The air was freezing in the depths of the palace. The stone walls dripped with humidity, and every sound seemed amplified in the oppressive silence. The underground wing was not a place one ventured into without reason. It was a place of secrets, shadows and forced silences.
Aïsha shivered as she discreetly walked along the corridor dimly lit by flickering torches. The smell of melted wax and cold stone made him feel strangely dizzy. Every step was a threat, every noise a possible warning.
For two years, she had never been able to see Raïkuto.
Her father had forbidden her any contact with him, and she knew that the servants feared Ghadib too much to risk helping him. But tonight, she wasn't about to let fear stop her.
She had to see him.
Aïsha knew that Raïkuto was locked somewhere in this labyrinth of corridors, kept away from daylight. Abraham had increased security measures in recent months, making any attempt to escape impossible. But she wasn't there to free him. Not yet.
First, she wanted to understand.
Why did his father treat Raikuto like a prisoner?
Why did he refuse to tell her the truth?
She took a deep breath and crouched behind a pillar as she heard footsteps approaching.
Two guards appeared, their dark cloaks brushing the ground. One of them stopped to adjust his belt, revealing a dagger decorated with the seal of Ghadib.
—Why do we need so much supervision for a kid? one of them whispered.
— Because he's not a kid.
Aïsha held her breath.
The other soldier continued, in a lower tone:
—I saw it during one of Abraham's tests. His energy is different. It's not natural.
—Are you afraid of a child?
—I'm just saying there's a reason Ghadib doesn't want him out.
The voices faded away, but Aïsha remained hidden for a few more moments. His heart was beating furiously against his chest.
"Tests" ?
She had never heard of these experiments before today.
What she feared was therefore true: her father was hiding something about Raikuto.
She exhaled slowly.
Then she took action.
Sneaking between the shadows, she progressed towards the forbidden wing. But another surprise awaited him.
A chaotic barrier blocked access to the last corridor.
His breath caught.
Abraham.
She should have expected it.
A shiver ran down her spine as she looked at the dark mist that floated before her. It wasn't just security: it was a magical prison. A protection that prevented even those who controlled chaos from approaching it.
Aïsha cautiously approached her hand. As soon as she touched the surface, an icy wave went up her arm, making her jump.
It's not just a barrier...
She looked around her.
Then his gaze rested on a steel chest, placed next to the wall, barely visible in the shadows.
Runes were engraved on it.
Aisha narrowed her eyes.
An anchor point.
If she couldn't break through the barrier, then she was going to destroy it.
She took a few steps back, taking a deep breath.
His hands were shaking slightly. She had never been good with chaos, but she had no choice.
She summoned a concentrated surge of air and threw it at the metal structure.
The trunk vibrated violently under the impact, and the barrier crackled...
…but didn't give in.
- Shit !
She started again.
Again.
Then one last time.
A sharp crack sounded.
The seal burst in a shower of sparks and the barrier collapsed.
Aïsha did not waste a moment and rushed towards the cell.
She turned the handle.
Locked.
She cursed inwardly and reached into the lining of her clothing to pull out a small dagger.
His father had forbidden him to carry a weapon.
She kept it anyway.
Inserting the blade into the lock, she fumbled, feeling each click of the mechanism.
The sound of a guard approaching made her increase her speed.
Come on…
One last adjustment…
CLICK.
The door opened.
Aïsha rushed in and closed the door behind her.
His heart was beating wildly.
She finally looked up...
…and met Raikuto's gaze.
****
Raikuto stared at her, frozen.
For a second he thought it was an illusion.
Aïsha stood there, a few steps from him, her hair slightly disheveled, her gaze as determined as ever. Her breath was short, and yet she smiled, as if this single moment was enough to erase two years of separation.
— …Aïsha?
She nodded, a trembling smile on her lips.
— It's definitely me.
He stood up slowly, as if afraid she would disappear if he moved too quickly.
—How did you get here?
— I struggled.
Raikuto raised an eyebrow.
— I have no doubt about that.
Aïsha approached, looking at his face. Two years without seeing each other... and yet, it seemed to him that time had changed nothing between them.
Well, almost.
Raikuto had grown up. His gaze had hardened, his features had become more refined. He was no longer the boy she had known.
But when he looked at her, she found that familiar glow.
— I couldn't wait any longer. I wanted to see you.
Raikuto looked down, his expression darkening slightly.
—And now that you're here?
She hesitated.
"You're going to tell me what he did to you.
Raikuto clenched his fists.
— Do you want the truth?
She nodded without the slightest hesitation.
He took a deep breath, as if about to break a dam he had built around himself for years.
— I am not free, Aïsha. I never was.
She frowned, disturbed by the intensity of his words.
—What do you mean?
Raikuto looked up at her, his gaze burning with a light she didn't know existed.
— Ghadib is hiding something from me.
Aisha opened her mouth to respond, but he continued before she could say a word.
— From the beginning, I knew I was different. But it was only recently that I understood...
His gaze wandered for a moment, as if he hesitated to go further.
—I was bought. Like an object.
Aïsha's heart sank.
— Rai…
— He didn't take me in out of kindness. He had a specific goal. Something that concerns me.
She shook her head, refusing to accept this reality.
— He wouldn't do that.
Raikuto smiled bitterly.
—That's what I thought, too, at first.
He paused before adding, lower down:
— But then why is he keeping me here, Aïsha? Why does he refuse to let you see me?
Aisha opened her mouth, searching for an answer... but she had none.
He was right.
Nothing about this situation was normal.
— Do you think he… keeps you for a reason? she asked, hesitant.
Raikuto nodded slowly.
—I'm part of a plan. A plan that exceeds anything I could have imagined.
Aïsha felt a shiver run down her spine.
—A plan for what?
Raikuto opened his mouth to respond…
But at that precise moment, a detonation rang out in the distance.
The ground shook slightly beneath their feet.
The two teenagers exchanged a look, frozen.
Then a scream echoed through the corridors of the palace.
A cry of panic.
And that was the start of chaos.
****
A dull noise.
Then a reddish glow illuminated the night sky, casting dancing shadows on the palace walls.
Raikuto jumped up, his senses alert.
—What was that?
Aïsha ran to the door and slowly opened it...
…just in time to see an explosion tear through the main courtyard.
The flames rose high into the night, devouring the banners in the colors of Ghadib. The very stone of the palace vibrated under the impact, and a curtain of dark smoke rose, hiding the figures moving within it.
Then a scream split the air.
A howl.
That of a guard… then another.
Raikuto felt his blood run cold.
It was not a cry of fear.
It was a cry of pain.
Aïsha quickly closed the door, pressing her back against it, her breathing short.
"Someone is attacking the estate," she whispered.
Raikuto didn't need confirmation.
A wave of chaos, dark and vibrant, coursed through the air, like a malevolent heartbeat.
Then he saw them.
Through the half-open door, he saw figures emerging from the smoke. Men dressed in dark cloaks, their faces hidden by tarnished steel shields. They moved at a measured pace, without haste. They didn't need to run.
They knew that no one could escape them.
One of them grabbed a servant by the collar as he tried to flee.
— Please, I'm just a…
The man didn't have time to finish his sentence. A wave of black energy exploded from the mercenary's hand, and the servant was thrown backwards, crashing into a pillar. He didn't move anymore.
Another mercenary overturned a large table covered with precious dishes, then with a careless gesture, caused an explosion that set the furniture on fire.
"Loot anything of value," one of them growled. Take the gold, the documents, anything that can be used.
The palace torches flickered as other servants tried to flee, screaming. Some were stopped in their tracks by an invisible force, their bodies buffeted by suffocating pressure before collapsing to the cobblestone ground.
Raikuto felt his heart beat faster.
—They are not ordinary soldiers...
Aisha, trembling, took another look through the door.
His gaze stopped on one of the mercenaries who was searching the body of a fallen guard. When he stood up, she saw a distinct crest sewn onto his leather shoulder guard.
A coat of arms that she had already seen in writings...
She felt her throat tighten.
— Raï… This symbol…
He turned towards her, his expression serious.
- What ?
She swallowed.
—They are... men of the God-King.
Raikuto froze.
The mercenaries were not simple plunderers.
They served a much more powerful master.
And they weren't there to capture.
They were there to destroy.
****
— We have to leave. NOW.
Raïkuto grabbed Aïsha's wrist, his breath short, his gaze fixed on the half-open door.
Aisha nodded, swallowing hard. She had never been so scared in her life.
They opened the door and rushed into the corridor, as silently as possible.
But the palace vibrated under the assault.
Screams rang out in all directions. The crash of metal, the screams of pain, the crackle of chaos tearing through the air... everything blended into an infernal cacophony.
They passed a large broken window. Below, in the main courtyard, flames licked the marble statues, casting moving shadows over the scattered corpses.
Guards ran past a few meters from them, weapons in hand.
— Hold the line! Protect Lord Ghadib!
But barely had they reached the other end of the corridor when a wave of dark energy fell on them.
Raikuto and Aïsha hid behind a column, holding their breath.
The chaotic wave swept across the ground like an invisible storm. The torches went out for a moment, and when they came back on, the guards were lying on the ground, motionless.
Silence fell suddenly.
Then the sound of footsteps sounded.
Heavy. Slow. Implacable.
A figure appeared in the darkness, emerging from the flames.
A man dressed in a dark cloak, his face hidden by a helmet decorated with disturbing carvings. Energy crackled in his hands, like an invisible fire ready to devour everything in its path.
Raikuto held his breath.
He had never seen such power.
The man stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked around the room.
Then, in a cold tone, he whispered:
— Find them.
A shiver ran down Aïsha's spine.
The mercenaries who accompanied him immediately scattered, gliding through the corridors like living shadows.
"Raï…" Aïsha breathed, her heart beating.
Raikuto only had one idea in mind.
—We can't face them.
Aisha looked him in the eyes.
She saw there the same fear, but also the same determination as when they were children and when they escaped from the palace to run through the streets of Samakhrystal.
"So let's run," she whispered.
A nervous smile crossed his face.
— Like before?
Raikuto chuckled a little, despite the situation.
— Like before.
And they set off.
Through burning corridors, between bodies and rubble, under collapsing ceilings.
With death on their heels.