The sky looked different.
When Vivi and Haken stepped back through the Gate, the forest that had once whispered and swayed now stood still. No birds. No wind.
Just the echo of their breathing and a wrongness in the air.
"It's quiet," Haken said, scanning the trees.
"Too quiet," Vivi replied.
She could still feel the tower's energy clinging to her skin. But worse—something was watching them.
As they neared the edge of the forest, smoke rolled over the hills.
The palace—her home—was burning.
Vivi dropped to her knees on the ridge. Her eyes blurred with tears, but not from the smoke.
"Mother…"
"We have to move," Haken said gently. "If Viper's gone, something else took his place."
They arrived by nightfall.
The palace gates were wide open. Guards were missing or dead. The banners torn down, replaced by a mark Vivi didn't recognize:
A crescent fang, dipped in red.
"Not Viper," Haken murmured. "This is someone else."
They slipped through a hidden passage—one Vivi used to sneak out as a child.
But inside the palace… the throne room was filled.
Not with nobles.
Not with knights.
But with shadows.
And one man standing in their midst, dressed in silver and smoke.
🩸 The New Power
He looked up the moment Vivi stepped into the light.
"So the flame girl returns."
Vivi's blood turned cold.
"Who are you?"
The man smiled sharp, deliberate.
"I am Cenric. Viper's shadow… and now, his successor."
"You mean the one who waited until he fell."
"I mean the one who planned for him to fall."
His eyes turned to Haken.
"You broke the curse. Clever. But curses are like roots. You cut one, and another grows deeper."
He stepped forward.
"And you, Princess, are more than a seal. You're a key. And now that you've opened the Gate…"
He smiled wider.
"It will not close."
-
Cenric lifted a hand.
Darkness rushed from his palm—not fire, not shadow, but the absence of all light.
It struck the walls. The floor. The guards—
They fell to their knees, eyes black.
Vivi stood tall, voice steady.
"You think fear will stop me?"
"I think you don't know what you've unleashed."
He turned—and vanished.
Leaving only his mark, glowing where the throne had once stood.
Outside, Haken grabbed her hand.
"That was no illusion. He has power."
And he's using the Gate."
The one we opened."
They didn't speak for a moment.
Then Vivi turned, her eyes fierce.
Then we end what we started."
"Together?"
"Always."
But above them, in the broken sky—
Something vast was moving.
Not a man. Not a beast. But a presence. Something old.
Awakening. Watching. Waiting.