Siyam stood still in the cold cavern. Behind him, he heard Pranto and Shihab walking and talking. But for Siyam, the world had gone silent.
He put his hand in his pocket and touched the hidden locket. Suddenly, a strange coldness rushed through his arm. It felt like the cold of a grave.
Then, a whisper scratched at his mind.
"Weak..."
Siyam's heart beat fast. He tried to move his hand, but his body felt like lead. He was trapped.
"You can't save anyone. You watched them die and did nothing."
The voice was low and mocking. Siyam's breathing became heavy. Cold sweat covered his palm. The locket felt alive, feeding on his fear.
Then, a cruel laugh echoed in his head. It sounded just like Pranto.
"You call yourself a hero? Don't lie. You let them die because you wanted this, didn't you?"
No.
Siyam tried to scream, but he couldn't make a sound. The veins in his neck tightened. He felt like he was drowning in shadows.
"Siyam... Siyam!"
Shihab's voice broke the silence. Suddenly, the darkness vanished. The world came back - the smell of smoke and the flickering light. Siyam pulled his hand out of his pocket. His fingers were shaking. He quickly hid them and acted calm.
Shihab stood in front of him, holding the necromancer book. He looked at Siyam with suspicious eyes.
"You've been staring at nothing for a long time, Siyam," Shihab said.
Siyam took a deep breath. He tried to sound normal.
"What do you think, Shihab? Why is a simple book guarded by so much blood?"
Shihab looked at the old, dark yellow pages.
"It's too much blood for just an necromancer's book. Maybe it has a dark secret... or maybe it's just a trap to distract us."
Shihab stepped closer. His eyes were sharp.
"Are you okay? You look tired, like you used all your power at once!"
He looked at Siyam's hand. It was still twitching.
"Are you hiding something from us?"
Siyam felt the pressure. He knew Shihab was hard to fool. He forced a small smile.
"What do you think? What am I capable of?"
Shihab stared at him for a short time. Then slowly turned away.
"It's easier to understand a beast than a man, Siyam. A man knows how to hide his feelings but a beast doesn't."
He walked away, but his last words were a warning.
"But don't let your emotions consume you. No matter how hard you try to hide it, your eyes will always betray the truth."
Siyam gripped his shaking hand. His fingernails were turning a bruised blue. He followed Shihab trying to hide his fear.
Nearby, Pranto was looking at a burnt body of the lich. He looked back as the sound of crunching gravel announced their approach. Shihab stopped beside him, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and placed it between his lips.
"What's the situation, Pranto?" Shihab asked.
Pranto stood up, snapped his fingers to produce a small spark of flame, and lit Shihab's cigarette.
"Nothing makes sense yet. The entire mountain was leveled."
Shihab knelt by the Lich, rubbing some of the grey ash between his fingers.
"Is the mine we came for still intact?"
Pranto looked at Siyam - who was standing there, pale and seemingly shrunken. and let out a derisive snort.
"Yeah. Luckily, the damage was all on the surface. Everything below seems fine."
Pranto stepped closer to Siyam, his smile widening into a taunt.
"So... our big bad tiger has turned into a shivering little kitten? What happened, Hero? Did the shadows scare you?"
He looked at Siyam and laughed.
Shihab stood up, exhaling a cloud of grey smoke.
"Pranto. Stop acting like a child."
Pranto laughed, raising a hand in mock surrender. "Fine, fine! Sorry for hurting the Hero's feelings!"
Siyam stood silently behind Shihab. He had never felt a weight like this before - as if his very soul was being crushed.
Shihab turned to face him.
"I'm always here, Siyam. If you need help, come to me."
He gave Siyam's shoulder a firm, supportive squeeze before walking past.
"Are we staying here all night?"
Pranto shouted from near the box. "Or are we going back before Humayra gets lonely?"
Siyam couldn't find the strength to answer. Inside him, a storm was raging. It felt as if the darkness he had suppressed for years was finally beginning to bloom. He started walking, following them like a ghost.
Was this how Sameer felt? Siyam wondered. The loneliness? The fear of his own power? The guilt of failing to save people?
Meanwhile,
at the Royal Palace, Humayra sat at her desk, the soft scratch of a pen filling the room. She was writing a letter to Yamin. She hadn't congratulated her son on his first day yet. She was even planning to visit his school soon.
A sharp knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.
"Princess, the Queen Mother requests your presence."
Humayra set the pen down and answered,
"Give me a moment. I'll be right there."
Humayra took a deep breath. She fixed her hair and walked out. The maid girl whispered,
"Princess!"
Humayra turned. "Yes?"
"The Queen and the King are both in the drawing room. They've asked you to join them there."
Humayra felt nervous. A meeting with both of them was never good. She took a deep breath and followed the maid through the grand halls. Stopping before the massive red doors of the drawing room. To her, it felt like a cage.
She pushed them open. Inside, a long table was laid out with tea, biscuits, and cookies. King Simanto sat at one end, hunched over a stack of papers. The dark circles under his eyes were visible even from across the room. He wore his spectacles on the bridge of his nose, his focus entirely consumed by the documents.
Beside him on the sofa sat Queen Maya, draped in rich emerald silk. She held a teacup gracefully, speaking to the King about her busy schedule.
On the far side of the hall, a fireplace roared with flames that danced like tongues of blood, making the room feel stiflingly hot.
Humayra looked around. This hall was larger than her entire house. Having been away for so long, the palace felt like a foreign land.
Humayra bowed. "You called me, Your Majesty."
The Queen smiled. "Sit down, dear. Have some tea."
Humayra sat down. The room was silent. As Humayra took a sip, the King spoke, his voice heavy and stern.
"Tell me, Humayra... Is there ever a task Siyam can complete without making a mess of it?"
Humayra gripped her cup. She knew her father had never liked Siyam. He had never truly gotten over the fact that he couldn't marry her off to Pranto. Humayra opened her mouth to defend him, but then closed it. Arguing was useless; she had already left the palace once because of their bickering. She didn't want to make things worse for Siyam now.
"He does what is necessary, Your Majesty," she said.
Simanto looked up, his gaze softening slightly as he saw Humayra's tired face. He removed his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and said in a low voice,
"I don't know what you saw in him that made you leave us. You should have thought about the consequences..."
Humayra set her teacup down on the table with a sharp clack.
"Your Majesty, it saddens me that I even have to call you 'Father.' You aren't thinking about me - you're only obsessed with your own pride."
She stood up, her eyes flashing with anger.
"I have never regretted my decision. And I never will."
As she stormed out, Simanto sighed and looked at Queen Maya. Maya was calmly sipping her tea, seemingly unbothered.
"Don't you have anything to say, my Queen?" Simant snapped.
Maya lowered her cup and gave him a small, cryptic smile.
"Don't apply too much pressure to a glass, Your Majesty. It's bound to shatter eventually."
Simanto leaned his head back against the sofa, exhausted.
"I thought you, at least, would worry about your daughter. But you don't seem worried."
Maya picked up a book from the side table and began flipping through its pages.
"You know your daughter. She wouldn't have come if you had asked. That's why you used my name to lure her here."
She looked at him, her eyes unreadable.
"Let things be as they are. Some things are better left unchanged."
Simanto closed his eyes. "But Siyam is...!"
A knock at the door interrupted him. A guard entered.
"Your Majesty, Royal Guard Pranto, Commander Shihab, and Hero Siyam have returned."
Simanto sat up straight, gathering his papers.
"Tell them to meet me in my office in ten minutes."
The guard bowed and left. Maya stood up, walked over to Simanto, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry so much, my King. Focus on your work. I will handle the rest."
Simant felt a surge of strength from her words. He gave her a small smile, kissed her forehead, and left the room.
Maya sat back down, watching him go. She looked at the door, then at the fire.
A slow, mysterious smile grew on her face. A smile that hid a thousand secrets. Her eyes sparkled with a dark, hidden joy, as if she were the only witness to a terrible, beautiful truth.
Outside, the last rays of the sun bled into a deep red as it began to sink. A strange, haunting silence filled the air. A silence that whispered of a massive storm yet to come.