Equito stood rigid, her hands gripping the edge of the platform where Kael lay. The king's eyes bore into her, unblinking, and the room felt impossibly still. She drew a deep breath, letting the cold stone of the sanctum press against her armored legs, forcing herself to speak with measured clarity.
"Your Majesty," she began, her voice steady though her mind trembled at the memory, "I will recount what occurred at the southern academy, from the beginning of my encounter with your son until the point at which I believed him dead. You deserve the truth without omission, and I swear on my honor that nothing is fabricated."
The king's fists clenched at his sides. He did not speak, only waited, his jaw taut, his gaze unwavering.
Equito inhaled again. "I was dispatched to the academy to retrieve him. Intelligence indicated that he had been trained under false identities and was in possession of abilities that far exceeded what would be expected of a student of his age. When I arrived, I observed him in combat training, and it quickly became apparent that he was formidable, far more so than any ordinary student. His skill with a blade, Your Majesty, was exceptional. I underestimated him at first. That was my error."
She swallowed, the memory turning her stomach. "He was not merely proficient. He was precise, swift, and deadly with every strike. The magic he wielded augmented his movements, his reflexes, his strikes. I had faced dangerous enemies before, Your Majesty, but none like him. Even as I engaged him, it was clear he was aware of every motion I made, anticipating each attack."
Equito's gloves tightened. "I attempted to subdue him without lethal force, but he refused to yield. Your son fought with a ferocity and precision that left no room for hesitation. His eyes… they burned with something unnatural. The boy was not only a swordsman. He was a weapon, honed to perfection and fueled by something I cannot explain. At the climax of our duel, I was forced to strike decisively."
She looked at the king, her gaze unwavering despite the weight of what she was about to admit. "He struck first, wounding me. I countered, delivering a blow with my halberd. It pierced him cleanly through the torso. I saw the light leave his eyes. I felt the finality of the strike. I carried him from the arena, certain of his death, and delivered him here as instructed. When I placed him on the platform, there was no movement, no breath, and no pulse. I believed, as any soldier would, that my task was complete."
Equito's voice dropped, almost a whisper, though she forced it to carry. "It is only now, Your Majesty, that I have witnessed the impossible. The body moves. The wound has… healed. He breathes. I do not know how this is possible. I only know that I performed my duty as instructed, that I did everything expected of me, and yet the boy lives."
The king's face shifted from fury to disbelief, then to a taut mixture of grief and terror. His hands twitched. "So you would have me believe that the boy I thought lost, and then dead, is alive. After you pierced him through the chest. After you carried him as a corpse."
Equito inclined her head. "Yes, Your Majesty. I swear it. Every detail I have recounted is true. I saw him fall. I struck him as ordered. I witnessed what I believed to be his death. And yet now, he lives."
Her voice was quiet now, but deliberate, almost trembling. "I do not know the cause. I do not understand it. I only know that the power within him is greater than I have ever faced. It may be magic beyond comprehension, or something… else. Whatever it is, it is not human in its entirety. That is what I observed. That is why I brought him here, believing him dead and safe. The remainder is now beyond my control."
The king's hands clenched tighter. His breath came in shallow bursts. "You fought him alone?"
"I did, Your Majesty. I had no choice. He was armed, trained, and aware. Every moment was life and death. I acted as I was instructed. I spared no effort, yet I could not prevent him from drawing upon powers I cannot comprehend. I struck him with everything I had. I believed it sufficient."
Equito's eyes returned to Kael. His chest rose subtly with each shallow breath. His fingers twitched again, minute and almost imperceptible. She shivered despite the cold stone, feeling the unnatural weight of what she had done, what she had witnessed, and what the king was about to face.
"The academy cannot contain him. No ordinary measures can. I followed orders, but the boy is no ordinary student, Your Majesty. He may not be merely alive. He may be… something else entirely."
The king's fists slammed against the marble platform. "Impossible!" he shouted, voice echoing through the sanctum. "I will not accept the impossible. Tell me his fate. Tell me now."
Equito's voice was steady but grim. "His fate is no longer mine to dictate. I delivered him to you as a corpse, as instructed. What he is now, and what he may become, is something that belongs only to him and to the gods, Your Majesty. I only know that I fought your son. I ended what I believed was life. And yet he breathes."
A low, almost imperceptible cough issued from Kael's chest. His eyes flickered beneath the lids, the faintest glimmer of life breaking through the stillness of the linen. Equito's head snapped up. The priests froze. The guards drew back instinctively.
The king's face went pale, then red, then pale again. "Alive," he whispered, voice barely audible, as if saying it aloud might summon madness. "After all these years… alive."
Equito did not speak further. She only watched.
The impossibility of the scene pressed upon the sanctum like a weight, and she knew, with absolute certainty, that the kingdom had changed irreversibly in the space of a single, impossible moment.