Ashen stood frozen in the throne room, the weight of his father's confession crushing him like an iron mountain. King Aden, the man he had called Father his entire life, watched him with cold, calculating eyes, utterly unmoved by the horror on his son's face.
"You want the truth?" King Aden said, his voice low and steady. "Then listen. This is how it all began."
The air in the throne room shimmered.
FLASH BACK
The ancient council chamber deep beneath the Drakonis Citadel thrummed with lingering power. Torchlight flickered across walls etched with glowing celestial runes, casting long, dancing shadows that seemed to whisper of secrets and betrayals.
The air was thick with the scent of aged stone, burning resin, and the faint metallic tang of residual power from the brutal war that had nearly torn the four realms apart.
