During Arius's return to the capital, he felt a strange presence. He suddenly stopped in the sky above the capital, sensing an unusual pulse creeping throughout the planet. Clenching his fists, he whispered to himself coldly:
— What is going on? I feel an incredible power approaching this planet…
Without waiting long, he dashed at lightning speed toward the capital, soaring above the towering skyscrapers and crowded streets until he landed in front of the palace in the grand courtyard, where Ramin was standing, waiting for him.
— Where were you? — Ramin asked, watching him in astonishment, noticing his strange behavior.
Arius smiled faintly and replied:
— I was nearby, nothing more.
Ramin froze for a moment, trying to understand something in Arius's silence, then asked in bewilderment:
— What exactly is going on here?
Ramin replied in a calm tone:
— Actually, Lady Nahira asked everyone to be here for some reason… and she asked about you, but you weren't around.
Arius looked at the massive gathering of soldiers and officials, noticing a slight tension on the faces of some. Suddenly, Nahira walked out of the palace with confident steps, heading toward the courtyard, and raised her hand in an official gesture. She began calling for Arius in her stern voice:
— Arius!
Arius approached her with steady steps and said solemnly:
— My Lady, I am here as you wish.
— Where were you, you fool? I was looking for you, — Nahira said with piercing eyes.
Arius smiled faintly and replied:
— I had a small matter to attend to, but it's done.
Nahira interrupted him sharply:
— Now is not the time for your business! Look, today is a very special day.
Arius raised his eyebrows in surprise:
— What is it?
Nahira smiled with a proud tone and said:
— Today, my sister is returning home.
Arius's heart stopped for a moment, and his eyes widened in shock:
— Your sister?! You… have a sister?
Nahira nodded slightly, a faint tone of pride in her voice:
— Yes, I do. Did you think I lived alone without a family like you, you ignorant fool?
Arius stood still for a moment, pondering her words. A sense of astonishment mixed with a mysterious pang of sorrow as he wondered to himself about this unknown family that he had known nothing about his entire life. Arius recovered slightly from his shock as he tried to process what he had heard, his eyes seriously examining Nahira:
— But… — he said in a puzzled voice — I have lived with you since my birth, and I have never seen your sister, nor have I even heard that you had a sister in the first place.
Nahira smiled in a calm tone, as if revealing an ancient secret:
— In fact, my sister lived her life freely and didn't really care about me or the family. She left about 200 years ago, and since then, she was deeply affected by the death of my parents. This made her unable to live here, because she believed that I was the one who killed them to obtain the throne.
Arius shuddered slightly at this surprise, a mixture of astonishment and questioning appearing on his face:
— Wait… Aren't you the ruler of the First World? Wasn't it Karma who granted you this position?
Nahira shook her head coldly:
— No, my family is the actual ruler of this world. As for Karma, we signed an agreement with him to annex our world to his worlds in exchange for diplomatic benefits only.
Arius paused for a moment, suddenly realizing the reason behind Karma's strange behavior toward Nahira during the tournament, and smiled bitterly:
— Ah… So that's why Karma treated you differently from the rest of the rulers during the tournament…
A feeling of clarity rose in Arius's chest as the threads of the past began to come together before him. Every action and every move now became clearer within the context of the long history of Nahira's family and their political struggle.
Arius paused for a moment, his eyes catching every movement and emotion around him, thinking internally: *Oh, this is the first time I've seen Nahira bewildered… It is clear that this sister of hers was the cause of major problems for her in the past. It seems her return now won't be easy. This returning old woman must be seeking to trouble her younger sister before her death, haha…*
Then Arius raised his head and said in a calm voice:
— Well, My Lady, I will be down with the soldiers. If you need me, call me immediately.
Nahira caught his hand and gripped it, saying in a stern tone:
— No, do not leave me. You are the only one I can rely on. Stay by my side.
Arius smiled faintly and replied:
— As you wish… You seem anxious.
Nahira answered him with clear confusion:
— No, I am not. I am just a little tired because of the accumulated work.
Arius laughed a little and said:
— It would be best for you to sit down…
— She replies to him, saying: "I am fine," — she said it in a confident tone.
Minutes passed slowly, and everyone waited eagerly. Then, everyone suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if a massive pressure was crushing them from every direction. The wind began to howl fiercely, and the cries of some guards blended with the solemn silence of the place, as all eyes turned toward the sky.
Then, a bright light descended from space, gleaming as if a thousand suns were gathered into a single beam. When it struck the ground, everyone was stunned by what they saw: a young girl with long purple hair, violet eyes like rubies, and soft white skin, wearing a purple and white silk dress.
The girl stood for a moment, observing the place, while everyone was shocked by her overwhelming presence—so much so that the attendees fell to their knees from the sheer pressure of her power. The girl did not care about everyone's collapse or their fears; she focused only on Nahira. Slowly but full of power and majesty, she began to advance toward her sister, where Nahira stood, confusion creeping onto her features for the first time.
Arius remained standing, silent, his eyes gleaming with curiosity and caution, watching the scene as if observing a complex game of powers.
Arius was standing at the top of the courtyard, looking at the advancing girl with steady steps, muttering to himself with suppressed sarcasm:
*What is this…? She isn't an old woman! She is almost the same age as Nahira… maybe even younger. Good grief… she looks like a walking disaster.*
He watched her as she crossed the courtyard with a terrifying coldness, her aura cutting through the air as if splitting it in half.
Nahira whispered to Arius, a slight tremor in her voice:
— I am going down… I want to see her myself.
Arius said calmly:
— As you wish.
Nahira walked down the huge palace steps with slightly hesitant strides, trying to display her usual sovereignty. As soon as she drew close, she said with a forced smile:
— Welcome, my dear sister…
But the girl stopped right in front of her, looked into her eyes with a gaze that held not a single shred of affection, and said in a voice as cold as ice:
— Enough lying. I know very well that you cannot stand my presence… and you wish that I had never returned.
Nahira laughed a hollow laugh, trying to soften the atmosphere, saying:
— What are you saying, my sister? You have been away from your home for a long time, so you seem a bit flustered…
The girl raised a single eyebrow and said with piercing sarcasm:
— The only fluster here… is the confusion that has deformed your wrinkled face.
Arius burst out laughing at the top, but he muffled his voice as much as he could; nevertheless, his laughter came out faint but audible.
— Hahaha… Oh my God… This is the first time I've seen anyone insult Nahira and… she remains silent?… This is truly a historical moment to be recorded in history.
Nahira raised her head toward him with a look that literally said in her mind: *I will kill you later, Arius…*
But Arius immediately feigned innocence, adjusting his stance as if he had never laughed at all.
As for below, the girl said with even greater coldness:
— My foolish sister… am I going to stand here for long? The sight of your cattle scattered around me causes me nausea.
Nahira swallowed her rage and put on a fake smile:
— Of course… come with me. Let us go up to the palace right away.
The two advanced, one walking with arrogant pride, and the other walking while trying not to explode with anger, while Arius at the top watched and said in his mind:
*Fantastic… it seems the play has begun.*
Nahira and her sister entered the palace, and the air between them was heavier than the walls themselves. The purple-haired girl moved slowly, shifting her gaze to every corner as if turning old pages of memories that were not pleasant at all.
The palace corridors, the pillars, the luxurious pink curtains… all reflected in her eyes with clear aversion, as if she were saying: *This place is still as suffocating as I left it.*
They arrived at a massive reception hall. The servants took her bags in absolute silence, but she suddenly raised her hand to stop one of them, then said with suffocating coldness:
— Careful… my belongings are more expensive than you and your exhausting life.
The servant froze, then withdrew immediately.
Nahira signaled for everyone to leave, so the servants departed one by one, leaving the two sisters alone.
Silence enveloped the hall… heavy, cold, and tense.
Outside the hall
Ramin and Arius were standing in the outer corridor, exchanging anxious looks.
Ramin said, scratching the back of his head:
— What do you think they will talk about?
Arius replied with clear indifference:
— It is none of our business… whether they talk or hit each other, the important thing is that we don't get dragged inside.
And suddenly…
The sound of tense footsteps approached.
Gelius appeared with his usual grim face, standing before them with his eyebrow raised in displeasure.
— You rascals… where is Lady Nahira?
Arius smiled that wicked smile that everyone knew:
— Inside… go ahead, the atmosphere is charged, it suits you.
Gelius gave them a disgusted look, as if he were smelling human waste, then opened the door and entered.
Ramin turned quickly to Arius:
— What have you done, you lunatic?
Arius laughed mischievously as he turned his back:
— Let him enjoy himself a bit… he loves trouble.
And he left laughing, while Ramin muttered:
— I swear… one day I will escape from this place…
After a few minutes…
The door flew open violently.
Gelius came out battered, his hair disheveled, his clothes slightly torn, and marks of bruises on his face as if he had entered a fight with a dragon.
He shouted as he limped away:
— Ariiiuuus! I swear I will kill you, you cursed bastard! I will not forgive you for this heinous act! Where are you? Where did that scoundrel go?!
It was obvious that Nahira did not welcome him warmly.
Inside the hall
Nahira sat brushing the dust of anger off her clothes after kicking Gelius out, while her sister sat opposite her, leg over leg, as if nothing had happened.
Nahira said in a tone she tried to embellish with strength:
— Haah… And now, my sister… what is the matter? Has the cat got your tongue?
The girl raised her head slowly, a mocking smile forming on her lips:
— Do not rejoice in my return… for I did not return for your sake, nor for the sake of this palace.
She leaned forward slightly, her eyes igniting with sudden seriousness:
— I am here… to see my mother, nothing more.
Nahira trembled and swallowed hard.
— B… But… our mother died a long time ago…
The girl's face went pale for a moment, then her eyes widened with a terrifying sharpness, and she said in a low but lethal voice:
— What… did you say?
The walls trembled slightly… as if the palace itself understood the disaster before Nahira did.
Nahira froze in her place for a moment… as if the word "died" was still echoing in the walls of the hall. As for her sister, her ruby eyes widened slowly… and with a terrifying calmness, the kind of calmness that makes you wish she would scream instead of just looking.
The purple-black aura intensified around her, cold and dense, as if the air itself was being sucked out of the room. She took a step closer… then another… until she was right in front of Nahira.
She extended her hand slowly… and grabbed Nahira's cheek. Not with violence, but with that calm touch that frightens more than a blow.
And she said in a voice so soft it would make the devil himself sweat:
"What… did you say… just now?"
An invisible tremor passed across Nahira's face, but it was clear in her eyes.
The first time she felt afraid… the first time she lost her composure in front of someone.
She said with trembling lips:
"Just… just as you heard, my sister… our mother died… a while ago."
The girl's gaze did not change… but the silence that followed the sentence was enough to make the entire palace feel cold.
She drew closer, clutching her sister's face between her fingers like someone examining a broken toy, and said:
"Why… do I see fear in your eyes… my dear sister?"
Nahira smiled a miserable smile and said:
"I am not afraid… the weather is just… a bit cold."
The girl let go of her, then walked around her slowly and said:
"You are right… the sun does not reach this place."
Then she turned and sat on the sofa, throwing her back against it with the coldness of an arrogant princess, and said without even giving her sister a glance:
"I have traveled for a long time… prepare a room worthy of me… immediately."
It was as if someone had lifted a boulder off Nahira's chest, so she bolted out of the hall, as if trying to escape from something that had been haunting her for years.
The hall became empty… except for that girl. She breathed deeply, ran her fingers through her long hair, and said in a low, mocking voice:
"What a hypocrite you are…"
She turned toward the window… and there, below, she saw Arius.
He was sitting in the courtyard, on the hard ground, summoning one of his energy soldiers. Her eyes widened… the scene was unfamiliar. The soldier appears, fights, then shatters… and is reborn again.
And Arius… shatters them all without any noticeable effort.
She said, tilting her face slightly:
"That person… who is he?"
Her eyes narrowed… tracking every movement… every pulse of energy.
"What is this… how does he do that?"
Below… Arius was absorbed in his training, his features calm and cold. He unleashed waves of energy that cut through the air, then raised his hand with a single gesture, making all the soldiers disappear.
He wiped the imaginary sweat from his forehead, took a breath, then sat on the ground and said to himself:
"This is enough… you need more development."
He hid them… then raised his eyes toward the sky, lost in thought, before whispering with heavy anxiety:
"I hope… Uncle Kane understands what I told him back then… and that he doesn't act in a way… that might drag us all back into a catastrophic path."
Meanwhile, at the top… that girl was watching him in silence, and with an interest that had not been seen on her face since she entered the palace, as if something in him… had awakened a part of her dead curiosity.
While Arius was absorbed in his thoughts, that heavy feeling continued to gnaw at his nerves… a sticky sensation, as if an eye was creeping behind his shoulder and tracking his breaths. He turned once… twice… staring into the corners, above the rooftops, between the walls, but there was nothing. The air itself was suffocating around him, and this alone was enough to make him lose his patience.
He decided to leave the place, stepping slowly, the sound of his thoughts rising above the clicking of his footsteps:
"I must also find that traitor… the one leaking information to the opposition. They aren't a collective group of traitors… just one single person. The proof is simple: their massive numbers without a single one being captured? This isn't luck… this is intelligence. A person so cautious it causes nausea… who knows when to disappear and when to transmit news without a trace. I suspect only three… Damn it, I hope it isn't one of them, otherwise I will be the one falling into the biggest trouble."
He finally entered his room and locked the door tightly behind him. He glanced around the room; the air was cold, and the sounds were still… but he suddenly raised his voice with absolute confidence:
"Come out… I know you are here."
And like a broken shadow, his wardrobe opened, and "Rouge" stepped out with the agility of a cat stealing food. She advanced with quiet steps and said with a tense smile:
"You have a strong sense… as usual."
Arius stared at her with a deadly coldness and said:
"What brought you here? You know the guards are everywhere."
She raised an eyebrow, indifferent to what he said, then said:
"I know… but I have one question for you."
He approached her, without enthusiasm:
"And what is your question?"
She looked at him with a steady gaze, serious to the point of cruelty:
"Why did you refuse to join us even though you hate Nahira?"
Arius sighed as if he were speaking to a child who doesn't understand:
"The issue is not that I don't want to… the issue is that it's impossible. You are leading yourselves to destruction… by your own hands."
She clenched her fist, saying with suppressed emotion:
"But there is always hope! Why can't you be convinced of this?"
He stared into her eyes with a piercing sharpness:
"There is no such thing as hope. Hope is a beautiful word behind which humans hide to avoid facing their reality. Understand… life is cruel, reality spares no one, and it doesn't grant us what we want. And you guys? You are wishing for something impossible to happen."
Her lips trembled… she was close to tears, her voice breaking:
"And must we always remain like this? Helpless? Submissive?"
Arius advanced toward her with unexpected calmness, placing his hand on her shoulder with a gentle weight—neither affection nor cruelty… just a truth being dropped onto her chest:
"Find your own path… and do not stay in a place that will bring you nothing but misery… and sorrow."
Arius finished his words, averting his gaze from her slightly, as if he feared seeing the reflection of himself in her eyes:
"And I… I will help you get out of here. I will secure a better life for you than this. What do you think? Look… you are still at the beginning of your life. It is not good to waste your years on matters bigger than your size… wars, betrayals, loyalty, blood… these are not things a girl of your age should carry. Believe me… life is wider than this ruin. Who knows? If you were in another place… maybe you would be a princess now, or with a family that embraces you and gives you what no one else did."
Rouge raised her eyes toward him… a wounded look, heavy as if loaded with an entire century of agony. She said in a trembling voice:
"I have never lived a single happy day… my parents died when I was a child. They were scientists, kind people who wished no harm on anyone… and one day, a huge man came to our house… he asked my father for a cure for his condition. But my father told him it was impossible… more dangerous than he thought. So that man got angry… and killed my father in front of me."
Arius's eyelid twitched, without a word.
She continued:
"And weeks later, he returned… he assaulted my mother in front of me… then killed her immediately. He took me with him… and sold me in the slave market in the capital. A noble family bought me… but I couldn't live with them. I escaped… I was caught. I escaped… I was caught. And in the end… I did the worst thing in my life…"
She paused for a moment, as if the words themselves were choking her.
"I burned the house down… with everyone inside it."
A tear fell, then another.
"I escaped again… lost, terrified, broken… until I found myself in the mountains. And there, Uncle Kane found me… he took care of me, taught me, protected me… and I lived among the comrades of the Revolutionary Army… that was the best period I ever lived in my life… until today."
Arius remained silent… his features were calm, but his eyes said that he understood more than she could imagine. He himself had lived through the same hell… just in a different form.
He took a step closer to her… his voice dropped, becoming closer to a wound than a word:
"And yet… did you wish for any of this?"
She raised her head slowly… tears streaming down without stopping, and her suppressed voice exploded:
"I wished… I wished I had died back then with my parents… and hadn't seen any of this."
She trembled… and her hands collapsed to her sides, as if she had finally surrendered to sorrow after a long resistance.
And Arius… looked at her with the eyes of one who knows this feeling well. He knows the pain that burns the heart slowly until it becomes ashes.
The words played out in Arius's mind as disjointed thoughts, but his heart was filled with both tenderness and anger. He approached Rouge, who was catching her breath between her tears, and embraced her gently, his voice low and comforting:
"Do not cry… isn't crying a cause for your relief?"
She looked at him with swollen eyes, her voice trembling: "I didn't want any of this…"
Inside him, his thoughts collided like angry arrows: *If it weren't for this corrupt system, if Nahira weren't tyrannizing like this, all this injustice wouldn't have happened… the slave trade, the neglect of the people, all of that is the result of absolute political failure. She doesn't rule for her people, but for pleasure and power; she doesn't even understand what she's doing… and granting me this immense authority without any oversight or clear reason? It's just a mad dictatorship!*
He raised his eyes to Rouge, his tone carrying sincere reassurance: "Do not cry, everything will get better. Look, I will get you out of here, that's a promise. I will talk to Kane, and I am confident he will agree, and you will live a proper life."
Rouge's lips trembled as she tried to hold back her tears, then she whispered: "Really?"
Arius smiled at her sincerely, but added firmly: "But I want you to be calm for a bit."
Suddenly, there was an abrupt knock on the room door. Arius startled from his place and said sharply: "Who is there?"
Lorinda appeared at the door, her face looking both calm and confused at the same time: "Lord Arius… may I come in?"
Arius replied while patting down his clothes: "Wait, let me put on my clothes first."
Lorinda said calmly: "Alright, as you wish."
Arius turned to Rouge: "Go to Uncle Kane now, I will come later to talk about the matter."
Rouge hesitated for a moment, but after a silent look, she reluctantly agreed, stepped out onto the balcony, then leaped down and disappeared into the horizon.
Arius stood staring into space for a short while, then opened the door and called out: "What is the matter?"
Lorinda replied calmly: "Lady Nahira wants you immediately; she is waiting for you in the throne room."
Arius sighed and said to himself: *Why does she want me? Isn't she sitting with her sister?*
Then he set off toward the hall, walking with cautious steps, his mind weighing every probability.
Upon his arrival, his eyes froze for a moment. Nahira was sitting down, visibly tense, her body trembling as if she were on the brink of collapse. *Oh… it seems the queen is on the verge of falling…,* Arius thought in silence.
He approached her with deliberate steps, putting a mixture of astonishment and respect on his face, ready to face any developments, while his heart beat faster in silence.
Nahira sat on her throne as if the earth was sucking the breath out from under her, her eyes wandering wildly, before she raised her head toward Arius and said in a choked voice:
— I am in trouble, Arius… big trouble.
He raised his eyebrows in surprise, approaching her slowly:
— Trouble? What trouble?
Her trembling increased, as if the words were being forced out of her chest:
— My sister… she came back for my mother… but she thinks she is alive, while I… I told her she died.
Arius furrowed his brows, his tone calm but charged:
— And where is the problem in that?
Here, the truth exploded from her mouth like a slap:
— The problem… is that my mother died because of me… and because of you too.
Arius froze, crossing his arms unconsciously:
— Because of me? What do I have to do with this?
She took a step closer to him, a spark of anger and panic in her eyes:
— You fool… when I performed the ritual to summon a warrior to serve me… I sacrificed countless numbers of people!
Arius's eyes widened, the shock hitting his face.
She continued, her voice dropping to a terrifying whisper:
— And along with those people… I sacrificed my mother too… just to summon you.
Arius swallowed hard, his voice coming out faint but heavy with disgust:
— You killed your mother… and other people… just to get one person?
She raised her chin with cold arrogance:
— Yes. Is there a problem with that?
Arius breathed heavily, his pupils narrowing:
— Yes, there is a problem! What are you doing? Are you insane?!
She stamped her foot forcefully on the ground, then said while breathing rapidly:
— I was excited… I didn't expect this to happen. And since I took over the rule… I haven't cared about anything. They were all just tools for me to use… even my mother and father.
Arius stepped back, looking at her with outright resentment:
— What kind of human being are you?
Her eyes flared with anger:
— Stop. I see your tongue is starting to grow long against your lady.
Arius went silent, running his hand over his face in distress, then said with a heavy calmness:
— And how many people know about this?
She replied coldly:
— No one… except you and I… and my assistant only.
Arius lowered his head slightly, then said:
— And what if your sister finds out about the matter?
Nahira froze, terror washing over her features, as if a dagger had been placed against her neck:
— She will kill me… me… and she will kill you too.
Arius raised his palms:
— Me? What do I have to do with the matter!
But she didn't give him a chance. She grabbed his shirt tightly, pulling it until her face was close to his, her voice becoming as sharp as the edge of a sword:
— You are the reason! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have done that… so you will share the same fate with me… unless you keep this cursed secret. Is my meaning clear… Arius?!
He looked at her with a dark coldness and said:
— Fine. But listen to me well… if something happens and the matter is exposed… please, do not blame me at all… because I will flee immediately.
And his eyes remained locked with hers… a silent defiance, and a fear hidden behind the features of the mad queen.