High upon the hyalopsite dais, Malachi sat upon his throne like a god of war carved from shadow. His armor was gone, replaced by robes of midnight silk that hung loosely over his bandaged chest, a silent testament to the damaged core beneath.
To his right, Kizari sat with regal poise, her legs crossed elegantly, her eyes scanning the crowd with a mix of boredom and sharp intelligence. Ryuna stood behind her, a silent, lethal shadow.
At the far end of the noble's quadrant, the Council of the King's Heart sat in a tense line. Ailla was among them, her face a mask of porcelain perfection, though her fingers gripped her wine goblet tight enough to turn her knuckles white. Shakdam leaned in close to her ear, whispering over the din.
In a more secluded section of the royal tables sat Lilith, her official royal attire heavy with jewels that caught the flickering torchlight.
She leaned toward her chamberlain, Elianis, who had been her confidante since childhood.
"I heard Malachi brought in a new bride," Lilith murmured, her voice laced with sharp curiosity.
"What's more shocking is that he performed the marriage rituals,The King hasn't just taken a pet, he's taken a Consort." Elianis replied, her eyes tracking the movements of the guards. "The consort has been in the palace for three days, and yet no one knows what they look like except the Empress."
Lilith smirked dangerously, swirling the dark liquid in her glass. "Interesting. I heard it's a boy."
"Indeed," Elianis whispered. "A human boy at that. The whole kingdom is talking of nothing else."
A look of visible disgust twisted Lilith's features. "A human? Isn't that forbidden by the First Blood laws?, how has the kingdom not erupted in flames yet ".
"Look at them, My lady" Elianis noted, gesturing to the roaring crowd. "He just slaughtered the Serpent of Carnage. He has won their hearts with blood. For now, they will forgive him any sin.".
The drums reached a thundering climax as three ancient elders, their skin like crumpled paper, began a rhythmic dance around the mangled, massive head of the Serpent.
They chanted in a tongue so old the air itself seemed to vibrate with static. With a collective surge of magic, they lifted the obliterated head into the air, suspended by violet flames.
"Long live His Royal majesty!" the elders cried in unison. "His majesty has once again proven why he is the most powerful man in the world! What King Vhalos couldn't do, what King Serephos couldn't do, only his majesty has achieved!"
The crowd fell into a trance like state, a thousand demons dropping to their knees. "Long live His Royal majesty!" they chanted, a sound that shook the very foundation of the city.
Kizari stood then, a vision of gold and expensive silk. She stepped to the edge of the dais, her voice magically amplified to reach every corner of the plaza. Her speech was a masterpiece of manipulation.
"People of the Night!" she projected, her gaze sweeping over the masses. "Today, we celebrate not just a victory, but the eternal strength of the hyalopsite Throne. Worship the King who bleeds for you, and I promise you a life of glory under our reign!"
Back at the noble corner, Shakdam leaned closer to Ailla, a smug glint in her eyes. "By now, the boy is surely cold. The Night-Stalker marrow leaves no survivors. They would likely believe he has already succumbed to the 'demon atmosphere.'"
Ailla didn't look at her, her eyes fixed on Malachi. "Good. Let the dead stay dead."
Shakdam teased her softly, "Perhaps now the King will find his way back to your chambers tonight, instead of wasting his strength on a ghost."
On the throne, Malachi's expression remained stoic, but his mind was miles away.
The chanting and the praise felt like white noise. He found himself counting the minutes until this farce ended.
He wanted to shed the weight of the crown and return to the consort's quarters-to see if the boy was finally yielding to his new reality.
He had no idea he was waiting for a ghost.
In the silence of the stasis chamber, the atmosphere was filled with anxiety and growing tension.
The twins moved with steady, coordinated precision.
"If I leave... what happens to you?" Zaliyah asked, his voice trembling as Iruna fastened his traveling cloak. "Malachi... he will know you helped me."
"Don't worry about us, Your Highness," Iruna said, her eyes fierce. "We are the Empress's favorites. The king may or maynot kill us, yes, but she won't let him shatter our souls. Not yet."
Harun stepped forward, his muscles straining as he lifted Karas's unconscious body from the ice.
The "Priced Jade" was no longer a statue his skin was warm, his breathing shallow but steady. Harun handed the weight to Zaliyah.
"Do it now," Harun urged. "The drums are at their loudest. No one will hear the rift."
Zaliyah stumbled, the sudden weight of his brother nearly pulling him down. He steadied himself, his eyes glowing with a desperate purple light. He reached out with his free hand, his silver-scarred palm pulsing.
He tried to tear the air. Nothing. He tried again, his breath hitching. The air only flickered.
The sound of the celebration drums echoed even down here, a reminder of how little time they had. Iruna gripped her skirts, her face pale.
Zaliyah's heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird.
"One more time," he hissed through gritted teeth. "Please."
He thought of the market, the potatoes, the smell of the Ruo Han gardens, he thought of the small human life , he had been robbed off .
He pulled the thread of reality with everything he had left. With a violent CRACK, a bright, white hot hole ripped open in the center of the room.
Through it, the soft, pale moonlight of the human world spilled onto the demon stone.
Zaliyah smiled, his breath coming in rough gasps, wiping the sweat from his brow.
He straightened his white robes, his veil fluttering in the sudden draft. He looked at the twins, his expression softening into one of genuine love.
He looked at the twins one last time. He reached out, patting them both on their heads with a soft, lingering touch. "Lay low," he whispered. "Be careful. I'll never forget what you did for me."
With Karas clutched against his chest, Zaliyah stepped into the void. The portal snapped shut behind him, leaving the twins alone in the cold, silent dark of the empty stasis chamber