Three days from now, the prince shall be hailed as king, and the entire Evergarden Kingdom brimmed with anticipation. While the people prepared in desperation for the grand ceremony, the elders kept a watchful eye on the young heir. Shopkeepers eagerly restocked their shelves, seeing a golden opportunity for trade. The kingdom's roads bustled with carriage, and the river teemed with merchant boats. In the midst of all this excitement and chaos, that's when they saw it.
Everyone was gathered around the bridge that connected the holy church area and the bustling market street. Darius was making his way through the crowd, his voice stern as he asked, "What's the situation there?" A soldier replied hesitantly, "Sir, what we know is all three of them are just children... we haven't identified their faces yet."
As Darius approached the bridge, he noticed a knight nearby, trembling, his face pale as he vomited, clearly shaken with tears brimming in his eyes. The sight awaiting Darius was beyond cruel, three young children hung lifelessly, their bodies bearing gruesome wounds. His voice was low and filled with disbelief as he muttered, "What kind of a man would do something like this..."
Darius stood still, his breath caught somewhere between disbelief and despair. A soldier, watching him closely, stepped forward,with concern "You don't need to do this, sir," he said quietly. "I'll report everything once the investigation is complete." But Darius, eyes hollow and unblinking, shook his head as He moved forward.
It was worse up close.
The corpse, twisted unnaturally, the chest had been carved open, the ribs cracked apart like broken gates. Darius narrowed his eyes, trying to steady himself against the sickly feeling. "The heart is missing," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. His eyes catch something else quickly a reverse star in the right hand's wrist.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried steps broke the stillness. A knight appeared beside him, breathless, and leaned close to his ear. "Master Swordsman Lucius Lancaster is here," he whispered.
Darius turned sharply, stunned. Lucius Lancaster, the name alone held weight heavier than most titles. The man was a legend, a ghost among warriors, he never interfered with the kingdom's internal matters once before. If Lucius had come in person, then this can only mean this isn't just a murder. Something far worse.
"Why is the master swordsman here?"
"I'm not here to interfere with the case,"
"Then why?" Darius pressed.
Lucius's expression didn't shift, but something behind his eyes twinkled, something he wasn't saying. "Let's just say I'm here to supervise,"
Darius watched him carefully, the unease in his chest growing heavier. There's no doubt about it, he thought, he's onto something. But what could it be?
Before he could speak again, the great bell tolled in the distance, a deep, ringing sound that sent a shiver through the air. At the sound, Lucius's head snapped toward the sky. A flicker of tension crossed his face before he turned to Darius, his voice grave. "Things are getting bad here. Be careful."Without waiting for his response, he left.
Soon after, the bodies were carefully moved to the medical department. A summons was sent out across the city, calling the parents of all missing children. One by one, they arrived, their faces pale and devastated, each hoping, yet feeling anxious about, to find an answer.
The silence in the hall was broken only by the sobs of mothers and the trembling cries of fathers as the truth settled in. The children were theirs. The missing had been found, but not in the way they had prayed for. Grief echoed against the stone walls, bitter and raw. Some collapsed to their knees, Others screamed at the heavens, cursing the monster who had done this.
Darius fists clenched and his heart was burning with a question that refused to leave his mind: What kind of darkness had found its way into their kingdom?
Darius couldn't take it anymore. The crying, the screams, the sight of broken parents, it was too much. He stepped outside, hoping the cool air would help him breathe. But even as he closed his eyes, their faces flashed in his mind, the sorrow and the pain. Suddenly he collided with a man, instantly he apologized to him. It helped Darius to come to his senses. Then he notices a group of knights were busy with an investigation. Their movements were sharp, their checks strict, far tighter than usual, even for a royal ceremony.
Two knights walked their patrol along the rain-slick walls. The day was quite safe for the crunch of their boots on the gravel path.
"Who do you think is the strongest man in the kingdom now?" one of them asked, his voice breaking the silence.
The other knight snorted softly. "That's easy. Sir Lucius, the master swordsman. No one comes close."
The first shook his head. "If Raul Kafka were still here, he'd be the strongest."
"Raul?" The second knight gave a low whistle. "That man was a killer machine. The only reason he didn't destroy half the kingdom was because King Everett kept him on a leash."
They walked a few more steps in silence before the first knight spoke again, his tone quieter, almost reverent.
"No one dared raise a sword against Evergarden while our king was alive. I've never seen anyone who could stand as his equal."
The second knight glanced at him, a grim smile tugging at his lips. "You forget, there was someone. The man with that strange, impossible strength. Even the king struggled to defeat him."
The first knight slowed his steps, the memory hanging between them like a shadow.
"How strong must he have been," he murmured, "if even our king had trouble bringing him down?"
The wind blew cold across the walls, and for a moment, both men fell silent, each imagining the kind of man who could make a king struggle.
The strongest knights, high-ranking officers, and the wealthiest nobles stood side by side in the king's hall. None of them knew why they had been summoned, and the silence between them grew heavier with each passing moment.
Then, without warning, the great entrance doors opened with a slow. All eyes turned as Lucius Lancaster, the great swordsman himself, stepped inside. He moved with quiet purpose, and the crowd instinctively parted, making way for him.
Just as he reached the center, a knight's voice rang out across the hall, firm and commanding, "Our great elders are here. Everyone, kneel." Gasps rippled through the room as the elders entered, their presence unexpected and rare. But what no one yet knew was that the message they carried would shake the kingdom to its core.