The night palace was a black gem with glossy surfaces that made it seem like black crystalline. We entered from the sea gate, and it felt like an eternity passed before we reached the crystal-embellished interior that was mostly open. If not vaulted glass ceilings, large sections were without roofs, an open free-flowing concept. It was as if they dwelled within the ethereal embrace of the night.
"When one of the seven tokens of ten was delivered to Lumina," Primus Eris began with all solemnity. "Protocols were set in place to prepare. A mandate that was obligatory for all domains. We knew once Murvis had free rein, no one could be trusted. No one."
"Since Murvis has already reclaimed three of them." He chucked a glance back at Kaia. "I deem that to be sound."
We were taken to a grandiose balcony, far-reaching with nothing to punctuate the curved end but short columns carrying bowls of fire. The floor was opalescent and motionary. It was like the pink-tinted and amethyst-infused clouds of early dawn were trapped beneath the glassy surface. The Regulus, also known as the Night King, stood at the brink overlooking the palace city. Primus Eris and the Regulus traded curt words in their language. The night king eased around, his skin like star-shadow, as if darkness itself took a regal form.
He bade me to him with a gesture of his adorned hand.
I exchanged glances with Velar. He nodded stiffly.
I met the Regulus halfway. With two fingers, he pressed it against my forehead—jolted by an electrical current that ran through my limbs in an instant.
"When will you wake from your slumber?" His voice was calming, like water streaming over polished rocks in a riverbed. "Your powers should have awakened and yet they remain dormant."
"Her predecessor ensured that she knew not who she was," Velar informed. "So close to the seventh rise, it was safer for her to be undetected."
"Time is of the essence," he countered urgently, nipped by irritation. "Three tokens are already beyond your reach."
Velar's frustration flared with his deep inhale. "I am well aware."
"How do you reckon I awaken my power?" I asked.
"Usually, a life-threatening crisis triggers an event."
With that, every breath was stolen from my lungs, and my strength reduced to smithereens as I clutched my throat as if trying to pry off an invisible hand that wasn't even there. Velar panicked, his eyes darting between us as his fingers twitched, itching for violence.
"That's enough," Velar demanded.
My knees hit the floor, dropping to all fours. Darkness crept into the edges of my vision.
"That's enough!"
I heaved my gaze to look up at him, still on my hands and knees. A vacant look had entered his eyes. They were clouded and glazed over like I was staring up at a living corpse. He was corrupted. Velar rushed at him. The Regulus snapped out his arm and seized his throat without even looking at him. Velar thrashed, not because he was helpless, but because he dared not harm a king. He floundered in futility, his face an inflamed red with prominent veins bulging against the skin. The floor fragmented beneath me, a tremor of fissures cracking through, originating from under my palms to across the entire expanse.
Eyelids flickering, Velar tore off his coat and reached behind him to snatch out one dagger. He slashed the Regulus's inner forearm, causing him to yank his hand back to his chest. Velar dove on top of me, shielding my body with his and rooting his hands to the ground.
"Kaia!"
Kaia let out a torrent that blasted the Regulus to the edge, and over until his one hand was clinging to the cusp. Primus Eris was well in his right to execute us, but he had seen it for himself. Their ruler was tainted. Instead, he hauled Velar to his feet as if he weighed nothing, and I was brought to full height with a single tug. Primus Eris, on his own, carved a safe path through the night palace. Those who were incorruptible dealt with those who were.
"This makes little sense," Velar voiced. "Regulus Qhar is just, fair, and kind. A perfect pure paragon."
Primus Eris's jaw strained. "Good in heart, but he harbored lofty ambitions. The reason Lumina is secluded from the realm is the Regulus saw the gluttony of other powerheads that they were willing to oppress their own people and betray their allies, all to advance their own interests. A land can never flourish with many kings."
Comprehension dawned on him. "He believed one ruler should rule the realm."
Part of the protocol had been to relocate tokens from powerheads without their knowledge, in case they were ever compromised. It was a decision conducted by the eight military tribunals after the last Sajatai dismantled the Sagus. Even they had contingency plans if one of their military high ranks was corrupted.
Primus Eris ordered his second-in-command to take charge in his absence. The night king would have to be contained. In the interim, he would be acting Regulus whilst Primus Eris and a warband of Lumina legionnaires accompanied our voyage. He was meant to take us to where Lumina and where the other three tokens were being relocated to.
In the command deck of the imperial ship. Kaia, the captain, Velar, Primus Eris, and I encircled the table. The captain had laid out a map of the realm and the Primus simply pointed to where we needed to be.
"The prime meridian of the world," Velar noted.
A frown struck Kaia's forehead. "A vast tundra of nothingness."
"The cradle of the world," Primus Eris educated. "The epicenter of all life."
"What is meant to happen?" Kaia asked with a quizzical stare.
"Our token is with Ironhelm. Three armies from the three provinces will unite at that point." His eyes, almost translucent, tethered my gaze to his flinty stare. "No power, not Murvis, not even the Sajatai can overturn what destiny has decreed. Both can wield the Sagus, but only one will survive like an ember emerging from the ashes. Only if it is the Sajatai that has fallen, it means the realm plunged into obscurity, and the earth paved with all the bones of those she failed to save."
Despair and dread collided within, and it sent me storming out of the room. Soon a shadow fell over me and I knew it was Velar that was the one in pursuit. I stopped and pressed my hand against the wall in the narrow corridor, using the surface as support as my mind churned a tilt.
"Akari," he murmured my name like a caress to the cheek.
"I cannot do this." Barely a whisper, tears burning behind my eyes. "The realm. All those lives. Velar, we both know I am unfit—"
"Unready and unworthy," he said to add to the litany.
My eyes lifted to meet his remorseless gaze.
"You were chosen, so it makes you worthy," he stated as a fact. "Readiness is a state of mind, not a state of being. For great willpower, no road has length."
I managed a broken nod. My eyes flicked down to his throat.
"How are you faring? The Regulus had quite the death grip."
"What of you?" he retorted, his eyes roaming over me slowly. "Something awakened."
I bopped my shoulder. "I saw you in a precarious situation… I suppose I didn't like it."
"It was wondrous," he said, looking at me like I was a marvel. "It was like your body was infused with liquid fire. It was palpable. I could feel it radiating off you. Indeed, you are the Sajatai's successor."
~
The dry tundra seemed to stretch beyond the horizon, a parched and cracked canvas that whispered tales of a fallen age, where the scorching sun painted the landscape with hues of gray, brown, and ochre. Mantled with carpeted slopes of bristled green.
Amidst the desolate realm, monolithic remnants, like silent giants, their imposing forms reaching towards the cloudless sky. Carved from ancient stone and eroded by time's chisel.
A rock formation resembling a coliseum with a round rugged gradient. Steep declines led to the arid stage, below. Atop, encroaching on the edge, was the gathering of three armies with banners fluttering in the relentless winds, each adorned with the sigil of their respective provinces.
The falcon army of Verdantia, resplendent in gleaming armor adorned with intricate feather motifs. In contrast, Ironhelm bore the sigil of the scorpion, and their army was clad in crimson armor. Soleria's army, distinguished by their grand green and silver with ornate weaponry, exuded an air of majestic authority.