Meanwhile…
Leroy sprinted through the blazing hallways, each turn consumed by fire and chaos. His lungs burned, and his legs screamed in exhaustion, but he didn't stop, not until he reached the royal chamber.
The door was slightly ajar, swaying under the pressure of the heat. Flames licked the edges of the frame, and smoke poured through the cracks. A cold chill ran down his spine as he slowly pushed the door open. The sight that met him froze his entire body on the spot.
At that moment, he remembered the voice from his dream.
"Do not let him deceive your eyes."
Blood splattered across the marble floor. His father, the king, was suspended in midair, impaled through the chest by a sharp cane. The king's grip on his sword trembled; the once-brilliant blue flames that wreathed it flickered weakly before fading into nothingness.
The blade slipped from his hand, clattering against the bloodstained floor, while the mysterious figure holding it stood tall, cloaked in darkness with his face hidden beneath the glow of the inferno.
With a casual flick, the man withdrew his cane. Leroy's father fell lifelessly to the floor with a sickening thud.
Leroy staggered forward, his eyes wide in disbelief as his gaze caught his mother's body lying nearby, motionless, surrounded by a crimson pool. His knees buckled, and he dropped to the floor as his stomach twisted violently. He gagged, coughing between choked gasps before vomiting onto the scorched ground.
The world around him spun.
A blur of fire, smoke, and despair. His chest heaved as he clutched at his uniform, trembling uncontrollably, tears streaming down, mixing with the soot smeared across his face. The crushing weight of it all, the confusion, the grief, the fury, pressed down on him until he could barely breathe, and he saw it.
The nightmare standing before him was the very thing that had taken everything away. The echo of footsteps resounded through the flames. A dark shadow emerged from the smoke, steady, cold, and inhuman.
Leroy's body froze. Trembling, he looked up and saw him. A man cloaked in black, his dead, empty eyes locked onto Leroy's with no hatred, no pity, just pure, hollow stillness. Leroy's breath caught in his throat as he stumbled backward, falling to the ground, crawling desperately as panic overtook him. The sword slipped from his grasp.
"He's right in front of me! Get up, damn it!"
His legs wouldn't move as his body refused to obey. The man took another slow step forward with the sharp end of his cane glinting faintly in the firelight.
"So you're the last one."
His voice was cold, emotionless, cutting through the air like a blade of frost. He raised his cane with the blade at its tip, catching the light.
Leroy squeezed his eyes shut.
Clash!
A flash of light split the darkness as sparks flew from steel meeting steel. The attack did not reach Leroy. The man's eyes shifted as he saw a boy standing before him, his blade pressed against his cane, wreathed in crackling white lightning.
"Found you."
Skyler's voice dripped with fury, his gaze burning with vengeance.
Lightning surged around him, wrapping his body in radiant energy as he forced the man back with a burst of strength. The ground cracked beneath their feet.
Without hesitation, Skyler launched forward again. His movements were a blur, every strike sharp, desperate, and full of rage. The man parried each blow effortlessly with his expression unchanged, as if reading every attack before it was able to reach him, but Skyler didn't stop. He couldn't stop.
Skyler, driven by anger and grief, screamed.
"White Lightning Aura—50 Percent Power Up!"
His lightning intensified, searing the air with blinding flashes. He swung with all his might, and the blade cut through the man's arm cleanly. A brief moment of triumph flashed in Skyler's eyes.
Unexpectedly, the man's severed arm regenerated instantly, black veins crawling and stitching his flesh back together.
"What—!?"
Skyler's disbelief barely left his lips before the man's fist slammed into his chest, sending him crashing into a wall with thunderous force. He gasped, clutching his ribs, as the man raised his fist again. This time, a dark, pulsating energy swirled around the man's arm, ready to strike the ground.
Skyler's instincts screamed from the man's powerful aura. He turned sharply and glanced at Leroy, still frozen in shock, unable to move.
"Damn it—!"
In an instant, Skyler dashed toward him, lightning bursting from his feet. He grabbed Leroy and pulled him close, just as an explosion erupted from the impact of the man's power.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The blast tore through the castle, shattering walls and engulfing everything in light and smoke. The two of them were thrown violently through debris and flame, crashing through room after room until they finally slammed into the far side of the castle.
Skyler groaned with his body trembling from pain. While Leroy lay beside him, barely conscious.
Both were bloodied and in pain, but still alive.
Leroy slowly sat up, his vision still blurry. The horrible scene from before kept flashing through his mind.
His parents, the blood. His breathing quickened, it felt like his mind was being torn apart.
"No, this can't be real."
He clutched his head, trembling, as though forcing himself to wake up from this nightmare, but it wouldn't end.
Across from him, Skyler groaned as he pushed himself off the floor, wincing from the pain. When he saw Leroy sitting there, frozen and broken, something inside him snapped.
He staggered toward him, grabbed him by the collar, and shouted in his face.
"Hey! Snap out of it, Leroy! Get up!"
Leroy's eyes widened. Suddenly, his anger flared. His fist shot forward, hitting Skyler square in the jaw.
"YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST SAY THAT LIKE YOU UNDERSTAND!?"
He screamed, voice shaking with rage.
Before Skyler could respond, Leroy's fist swung forward again, slamming into his jaw. Skyler stumbled back, and Leroy tackled him.
Their shouts echoed through the ruined hall as they traded blows, pain, grief, and rage all exploding at once.
"You don't know what it's like! You don't know what I've just lost!!"
Leroy yelled, pinning Skyler to the floor, striking again and again. Skyler twisted, grabbed Leroy's arm, and rolled him over, slamming him down, his own fury burning despite his exhaustion.
"Do you think I'm that heartless!? You think you're the only one who's suffering!?"
He shouted back, his voice cracking. Skyler slammed his fist beside Leroy's head, the floor cracking under the force.
"Raykar… Kylen… Rosslin… Leyla."
Skyler's voice cracked as his teeth clenched.
"THEY'RE ALL GONE, DAMN IT!!!"
The echo of his voice filled the silence that followed. Leroy's breath hitched as he looked up, and for the first time, he saw it.
Tears.
With Skyler's right eye bloodied and half-scorched from the earlier blast, he trembled as tears streamed down his face. Leroy's chest tightened as the tear rolled from Skyler's own eyes and landed softly on his cheek.
In that broken silence, surrounded by fire and ash, two shattered souls, brothers not bound by blood, finally stopped fighting.
Skyler stepped back and watched as Leroy curled on the floor, shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Tears slid down Leroy's face, one after another, until he buried his arm over his eyes.
He couldn't stop them.
After a long, hollow minute, Leroy folded his legs close to his chest and rested his hands on his knees. His thoughts were a tangle of guilt and questions.
"Why did this happen? Was I not strong enough?"
The dream that had warned him felt meaningless now, swallowed by ash and grief.
Suddenly, soft, deliberate footsteps approached them, sending a cold shiver down both their spines. Skyler slid in front of Leroy, eyes sharpening like blades. He spoke, voice low and hard.
"You can move, right?"
"W-what?"
Leroy blinked, dazed.
"You still have your sister trapped somewhere around the castle. Go find her and save her."
Skyler's eyes didn't soften.
"H-hah? What about yo—"
Leroy began, panic flaring.
"You go. I'll stay."
Skyler's tone was final.
Before Leroy could argue, Skyler's blade flashed. He slashed the floor beside Leroy in a brutal arc. The stone fractured, cracks spidered outward, and the ground gave way. Leroy vanished as he fell through the broken floor into the lower level with a sickening thud.
As the man slowly reveals himself through the foggy hallway. Skyler's voice, calm yet cruel:
"Let's finish where we left off. This time I'll kill you for sure."
Down below, coughing from the smoke, Leroy dragged himself to his feet. He peered upward through the haze and heard the intense clashing of weapons above.
There was no time to linger.
Heart pounding, he stumbled into the corridors of the burning castle, every step driven by one desperate thought:
"Find her. Save her."
Leroy searched endlessly through the burning corridors. He ran past falling debris, the searing heat that clawed at his skin. His mind flickered with memories of laughter, of family and friends, of the days before the fire and loss. He gritted his teeth, wiped his tears, and pushed forward.
At last, he reached a familiar room, its door splintering, flames licking the frame. He forced the door open with his shoulder. Inside, through the smoke, he saw a small figure curled up on the floor.
"Siana!"
He cried, rushing to her side. He dropped to his knees as he hugged her trembling body. For the first time in what felt like forever, his tears weren't from grief, but relief. His sister was still alive.
Carrying her tightly against his chest, Leroy ran through the collapsing halls. Each step burned his lungs, but he refused to stop. When he finally reached the main gate, a massive stone pillar blocked their only way out. His heart pounded as panic surged. Siana was growing weaker in his arms.
With the last bit of strength that remained, Leroy called upon his aura and pressed his shoulder against the heavy stone. The weight was unbearable, but he managed to push the pillar aside with the help of his aura's power.
The doors burst open, and a rush of cold air hit his face. Leroy staggered out into the open night, his body giving out beneath him. Just before he collapsed completely, an arm caught him.
"Got you."
A calm voice echoed through the burning night. It was Miyaki.
As Leroy lost his strength, his body gave in and he fell forward right into Miyaki's arms. In that fleeting moment before darkness took him, a faint sense of relief washed over him. He could finally rest, knowing someone was there.
Miyaki tightened her grip, holding him steady as the flames roared behind them, as she glanced down at his unconscious face.
After a long, sleepless night, the flames were finally extinguished through the tireless efforts of the soldiers. As the smoke cleared, they searched every corner of the ruined castle grounds, yet there was no trace of the mysterious figure nor of Skyler. His body, or even his ashes, were nowhere to be found.
Only the charred remains of those who had perished in the tragedy lay scattered among the smoldering ruins. The young prince who had lost everything, his parents, his friends, and even his dreams, now stood alone in the ruins of what once was his kingdom.
Days passed, and the town of Lightwoods fell into unease. Without a ruler, without guidance, whispers of worry spread among the people.
Who would lead them now? Who could restore what was lost?
Rumors began to circulate through the streets and the papers. Stories of a mysterious figure responsible for the tragedy spread like wildfire. They called him "The Dark Silencer," the man who destroyed everything without a sound.
Weeks went by. Even Miyaki, once a proud, strong, and cheerful figure in the government, had distanced herself from the public eye. She blamed herself for not being able to save her beloved students. She gave up on her drinking habit and focused on rebuilding herself, though her heart still carried deep scars that will never heal.
Eventually, the people of Lightwoods gathered together to decide the kingdom's future.
Could young Leroy, the surviving heir, be trusted to protect the kingdom his father once ruled?
The decision was difficult, people were torn between faith and doubt. Some believed in him, while others feared he was too young, too broken. However, Leroy never gave up.
Year after year, he carried his father's name with pride, devoting himself to finding justice for the tragedy that had destroyed his home. His resolve never wavered.
Throughout the past decade, the once fragile boy had grown into a man of strength and wisdom, a ruler whose unwavering determination inspired his people.
Miyaki, his most trusted mentor, spent years in solitude. He sought her out, offering her a chance to guide the next generation and to stand guard over their kingdom once again.
He respected her decision with all his heart, fully aware of how much she had sacrificed to shape him into who he was today. With a solemn vow, he swore that he would protect this kingdom with his very life.
Seeing the resolve in his eyes, Miyaki smiled softly, finding new hope and purpose within him. With time, the young man devoted himself to rebuilding the kingdom, carrying his father's will within his heart.
The people began to call him by a new name:
The Young King.