_______
Lucina
"We've brought all the Shifters' corpses, Your Majesty."
I acknowledged the dark-clad commander with a curt nod, my gaze following the grim procession behind him. Heavy sacks-too many of them-were dragged across the scorched stone floor, leaving dark streaks that steamed faintly in the heat. "Good work," I said, though the words tasted bitter.
Only then did the full scale of it strike me.
So many.
I had known the Shifters were numerous, but seeing the evidence gathered in one place made my chest feel tight. I hadn't even known a place like this existed in Tayar-a vast, cavernous hall carved into the earth itself, its open edge overlooking a raging river of molten fire. The Valley of Fire. Lava churned endlessly below, glowing orange and white, alive with a violent hunger. The air was thick, oppressive, and burning hot, saturated with the stench of sulphur, iron, and old blood. Every breath scraped my lungs.
One of my subordinates stepped closer, his armor gleaming dully under the infernal light. He turned his helmeted head toward me, hesitation evident even without seeing his face.
"They're already dead, Your Majesty," he said carefully. "Do we really need to throw their corpses into the lava?"
His doubt was understandable. To anyone else, this would seem excessive. Barbaric, even.
I moved to the edge of the precipice and stared down at the incandescent swirl below. The heat licked at my skin like a living thing. "Their powers of recovery are beyond anything you can ever imagine," I replied. My voice was flat, stripped of emotion by experience rather than cruelty.
The memory returned unbidden-sharp, cold, and vivid.
Even after I cut off her head... Marissa had come back.
I could still feel the shock of it, the disbelief curdling into horror as she rose again, her body knitting itself back together as if death itself were merely an inconvenience. And she had returned to attack Tayar once more, relentless and merciless. Normal death was meaningless to them. Burial was pointless. Mercy was a lie.
Only complete annihilation could guarantee peace.
"We're ready, Your Majesty!" another soldier called out, his voice echoing against the cavern walls. His expression was grim, resolute. He understood.
I stepped forward, standing fully at the edge now. The heat from the lava surged upward, a terrible, almost comforting presence. I lifted my chin and delivered my decree, my voice ringing with unmistakable finality over the roar and crackle of the flames below.
"Throw every last one of their corpses into the Valley of Fire."
There was no hesitation.
The soldiers moved in unison, heaving the sacks over the edge.
WHOOSH.
SPLASH.
The sound of bodies hitting molten rock was sickening, final. The lava swallowed them instantly, fire flaring brighter for a heartbeat before smoothing over, as if nothing had ever existed there at all. One by one, the sacks vanished-proof erased, monsters reduced to nothing.
Grim affirmations of victory.
The Shifters were gone.
With this, the threat to our people was truly over.
I closed my eyes, allowing myself a single moment of release. Weariness washed through me, heavy and profound. "The Shifters will never be able to threaten the Tayar Tribe again."
We endured so much to reach this point. Raikan. The Cardinal. Myself. And countless others whose names would never be sung. We all suffered because of them. So many lives lost. So many nights spent staring into darkness, wondering if dawn would ever come.
But in the end... we won.
I opened my eyes and looked toward the distant sky beyond the cavern, where sunlight filtered in. It felt warmer now. Kinder. "Now we must overcome the challenges ahead..."
---
A Few Days Later...
The suffocating heat of the Valley of Fire was a distant memory, replaced by gentle sunlight and the vibrant greens of the palace gardens. I sat at a table with the Cardinal and Raikan, the tension that had lived in my shoulders for so long finally beginning to ease. The food before us was fragrant and rich, the air clean enough to breathe deeply without pain.
"I can't thank you enough..." the Cardinal murmured, holding the young prince close to her chest, her voice thick with emotion.
Our victory was secured. The war was finished.
And now, at last, it was time for healing to begin.
---
I gently adjusted the baby in my arms, a small, unguarded smile touching my lips. The Cardinal was still recovering from everything she had endured, so I made certain our guests were treated with the utmost care and respect.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for letting my soldiers stay here," Raikan said, bowing his head politely. "When we should have returned to Brion Kingdom immediately."
I waved off his concern. "You would have suffered far more casualties if you had departed without resting. The Cardinal is still recovering, so you can go back together once he's-"
Before I could finish, the baby-who had been resting quietly until now-suddenly lunged forward.
GRAB.
TUG.
"-!"
"My child!" the Cardinal exclaimed, instantly rising. She reached over and took the baby from my arms, her movements quick but gentle. "Come here. I'll hold you."
The baby giggled, utterly pleased with himself, while she cradled him tenderly, scolding him softly even as her eyes shone with affection.
I cleared my throat, straightening and forcing my composure back into place. "Ahem. As I was saying... make yourselves comfortable... until you return to your kingdom with the Cardinal."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Raikan replied sincerely.
I studied him closely then-the weight he carried, the resolve beneath his youth. "I assume you will become the new king once you get back."
"That's right," he answered. "As long as the nobles do not oppose it."
"Once you have been crowned as King of Brion, I will come and visit," I said firmly. A spark of determination ignited within me. "It's time for the Kingdoms of Tayar and Brion to reach an agreement."
Raikan's silver eyes widened slightly. "Do you mean...?"
"Both sides have hated and resented each other for far too long," I said, the memories of old bloodshed heavy in my chest. "But it's time to change all of that."
He leaned forward, his voice low but earnest. "There's something I want to do once I return to Brion Kingdom."
I waited.
"I want the Tayar Tribe to be officially recognized as a Kingdom."
The words settled deep within me, soothing something that had been wounded for generations.
I nodded, warmth spreading through my chest as sunlight filtered through the garden leaves. My gaze shifted to the Cardinal and then to my child. "I'd like to propose a peace treaty with your kingdom. Then we can announce to the entire continent that we no longer consider each other enemies." My hand rested protectively over my son. "I want my child to live in a happy and safe world."
The Cardinal looked up at me, her face lighting with a radiant, unrestrained smile.
"Hakan!" she exclaimed. "I'm so happy to hear that! I'd be glad to accept a peace treaty."
The war was over.
The greatest threat had been erased.
And now, at last, the foundation for peace was being laid.
---
Later that evening, when the palace had finally grown quiet, I made my way to the Cardinal's chamber. Moonlight spilled through the tall windows, casting long silver shadows across the marble floor. The chaos of the war felt impossibly distant here, replaced by the gentle flicker of candelabras and the faint scent of incense meant for healing.
He was sitting upright in bed when I entered, a far cry from the fragile state he had been in only days ago. Color had returned to his face. His breathing was steady. Seeing him like this loosened a knot in my chest that I hadn't even realized I'd been carrying.
"How are you feeling, Your Eminence?" I asked softly, approaching his bedside.
"Much better," he replied with a gentle smile, one that carried warmth rather than fatigue. "Thanks to you."
I nodded, relieved, and relayed the arrangements that had already been decided. "The Prince will escort you back to Brion Kingdom once you've made a full recovery."
"I see..." His gaze drifted toward the window, where the moon hung high and distant. "It seems like I'll be leaving soon."
There was a pause-long enough to feel heavy.
Then he turned back to me, his expression sharpening with resolve. "Oh, and for dinner today, Lucina-"
At the sound of my name, my body reacted before my mind could. I flinched, just slightly, but enough for him to notice. Still, I forced myself to remain composed.
"There's something I need to tell you," he continued, his voice low and deliberate. "Before I leave."
My heart skipped, a strange sense of unease creeping into my chest. "What is it, Your Eminence?" I asked, though some instinct deep within me urged me to run.
He inhaled slowly, as if steadying himself. "As you already know, when Shifters consume someone's heart, they gain that person's abilities... and their appearance."
I nodded. This much, I understood.
"But the heart isn't the only thing they absorb," he said, his jaw tightening. "By devouring the heart, they also trap that person's soul inside them."
The words struck me like a physical blow. My breath caught.
"During my fight against Marissa," he continued, his gaze lowering, "I was reunited with Lierre's soul-trapped inside Marissa's body."
Lierre.
The name carried weight, sorrow clinging to every syllable.
"Lierre and I loved each other," he said quietly. "But Marissa killed her." His fingers curled into the blanket. "And I was unable to reject Marissa... when she took on Lierre's appearance."
Pain thickened his voice, heavy with guilt that had clearly festered for years.
He reached out and took my hand, gripping it as though afraid I might disappear. "As a result... Marissa and I had a child."
My thoughts shattered.
The room seemed to tilt, the candlelight blurring at the edges of my vision. My chest felt too tight to breathe. I stared at him, unable to speak, unable to think.
"And that child," he whispered, his eyes locking onto mine, "is you, Lucina."
The truth crashed over me all at once.
Marissa-the Shifter. The monster. The enemy we had just erased from existence.
My mother.
Tears welled up despite my attempts to stop them, spilling down my cheeks as my hands trembled in his grasp. Every unanswered question about my past, every whispered doubt about my origins, suddenly made horrifying sense.
"I'm sorry," he said urgently, lifting his hand to my face, brushing away my tears with aching tenderness. "Forgive me for telling you so late."
His eyes shone with regret. "You might have inherited Marissa's blood... but your soul is just like Lierre's. Pure. Innocent. Noble."
His voice broke. "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. No-" he corrected himself softly, "for not finding you sooner."
The shock and sorrow were overwhelming, threatening to pull me under. Yet beneath them, something unexpected stirred-understanding. Acceptance. Painful, but real.
I was the daughter of a Shifter.
And yet, in his eyes, I was still the child of the woman he loved.
"It must've been really tough," I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. "Your Eminence..."
He shook his head gently and pulled me into an embrace. "It's all right. You don't need to apologize." His arms were warm, steady. "You've already done more than enough for me."
He held me a moment longer. "You protected me when I was in danger. I've lost count of the number of times you've helped me."
Slowly, he released me and reached for something beside the bed.
A necklace.
The jewel at its center shimmered softly, catching the candlelight in hues that felt almost alive.
"So..." he said, holding it up between us, "I made a promise to you, Lucina. Once my holy power returned, I would completely heal your body-so that you can bear children again."
My breath hitched.
"I felt it during the fight," he continued. "My power is still here, keeping itself hidden. But my body..." He smiled faintly. "It has already grown too old."
He looked at me with quiet certainty. "I want to give my power to someone else."
The room seemed to fall silent.
"That's why," he said, extending the necklace toward me, "I want you to have it, Lucina."
I stared at him, my heart pounding, the weight of his words crushing and uplifting all at once.
"Am I..." My voice trembled. "Am I really worthy of your power?"
"Your Eminence...?"
Nothing after that point will be continued or implied.
"We've brought all the Shifters' corpses, Your Majesty."
I acknowledged the dark-clad commander with a curt nod, my eyes following the grim procession behind him. His men dragged massive, blood-soaked sacks across the scorched stone floor, the fabric scraping harshly as dark stains smeared the ground. "Good work," I said, though the words felt heavy on my tongue.
Only then did the true scale of the war strike me.
So many.
I had known the Shifters were numerous, but seeing their remains gathered in one place made my chest tighten. I had never known such a place existed within Tayar - a vast, cavernous hall carved into the earth itself, its far edge opening onto a raging river of molten rock. The Valley of Fire roared endlessly below, incandescent and alive. The air was thick, suffocating, stinking of sulphur and iron. Every breath burned.
My subordinate stepped closer, his armor reflecting the violent orange glow. He turned his helmeted head toward me, hesitation unmistakable even without seeing his face.
"They're already dead, Your Majesty. Do we really need to throw their corpses into the lava?"
I understood his doubt. To anyone else, this would seem cruel. Excessive.
I walked toward the precipice and stared down at the churning inferno below. The heat licked at my skin, relentless.
"Their powers of recovery are beyond anything you can ever imagine," I said quietly.
The memory surfaced unbidden.
Even after I cut off her head... Marissa had returned.
The shock of that moment still clung to me - the horror of seeing her stand again, flesh knitting itself back together as if death itself had no meaning. She had come back to attack Tayar once more, relentless and merciless.
Normal death was useless.
Only annihilation remained.
"We're ready, Your Majesty!" another soldier called out, his voice echoing against the stone.
I stepped forward, standing fully at the edge, and raised my voice over the roar of the flames.
"Throw every last one of their corpses into the Valley of Fire."
The soldiers moved without hesitation.
WHOOSH.
SPLASH.
One by one, the sacks vanished into the molten river below. The lava flared brighter for a heartbeat, then swallowed them whole - bodies, blood, and all traces of their existence erased as if they had never been.
Grim confirmation.
With this, the Shifters would never threaten the Tayar Tribe again.
I closed my eyes, allowing myself a single moment of release. Weariness settled deep in my bones. We had endured so much to reach this point. Raikan. The Cardinal. Myself. And countless others whose names would never be spoken aloud.
But in the end... we won.
I opened my eyes and looked toward the distant light beyond the cavern. The sun felt warmer now. Kinder.
"The fight is over," I murmured, "but the work is not. Now we must overcome the challenges ahead..."
A few days later, the suffocating heat of the Valley of Fire was replaced by gentle sunlight and the vibrant greens of the palace gardens. Birds sang softly, and the scent of flowers drifted through the air - a stark contrast to the scorched battlefield still etched into my memory.
I sat at a table with the Cardinal and Raikan, my child cradled in my arms. I rocked him gently, listening to his quiet breathing, grounding myself in the warmth of his small body.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Raikan said respectfully, inclining his head. "For letting my soldiers stay here, when we should have returned to Brion Kingdom immediately."
I smiled faintly. "You would have suffered many more casualties if you had departed without resting. The Cardinal is still recovering, so you can go back once he's-"
GRAB.
TUG.
"-!"
Pain shot through my scalp as my baby suddenly seized a handful of my hair, his tiny fingers surprisingly strong.
"My child!" the Cardinal exclaimed, rising at once. He reached over and carefully took the giggling baby from my arms. "Come here. I'll hold you."
The baby laughed, delighted, utterly unaware of the chaos he'd caused. I exhaled slowly and cleared my throat, regaining my composure.
"Ahem. As I was saying... make yourselves comfortable until you return to your kingdom with the Cardinal."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Raikan replied sincerely.
"I assume you will become the new king once you return," I said, studying him closely.
"That's right," he confirmed. "As long as the nobles do not oppose it."
"When you are crowned King of Brion, I will come and visit," I said firmly. "It's time for the Kingdoms of Tayar and Brion to reach an agreement. Both sides have hated and resented each other for far too long - but that must end."
Raikan leaned forward, silver eyes intent. "There's something I want to do once I return to Brion Kingdom. I want the Tayar Tribe to be officially recognized as a Kingdom."
My heart lifted at his words.
"I would like to propose a peace treaty," I declared. "Then we can announce to the entire continent that we no longer consider each other enemies." I glanced at my child in the Cardinal's arms. "I want my child to live in a happy and safe world."
The Cardinal looked up at me, his face breaking into a radiant smile.
"Hakan! I'm so happy to hear that! I'd be glad to accept a peace treaty."
For the first time since the war began, peace felt real.
That evening, when the palace had grown quiet and moonlight spilled across the marble floors, I visited the Cardinal in his chamber.
"How are you feeling, Your Eminence?" I asked softly.
"Much better, thanks to you," he replied. He mentioned that the Prince would escort him back to Brion Kingdom once he made a full recovery. "I see... It seems like I'll be leaving soon."
There was a pause.
Then he took my hand. "Oh, and for dinner today, Lucina... there's something I need to tell you before I leave."
My heart tightened. "What is it, Your Eminence?"
He inhaled slowly. "As you already know, when Shifters consume someone's heart, they gain that person's abilities and appearance. But the heart isn't the only thing they absorb. By devouring it, they trap that person's soul inside them as well."
The room seemed to grow colder.
"During my fight against Marissa," he continued, his voice lowering, "I was reunited with Lierre's soul - trapped inside Marissa's body. Lierre and I loved each other... but Marissa killed her." His grip tightened. "And I was unable to reject Marissa when she took on Lierre's appearance."
I felt my breath falter.
"As a result," he said quietly, "Marissa and I had a child."
He looked directly at me. "And that child is you, Lucina."
Tears pricked my eyes.
"You might have inherited Marissa's blood," he said gently, cupping my cheek, "but your soul is just like Lierre's. Pure. Innocent. Noble. I'm sorry for telling you so late - no, for not finding you sooner."
"It must've been really tough," I whispered. "Your Eminence..."
He squeezed my hands. "You've already done so much for me. You protected me again and again. I've lost count of how many times you saved me."
He lifted a small box, revealing a necklace with a softly glowing jewel.
"I made a promise to you, Lucina. Once my holy power returned, I would completely heal your body - so you can bear children again. I felt it during the fight. My power still remains, but my body has grown too old."
He met my gaze, resolute. "I want to give my power to someone else. That's why... I want you to have it."
"Am I... really worthy of your power?" I asked, tears spilling freely now.
"I'm not giving it to you just because you're my daughter," he said firmly. "I want you to have the power to protect your own family. I don't want you to feel lonely or suffer ever again."
I swallowed hard and nodded. "I understand, Your Eminence. I want the power to protect those precious to me."
Relief washed over his face. "Thank you for accepting my power."
A soft glow filled the room - WHOOOSH - holy blue light blooming around us. He clasped my hands, and energy poured into me, warm and overwhelming. My heart thundered.
DU-DUM.
When the light faded, he looked suddenly frail, aged beyond his years.
I gasped, staring at him in shock.
"Your Eminence...?