Isaac shook his head as he looked at the ground. "I don't know. It's all so confusing. But, what I do know for sure is that he isn't the same Dedrin we knew before." Dymas then walked over to them while holding the other piece of the stone. "How do you know that when he was only here for a few minutes?" Isaac turned to him with a serious expression on his face. "Because I know my son. If he hadn't changed, we all would've been dead the moment he walked through the door."
Dymas hesitated and turned to notice the sadness on his mother's face. "...I'm sorry. Maybe he really is different. I guess I was just still mad about all the things he did to us. But, I'm willing to look past that now. He is my brother, and if he's somehow broken his curse I want to do what I can to save him." April and Isaac smiled softly at Dymas and he shrugged, nervously. "Now, if only we could find him."
Suddenly, both of the stones started to glow brightly. Isaac held April's arm in panic. "What's going on?!" Dymas shielded his eyes from the brightness as he held the stone away from him. "I don't know! I'm not doing it!" The stones became brighter until all three of them disappeared into thin air. A small silence passed as the light left the room until Dymas's wife stood up from her throne with confusion. "Um... Guys?"
*
My ability to breathe was fading as the dagger absorbed my life, but it was happening a lot slower than I imagined it would. Theodius pushed the dagger farther into my stomach as if he was thinking the same, and when it didn't work he pulled it out of me. "AHHH!!" More of my blood spilled to the floor and it brought new meaning to the phrase being torn apart from the inside out. The light of the dagger disappeared and I felt the life it was taking from me return despite how I was on track to die anyway from my wounds.
Theodius looked at the dagger in suspicion. "What the? Why is it-?" He then turned to see that his piece of the stone of Sudre was glowing brightly and decreasing the power of the sword. Theodius raised his hand toward it in an attempt to stop it. "What the hell?! Why is it stopping me?! It's never done anything on its own before!"
All of a sudden, another light appeared next to us and my family took its place. "Gah!" They fell to the floor and I was very confused about what was going on. My mother jumped when she saw me but before she could say anything, the piece of the stone she held flew out of her grip. The piece Dymas had did the same and everyone's attention went to the center of the room where all three pieces levitated and brightly shined.
I stared up at the sight in surprise and so did everyone else. The pieces then reattached themselves together into one whole stone that was shaped like a heart, and the light became brighter. The room shook with how much power the stone was emitting, and fear spread on Theodius's face. "No! That's impossible! It can't be after all these years!!" My father helped my mother and brother to their feet and stared at the stone with the same surprise. "It, it has chosen a true king!"
All any of us could do now was watch as the stone spun in the air. I couldn't believe that all this time the stone could, in fact, choose a rightful heir to possess it. And that it hadn't chosen one since my greatest ancestor. I wondered what could've possibly triggered it and who it had chosen. The stone then moved toward me and my eyes widened. I kept thinking that it would turn and choose my brother or Theodius, but it continued toward me until it was right in front of me.
I froze as the stone then disappeared into my chest and a wave of power crashed through me like an explosion. Green flames burst around me and the entirety of my eyes became sources of light. Ripples of green magic bounced around inside me and my stab wound healed instantly. I felt stronger than I could've ever imagined in this moment and pulled my arms out of the arrows that held me to the wall, feeling no pain as I did it. The holes in me disappeared as soon as I was free, and I then looked down at myself as I was surrounded by green fire.
I felt so powerful I didn't know how to comprehend it, and everyone around me was just as dumbfounded. Theodius was filled with fear now as the remainder of the items I had gotten for him fell to the ground. He backed away from me, terrified. "No! You're cursed to be the destroyer of worlds!! You can't be the true king!! It's not possible!!" I became angry as I started walking toward him. "No one is born a hero, no one is born a villain. I choose my own destiny."
As soon as I got close enough I grabbed Theodius by the throat and he struggled as my fire burned him. "AHH! NO! You can't!!" I said nothing else as I made him disappear with only my thoughts. His body left existence slowly until there was nothing left of him and my grip became empty. I stood there for a moment and realized just how easy it was to have killed him with the full power of the stone.
He was finally gone and couldn't hurt May, or anyone else anymore. The thought of that relaxed me. The flames around me became smaller until they were gone, and my eyes returned to normal. I turned around to see my family frozen in surprise at what I had done. 'I guess they hitched a ride as the stones found each other.' My attention then went to Razerous who was still on the ground from being poisoned.
I rushed over to him and to my surprise, as soon as I touched him he gasped and was able to push himself to sit up. I helped him to his feet and he smiled at me. "Thanks. Your Highness." I raised an eyebrow. "I, I didn't even do anything yet and you're already healed?" Razerous nodded. "The stone is a part of you now, and it responds to your emotions so there is no need to command it." I looked down at my hand, still trying to process what this meant.
Suddenly, my mother rushed in to hug me. She wrapped her arms around me tightly and attempted not to cry as she spoke. "Dedrin! Don't leave me ever again! I love you too much to let you go again!" I wrapped my arms around her in response and I melted to the thought that after everything I had done, she forgave me in an instant. "I love you too, mother."
She pulled away with shock toward my response. "Y-You have never said that before." I smiled a little as I remembered how I used to avoid that word like the plague. "I know. I used to be quite the asshole, didn't I?"