Long live the king...
The subject Limbo has been brought as the king ordered along with Sambha and his friends.
The chamber was smaller than Limbo expected.
No grand rows of seats.
No fansy banners hanging.
No gathered nobles whispering behind polished masks, nor the people's strare.
Just stone, old and deliberate, carved into a circular hall that felt less like a courtroom and more like a place where desicions were weighed before being spoken.
Only few people were present.
The knig stood near the center, no clock now, yet the same presence that had stilled the battlefield lingered around him. He did not sit. He rarely did, Limbo realised instinctively. The room adjusted to him, not the other way around.
To his right stood the second queen composed, attentive, sharp eyes with quite calculation. She looked like someone use to listening to problems before others even realized they existed.
A short distance away was Sambha's mother.
She did not stand beside the king, nor opposite not lesser—just... Separate. Hands folded calmly, posture straight, expression gentle but unyielding.
The elder was present as well, staff grounded against the stone floor, gaze lowered but alert.
Limbo, Rin and Gaja were guided to the inner arc of the chamber.
Not as a accused.
Also not honered, yet—.
Only Observed.
Sambha goes forward and stayed close to his mother, fingers gripping the fabric of her sleeve. He didn't look around much. His eyes flickered once towards the king—then away.
The silence streched across the chamber of inner meetings.
Then finally king spoke breking the silence.
"Begin."
It wasn't a command.
It was permission.
The elder inclined his head. "The child left the inner ground at dusk two nights prior. No alrm was triggered. No gate response recorded."
Rin stiffened slightly.
The second queen's eye's narrowed. "Which shoul not have been possible."
"No," the elder agreed. "It should not."
Sambha shifted.
His mother rested a hand lightly on his shoulder. He relaxed a fraction, unaware of why that matters.
The king locked at his son then—not sharply, not coldly. Just long enough to acknowledge him.
"Why did you leave?" He asked.
The question was simple.
Sambha swallowed. His mouth opened, them closed again.
"I wanted..." He hesitated. "...to go out."
"To play?" The second queen asked gently.
Sambha nodded.
Silence returned.
The king spoke again. "You crossed beyond where you weren't meant to be."
I didn't know, sambha said quickly, eyes lowering. "I thought... I thought it was still safe."
His mother's hand tightened slightly.
"That," the king said quietly, "is precisely the problem."
Limbo felt it then—not anger, not disappointment.
But the fear.
A restrained, deeply feat that had nothing to do with monsters or enemies.
The elder cleared his throat. "When reports came in of an unidentified group near the forest boundary, and soldier failed to retrieve him, other soldiers clashed with you and based on all the outcome and situations assumption were made."
Gaja's jaw tightened.
"Incorrect assumptions," the elder continued.
"For that, responsibility is mine."
The raised his head once. Acceptance, not absolution.
His gazed shifted — to Limbo.
"You found him," the king said.
Limbo nodded, "yes."
"Alive."
"Yes." Isn't it obvious, how can he be here if not alive.
"Unarmed."
Limbo paused. "Scared, but unharmed, Limbo tone unsettled.
Sambha nodded again, quickly. "He stayed."
The king looked back at his son, "you were not coerced."
No, sambha said. "They helped me.
Treat my wounds and play with me."
The second queen exhaled softly.
The tension in the room shifted — not desolved, but redirected.
The elder bowed slightly towards Limbo and his companions. "The misunderstanding stands corrected."
Still no thanks.
But the weight pressing down on them eased.
Rin noticed, as well Gaja
Limbo remained still.
The mystery didn't solved, something still seems to be unsettled.
The king's attention return to sambha.
"You do not yet understand why the walls exist," he said. "Or why certain paths are closed to you."
Sambha frowned. "I just don't like staying cooped inside all the time."
A pause.
Then the king said something that made Limbo's breath still.
"There are burdens that come before choice."
No explanation followed.
Sambha's mother spoke for the first time.
"He is a child," she said calmly. "He does not need to carry them yet."
The king did not disagree.
Nor did he agree.
The second queen stepped in—not as opposition, but balance. "Preparation does not have to mean confinement."
The king looked between them.
Limbo realised something then.
This wasn't a conflict.
It was a restraint.
People who knew exactly how dangerous the truth was, and not to let it fracture the room.
The king turned back to sambha. "You will have more space," he said. But not without sight."
Sambha nodded, uncert6but relieved.
The king's gazed shifts again- to Limbo.
"You did not know who he was," the king said.
"No," Limbo replied. "Even if I knew nothing will have changed."
"And yet you brought him back."
"Yes."
The studied him.
"You did not seek favor."
No.
You did not seek reward.
Limbo shook his head in disagree.
The king looked away.
"That," he said quietly, "is noted."
Nothing more.
The second queen gestured subtly, and N attendant stepped forward.
"You will remain here," she sId to the trio. "As guest."
Not prisoners, nor as the servants.
Guests.
"Until arrangements are settled."
Rin raised her head. Gaja did the same.
Limbo hesitated —then nodded.
The elder stepped back, staff tapping once against the stone. "This court is concluded."
No announcement.
No dismissal.
They simply.... Stood down.
As they were escorted out, sambha tugged at Limbo's sleeve.
"Will you stay nearby?" He asked quietly.
Limbo looked at him, then at the chamber behind them.
Yes, he said. Atleast for now.
Sambha smiled — small, relieved.
Behind them, unseen, the king remained where he was, gaze fixed on the space his son had occupied.
Not as a ruler.
But as amN who knew exactly what the future demanded — and how little a child could be asked to understand.
But one thing was clear.
Sambha has began to Awaken sooner than expected, he passed through the gate and barrier without anyone noticing, it's the proof that — they are calling him, the bond is getting stronger and stronger.
They have to keep close eyes on him.
The quest system assign for Limbo is almost completed. Only few pieces needed to be placed at the right place.