What will you do with that power?
That question still lingers in his mind. He walked through the dimly lit corridors of the palace, the crimson tome tucked securely under his arm.
The weight of the book felt heavier with each step, as though it carried more than just ancient words and illustrations. It carried expectations.
His boots clicked against the marble floors, the sound reverberating in the silence around him. His Leizage—his bond with it—had always felt like a gift, something precious and rare... Now it feels like a burden.
His hand tightened around the book.
He has the power to shape the world, but is he ready to use it? A question that remains unanswered.
He paused at a window overlooking the palace gardens, the cool night air brushing against his face. The moon hung high, bathing the world in silver light.
But then his mind drifted to the people he cared about... the people in Ashvale.
If they were in danger, if this "power" he possessed could protect them, didn't he have an obligation to use it?
He closed his eyes, leaning against the window frame.
"You look troubled."
Came a voice from behind him, smooth and laced with curiosity.
Ren spun around, startled by the voice. A man stood there, tall and impeccably dressed in a royal-blue tunic adorned with silver embroidery. His blonde hair was wild, and no expression comes out of his face as he regarded Ren with piercing dark green eyes.
Ren straightened immediately, clutching the book closer to his chest. His posture shifted into one of rigid formality, as was customary when speaking to someone of evident importance outside of Ashvale.
"I didn't mean to intrude here. I was… lost in thought."
The man stepped closer. His movements were unhurried, deliberate, as if he were sizing Ren up with each step.
"Lost in thought, were you? And yet, you carry one of the palace's most treasured tomes as though it were a loaf of bread."
Ren's grip on the crimson book tightened. He glanced down at it briefly before returning his gaze to the stranger, his expression careful.
"I was given this by the princess herself. She believed it might aid me in understanding my Leizage."
"Ah, so you're the tamer of that Leizage? Ren of Ashvale. Strange for Lycoris to gave away her possession."
Ren's brow furrowed slightly at the mention of the princess's name. Lycoris. It felt oddly intimate, even dismissive, as though the speaker held no reverence for her station.
The man studied him for a long moment, his face unreadable. Then, without warning, he extended a hand.
"I am Prince Carlos, Lycoris is my younger sister. That tome you hold—she must think you're worth something to entrust it to you. I suppose I should see for myself."
Ren's eyes widened slightly, and he immediately bowed his head, his formality intensifying.
"Your Highness!" he said quickly, lowering himself into a respectful bow. "Forgive me for not recognizing you sooner!"
Carlos waved a hand dismissively, his expression still neutral.
"Spare me the courtesies, I'm more interested in what you can do, Ren of Ashvale."
Carlos turned, gesturing for Ren to follow him as he strode toward the doorway leading to the moonlit gardens. His movements were deliberate, his posture commanding.
As Ren fell into step behind him, Carlos spoke again, his voice casual but carrying a weight that Ren couldn't ignore.
"My father, the king, doesn't yet know what to do with you or with the information we've gathered about your… beast' unique connection to Ignumbra's blood."
Ren's stomach tightened at the words. He had known that being brought to the palace meant scrutiny, but hearing it spoken so plainly by a prince made the reality of his situation all the more tangible.
"I didn't realize my presence would cause such deliberation among the royal family."
Carlos stopped abruptly, turning to face Ren. The intensity of his gaze made Ren falter for a moment, but he stood firm.
"Don't misunderstand, It's not just your Leizage that concerns us. It's you."
Ren clenched his jaw, his grip tightening on the crimson tome.
"You've been placed in a position where your choices could tip the balance of power in ways even you don't fully grasp yet. And then there's the guy filled with rune magic."
Ren's brow furrowed. "Ardyn?" he echoed.
Carlos nodded, his expression growing more serious.
"A man whose bond with the Umigis has brought as much fear as it has intrigue. Unlike you, he doesn't seem to question what he will do with his power. He embraces it entirely, bending it to his will."
Ren felt a chill creep up his spine. The thought of someone wielding a power like his but without restraint or doubt was unsettling.
"Right now... he's being question. After causing such chaos in the tournament, father doesn't want to let him go."
Carlos began walking again, his steps slow and deliberate. Ren followed, his mind reeling from the implications of the prince's words.
They reached a stone bench in the garden, and Carlos gestured for Ren to sit. Ren hesitated before complying, the tome still held protectively against his chest. Carlos remained standing, his piercing green eyes fixed on him.
"You and Ardyn are two sides of the same coin. One, a boy from who hesitates, who questions what to do with his power. The other, a man who acts without thought, forcing the world to bend to his will."
"I am nothing like him."
"Perhaps not yet, but the king wonders if you could become like him under the right—or wrong—circumstances."
Ren felt the weight of those words settle heavily on his shoulders. The scrutiny wasn't just about what he could do now—it was about what he might become.
"I have my fate in you, Ren. Don't lose it."
With that, Carlos stands up.
****
The air in the stone chamber was heavy with tension, the dim light of the single lantern casting flickering shadows across the room. At the center of the room sat Ardyn, shackled to a cold iron chair, his demeanor calm and smug despite the situation. His mismatched eyes—one glowing faintly with rune magic—gleamed with an almost playful defiance.
Across from him stood Demetrica, her dark armor clinked faintly as she paced back and forth, her every movement radiating controlled fury.
"For the last time, what exactly were you trying to accomplish at the tournament?"
"Accomplish? Must everything I do have some grand purpose?"
Demetrica's hand slammed down on the wooden table separating them, the sound echoing sharply in the room.
"The entire royal court is deliberating what to do with you. If you don't give me answers, you might not walk out of this room alive."
"Walk out alive? I don't plan to walk anywhere."
"You don't plan to walk anywhere?" she echoed, her voice cold and sharp. "If that's supposed to be clever, it isn't. Enough games. What do you want? What will you do with the power you wield?"
Ardyn tilted his head, as though pondering the question with exaggerated care. His lips parted, but no immediate answer came. Instead, he tapped a finger idly against the iron of the chair's armrest, the sound deliberate and grating.
"What will I do?"
He repeated softly, as though testing the words. His gaze drifted to the lantern's flame, watching it flicker.
He finally shifted his gaze back to her, and his serious expression turned into something more contemplative. The room seemed to grow colder as his expression darkened.
"Avalon."
He said at last, the word hanging in the air like an unsheathed blade.
****
Outside the palace, the world trembled.
Leizage and Umigis—raged in tandem, their roars shaking the ground. Chains forged from enchanted steel strained and groaned as they bucked and thrashed, their luminous forms casting wild, chaotic shadows against the palace walls.
Leizage, Ren's beast, glowed with green energy, its massive ears unfurled, while arcs of pure electricity crackled around its body. It slammed against its bindings with unrelenting force, the ground beneath it shattering into jagged fissures.
Nearby, Umigis mirrored the chaos. The black bear of Ardyn writhed, its fur glinting with a sinister sheen as tendrils of purple energy coiled outward. Its eyes glowed with malevolence, and its guttural growls reverberated like distant thunder. Every movement of its colossal frame sent tremors through the ground.
"Hold the perimeter!" one of the officers barked, his voice barely audible over the cacophony. "We can't let them break loose—especially not together!"
A tamer, her robes torn and hair wild, shouted as she tried to channel a spell through her staff.
"It's no use! They're reacting to something—they're trying to reach someone!"
Another roar split the night as Leizage reared up, its chained neck straining toward the castle, as though it could sense Ren's uncertainty and confusion. Umigis, coiled nearby, hissed and lashed out, its focus unwavering as if drawn by Ardyn's calm yet defiant aura.
Prince Carlos emerged onto the scene, his composure tested as he surveyed the destruction. His eyes narrowed, taking in the beasts' simultaneous fury.
"Separate them now!" he commanded, his voice cutting through the chaos. "They're feeding off each other's energy!"
"It's not just energy, Your Highness!" a scholar yelled, her face pale.
His mind raced as he considered the implications. These were not just beast bound by magic—they were extensions of their tamers' very souls. Ren's doubt and hesitation, Ardyn's unyielding ambition—it all resonated with their beasts.
"Prepare to bring the tamers to the courtyard," he ordered. "If we can't calm these monsters, we may need them to do it."
"But sire!" a guard protested. "Ardyn is—"
"Bring them."