Alric noticed Delilah stirring on the bed where they had laid her. She slowly began to wake.
"Delilah, are you alright?"
"Alric? Ugh, my face hurts like hell."
"Take it easy, you took a heavy hit. Of course, it's going to hurt."
"Where are we? This place looks… old… and it reeks of mold. Is this some kind of cave?"
"I think so? Something like that. I haven't had the chance to see the outside yet."
The place indeed looked like a cave—walls and ceilings made of rough stone. The base of the Eclipse Guards resembled an ancient temple, perhaps too ancient to be comfortable. The villagers had been taken to their quarters and tended to by the Guard's healers, while Alric and Delilah had been given a much larger, private chamber.
"When you passed out… well, it wasn't pretty, but then some Eclipse Guards arrived. They saved us and whoever else was left alive."
"Eclipse Guards? Never heard of them. What are they?"
"I don't know. I'd never heard of them either. But, Delilah… there's something I need to tell you."
Before Alric could continue, Selene entered the room, now without her armor. She wore simple linen pants and a tunic. Upon seeing Alric, she knelt.
"Your highness, may I enter your chambers?"
"You're already inside, go ahead."
"Highness? What?" Delilah's eyes widened in confusion as she glanced at Selene. "What's the deal with this weird bald lady?" The comment made Selene flinch.
"Well, Delilah... when the Executors attacked, they were looking for someone in the village. I know it sounds ridiculous, impossible even, but they were searching for a prince. A son of the emperor. And as crazy as it sounds… the Executors and the Eclipse Guards… they both recognized me as that prince."
Alric locked eyes with Delilah, searching for any reaction. After all, she knew him better than anyone else.
"You've got to be kidding, Alric. You? A prince?"
"I know how it sounds. Believe me, I'm struggling with it myself. It seems too—"
"If I may, Your Highness, that's precisely why I'm here." Selene stepped forward, carrying a few books and some food for both Alric and Delilah.
"I'd like to explain everything. I know it sounds illogical, but you're too important not to understand your position."
Alric and Delilah silently accepted the food, waiting for Selene to speak.
"The heir returns on wings of flame,
To cast the crown in ash and shame.
A throne once stained by greed and lies,
Will fall beneath the darkened skies.
The king shall tremble, the kingdom weep,
For justice wakes from long, cold sleep."
Selene opened the book she had brought.
"These were the words the Daughters of the Echo recited to the emperor when your mother was pregnant with you. The emperor... well, let's just say he wasn't too pleased. When you were born, the first thing your father tried to do was have you killed. But your mother… she stopped him, begging for your life, insisting the Daughters of the Echo were wrong." Selene's expression grew somber as she handed the book to Alric. Within its pages, the rest of the story unfolded.
The queen, humiliated after giving birth to another man's child, begged the emperor to spare the bastard's life. For five days and five nights, she endured lashings in the capital's square, thanking the emperor for each lash she received.
On the sixth day, her body could no longer endure the torture. Her blood stained the streets of the capital, and her tears were the only warmth she felt during the entire ordeal. As a final mockery to the woman who had betrayed him, the emperor ordered her remains to be distributed among the lesser noble houses as a reminder of what happens to those who betray the emperor. As for the bastard child, true to his word, the emperor sent him away to live in the countryside, destined to die at the hands of some bandit.
Alric couldn't continue reading. The book slipped from his hands.
Delilah, curious, picked it up and read the title aloud.
"Oh… The former empress. Didn't you know this story, Alric?"
"No… you were the one obsessed with stories about the Empire, not me."
Selene, noticing how deeply affected Alric was, gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Your Highness, may I speak with you privately for a moment?"
"S-sure. Delilah, I'll be back in a bit."
Selene and Alric walked through the base until they reached a large hall, lined with murals, weapons, bookshelves, and a massive wooden table.
"What is it you wanted to speak about?"
Selene's gaze softened, taking on a motherly tone as she looked at Alric.
"You don't understand how much this means to us… the Eclipse Guards were… we were your mother's personal guard."
"What? You… all of you? Then why the hell didn't you stop her from being killed?"
Alric lunged at Selene, grabbing her by the collar, but Selene only met his outburst with the same gentle, maternal gaze.
"The emperor had you held captive… the only way to get you back was for your mother to surrender. Alric, she ordered us not to interfere. She commanded us to watch over you until you were of age." Selene softly removed Alric's hands from her collar.
"Until I was of age? Age for what?"
"To fulfill the prophecy of the Daughters of the Echo. So that the emperor's head may finally roll across the floor, and his body fed to the dogs. So that your mother's soul can finally rest in peace."
Vardheim was one of the largest cities on the continent, the capital of the empire, its size only surpassed by Kharavos. The center of the city bustled with aristocrats and nobles, enjoying their daily amusements—from the death fights organized by the Vornath family, who kidnapped peasants under the cover of night, to public slave markets, where children and the elderly were sold for torture. The suffering of the less fortunate was the daily entertainment of the privileged few.
At the heart of the city stood the emperor's citadel, a structure more demonic than imperial in its appearance. Within its shadowy halls, the cries of a woman echoed—one of the emperor's concubines, caught speaking ill of him. The emperor, seated on his throne, watched with wicked delight as she received her punishment, signaling to the executioner to continue as long as it amused him.
Suddenly, the heavy doors to the throne room swung open, and three young figures entered—two women and a man, each no more than eighteen years old.
"Father! We've heard what happened in that wretched village where you sent the executioners!"
The emperor looked at his children—his twin daughters and son. They were the very image of himself in his youth.
"Ah, my heirs. You shouldn't trouble yourselves with trivial matters," the emperor's voice rumbled, deep and authoritative.
"Trivial matters?! The bastard is missing, and your executioners were slaughtered, without even a chance to defend themselves!" Saphira, the eldest by mere minutes, was the first to speak, her tone laced with frustration.
"Saphira, do not raise your voice at our father. It is not his fault the executioners underestimated the situation. No one expected a greater force to protect the bastard," Elyra, her twin sister, calmly reminded her.
"Not raise my voice? Fine, Elyra, I'll keep it down, even when the bastard rallies the people under some banner of 'justice' against the emperor!" Saphira shot back, her temper barely in check.
Elyra closed her eyes, taking a breath. She knew her sister's fiery temper all too well, especially when it came to missions that went awry.
The emperor listened to his daughters argue, his attention shifting to his son, the quietest of the three. "Caius, my son, I want you to investigate the events in the village. With the gift you were blessed with, you should be able to locate the bastard. Bring him to me—alive if possible, but do not hesitate to kill him if he poses a threat. The last thing I need is a third prophecy from the Echo Daughters."
"Third?" Caius raised an eyebrow, the tension in the room shifting. His sisters also quieted, curious. "I thought there was only one."
The emperor sighed deeply. "There was. But weeks ago, I received a second prophecy." His gaze darkened as he remembered the eerie words spoken by the Echo Daughter who had delivered the news:
"The tyrant emperor, his throne will shake,
His lies exposed, the truth will wake.
A kingdom crumbles from within,
The prince's wrath shall soon begin."
"Those damn Echo Daughters... Father, why didn't you kill the bastard when you first heard the prophecy? You could've spared us all this drama!" Saphira shot her father a cold look. "After all, he's just a bastard—you should have killed him and his mother."
"It's not that simple, daughter," the emperor growled. "He isn't a bastard. His mother never betrayed me. She was one of my most cherished concubines, and her influence is what made her empress for a few years." His eyes drifted to the ruined throne beside him. "She agreed to let me destroy her reputation, to brand the child a bastard, just so he might live. A mistake, and one I regret—but it was her final wish."
The emperor noticed the discomfort in his children, his thoughts having drifted too far. "Forgive me, my children. Rest assured, the true story will never reach the people. She was far too beloved by the common folk. Saphira, you will accompany Caius with a squad of executioners. Bring me the boy. Make your father proud."