The air in the palace was thick — like the sea before a storm.
Poseidon narrowed his ancient eyes at Alex.
"Boy," he said, voice low, "what is that… aura around you?"
Alex didn't flinch.
"I have two," he said. "I'm using them."
Persius stepped forward, his voice softer than usual, like a prayer spoken before a prophecy.
"Now I want to see them all. Sit. Focus. Draw them out."
Alex knelt, placing his white-bladed sword before him like a sacred relic.
Darcy, his bonded dragon — scales glinting gold beneath the torchlight — circled once before curling behind him like a silent sun.
He closed his eyes.
And then—
The world inside him burst open.
He floated — not in sky, not in sea — but within his own soul.
A black void stretched endlessly around him.
And there, like four stars burning in the abyss: red, violet, white… and gold.
"I see four," Alex whispered. "Four… auras."
Persius staggered back. Poseidon's eyes widened.
"Tell us," Persius said, barely breathing.
Alex's voice trembled like a string pulled too tight.
"Red. Violet. White. Gold."
Poseidon smiled faintly.
"Begin. Feel the red. Let it speak."
Alex reached for it.
The moment he touched the red, it felt like shoving his heart into a burning battlefield.
Grief crashed through him.
Regret.
Rage.
The screams of people he couldn't save.
The fury of a boy abandoned, trained, betrayed, and born into war.
The red aura erupted from his chest.
The ground cracked.
Marble split apart.
Blood-colored energy spiraled violently through the hall, choking the air itself.
Darcy growled low beside him — protective. Loyal.
Soldiers burst into the chamber.
"Stay back!" Poseidon roared, slamming the doors shut with a wave of divine power.
Alex remained still — eyes closed, body trembling — trying to ride the storm instead of drown beneath it.
Then he let go.
The red faded.
And he reached for violet.
It touched him like a mother's hand.
Soft.
Warm.
Forgiving.
And he broke.
Tears slipped from beneath his closed eyes.
For the first time in years, he felt… held.
The kind of comfort no sword, no kingdom, no victory had ever given him.
"It's… beautiful," he whispered.
Violet light drifted around him like lullabies from a forgotten home.
Even Poseidon and Persius had to steady themselves. The gentle pressure of it was unbearable — like the weight of love too powerful to ignore.
And then—
The white.
The moment he touched it, he laughed.
Like a child.
Like a rebel.
Like a man finally freed from chains.
"No destiny," he murmured. "No chains. Just… sky."
The palace trembled.
Walls split apart.
The floor fractured beneath him.
And that's when fate — cruel, brilliant, laughing fate — struck again.
The doors opened.
And she walked in.
She had skin like moonlight carved from the sea.
Eyes wide with surprise.
Hair damp and trailing behind her like silk shadows.
No guards.
No warning.
No clothes.
Elli. Granddaughter of Poseidon.
Elli froze.
Her gaze locked onto the strange white and gold markings glowing faintly across Alex's back.
And he — surrounded by bleeding aura, sword half-drawn, eyes still wet with violet tears — could only stare back.
"Behind me!" Poseidon barked, throwing a barrier around her instantly.
And then—
The final color.
Gold.
Alex touched it.
And the world trembled.
Silence fell.
Not peaceful silence.
The kind that comes before a star explodes.
The golden aura radiated from him like celestial fire. It wasn't loud.
It was absolute.
Even the gods felt it.
Even Darcy stepped back, tail curling tightly against the floor.
"Alex, STOP!" Persius shouted. "You're breaking everything!"
But Alex's mind was already somewhere far beyond them — above clouds, beyond oceans, somewhere inside the divine itself.
And it terrified him.
He opened his eyes.
The room lay in ruins.
He blinked—
And there was Elli again, fully clothed now, flustered and red-faced.
She stepped forward, furious.
"I was bathing," she snapped at Persius, voice shaking, "and someone shattered the wall with a water dragon! Someone saw me!"
Then she turned toward Alex.
Blood trickled from his nose.
His face burned red.
She stared into his eyes.
And his thoughts betrayed him instantly.
How in hell…?
She was beautiful.
I couldn't even look away from her eyes.
And somehow… she looked even more beautiful now.
"He— her eyes are beautiful," he muttered weakly.
It wasn't lust.
It was fate.
Two strangers colliding in the middle of a myth neither of them had asked to live.
Her cheeks flushed deeper. Her lips trembled slightly.
"You," she said, pointing at him. "What's your name?"
Alex stood awkwardly, like a man who had accidentally stared straight into destiny itself.
"I'm Alexander—"
Poseidon cut in immediately.
"He's nobody. Just… Alexander Hope."
Elli narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Did you see a boy… with a golden dragon?"
Darcy sneezed behind Alex.
Smooth. Truly legendary stealth.
Poseidon coughed into his fist.
"Don't you have… bags to pack?"
"For what?" Elli snapped.
"You're going with him."
"What?!"
She stormed out of the hall.
Silence followed.
Poseidon slowly turned toward Alex.
"You saw my granddaughter naked. You will apologize. And," he added calmly, "you will take care of her while she travels with you."
Alex's jaw nearly hit the floor.
"Ah— what? Excuse me? I'll apologize! Obviously! But take care of her? What am I, her babysitter now?"
He scratched his head, muttering under his breath.
"She travels like she's going on a royal vacation. Shouldn't there be guards or something?"
Poseidon and Persius exchanged the kind of look old men share after successfully throwing their problems onto someone else's shoulders.
Alex blinked.
"Wait. You're seriously sending her with me? Why me?! I'm already drowning in trouble!"
Persius chuckled.
"That's exactly why you'll be hiding your identity. No more 'Alexander Brave Light, Author of Chaos.' From now on, you're just… Alex."
Alex groaned.
"Fine. But I can't promise anything once a fight starts."
"That," Poseidon said flatly, "sounds like your problem."
Alex threw his hands into the air.
"You old men are frying my brain with this nonsense!"
Then he turned toward Darcy.
"Darcy, shift. That white tiger form we saw in the vision — can you do it?"
The golden dragon shimmered.
Magic rippled across her body.
Moments later, a sleek white tiger stood beside him, fur gleaming beneath the torchlight, golden eyes burning like embers. She growled softly and brushed against his side.
At that exact moment, Elli stormed back in — arms overloaded with bags, silver trident gleaming in her grip, looking both regal and violently offended.
Alex snorted, barely stopping himself from laughing.
Persius stepped forward without a trace of sympathy.
"Alexander Hope," he announced, "meet Elilean Poseidon. Your travel companion."
Alex paled instantly.
"What?"
Persius ignored him and began digging through Elli's luggage.
Sparkling dresses.
Perfume bottles.
Silk robes.
Jewelry.
He tossed them aside mercilessly.
Elli gasped in horror.
"My clothes! Grandpa! My favorite clothes! What am I supposed to wear now? And my trident — how am I supposed to fight?!"
"You?" Persius snorted. "Fight? You're worse than Alex. At least he packs survival gear instead of glitter."
Elli turned toward Alex with wide, betrayed eyes.
Alex immediately raised a calming hand.
Don't argue with the old man. It's suicide.
She ignored the warning completely.
"This is outrageous! What about my tiara?!"
Persius paid her no attention. He pulled out practical jackets, travel gear, and survival supplies before shoving them all into Alex's infinite pocket.
"Her gear. And yours."
Poseidon stepped forward and slipped two ancient tomes into Alex's bag.
"Read these," he said quietly. "They may keep you alive."
Elli crossed her arms furiously.
"You treat your grandson like treasure and me like a stray cat!"
Persius grinned crookedly.
"That boy's worth a thousand of you. At least he knows which end of a blade points forward."
Poseidon pulled Elli into a brief embrace.
"Be careful," he murmured. "And try not to cause trouble."
A portal ripped open behind them.
Persius stepped halfway through it and waved lazily.
"Come on, kids. Enough whining. Time to start running."
Elli glared at everyone in the room, gathered the remains of her royal dignity, and stomped through the portal.
Alex followed beside Darcy.
The other side was a wasteland.
Dead earth.
Broken stone.
A cracked gate standing like the mouth of a grave.
It looked like death itself had abandoned the place halfway through creation.
Elli opened her mouth to complain.
Alex instantly slapped a hand over it.
"Shh. Listen."
Persius stood before the valley, arms crossed.
"This," he said darkly, "is one of the worst places in the universe. The Valley of Thieves and Barbarians."
He pointed toward the jagged cliffs and black forests surrounding them.
"Thieves here don't ask questions. They see you — they take. Your food. Your clothes. Your blood. Blink too long and you'll wake up missing pieces."
"And the barbarians…" His voice dropped lower still. "They don't wait for you to die before they eat. You look weak? Congratulations. You're lunch."
He gestured toward the endless forest beyond the valley.
"The Forests of Chaos. Demons. Beasts. Creatures cursed by hunger and madness alike. This land doesn't care who you are. Royalty or rat — everyone bleeds the same."
Then he looked at Alex.
"Still want to play the hero?"
Alex lunged at him.
"You can't leave us here!"
But Persius dodged away laughing and tossed a scroll over his shoulder.
"See you in eight months!"
Elli growled.
"Catch him!"
She sprinted forward, but Persius vanished with one final wink as the portal snapped shut behind him.
Silence followed.
Then wind.
Then eyes.
Figures slowly emerged from the valley path — ragged, starving, watching them like wolves circling fresh meat.
Their eyes fixed instantly on Elli.
Her silver hair.
Her polished boots.
Her royal posture.
Alex groaned.
Of course this would happen immediately.
He drew his sword.
The white blade pulsed beneath the dead sunlight.
Stepping in front of Elli, he muttered:
"You idiots really have a death wish, huh?"
The strangers laughed.
But they kept walking forward.
Elli looked at Alex nervously.
"What's happening? Where's Grandpa Persius?"
Alex let out a hollow laugh.
"He's not coming with us. He dumped us here and ran."
Her eyes widened.
"What do you mean he left us?! How are we supposed to survive here?"