon. Be a good boy… run away from here.”
“No! No, I won’t leave you. This was my fault—please, let me save you! Please—just hold on! SOMEBODY HELP!”
Her chest hitched. She coughed blood, then whispered:
“Hey…Hugo. Let’s sing Mom’s song once more. I want to sing it… in front of her.”
We stumbled through the words together. Her voice faltered, skipping verses, while I mumbled, desperate to keep it alive.
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“Like a sheep with no wool,
My hands lie cold—colder than snow
Bless Hugo from my keep.”
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Her hand shivered. I gripped it tighter as she murmured the last lines, no rhythm, just breath:
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“Let Ash not drown in my loneliness,
Because this cold is my home—as I am for the cold.
My love is cold…”
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Her last breath sighed against my cheek.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMAZSrbCo0
The brightness in her eyes dimmed.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA32nOpDwFB
Her hand slipped from mine.
Then silence.
“Lucy? …Lucy! No—no, stay with me!”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPBVzV1QdD
“No, Lucy—don’t go! LUCY! LUCYYYY!”
Her chest stilled. Her body went slack. As if I felt something, her heart, her soul, leaving right in front of me. The brightness in her eyes slowly fading, even though her eyes were wide open.
The gunfire, the explosions, the screams—all of it faded into a muffled void.
I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move.
The night sky rained, even my face rained, clearing the mist. The world was only her face, her cooling skin, her empty eyes.
My knees buckled. I clutched her to my chest, shaking, as if I could force her back. I closed her empty eyes, hoping she just needed to sleep.
But she was gone.
Boots crunched rubble.
The man in black—the viper who had shot her—stepped up, pistol raised to my forehead.
I didn’t look up. I was already hollow.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVd0Cuvcm3d
“Lucy…” My voice was a whisper. “What have I done?….. Please come back.”
Then—
KABOOOOM!
The wall ahead of us exploded in dust and fire. The shockwave hurled the black and blue soldiers apart, drawing the attention of the rebel against me.
Through the smoke, a figure emerged.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNcFtEeMer
“Damn it, how am I to find them in the middle of —”
His eyes found us.
Me on my knees. Lucy limp in my arms. The barrel of a gun at my skull.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJoLQ8c6s3
My throat tightened.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZinT0kq23v
“…Ash.”
Something inside him broke when he saw my face—saw Lucy still.
“Huugh—huuugh—ARRRGHHHHH!”
The roar ripped out of Ash, primal and raw. Veins burst along his neck and arms, eyes blazing green. His muscles trembled with rage, every breath like a beast straining against its cage.
He lowered his head, cap shadowing his face, and his hand closed around a broken pole—its jagged end gleaming. He stood still, vibrating with power.
The rebel in black raised his pistol.
Bang.
Ash moved.
His pole cleaved the bullet midair with a shriek of sparks.
My jaw slackened. “Ash…”
Then he was on him.
The rebel fired again—Ash weaved past every shot, closing the gap. Out of ammo, the man drew a blade, steel flashing—only to be driven back by the sheer force of Ash’s swing.
Steel shrieked against steel. Sparks spit into the smoke. Ash’s strikes were relentless, feral. Less man, more storm.
The rebel slashed wide. His pole cutting arcs, boot soles grinding on stone. He clipped Ash’s cheek, drawing blood—but Ash didn’t flinch. He pressed forward, every swing shaking the ground, his power consuming the night.
A lunge. A clash. Sparks. Screams.
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Ash struck again.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtfDgm2LLCX
No mercy.
My body shook as I watched. This wasn’t Ash—my brother, my protector.
This was something terrifying. Something unstoppable.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjXViTQJv1
It was like watching a storm take human form.
Every swing tore the night apart. Every step shook the ground.
The rebel’s mask cracked under a brutal punch. Blood streaked his face, half-revealed—tanned skin, dark hair clotted with sweat, eyes blazing with hatred.
Their duel tore through the pavilion ruins, stone and fire crashing around them.
Rubble shifted. The prince stirred, clutching his gashed cheek as an old scar split open anew.
A young social officer—lean, sharp-eyed—rushed to his side, steadying him by the arm. His voice carried a nervous edge, trying to sound professional.
“My prince, are you alright?”
The prince hissed in pain but forced a grin.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmt2kP5MARf
“Yeah… I’m fine. Thanks.”
He shoved the soldier aside, eyes fixed on the battle. Golden irises gleamed—not with fear, but with something else. Excitement. Awe.
The Crown guards formed a wall around him.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkPQEuNGV7
“Prince Caesar, you must withdraw—”
But their words faltered as they saw the carnage. Harold. The officials. All dead in the wreckage.
The prince rose to his feet among the corpses, unbothered, his gaze locked on Ash. He leaned forward with childlike wonder. He had seen no one fight like this. His eyes lit with a dangerous gleam—he was rooting for him.
“You—what’s your name?” he demanded from the young officer, never breaking his stare.
“Sergus, my prince.”
“Alright, Sergus. You’re with me.”
“But, sire—”
“It’s an order.”
And the prince dragged him toward the battle floor.
Ash drove him down, the sharp tip of the pole slamming against stone, pinning his foot in place. With his free hand, he seized the enemy’s blade—ripped it away—then flung the man like a rag-doll.
The Crownguards swarmed in, ARH gear flaring as they cut down the last of the insurgents. The rebel crashed to the ground, mask shattering completely this time. Long hair spilled across his face, blood smearing his pale skin as Ash bore down on him, fists blurring in a storm of rage.
But those eyes—those defiant, crimson-streaked eyes—didn’t hold fear.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwU1XHKeCQ
They burned with something worse.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibO6BEI5ci
A hunger.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiRkN4Aahzc
A wild, reckless pleasure in the pain itself, as if he welcomed it.
Ash didn’t stop. Fist after fist.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQpJ2nJwY33
Bone cracked. Teeth scattered across the stone floor. The world narrowed to the sound of impact and breathless fury.
“Hold him back!” The Crownguards wrestled with him, hauling him off the rebel. Chains clattered as others bound the rebel’s arms and legs, dragging him into submission.
Ash didn't want to give up. How could he?
“ENOUGH, SOLDIER!” General Greg’s voice split the night like a thunderclap. “You have insulted me enough.” He marched in with reinforcements, his towering frame cutting off Ash’s next strike. Dozens more Crownguards flooded the compound, hauling the rebel to his knees beneath the weight of iron chains.
Ash’s breath rasped, his chest heaving. He staggered toward us, knees buckling as he dropped in front of Lucy’s limp body.
“Ash, what do we do?” I pleaded on the ground.
His hand trembled as he reached for her. “I’m sorry… Lucy… I’m sorry, Hugo. It’s all my fault.” His voice cracked; tears blurred his eyes.
Behind Ash, chains rattled. Crown guards finished binding the rebel in irons, forcing him to his knees. Ash rose, fury twisting his face.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWtOclwScSr
“He killed Lucy!” His voice cracked like thunder. “That bastard killed Lucy—LEMME FINISH HIM!”
He lunged—
Greg jammed a pistol against his chest.
“One more step, and you join her in the dirt.”
My heart stopped.
“No… Ash… no.”
I tried to move, but the world narrowed to the gleam of metal and the heat of Ash’s anger.
Then—
Clap.
Slow. Mocking.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZyshSomjo
Once. Twice.
Too loud in the silence. The soldiers shifted, parting as their liege approached.
Prince Caesar.
His blond hair was wild, streaked with blood from the blast. His uniform torn, his lip split. Yet his eyes burned—not with fear, but with… delight.
“That’s enough, General.” His voice was smooth as silk. “We can’t kill the hero who just saved us all.”
He looked at Ash with a smile too wide, too bright. “Well done, soldier. Paradysia owes you a debt. You’ve given us all a marvelous performance.”
Greg snapped to attention. “Your Highness, you’re bleeding—we must—”
The prince raised a hand and cut him off, laughing as if at a private joke. He wiped blood from his cheek with the back of his hand. Then, to his lieutenant, he said coldly, “Sergus—if anyone interferes or tells me what to do, kill him.” Sergus bowed and obeyed without hesitation.
The prince turned toward the wreckage, spotting The Cure unconscious among the rubble.
“Never have I enjoyed myself a thrill like this. What a spectacle! HAHAHA!”
He then turned towards the burning eyes of the captive.
“I see those eyes,” he said, voice dropping to a hiss. “That hatred. You’re just like me—but right now, I feel worse. And that rage of yours… it made you the leader of this minor rebellion, didn’t it?” He smirked, stepping closer. “You who sought to topple my father—and me. And now, look at you.”
He gestured lazily toward the scene of ruin. “All that fury, all that hope… kneeling right in front of me.”
Lucy’s weight felt heavier in my arms. I adjusted her and whispered her name like a prayer. Her blood stained my uniform.
The prince’s grin faltered as his gaze slid past Ash and landed on me. He studied the scene, then drawled, “And what… is this child doing here?”
“My Prince, please!” Ash’s voice cracked. He dropped to his knees, fists clenched. “Spare him—he’s my brother! He has nothing to do with this!”
The prince’s smile thinned, cruel.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNiiDOCQBa
“I’m sorry, soldier. But we cannot allow… witnesses.”
His gaze slid past Ash—straight to me.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCK9lM2RLra
“Sergus. Finish him.”
He raised his pistol.
Ash lunged, seizing the prince in a chokehold, his palm pressed to his throat.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAxbxPIt6k
“One more step and I’ll crush His Royal Neck open!” Ash roared, spit flying, eyes blazing green with fury.
He wasn’t bluffing — blood from Ash’s split cheek dripped down, smearing the prince’s neck like a dark punctuation—no words needed.
The courtyard froze.
Sergus and General Greg growled, leveling their pistols. Soldiers hesitated. The prince’s laughter died in his throat.
Ash shoved Sergus aside and pivoted, using his body as a shield between me and the prince as ARH gear pointed at him.
“HUGO—RUN!” he screamed.
“No… I can’t—”
GO!” Ash’s voice was a command, a plea, a howl that broke me in half. His hand pressed deeper against the prince’s throat, ready to split.
“I’ll bring her back—just give me time! Don’t waste this for both of us. MOVE!”
I slowly rose, lowering Lucy’s body to the floor. My voice cracked as I looked up at Ash.
“I’m counting on you!”
He nodded, gratitude in his eyes.
A Crown guard’s rifle snapped toward me.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzzqGDozWyy
“General?”
“Tch.” Ash snarled, twisting His Majesty’s neck. The prince gasped, his skin nicked, blood beading at his throat.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4X5u1iKSC
“Hold it, soldier.”
That second of hesitation was all I needed.
I ran.
My legs carried me without thought, without breath—just terror. Just escape. Lucy’s body lay still behind my eyes, and yet I left her.
Ash released the prince and was immediately swarmed. Iron clamped on his wrists.
“You’re in deep trouble, soldier,” Greg hissed. “I expected more of you.”
The prince, still gasping for air, raised a hand. “Don’t kill our hero. I want him alive.”
Ash kept everyone off me—his only act of freedom left—buying me precious seconds.
“But—” Greg opened his mouth to argue, but Sergus raised his pistol, a silent warning. The general’s jaw clenched shut like a dog on a leash.
Sirens howled. Steel shutters ground down over the compound gates.
I vaulted a rail, swung a pole, dropped onto the exit—running blind. My chest ripped with every breath.
“Get him!”21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡto3sUp0siv
The shout tore after me. Guns cocked. Boots hammered pavement.
And then—
“Hugo?!”
Tyler and Gina. At the corner. Waiting.
My heart broke. They didn’t know. They didn’t know what happened.
I can't drag them into this.
“RUUUUN! Get Out Of Here.” My voice cracked raw.
They bolted.
I spun the other way, further into the capital, drawing the soldiers with me. Anything to buy them time. Anything to keep them safe.
Boots thundered after me. The alleys closed in like the capital itself wanted me dead.
The back wall loomed ahead—the way out. Freedom. The night air was so close I could taste it.
“I made it—I—”
CRACK.
The bullet hit me like a hammer. Fire exploded through my ribs, spun me sideways. My body slammed into the gravel, skidding hard, air punched from my lungs.
Before I could breathe—
—SHNK!
My left thigh erupted. White-hot agony ripped me open.
“ARGHHHHH!” The scream shredded my throat. My fingers clawed my leg, but blood pumped through them in rivers.
Too fast.Too much.
My vision swam.
“No—no, please. Not yet. Please—”
I dragged myself forward inch at a time, smearing red across the dirt.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnV4X83RWSg
“I was supposed to save her. I was supposed to save Lucy—”
A figure landed from the roofs of the alley. Calm. Cold.
Freddy.
“F… Freddy—” My voice broke as I crawled, arms trembling, lungs burning. “Please—you have to help me. They took Lucy. They’ve got Ash too. Please… he needs you.”
He leveled his ARH gear. His face was stone.
“Hehehe! You’ve seen too much.”
Another bullet ripped through my right leg. Pain blinded me.
“ARGHHH!”
My scream came out strangled, half-silence. My body wasn’t listening anymore—arms like jelly, legs dead weight.
Blood soaked through my clothes. The dirt beneath me turned dark.
“Freddy… why?” My voice was barely a rasp.
He didn’t answer. Didn’t need to.
The gear lowered to my face.
So this was it.
I couldn’t move. Couldn’t fight. Couldn’t breathe.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered to no one. “I’m sorry for not being a grownup, Lucy.” And so I tightened my eyes, bracing for the final shot.
“Farewell, Shawty.”
BANG!
The blast cracked the air open. I flinched—21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnQXdmgT2j
But nothing hit me.
I opened my eyes. A body had slumped across me.
Freddy’s.
Blood painted the walls in wild streaks as he fell, his rifle clattering onto the pavement beside us. His eyes were still open—empty. The last thing they saw was me.
Through the haze, a shadow dropped from above—someone moving with purpose.
The man on the roof.
Sal.
His hands hooked under my arms and dragged me away, boots scraping against the wet stone. My body refused to respond—each breath shallow, each heartbeat weaker than the last.
And then, from the mouth of the alley, came the slow, uneven rhythm of footsteps.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
A figure emerged through the mist, limping slightly, a cane striking the cobblestone with patient certainty. My vision blurred, the world dissolving into shapes and shadows—but I could make out enough: a small frame, steady posture, and an aura of quiet command that seemed to still the surrounding chaos.
My final wish. “I… I just need more time.”
“Take your time,” the figure with the cane murmured, his voice soft as wind, calm as night. “Everything’s going to be alright.”
“They’ve got me,” I thought. “It’s over. I failed. Ash… I’m sorry.”
My last thought wasn’t of pain.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFA4coIxfj
It was Lucy’s smile.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7uJNkfRZ9
Ash’s laugh.
The world collapsed into black.
And I let go.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFUbOgM6wC
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"Always carry your will, even when it feels absent. Life was never scripted. A single step can open every possibility of light and darkness." - Zaydf21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwXE4gtupZ
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGC3S0cnNL
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