[Flashback: Ten Minutes Ago - The Academy Hallways]
Eight year old Prince Elian was walking down the quiet, crystal lined Academy corridors alongside his instructor, Master Varon, having just flawlessly finished his own fire attribute assessment.
Suddenly, the little red bird resting on Elian's shoulder started squawking frantically.
"Master,"Cinder's ancient, rumbling voice echoed directly into Elian's mind, thick with cosmic dread.
"Forgive my sudden intrusion, but I do not feel well. I sense an overwhelming, catastrophic dread. I believe your sister-in-law is in absolute danger."
Elian stopped walking, a deep frown crossing his face. "In danger? But we are inside the Academy walls. No one can attack her here. Besides, Sister in law Lyra is incredibly strong."
" No, you do not understand,"Cinder insisted, his tiny bird body trembling violently against Elian's collar.
The Sovereign Phoenix recognized this exact, agonizing feeling.
Thousands of years ago, when the Sovereign of Restoration had burned her soul away to save the mortal world, the absolute balance created by the Original God had shattered.
A massive shockwave of pure, unfiltered grief had rippled through the cosmos. Cinder was feeling that exact same ripple right now.
" Something terrible is about to happen to her. I must go check!"
Without waiting for Elian's permission, Cinder launched off his shoulder and shot down the stone hallway like a blazing red bullet.
"Hey! Cinder, wait!" Elian yelled, sprinting after the bird with Master Varon right behind him.
Cinder reached the heavy oak doors of the Sovereign Tier classroom, but because he was trapped in his tiny bird disguise, he couldn't physically push the heavy brass handles open.
Elian and Master Varon finally caught up, breathing heavily. Master Varon grabbed the handles and threw the doors wide open.
They looked inside at the exact, horrifying moment Professor Malakor forced Lyra to cast the spell, witnessing the spray of dark blood as Lyra collapsed limply to the floor.
{Present}
[Outside the Academy Infirmary]
The hallway outside the Academy's elite medical ward was in a state of suffocating chaos.
Arthur, Kaelia, Seraphina, and I had sprinted across the massive campus the exact second we heard the news.
I was tearing my hair out, pacing furiously back and forth like a caged beast.
My chaotic Three Aditya mana was actively cracking the reinforced stone floor beneath my heavy boots, hissing in the cold air.
"Let me in!" I roared at the terrified Royal Guards blocking the infirmary doors.
"We cannot, Your Highness!" the guard pleaded, sweating profusely under my suffocating pressure.
"The doctors are desperately attempting to stabilize her core!"
[The Divine Realm The Throne of the Creator]
Far above the mortal world, beyond the sight of the Primordial Gods and the limits of the cosmos, sat the absolute Creator of this World, the Original God.
The sole, omnipotent entity who controlled the absolute laws of life, death, and existence.
The Original God looked down through the shifting galaxies, his ancient, all-knowing eyes locking onto the dying seventeen-year-old girl on the infirmary bed.
"The reincarnated Sovereign of Restoration... and the unborn children of the Shadow King."
The Original God's voice echoed gently, a sound like a ringing crystal through the void.
The Original God knew the threads of the future.
He knew that the unborn twins Lyra was carrying were an absolute, undeniable necessity for the survival of the universe against the encroaching Demon Realm.
The children could not be allowed to die here in the dark.
"Take this, little ones," the Creator whispered, a tone of profound cosmic mercy.
"Protect your mother."
A microscopic, invisible speck of pure, golden Divine Light, a literal, physical fragment of the Original God's unparalleled power drifted down from the heavens, passing seamlessly through the Academy roof and sinking gently into Lyra's womb.
The exact moment the fragment touched the unborn twins, a miracle occurred.
The babies' overwhelmingly powerful, Triple Attribute mana instinctively grabbed hold of the Creator's fragment.
Using that divine energy, the unborn children acted as a brilliant magical anchor, forcefully, miraculously pulling Lyra's shattering mana core back together and stabilizing it in a single instant.
[The Academy Infirmary]
On the pristine medical bed, Lyra violently gasped for air.
One final mouthful of dark, clotted blood spilled from her pale lips as her body aggressively purged the last of the internal magical damage.
Her frantic breathing slowly began to steady, becoming deep and even. She fell into a completely peaceful, silent sleep.
A few grueling minutes later, the heavy infirmary doors opened.
The Chief Academy Doctor stepped out, his face pale and furious.
I instantly closed the distance, grabbing his shoulders. "Is she okay?! What happened?!"
"The Princess is safe," the Doctor exhaled, his hands trembling slightly as he held his clipboard.
"It was an absolute, unexplainable miracle. Her core was in the process of shattering, but suddenly, an unknown, incredibly pure energy stabilized her from the inside out. Both the mother and the twins are out of danger."
A collective, massive sigh of relief washed over Arthur, Seraphina, and Kaelia.
I dropped my hands to my knees, panting heavily as the sheer, suffocating terror finally left my body.
"However," the Doctor continued grimly.
"I cannot say exactly when she will wake up. Her body has entered a state of 'Magical Stasis Sleep' to completely repair the damaged mana pathways. It could be hours, it could be days."
The Doctor's eyes narrowed into a fierce, entirely unprofessional glare.
"What I want to know is... who forced her to cast a spell? I clearly wrote in her official medical file that even a tiny spark of magic could end her life! Who ignored my strict orders?!"
"It was Professor Malakor."
Everyone turned around. Eight year old Elian walked slowly down the hall, his tiny face dark with absolute, murderous fury.
"He knew she was medically excused. But he threatened to expel her from the Academy if she didn't cast a High Tier Healing spell in front of the whole class."
The ambient temperature in the hallway instantly inverted.
Seraphina's terrifying Ice magic froze the walls into jagged spikes, while my Three Aditya mana violently exploded into a blinding, catastrophic red aura.
"I am going to rip his head off," I snarled, turning toward the Sovereign Tier building.
"Wait, Second Prince."
A tall, silver-haired boy stepped calmly out of the shadows of the hallway. It was Darius Vance, my new rival from the Spell Users arena.
"If you go in there and murder a Professor in cold blood, the South will instantly use it as political leverage to claim the Royal Family is unhinged and tyrannical," Darius said calmly, crossing his arms.
"Don't just kill him. Destroy him legally. Take that bastard to an Imperial Trial. Drag his corruption into the blinding light where he cannot hide."
I stopped, my glowing red eyes locking onto Darius.
He was entirely right. If I just killed Malakor, Elena and Vanya would get away with their cowardly trap.
"Fine," I gritted my teeth, violently reigning in my aura. "Arthur, Seraphina. Prepare the legal documents immediately."
As everyone rushed off to start the trial preparations, I gently pushed past the Royal Guards and walked quietly into Lyra's private room.
[Inside the Infirmary Room]
The room was painfully quiet.
Lyra looked so incredibly small and fragile lying in the center of the massive hospital bed.
I pulled up a wooden chair and sat heavily beside her. I gently took her cold, pale hand in both of mine, resting my forehead against her knuckles.
The absolute, soul-crushing terror of almost losing her finally caught up to my exhausted mind.
Tears silently spilled from my eyes, dropping warmly onto the crisp white sheets.
"Please wake up, Lyra," I whispered, my voice cracking as I quietly sobbed. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there. Please, I beg you, wake up..."
Suddenly, a soft, weak voice echoed in the silent room.
"I didn't think the terrifying 'Cursed Prince' was such a massive crybaby."
I completely froze. I snapped my head up.
Lyra's deep blue eyes were wide open. She was staring at me with a weak, teasing smile.
"You're awake?!" I gasped, wiping my tears frantically with the back of my sleeve. "How long have you been awake?!"
"Since you walked in," Lyra giggled softly, though it clearly hurt her chest a bit to do so.
"I was just acting like I was asleep to see what you would do. I didn't think you would actually cry."
"I... I wasn't crying! I had snow in my eyes!" I lied terribly, my face turning bright red as I leaned forward and gently, desperately hugged her.
"You scared me to death, you absolute idiot."
BANG!
The heavy infirmary doors violently burst open.
Kaelia charged into the room like a rampaging bull, wielding a massive wooden training broadsword.
Arthur had told her earlier that the "Prince was inside with Lyra, and she was entirely convinced I was the ugly, lazy pig from the rumors who had forced Lyra into a horrific pregnancy".
"STAY AWAY FROM THE PRINCESS, YOU PIG!" Kaelia shouted, fully prepared to beat me unconscious.
She stopped dead in her tracks, blinking in profound confusion. I was sitting by the bed, gently holding Lyra's hand, looking utterly human.
"Hey," Kaelia pointed her wooden sword at me suspiciously. "What are you doing here? Where is the ugly Prince?"
I slowly stood up, wiping the last stray tear from my eye, and gave her a deadpan, unamused stare. "I am the Second Prince, Zion Kaelen."
Kaelia stared at me for three full seconds.
Then, she burst out laughing. "Yeah, right! You're Arthur's weird cousin! You aren't a Prince!"
Just then, Arthur, Seraphina, and Elian rushed breathlessly into the room behind her.
"Your Highness!" Arthur gasped, bowing instantly and deeply to me.
"We have prepared the Imperial Trial documents!"
Kaelia's laughter died in her throat.
The wooden sword slipped limply from her fingers, clattering loudly against the stone floor. Her jaw hit the ground.
"You... you really are the Prince?!" Kaelia shrieked in soul-leaving horror.
She had just screamed at the Second Prince of the Empire and called him an ugly pig to his face.
I smirked, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Yes. And I have made my decision. I am dragging that absolute bastard Malakor to a public Imperial Trial. And while I'm at it, I am officially appealing for a completely public, heavily monitored re-evaluation of Elena Valerius and Vanya Thorne's powers. We are going to see exactly what they were hiding."
[The Sovereign Tier Dormitories
Far across the Academy, inside their luxurious, heavily warded private lounge, Elena and Vanya were actively celebrating.
"Did you hear the rumors from the medical wing?" Vanya cheered, gleefully pouring a heavy glass of expensive Southern wine.
"She coughed up blood and collapsed! I bet the babies are already dead!"
"Of course they are," Elena smirked, leaning back arrogantly on the velvet sofa.
"Professor Malakor played his part perfectly. The Emperor can't punish him for simply 'testing a student's magic.' We won. House Valerius and House Thorne have finally crushed her."
BAM!
The lounge doors were suddenly thrown open by a breathless, terrified Academy student.
"Lady Elena! Lady Vanya!" the student gasped, his face completely pale with dread.
"Have you seen the main notice boards?!"
"What is it, commoner?" Elena sneered, irritated by the interruption.
"Speak."
"Prince Zion just bypassed the Academy Headmaster entirely!" the student yelled frantically.
"He used his absolute Royal Authority! He has formally declared a High Imperial Trial against Professor Malakor! The Imperial Knights are already here to arrest him!"
Elena's wine glass slipped from her hand, shattering into a hundred pieces against the marble floor.
"And... and that's not all!" the student panicked, stepping back.
"The Prince filed a Royal Edict against both of you! You are being summoned to the main arena tomorrow for a forced, public re-evaluation of your magic! If you refuse, you will be immediately expelled and tried for high treason!"
Vanya dropped heavily to her knees, absolute terror washing over her face. They thought they had cleverly trapped Lyra in a political web, but they had merely kicked a sleeping dragon.
And now, the dragon was awake, and he was coming directly for them.