The walk from the dais was the strangest, most terrifying experience of Liam's life, which was saying something for a boy who had once used a dead gloomcap as a hand puppet to distract a Prowler. The entire amphitheater, thousands of people, remained silent as he followed in the wake of the beautiful, terrifying prince named Jin. The royal guards, who moments before had been ready to run him through, now parted like reeds in a river, their eyes a mixture of fear and awe—not for Liam, but for the young man leading him away.
Jin moved with an easy, unhurried grace that was an insult to the chaos he had just single-handedly dismantled. He led Liam through a private archway behind the thrones, into the cool, marble heart of the Concord Spire. The roar of the crowd was instantly muted, replaced by the echoing silence of their footsteps.
The moment they were out of sight, the adrenaline that had been holding Liam together evaporated, and his legs decided they were done with the concept of standing. He stumbled, his knees buckling, and only a surprisingly strong grip on his arm from Jin kept him from collapsing onto the polished floor.
"Easy there, Shadow," Jin said, his voice losing its public, theatrical edge and becoming something more casual, almost amused. "The dramatic part is over. You can save the swooning for when the historians write about this."
Liam's brain felt like a bag of scrambled gears. He stared at Jin, at the impossible white hair and the golden eyes that seemed to hold ancient starlight. "You… you… they were going to kill me," he stammered, the words clumsy in his mouth.
"They were," Jin agreed cheerfully, as if discussing the weather. He finally let go of Liam's arm and leaned against a marble pillar, crossing his arms. "Kael has all the diplomatic subtlety of a lit firework. He sees a problem, he tries to make it explode. It's his defining characteristic. You were a very big, very strange problem."
"But… you stopped them," Liam said, still trying to process. "You claimed me. Why?"
Jin's smile was a slow, deliberate thing. It was the smile of a predator that has just found a fascinating new toy. "Why not? It's been dreadfully boring lately. The other kingdoms bicker over trade routes, the demons stay mostly on their side of the frontier, and my own court is full of old men who are terrified of me. Then you come along, turn the sacred Aether Diamond into a chunk of night, and give everyone a collective panic attack. It was the most entertaining Tuesday I've had all year."
Liam stared at him, dumbfounded. All the fear, the life-or-death tension, the political maneuvering… and to this prince, it was *entertainment*?
"So… you saved my life because you were bored?" Liam asked, a note of incredulous indignation creeping into his voice.
"Partly," Jin conceded with a magnanimous tilt of his head. "But also because you're useful. Or at least, you have the potential to be. A man who can make magic disappear is a powerful weapon, especially in a world where everyone's greatest strength is also their greatest weakness." He tapped a finger against his chin. "And besides, the prophecy needs its counterweight."
Liam's mind, already overloaded, simply short-circuited. "Prophecy? Counterweight? What are you talking about?" He felt like he'd been dropped into the middle of a story he hadn't read the beginning of. His world had been about finding scrap and avoiding bullies. This talk of destiny and cosmic balance was giving him a headache.
Jin let out a soft, genuine laugh. It was a startlingly warm sound. "Oh, this is going to be fun. You really don't have a clue, do you?" He pushed off the pillar and gestured for Liam to follow him down the long, empty corridor. "Alright, let's try the simplified version. Think of it like this."
He held up his right hand, and a globe of pure, golden light bloomed in his palm. It was warm, radiant, and felt like staring into the heart of a friendly sun. It was the same power he'd used on the Diamond.
"This is Light magic," Jin said, his voice taking on the patient tone of a teacher explaining something to a very small child. "It's very rare. Very powerful. It purifies, it reveals, it heals, and when necessary, it burns away the things that hide in the dark. It's my magic."
Then, he held up his left hand. The air around it instantly frosted over. A complex, beautiful snowflake, each facet a perfect, razor-sharp blade of ice, materialized and hovered above his palm. The temperature in the corridor dropped several degrees. It was the sigil of Glaciera, brought to life with breathtaking power.
Liam's jaw dropped. "You… you have Ice magic, too? well you're the Prince of Glaciera. It makes sense but is it your main… thing."
"It is," Jin said, letting the ice snowflake dissipate into a fine, glittering mist. "My family has ruled the Ice Kingdom for centuries. I can freeze a river in its tracks or raise a fortress of ice from a single drop of water. It's my heritage. My birthright."
"Then why…?" Liam gestured vaguely at Jin's other hand, where the golden globe still shone. "Why the Light? Why lead with that?"
Jin's smile returned, sharp and knowing. "Because, my dear Shadow, Ice magic is understood. It's a known quantity. There are thousands of Ice mages in Glaciera, from Spark-level children making snowballs to Crown-level masters who can command blizzards. My Ice magic is stronger than theirs, yes, but it's on the same spectrum. It's familiar."
He closed his hand, and the golden light vanished. "But Light?" he continued, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "No one has Light magic. No one in living memory, anyway. It's a power from myths and legends. It doesn't fit into their neat little boxes of five elements. It's unique. It's unpredictable."
He leaned in closer, his golden eyes locking onto Liam's. "And that makes it terrifying. When I use Ice, my enemies see the Prince of Glaciera. They can calculate my strength, they can plan countermeasures, they can treat me like a political opponent. But when I use Light, they don't see a prince. They see a miracle. A monster. A god. They don't know what I'm capable of. They have no frame of reference. And that," he concluded, straightening up with a look of immense satisfaction, "is how you control a room. Fear of the unknown is the most powerful weapon a ruler can possess."
Liam blinked. He blinked again. He tried to process the layers of political strategy, psychological manipulation, and pure, unadulterated arrogance packed into that explanation. His brain, which was more accustomed to calculating the trade value of a copper wire, simply gave up.
"So… you use the shiny magic because it's scarier?" he asked, boiling it all down to the only part that made sense.
Jin stared at him for a long moment, then threw his head back and laughed, a loud, unrestrained sound that echoed through the marble hall. "Yes, Liam!" he finally gasped, wiping a tear of mirth from the corner of his eye. "Exactly! i use the shiny magic because it's scarier! You might be the only person in the five kingdoms to understand my motivations so perfectly."
Liam felt a flush of pride, completely missing the fact that he was the punchline to Jin's joke. "Oh. Good. I get it, then."
"You get the general shape of it, anyway," Jin said, still chuckling. He started walking again. "Come on. We need to get you settled. The other rulers are probably in a council room right now, arguing about whether to declare you a national treasure or a doomsday weapon. I'd rather they didn't do it on my doorstep."
They arrived at a set of grand, silver-inlaid doors. Jin pushed them open without knocking, revealing a luxurious suite of rooms that was larger than the entire sector of Junk Pit Liam had grown up in. There were plush couches, a fireplace crackling with blue and green flames, and a wide balcony that offered a stunning view of the entire city.
"This will be your new home, for now," Jin announced. "My personal quarters. Don't touch the blue vase on the mantelpiece unless you want to spend a week frozen in a block of ice. It's a security measure. And a prank. Mostly a prank."
Liam looked around, overwhelmed. "I… I'm staying here? With you?"
"Of course," Jin said, waving a dismissive hand. "I claimed you, I'm responsible for you. It's like adopting a stray shardboar. A very strange, magic-eating shardboar. You're my problem now. And my project."
He gestured for Liam to sit on one of the couches, which was so soft Liam felt like he was being swallowed by a cloud. Jin remained standing, his expression turning more serious.
"Now, for the rules," he said. "Rule one: You are not to leave these rooms without my permission. To the world, you are a dangerous anomaly. Many people will want to study you, weaponize you, or dissect you. I would prefer you remain in one piece. Rule two: You will tell me everything about your ability. How it started, how it feels, what you can and cannot do. We are going to explore the depths of that void of yours together. Rule three…" He paused, a playful glint returning to his eyes. "Try not to be so boring. I saved you from a very pointy death. The least you can do is provide adequate entertainment."
Liam, who had just been handed a death sentence and a royal pardon in the span of an hour, could only nod dumbly. He was a prisoner in a palace, a ward of a prince who was equal parts savior and psychopath.
"Good," Jin said. "Now, I have to go and smooth the ruffled feathers of four very powerful, very annoyed monarchs. There will be shouting. There will be threats. I will probably have to promise Lord Kael a new set of fire-resistant tapestries to keep him from trying to burn down my wing of the Spire."
He walked to the door, then paused, looking back at Liam, who was still sitting awkwardly on the edge of the ridiculously fancy couch, looking utterly lost.
"Oh, and Liam?" Jin said.
"Yeah?"
"Welcome to the world, Shadow."
The silver-inlaid doors clicked shut, leaving Liam alone in the opulent silence. He looked around the room, at the priceless artifacts and the impossible view. An hour ago, he was a nameless piece of scrap. Now, he was the ward of the most powerful and unpredictable man he had ever met. He was a secret weapon, a prophecy, a project, and a source of entertainment.
He still didn't understand half of what had happened. But as he sank back into the plush couch, a slow, goofy grin spread across his face. He was safe. He was clean. And he was pretty sure there was food somewhere in this giant room. For a boy from Junk Pit, that was a prophecy that had already come true.