"I know exactly what I am saying," Etheria replied, her voice trembling with sorrow. "I have seen the boy's future with my own eyes. If this child lives, he will bring a destruction that none of us can stop. Today, you must decide. If he lives, our entire existence will be wiped out, and billions of innocent people will die. But if he is gone, those billions will be saved."
Valerian's face turned red with a mix of anger and grief. "What are you asking of me? After years of waiting, my son is finally coming, and you want me to take him away before he even draws breath?"
Without a word, Etheria waved her hand in the air. A vision began to form. The King saw a young man—his own son—but there was no kindness in the boy's eyes. He was destroying the world. Fire and death were everywhere. It was a sight so horrific that Valerian began to shake; it was worse than any nightmare.
Just then, the heavy stone doors creaked open. Queen Elara walked in with a wide smile. "Congratulations, My Lord! You have a son!" Her joy vanished the moment she saw the terrifying vision and the look on the King's face.
King Valerian whispered, "My son... my eyes have waited so long to see him." But as reality set in, he turned his face away. Etheria moved forward and told the Queen the truth: the child was born to be the end of their world.
"But this can't be!" Elara cried. "He is so innocent and beautiful. He is just a newborn baby!"
"Even so, this is the future," Etheria said sadly. "Will you sacrifice billions for one life? The choice is yours, My Lord. My job was only to warn you. The dragons are just the beginning."
Valerian clenched his fists. "I cannot kill my own blood. But I cannot watch my people die either."
"Is there no other way?" the Queen sobbed. "Can we not change his destiny?"
King Oceanus looked into Etheria's blind white eyes. "Etheria... the ancient books mention a 'Second Place.' A world our ancestors closed off forever. Does it truly exist?"
A frown appeared on Etheria's face. "You mean the 'Shadow World'? That place is a curse to us. Going there means losing your identity, your power, and your soul forever."
"What kind of place is it?" Elara asked, clutching the King's hand.
Valerian looked at the Queen with a painful resolve. "A place where magic is just a story, Elara. Where the light is dim and the air burns our lungs. Powers do not work there. If the Prince lives there, he can never cause the destruction we just saw."
Etheria struck her staff against the floor. "But My Lord, time flows differently there. He will live as a stranger. He will never remember where he came from. For him, all of this will just be a broken dream. Do you really want to throw him into that darkness?"
After a long silence, Valerian spoke. "It is better to send him to that unknown world than to kill him. At least he will be alive. Let him believe he belongs there. He must never know who his real parents are."
"Queen Xylia will never survive this!" Elara cried. "How can you separate a mother and her child? Our world has never known sin, and now, as kings, we are about to commit such a great one. What will our people think?"
"I will carry the weight of this sin," Valerian said firmly. "It is better to separate him than to kill a newborn. We will tell the people nothing. It will not be a sin if Xylia gives her consent."
The Queen bowed her head. She didn't know what that 'other world' was like, only that it would be a prison the Prince could never escape.
Etheria's mind was racing. She looked as if she wanted to say something. "No, this path won't work either. I must tell the King," she thought. But just as she opened her mouth to speak, she collapsed.
The sound of her hitting the floor made everyone turn. The Grand Lady lay motionless. Elara rushed to her side, her face turning pale with terror. In a shaking voice, she whispered, "The Lady... she is gone!"
Tears began to stream down the Queen's face, her voice catching in her throat. "The Lady... she is gone...!" she sobbed, looking toward the King.
King Valerian stood frozen. It felt as if his last shred of hope had vanished. The woman who had protected this empire for thousands of years had given her life while glimpsing his son's future. Now, there was no one left to decide the child's fate. He moved forward with the heavy decision he had already made.
Present Day
Time passed, and those old events became nothing more than a buried legend. Today, in the magical world of Abyssonia, the blue sunlight filtered through the palace windows.
Inside a room, Princess Zara was getting ready. She was only fifteen, but no one who saw her would call her a little girl. Her silver-white hair flowed down to her waist, adding to her ethereal beauty. On her forehead sat a tiny, delicate royal crown that perfectly suited her innocent face.
As attractive and cute as Zara was, her mind was even sharper. Her IQ was so high that she could understand things that even the greatest scholars struggled with.
She picked up her bag and looked at herself in the mirror. There was a strange spark in her blue eyes. Today, she was heading to the Academy a place where children were taught to control their magical gifts.
The Academy Grounds
It was a special day at the Academy. All the parents were there, and even the King and Queen sat on their high thrones to watch.
As Zara stepped through the large gates, every eye turned toward her. She looked much more mature and serious than other girls her age.
In the Academy of Abyssonia, the air felt fresh and full of life. Here, learning wasn't a burden; it was like a game. In the Great Hall, children practiced their powers, but no one looked down on anyone else. Everyone smiled at each other's progress.
In the middle of the field stood the son of General Callem. He was strong and calm, with broad shoulders and the deep gaze of a protector. He was Zara's childhood friend and her guardian. With a flick of his fingers, he shaped water into a beautiful figure that danced in the air. Everyone cheered.
Then, a teacher presented a very difficult puzzle: "You must stabilize this floating stone without touching it, using only the perfect balance of your energy."
All the students tried with their magic, but the stone kept wobbling. Then, Princess Zara stepped forward. She used her sharp eyes to study the speed of the stone's rotation. Her high IQ allowed her to calculate the flow of the air. With just a small, precise puff of breath in the right direction, the stone came to a perfect halt.
The students and teachers broke into cheers. No one teased her; they were simply amazed that Zara had done with her intellect what others couldn't do with magic.
Just then, Zara's best friend, Alexis, ran over and hugged her. Alexis was bubbly and cute, with golden hair and dressed in white velvet. she had the power to spread fragrance and make the air feel light.
A while later, a sweet melody echoed, and colorful dragons began to descend from the sky.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Zara thought to herself, "in this world, every child gets their powers by age ten. But here I am, fifteen years old, and I still have no magic. At fifteen, the dragons choose their partners. They only choose those who are powerful. Since I have no power, I don't think any dragon will pick me."
First, a powerful, deep-red dragon landed. Its skin was as tough as rock. It gently rested its head on Callem's shoulder. It had chosen him.
"Wow!" Zara exclaimed. "You're a Chief Guardian now! Have you thought of a name?"
Callem looked at the dragon and said, "His name will be Ignis."
Then, a small, shimmering brown and white dragon landed in Alexis's lap. It had the amazing gift of invisibility. "From today, your name is Lunar, okay?" Alexis whispered, stroking its head.
One by one, all the children of the royals and ministers found their partners. Now, only Zara stood alone in the middle of the vast field. Her silver hair drifted in the breeze, but her eyes were quiet.
She took a deep breath. "I knew this would happen," she told herself. "Who would choose me? There are no dragons left, and I have no magic." For a moment, she felt sad, but then she clenched her fists. "It's okay, Zara. If I don't have magic, so what? My mind is my greatest strength. I will create my own identity without any powers."
From the high balcony, King Oceanus and Queen Elara watched their daughter. Worry was etched on their faces. They looked at each other, wondering if their beloved daughter would leave empty-handed. Everyone in Abyssonia loved Zara, and they all felt her pain.
But then, something happened that stopped everyone's heart.A sound echoed from the distant sky a roar so powerful and melodic that it had never been heard before. A divine golden light spread across the Academy. The light was so peaceful that all fear vanished from the people's hearts.
Something was in the air, something invisible but so heavy that the ground began to tremble.
King Oceanus stood up, his voice shaking as he asked the Queen, "Elara... is it him? Is it the Divine Dragon we have been searching for for fifteen years?"
Then, a glimpse appeared through the golden light. It was no ordinary dragon. It was transparent, made of water and light. As it appeared, every heart beat faster. People couldn't believe their eyes the legendary dragon they had only read about in ancient books was standing right in front of them.