Prince Ambrose, now a force of nature, had mastered the art of controlling his vast powers. He had become a being of unfathomable strength, able to bend the world to his will. But there was one thing that continuously gnawed at him—a boundary he could not cross, a place he was forbidden to go. The coral tree forest, a sanctuary that separated Damsel from the outside world, had always beckoned him, yet it remained beyond his reach. Despite his power, every attempt to approach the forest had been met with a searing barrier, an invisible force that repelled him with an overwhelming energy. His rage swelled with each failure, but he never understood why this force existed or what it meant.
Little did he know, the barrier was not a punishment, but a protective measure, a safeguard for his safety. The truth lay in the enchanted locket around his neck—a gift from Queen Veliean, one bestowed upon him by Miraculous. It was the locket that prevented him from leaving Damsel. But Ambrose was unaware, consumed by the idea of freedom beyond the borders of his kingdom.
Ambrose had grown to be both feared and admired in Damsel. His powers, born from a delicate balance of light and dark, made him a symbol of both awe and dread. With his sharp hazel eyes and a presence that sent shivers down the spine of anyone who dared cross his path, he was a paradox—a devil cloaked in divine beauty. His sapphire wings glimmered like a storm waiting to unleash, and his every movement commanded the kingdom's attention. Despite his regal appearance, his nature was more akin to the dark gods than the benevolent rulers before him.
But beneath the surface of this monstrous power, a deep unrest brewed within Ambrose. While he felt the weight of his destiny—the future king, the ruler of Damsel—there was an emptiness in his heart. He longed to escape the constraints of his kingdom, to experience the world beyond the boundaries of Damsel. Yet, this hunger for freedom was masked by cruelty. He tormented the creatures of Damsel, testing their loyalty and enjoying their fear. It was as though his own inner turmoil manifested as a brutal need to dominate, to assert his control over everything around him.
One morning, while peacefully sleeping in his room, a royal servant accidentally made a sound that disturbed his rest. Ambrose's eyes shot open, glowing with an eerie, bloodshot light. The servant, unaware of the prince's volatile mood, froze in terror. Ambrose, fueled by anger, grabbed the servant by the neck, his voice a cold whisper that carried the weight of his wrath.
"You have disturbed my peace," he said, his tone icy and final. "And for that, you must be punished."
The servant, shaking with fear, begged for mercy, but Ambrose's fury had already overtaken him. Without hesitation, he unleashed his power, and within moments, the servant lay lifeless at his feet. The satisfaction Ambrose felt in that moment was chilling, as he walked over the servant's body with a cold indifference, leaving death in his wake.
A royal maid witnessed the scene, her face drained of color as she fled to report the incident to Queen Veliean. The news struck like a thunderclap, and Queen Veliean, her heart heavy with a mother's pain, summoned her son to the royal garden.
When Ambrose arrived, he could sense his mother's rage before he even saw her. Her usual calm demeanor had shifted, replaced by a fierce anger that crackled in the air between them. He bowed respectfully, but before he could speak, Queen Veliean's voice rang out, cutting through the tense silence.
"I've warned you, Ambrose," she began, her voice trembling with authority. "I have always urged you to control your powers, to respect the creatures of Damsel, but today... today you crossed a line."
Ambrose opened his mouth to defend himself, but Veliean wasn't interested in hearing excuses. She continued, her words like sharp blades, "You are the future king, and as such, you must act with responsibility, not cruelty. What you did today is unforgivable."
Ambrose's heart sank as his mother's words struck him harder than any physical blow. But his pride flared, and he tried to justify his actions. "Mother, I—"
Before he could finish, Queen Veliean raised her hand, and a surge of purple light poured from her, drawing all of his powers toward her. Ambrose felt a sudden weakness as the energy drained from him, leaving him powerless and vulnerable. The locket he had worn since birth fell from his neck, unnoticed in the chaos. With his powers gone, Ambrose fell to his knees, stripped of the very essence that had defined him.
Queen Veliean, feeling the heavy weight of his dark energies, retreated, knowing she could not bear to hold onto them for long. She transferred his negative powers into a magical spell bottle and hid it in a secret place, away from prying eyes. Ambrose, now a mere shadow of the prince he had been, struggled to comprehend the magnitude of his loss.
Anger bubbled inside him as he left the royal garden and wandered to the riverside, seeking solace in the solitude of the flowing waters. For hours, he sat, his mind adrift, lost in thought. When he finally regained some measure of calm, he looked up at the horizon, and for the first time in his life, he saw the barrier between Damsel and the outside world as something he could finally cross.
With his powers gone, Ambrose no longer felt the force repelling him. He smiled, believing he had broken free of the invisible chains that had held him back for so long. Driven by a desire for freedom and driven by the resentment that now fueled him, he walked toward the forest, unaware that the very locket he had worn since birth had kept him safe all along.
As he crossed the boundary, the magic that had once protected him from the dangers of the world faded, and Ambrose, for the first time, stepped into the unknown.