The sight of my friend being stabbed in the chest and dragged into the thick fog was a nightmare I couldn't process. I screamed his name, my voice hoarse with desperation, as I fought against the distorted demons as they attack me, aiding their master escape. Their grotesque limbs twisted and lashed, but I struck them down with relentless fury, my blade cutting through their unnatural forms. Yet no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't reach him.
I called out to him, over and over, until his silhouette faded swallowed by the mysterious fog. The demons began to retreat then, their grotesque forms slinking back as their master vanished into the shadows.
Breathless and shaking, I turned and ran. I raced down the stairs, the echoes of my footsteps heavy with dread. My comrades—they must be alive, I thought, clinging to that hope. But what awaited me below was not relief. It was far more sinister.
Felix was alive—but changed, his once-familiar eyes now glowing with an unnatural mix of gold and red, the same as the princess's before her end. The air around him pulsed with an unsettling energy, suffocating in its intensity.
The others were scattered, their bodies pushed to the ground by the sheer force emanating from Felix. Abel and Ivy clung to each other, their expressions frozen in awe and fear, while Gunther knelt nearby, trembling. I staggered back, my weapon slipping from my grasp, everyone's face pale with disbelief.
Felix's body suspended in midair, surrounded by a faint, fiery glow. His wounds began to close, his flesh knitting together as if guided by some force. The energy pouring out of him was unmistakable—it was the golden scale dragon powers.
I understood in an instant. He is becoming the vessel now that the king is dead.
The tension in the air grew unbearable, crackling with power that pressed against my chest, threatening to crush me. Then, as suddenly as it began, the storm of energy receded. The room fell into an eerie silence, the air calm but heavy with what had just transpired. Felix descended slowly to the ground, his glowing eyes fixed on us, alien and unreadable.
"Vesper is gone. The princess too." My voice cracked as I told them.
"…." Ivy.
"…." Abel.
"What are you saying, Henry?" Ivy asked, her voice trembling, barely audible over the suffocating silence. Her wide, tear-filled eyes darted between us, desperate for answers.
Felix stood motionless, his glowing eyes now shut, as if he was still grappling with the surge of power coursing through him.
"He's dead?" Gunther asked solemnly, his voice cracking.
I nodded, my body trembling uncontrollably, each word heavy with the weight of failure. "They took the body away… I couldn't save him." My tears spilled freely, no longer held back by pride or restraint. "It's my fault," I choked out, the words trembling as much as my voice. Deep down, I knew the truth—I had failed him, and it burned. But even more terrifying was the gnawing suspicion in my heart. Something deeper was at play, and I didn't know whom to trust anymore.
Ivy's vibrant gaze dimmed, her spirit shattered. Her expression grew vacant, her lips slightly parted as if the weight of this loss had stolen the very breath from her.
"We must move to Whitestone," Felix's voice cut through the silence.
All eyes turned to him. He was no longer trembling; his aura was calm yet chilling. His tone carried a newfound authority, cold and unwavering.
"Why Whitestone?" Abel demanded, his voice tinged with frustration and suspicion.
Felix's eyes opened slowly, their eerie glow casting an unnatural light in the dim room. "I must kill my mother," he said, his voice devoid of warmth, his words as sharp as the edge of a blade.