Taren's eyes flickered, unfocused, as the memory of the red, translucent screen burned in his mind. The words "System Activated" echoed faintly in his thoughts, their meaning both haunting and unclear. He sat there, silent, as if the weight of what he'd seen had frozen his tongue. The royal room around him, the scent of flowers, the soft glow of sunlight—it all felt unreal, like a dream he wasn't sure he'd woken from.
Princess Aeliana's head titled slightly, with a deepening concern; violet eyes probed for some sign of recognition as though she would find an answer in his face to those questions left unspoken in the charged air. Taren, lost in the turmoil of his mind, could not be aware of her gaze.
Then, as if emerging from the fog, came his voice, halting but firm. "Princess…" His eyes now held hers. "Can you tell me what really happened? How… how am I here?"
His words hung in the air, heavy with confusion. His hands clenched the sheets beneath him, and his gaze darted around the room again, searching for something to anchor him in reality. "I… I don't understand any of this. What's going on?"
Princess Aeliana looked at him with her face rosy to the pink shade of being flustered. For a moment, there was reluctance, but in the space of a heartbeat, her demeanour changed, giving way to an understanding glimpse of the confusion in his gaze. So she started speaking gently, in a calm and worried voice.
"Last night, strange sounds were heard—screams and shouting from the direction of the abandoned tunnel," she said, her fingers nervously tracing the edge of the bed's soft fabric. "All of us thought something was wrong, so we sent Mister Osric to look for you. He said you are missing. We could not find you and panic started spreading.
She paused for a moment, composing herself. "And then Mister Osric. he did not hesitate. He walked straight into the tunnel, though no one dared tread upon it. There are stories, you see. Tales of people who ventured inside and never returned. It's forbidden."
Taren's head was spinning trying to connect it all, but the more he listened, the deeper he fell into the confusion. 'The tunnel....the beast... the written text made no sense whatsoever.'
"The tunnel is off-limits for a reason," she continued. "But Mister Osric went in anyway. When he came back, you were in his arms, unconscious, and everyone was shocked. Only you and him made it out. No one else has ever returned from there."
Her voice softened a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Now. You've broken the laws of the nation. The court will decide your fate. They'll decide whether to punish you or." She trailed off, leaving the weight of her words settling between them.
Taren's thoughts were a blur, the shock of what she'd said hitting him like a sudden gust of wind. "The court?" he whispered, his mind struggling to grasp the full weight of her words. The idea of standing before a court, of answering for something he couldn't fully understand, made his stomach churn. "I.....I didn't mean to break any rules."
Princess Aeliana's expression softened further, her eyes filled with quiet reassurance. She stepped closer to the bed, her voice gentle but firm.
"Don't worry," she said, placing a hand lightly on the edge of the bed, her gaze steady and kind. "We won't let anything happen to you. You're not alone in this."
Her words, so simple, were full of comfort. She seemed to believe in what she said, her promise holding a weight. The worry there in her eyes was genuine and for a moment, it flickered a glimmer of hope into Taren. Everything-the strange occurrences, the tunnel, the unknown power seemed that she was trying to offer him some kind of security, some sense of command over a situation that seemed to be rapidly spiralling out of his control.
Taren nodded slowly, the tightness in his chest easing just a little. "Thank you," he murmured, though it felt like the gratitude was too small for what he was feeling. His mind was still reeling, but her calm presence gave him a brief sense of grounding. "I don't know what's going on. But I'll do whatever it takes."
Princess Aeliana gave him a little, comforting smile. "We will together get through this."
---
An hour later, Taren found himself outside the mansion, sitting in the park; however, all this grandeur of the place, towering royal structures and lush gardens around him seemed far off. His eyes scanned this beautiful world, yet he couldn't experience any of it. It was as if he were viewing everything through a fog. The serene ambience surrounding the royal grounds felt more like a distant dream that somehow he couldn't get nearer to. His thoughts stayed on what had occurred and not on why it happened.
He stayed there, his mind stuck in what had transpired while replaying every moment of his being awake. 'What the heck happened after I passed out? What was that? It was like I have seen that floating thing somewhere.'
The words were stuck in his head.
"System Activated."
He couldn't help himself. He muttered to himself, his frustration welling up to the surface only in the way that only a man who'd seen too many things he didn't understand could.
"What the fuck was that, dude? Ah!, it's same thing that I saw in dream?!" His voice was rough like he was talking to a street rat who'd seen too much of the underbelly of the world.
"What is meaning of this?"
He shook his head violently, trying to push the thoughts away. "This is nonsense. All of it. Just. Nonsense," he muttered, but the more he tried to dismiss it, the more it felt real.
Suddenly, he heard hurried footsteps behind him. Before he could turn around, Agraj and Osric appeared, their faces tense and urgent.
"Taren!" Osric screamed at the top of his voice, sharp with annoyance. "Hurry it up! You have to go to court now! Time was running out, according to his expression, and the urgency in his voice left no room for hesitation.