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The night was still.
A jagged plateau stretched endlessly, black stone cracked with ancient scars that faintly pulsed as if the land itself remembered the war once waged upon it. The silence was suffocating.
As though even the wind dared not breathe.
Then A sudden *thrum of energy* swept across the world, a ripple like a whispering wind from the east.
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The young man stiffened.
His name was Eryth, his posture rigid, his eyes sharp with discipline. Yet even he could not hide the chill that ran down his spine.
He turned to the figure beside him
a man cloaked in shadow, the weight of command radiating from every unmoving breath.
"My Lord… did you feel it?" The man did not answer immediately.
He stood with his back to the horizon,
gaze fixed on the faint shimmer where the ripple had first broken through.
His hand brushed against the worn hilt of his blade.
Only then did he speak
his voice deep, carrying the weight of centuries.
"yes. Brief… but unmistakable."
Eryth's heartbeat quickened. "Then… it was his energy?"
The man's eyes narrowed, a grim light flickering within them.
"He has returned."
The words struck like iron, hanging heavy in the air.
Eryth swallowed hard.
"After all this time… what are your orders?"
The man's gaze never wavered.
"Inform the Seven Phases before the other Sovereigns take action.
If they sense what we just felt…"
A faint smirk curled across his lips.
"…they will not hesitate to move."
Eryth pressed his fist to his chest.
"At once, Commander."
He turned, vanishing into the shadows his footsteps swallowed by the stillness of the plateau.
Alone now, the commander let silence return.
His grip on the sword tightened until the leather creaked.
Slowly, he lifted his gaze toward the starless sky.
"So… you finally broke the seal." His voice lowered, almost reverent.
"Seven hundred years…
and you still find ways to surprise me… my old friend."
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Across the Realms
All across the universe, those attuned to essence felt it
that same pulse, that same tremor.
"Impossible! That energy… it can't be!
How could he break free from the seal?"
"We must gather the Sovereigns, Bephas!"
"Yes, my lord! Release fourteen Divine Crows!
Send them to each Sovereign and tell them the seal has been broken!"
"We convene at once!"
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High above the clouds, within a tower wrapped in blinding light Lady Ismerya, the Northern Sovereign, stood in silence.
"My lady, what troubles you? You look… distressed."
Ismerya's gaze drifted to the heavens,
her silver hair glowing faintly against the mirror's reflection.
"Distressed?" she whispered. "No. That word is far too soft for what I feel." Her eyes glimmered like dying stars.
"Can't you feel it?
The one who once shook the balance of this world… has returned."
"I-I don't understand, my lady."
"Of course you don't.
You are a mere demon, Shaera.
How could you comprehend the weight of this energy?"
She closed her eyes.
"Let me tell you a story…
of a war that ended a thousand years ago."
The war that nearly tore heaven and hell apart…
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Elsewhere
"He finally escaped… hahahahah!
Then I no longer need to live in hiding!"
A deep laugh echoed through a molten cavern.
"What makes this fool of a dragon so excited?"
"He's back. My master has returned!
That was his energy I'd recognize it anywhere.
I must find him before those arrogant Sovereigns do."
Find him? It was a flicker a second's pulse.
How will you track what no longer lingers?"
"I don't care. I'll trust my instincts. I'll find him, no matter what!"
"For a dragon to swear loyalty to such a being…"
a smooth, watery voice rippled through the air,
"he must be… fascinating. Perhaps I'll help you."
"I don't need your help, Temra.
Shouldn't the waters still be holding you?"
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In the Shadows
"Yes, Lord Kreldin.
I have planted the seed. By now, those foolish Sovereigns must already be on
edge."
"Well done," came the deep voice from the dark.
"You may go."
"Thank you, my lord.
Part one of the plan has succeeded.
Soon… the world will remember xxxx."
Kreldin's smirk deepened in the dark. The game begins.
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Two Days Later
A storm raged in the eastern woods.
Lightning tore through the clouds, and rain crashed against the earth like drums of war.
A man in heavy armor trudged through the mud with his soldiers.
Their torches flickered weakly under the storm.
"Lord Devon! I've found it!" Devon turned sharply.
"What did you say?"
"It's true, my lord. It's really here…"
The man's breath caught.
In the hollow of an ancient tree, wrapped in strange black cloth a small, glowing infant lay quietly, its body pulsing faintly with warmth.
Devon's eyes widened.
"Prepare a basket," he said softly.
"We've found the baby."
Thunder roared above them.
Yet beneath the storm's cry, a faint heartbeat echoed through the world.
And so, the silent throne stirred once more.
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⚜️ End of Prologue ⚜️