The darkness of the night was so thick that one could not see the five fingers of their own hand. Aryan stood at the mouth of the secret tunnel located at the rear of the palace. Only the royal family and a few trusted generals knew of this path. As a child, he and his sisters used to play hide-and-seek here. Now, that same path was leading him back—was it toward the darkness, or toward the light?
The entrance was so narrow that a person had to squeeze through with great effort. Aryan lit a faint glow of blue fire in his palm. In that light, he saw ancient carvings on the tunnel walls—dragons, suns, and alphabets of an unknown language. His ancestors had built this path to escape during times of peril. But today, Aryan had not come to escape. He had come to return.
The tunnel was three hundred yards long. With every step, the Dragon Crystal in his chest throbbed. It felt like a warning—danger lay ahead, but there was no turning back.
After nearly fifteen minutes, Aryan reached the end of the tunnel. There stood an iron door with three heavy locks. As a child, his father held the keys to this door. How would he open it now?
Aryan placed his hand on the door. Blue fire spread from his hand onto the metal. One by one, the locks began to melt. Molten iron dripped to the floor with a clinking sound. The door slowly groaned open.
He stepped into the inner courtyard of the palace.
The courtyard was the heart of the palace, once filled with flower gardens and fountains. Now, there were only withered leaves, broken statues, and black flags. Silence reigned, as if life itself had fled.
Aryan moved like a shadow. His blue armor blended perfectly into the darkness. In his hand was the Frostslayer, its blade emitting a flickering, low light.
To reach the inner corridors, he had to pass three gates. At the first gate, there were four guards. They were asleep. Aryan slipped past them silently. Silence was his greatest weapon here, not slaughter.
At the second gate, eight guards were wide awake. Aryan paused for a moment, then crept along the right wall. Suddenly, a guard turned around. Aryan froze. His blue armor made him a part of the darkness. Seeing nothing, the guard turned back.
The third gate was the largest—made of massive iron with torches burning on either side. There were more than twenty guards. Aryan didn't go that way. He knew another route—through the drainage canal.
There was a secret conduit beneath the palace that led directly to the Queen's bathhouse. Aryan veered toward the gardens to find the entrance.
Entering through the canal was even harder. He had to hold his breath underwater for five minutes. When he finally surfaced, he was in the Queen's bathhouse. It was deserted and thick with dust.
Aryan made his way toward his mother's bedroom. Peering through a crack in the door, he saw candlelight flickering inside. His mother sat alone, her gaze fixed out the window. Her face was gaunt, her hair turned white. In just a few months, she seemed to have aged ten years.
It felt like a knife piercing Aryan's heart. He pushed the door open.
The Queen startled at first. Then her eyes widened as she stared at Aryan. For a moment, there was silence—as if both were dreaming.
"Mother," Aryan whispered.
The Queen reached out with trembling hands. She touched Aryan's face, then pulled him into a desperate embrace. No tears came, only a violent shivering.
"I thought you were dead," she finally said, her voice heavy. "Narayan said the dragon had devoured you."
"He lied, Mother. I am strong now. I've come for my sisters."
The Queen shook her head. "Inaya and Imi are no longer here."
Aryan's heart stopped. "What do you mean? Where are they?"
"Narayan moved them. Two weeks ago, soldiers took them in the middle of the night. Inaya fought back, but they knocked her unconscious. They dragged Imi away by force. I don't know where they are. No one tells me."
Flames erupted from Aryan's eyes—literally. Blue fire blazed from his sockets. The temperature in the room plummeted. Frost formed on the window panes.
"Where is Narayan?" he asked, his voice rasping with the heat of the fire.
"In the Throne Room. He stays there day and night now, sitting on a black throne. The Black Crystal is beside him. Aryan, be careful—he is not the Narayan you remember. Some dark magic has consumed him."
Aryan placed a hand on his mother's head. "I will return, Mother. With my sisters. And I will free this kingdom. Just stay safe here."
The Queen smiled—a dry, pained smile. "I am going nowhere. I am waiting in this room for your father. And now, I shall wait for you too."
Aryan marched down the main corridor. On either side hung portraits of Narayan—styled as a king, crown on head, sword in hand. Where his father's portraits once hung, this pretender now stood.
Aryan evaded several patrols, but when he reached the doors of the Throne Room, he was forced to stop. Standing before the door was Karna—the same general Aryan had spared in the Eternal City.
Karna gasped at the sight of Aryan. His hand went to his hilt, but he did not draw.
"You came," Karna said, his voice a mix of awe and respect. "I thought you would stay in the Eternal City. That you wouldn't return."
"I gave my word, Karna. I told you to tell Narayan I was coming. Now tell me, will you block my path, or step aside?"
Karna sighed. He looked into Aryan's eyes. The blue fire was there, but it held no malice—only a calm, absolute resolve.
"You saved me in the Eternal City," Karna said. "You could have killed me, but you showed mercy. It is time I paid that debt."
Karna stepped aside. The massive doors swung open—without Aryan even touching them. It was as if Karna had already unlatched them.
"Be careful, Prince," Karna warned. "Narayan is no longer that weak man who was once your uncle. Something lives inside him. The Black Crystal has changed him."
Aryan nodded. "I am not the same Aryan either."
The Throne Room was unrecognizable. Once filled with golden statues and stained glass, it was now a hall of shadows. The throne was made of black iron, carved with terrifying faces. The windows were boarded up, and the air smelled of ozone and scorched meat.
Narayan sat in the center. His eyes were jet black—shiny like a doll's. His skin was pale, his veins showing through as black lines. In his right hand, he gripped the Black Crystal—the same size as the Dragon Crystal, but pulsing with a dark, red inner fire.
Narayan smiled at Aryan. There was no joy in it, only predatory anticipation.
"Look at this!" Narayan rasped. "Our runaway prince has returned! Crawling out from the filth of the Eternal City to grace our palace!"
"Where are my sisters?" Aryan's voice crackled with heat.
Narayan didn't stop grinning. "Your sisters? They are in a safe place. As long as you listen to me, they live. If not—I will kill you before their eyes, then send them after you."
Narayan pulled back a curtain behind the throne. There, bound and gagged, were Inaya and Imi. Inaya had bruises on her face—she had clearly fought hard. Imi's eyes were closed, her face pale as if she had fainted.
Inaya saw Aryan and tried to scream: "Brother! Run! It's a trap! His Black Crystal—"
Narayan waved a hand, and a bolt of dark light hit Inaya's throat, silencing her. She could make no sound, though tears streamed down her face.
The blue fire within Aryan exploded. Tongues of sapphire flame licked the walls. The torches went out, but the room was illuminated by a brilliant blue light.
"Let them go," Aryan roared.
Narayan stood up slowly. "Little nephew," he said, "you don't know what hides inside you. That blue fire only destroys. But my black fire creates. I need you by my side. Together, we could conquer the world."
"I will never stand by you, Narayan. You imprisoned my father, tortured my sisters, and made my mother weep. Today is your last day."
Narayan raised his hand. A blast of black light shot from the crystal, tearing through the air toward Aryan.
Aryan dove to the right. The black light hit the floor, disintegrating the stone and leaving a massive crater.
Aryan counter-attacked. A beam of blue fire shot from the Frostslayer. Narayan blocked it with the Black Crystal. The two fires collided in the center, and the entire room shook. Cracks spider-webbed across the walls.
"See?" Narayan laughed. "Your blue fire and my black fire are equal. But I know how to use this power. You are just playing with toys."
Narayan attacked again. This time, the black light surrounded Aryan from all sides. Aryan manifested his blue armor, but the black light began to seep through. Aryan realized—blue fire blocks physical strikes, but the black light attacks the soul.
He fell to his knees. The darkness entered his mind. He saw visions—the palace in ruins, his sisters dead, his own body burning. An illusion? No, Narayan was awakening his deepest fears.
"The play is over, nephew," Narayan said, approaching with a dagger.
Just then, a scream broke through the darkness. Inaya! Somehow, she had broken the gag. "Brother! Remember what Imi said about her dreams! She said—when blue and black meet in the sky, the golden truth shall awaken!"
Imi's dreams! She always saw the future. Had she foreseen this moment?
Aryan closed his eyes. Instead of fighting Narayan's black light, he let it in. The darkness reached his heart. There, he saw the truth: the black light was just another form of the blue fire. Like night and day are two sides of the same sun. Blue fire is cold destruction; black fire is warm creation. They were two halves of a whole.
Aryan's eyes flew open. The fire around him began to change. The color shifted from blue to purple, then red, then a brilliant gold. He stood up.
Narayan recoiled in shock. "Impossible! No one can hold both fires!"
"I can," Aryan said, his voice deep with ancient power. "Because I am not just destruction—I am creation. I am not just rage—I am love. You have only seen the shadow, Narayan. I see the light and the dark together."
Aryan raised the Frostslayer. It was no longer blue; it glowed gold. With one swing, he sent a wave of golden light toward the Black Crystal. The collision shook the entire palace. Narayan screamed as he hit the ground. The Black Crystal in his hand shattered into a thousand pieces.
Without the crystal, Narayan was like a turtle without a shell. The black tint faded from his eyes, leaving them brown again. He looked at Aryan and whispered, "Forgive... me... the crystal made me mad... I... your father..."
He couldn't finish. Narayan's eyes glazed over. He was dead—the shock of the crystal's destruction had claimed his life.
Aryan rushed to untie Inaya and Imi. Inaya threw her arms around him, laughing through her tears.
"You're a fool, you know that?" Inaya said. "Leaving me behind? I would have fought beside you!"
Aryan laughed. "You're still young, sister. Learn the sword first."
"I've learned plenty," Inaya said seriously. "I practiced in secret every day in Narayan's dungeon. One guard found me out—I beat him up."
Aryan stared in surprise. "You beat up a guard?"
"He was tall, but he was stupid."
Imi slowly opened her eyes. She saw Aryan and burst into tears of relief. Aryan pulled her into a hug.
"Your dream came true, Imi," Aryan said. "The blue and black became gold."
Imi whispered, "I've seen more dreams, Brother. Father is trapped on the Black Island. But to get there, you must pass another test. The dragon Jwalon knows of it."
News of Narayan's death spread through the palace like wildfire. That night, his loyalist soldiers fled. Those who were innocent begged for mercy. Aryan killed no one. He declared, "Those who committed crimes on Narayan's orders will be pardoned. But those who oppressed of their own will shall face trial."
In the morning, Aryan brought his mother to the Throne Room. When she saw Narayan's body, she didn't weep. Instead, she said, "I have lost a kinsman, but a thorn has been removed."
Aryan did not sit on the throne. "This throne belongs to my father," he said. "I will bring him back. Until then, the council of ministers will govern, overseen by the Queen Mother."
The Queen nodded. "You are going to the Black Island?"
"Yes, Mother. I leave today."
Inaya stepped forward. "I'm coming too. Don't you dare leave me behind this time."
Imi followed. "Me too. My dreams will show the way."
Aryan placed his hands on his sisters' heads. "From this day on, we three are together. No one shall separate us."
The three siblings stood on the palace balcony. The sun was rising, casting a golden hue over everything. The sky was clear, birds were singing. On the horizon, they could see the smoke of the Eternal City, and far beyond that—the invisible shadow of the Black Island.
Aryan looked at his sisters and said, "The story isn't over. In fact, it has only just begun."
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