đ
No one spoke.
Not the nobles.
Not the guards.
Not even the Crown Prince.
Because the word still lingeredâ
God.
---
It echoed in the hall like something forbidden.
Something that should never have been said out loud.
---
Rosy stood still in the center of it all.
Her expression calm.
Too calm.
---
But insideâ
Everything was shifting.
---
A god.
---
The word didn't feel foreign.
It didn't feel wrong.
---
It feltâ
---
Familiar.
---
Her fingers twitched slightly at her side.
---
"âŚYou always did like exaggerating," she said at last.
---
Her voice was steady.
Controlled.
---
But her eyesâ
---
Were not.
---
They held something darker now.
---
Something deeper.
---
---
A faint smile curved on her father's lips.
---
"Do I?"
---
He stepped slowly around her.
---
Measured.
Observing.
---
Like he wasn't looking at his daughterâ
---
But at something far more interesting.
---
---
"Then tell me," he continued, his voice smooth, "what did you see?"
---
A pause.
---
"What did you feel⌠when the seal broke?"
---
---
The room leaned in.
---
Not physically.
---
But mentally.
---
---
Because even if they didn't understandâ
---
They could feel it.
---
Something was happening.
---
---
Rosy didn't answer immediately.
---
Because the answerâ
---
Was dangerous.
---
---
"âŚPower," she said finally.
---
A beat.
---
"Not borrowed."
---
Another.
---
"Not given."
---
Her gaze liftedâ
Meeting his directly.
---
"âŚMine."
---
---
Silence.
---
Thenâ
---
A quiet laugh.
---
---
"âŚYes."
---
---
That one wordâ
---
Confirmed everything.
---
---
The Crown Prince stepped forward.
---
"âŚEnough of this nonsense," he said sharply. "Explain yourself."
---
His gaze flickered between them.
---
"What is this talk of seals and gods?"
---
---
Rosy didn't look at him.
---
Didn't acknowledge him.
---
Because for the first timeâ
---
He wasn't important.
---
---
Her father, howeverâ
---
Turned his gaze slightly.
---
"âŚYou still don't understand your place."
---
---
The temperature dropped.
---
Not metaphorically.
---
Physically.
---
---
The prince stiffened.
---
---
"âŚExcuse me?"
---
---
A faint smile.
---
Dangerous.
---
---
"You're part of the story."
---
A pause.
---
"Not the author."
---
---
The words landed like a blade.
---
---
Before the prince could respondâ
---
Rosy spoke.
---
"âŚStop."
---
---
Both men looked at her.
---
---
Her expression had changed.
---
---
No hesitation.
No confusion.
---
---
Only clarity.
---
---
"âŚThis isn't about him," she said.
---
Her voice quietâ
---
But absolute.
---
---
"It's about me."
---
---
A pause.
---
Thenâ
---
"âŚFinally."
---
---
Her father's gaze sharpened.
---
---
"You're starting to understand."
---
---
Rosy took a step forward.
---
Closing the distance between them.
---
---
"âŚThen let's stop pretending," she said.
---
---
The air tightened.
---
---
"You didn't just seal me because I was 'too powerful.'"
---
A beat.
---
"You sealed me because you were afraid."
---
---
Gasps.
---
Soft.
Sharp.
---
---
The Crown Prince froze.
The nobles shifted.
---
Because thatâ
---
Was not something anyone dared to say.
---
---
But her fatherâ
---
Didn't react.
---
Not immediately.
---
---
Thenâ
---
A slow smile spread across his lips.
---
---
"âŚAfraid?"
---
---
He stepped closer.
---
Now they stood face to face.
---
---
"âŚOf you?"
---
---
A pause.
---
---
"âŚNo."
---
---
His voice dropped.
---
Lower.
Colder.
---
---
"I was afraid of what you would become."
---
---
The difference was small.
---
But important.
---
---
Rosy's eyes narrowed.
---
"âŚAnd what is that?"
---
---
Silence.
---
Thenâ
---
He raised his hand again.
---
This timeâ
---
He touched her.
---
---
Just a finger against her forehead.
---
---
And the worldâ
---
Shattered.
---
---
Not physically.
---
Mentally.
---
---
Her vision blurred.
---
The court disappeared.
---
The voices faded.
---
---
And suddenlyâ
---
She wasn't there anymore.
---
---
She stood in darkness.
---
Endless.
---
Silent.
---
---
"âŚWhereâŚ"
---
---
"Look."
---
---
His voice.
---
But not from the present.
---
---
From the past.
---
---
A light flickered.
---
---
And thenâ
---
She saw.
---
---
A younger version of herself.
---
Not Rosy.
---
Not the Isle she knew.
---
---
Something else.
---
---
A girlâ
---
Standing alone.
---
---
But the air around herâ
---
Was wrong.
---
---
Reality itself seemed to bend.
---
Twist.
---
Respond.
---
---
"âŚThat's me?" Rosy whispered.
---
---
"No," his voice echoed.
---
---
"That's what you were."
---
---
The girl lifted her handâ
---
And the ground beneath her cracked.
---
Without effort.
---
Without intent.
---
---
"âŚYou were born wrong," the voice continued.
---
---
"Too much."
---
---
The scene shifted.
---
---
Nowâ
---
People surrounded her.
---
Scholars.
Knights.
Priests.
---
---
Watching.
---
Fearful.
---
---
"âŚShe's unstableâŚ"
---
"âŚThis power⌠it's not humanâŚ"
---
"âŚShe'll destroy everythingâŚ"
---
---
The voices overlapped.
---
Blended.
---
Judged.
---
---
Rosy's chest tightened.
---
"âŚThey were afraid of me."
---
---
"Yes."
---
---
Another shift.
---
---
Nowâ
---
Her father stood before her.
---
Younger.
---
But the same.
---
---
Calm.
Controlled.
---
---
"âŚYou have two choices," he said to the girl.
---
---
"Control it."
---
A pause.
---
"Or be controlled by it."
---
---
The girl didn't answer.
---
---
She only looked at himâ
---
With eyes that were too quiet.
---
---
Too empty.
---
---
"âŚYou chose for me," Rosy whispered.
---
---
Silence.
---
---
Thenâ
---
"Yes."
---
---
The final memory hit.
---
---
Chains.
---
Not physical.
---
---
Something deeper.
---
---
A seal forming.
---
---
Layer after layerâ
---
Locking something away.
---
---
Her power.
---
Her memories.
---
Her identity.
---
---
Everything.
---
---
"You erased me," she said.
---
---
"Wrong."
---
---
The darkness cracked.
---
---
"I preserved you."
---
---
The world snapped back.
---
---
The court returned.
---
The voices.
The tension.
---
---
Rosy staggered slightlyâ
---
But didn't fall.
---
---
Her breathing uneven now.
---
---
Her eyesâ
---
Glowing again.
---
---
"âŚYou call that preservation?" she whispered.
---
---
Her father watched her calmly.
---
---
"Yes."
---
---
A pause.
---
---
"Because if I hadn'tâ"
---
---
His gaze darkened.
---
---
"You would have destroyed this world."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
Heavy.
---
---
Rosy straightened slowly.
---
---
Her grip clenched.
---
---
"âŚThen maybe it deserved to be destroyed."
---
---
Gasps.
---
Shock.
---
Fear.
---
---
But she didn't stop.
---
---
"Or maybeâ" she continued, her voice quieter nowâ
---
---
"You were just afraid to lose control."
---
---
Thatâ
---
Finallyâ
---
Made him pause.
---
---
Just for a second.
---
---
But she saw it.
---
---
And that was enough.
---
---
Her lips curved slightly.
---
---
"âŚSo I was right."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
Thenâ
---
A slow smile.
---
---
"âŚYou've grown."
---
---
A pause.
---
---
"But not enough."
---
---
The air shifted again.
---
---
Dangerous.
---
---
Because this conversationâ
---
Was no longer just words.
---
---
It was becoming something else.
---
---
Something far more dangerous.
---
---
And this timeâ
---
Neither of them were holding back.
---
---
End of Chapter 14