The moment Queen Silvia's eyes snapped open, the room was plunged into a mixture of shock and frantic joy. King Alaric, though trembling with relief, felt a heavy weight settle in his chest. He turned to the witnesses, his voice a sharp blade of command. "None of you are to speak of this. What happened here must never leave these walls. If the world learns of the boy's power, the peace we have built will crumble."
The King did not know that a shadow was watching from the corner of the ceiling. A scout demon, hidden by dark magic, had seen the golden blood and the miracle. Within heartbeats, the creature dissolved into mist, rushing to report to its master.
When the High Demon Lord, Augustus, heard the news, he did not celebrate. He was struck by a cold, paralyzing fear. He realized that if this child were allowed to grow, he would become a force capable of wiping the demon race from the face of Primux. He immediately called for a Grand Summit, summoning the rulers of every supernatural race.
The meeting was tense. When King Alaric finally arrived, the other rulers rose in a silence that felt like a burial.
"We have been waiting for you, Alaric," Augustus said, his voice dripping with false politeness. He wasted no time. He revealed the truth of the Prince's birth, describing how the boy had pulled his mother back from the abyss of death.
The hall erupted in whispers. The Elven Lords and Dragon Kings looked at one another with growing unease.
"The boy is a walking violation of the laws of nature!" Augustus shouted, silencing the murmurs. "Is it not better to extinguish a small spark now than to wait for it to become a forest fire that consumes us all? I propose we execute the Prince for the safety of the world."
Alaric stepped forward, his hand on his sword. "He is a child! My son has done nothing but breathe life where there was death."
The Elven Matriarch spoke up, her voice calm but firm. "We will not stain our hands with the blood of an innocent baby." The other rulers nodded in agreement.
Alaric felt a moment of relief, but it was shattered as Augustus let out a guttural, bone-chilling laugh. A terrifying, dark aura exploded from the Demon Lord, cracking the marble floor beneath his feet.
"If you will not protect our future through logic," Augustus hissed, "then I shall secure it through blood."
He raised a hand, and the sky outside the palace turned a bruised purple. Suddenly, the horizon was swarming. Wyverns with leathery wings and poisonous stingers blotted out the sun, while stone-skinned Gargoyles perched upon the castle towers, their eyes glowing red. From the shadows beneath the palace, Black Marohs—serpents the size of siege engines—began to coil around the pillars, and Giant Mantises sharpened their blade-like limbs against the stone.
Augustus stepped toward the King, his smile reaching his ears. "The choice is simple, Alaric. Surrender the baby to me, or watch your kingdom become a graveyard."