The thunderous roar echoed through the throne room with enough force to shake the air itself.
King Rowan rose from his throne in a single motion, his long midnight-violet hair billowing behind him.
An overwhelming aura surged from his body, his calm crimson eyes now burning with unrestrained fury.
Beside him, his two eldest sons ascended into the air, donning on obsidian armor that glowed with immense astral powers.
At once, they all reached for the gates, but then,
"Father..."
The trembling voice came from behind him, causing King Rowan to halt just as his hand reached the palace doors.
The rage in his eyes faded slightly as he turned toward the source of the voice and saw his youngest son standing there.
Arlo.
His crimson eyes, carrying the same faint obsidian specks as Rowan’s, were clouded with worry as he rubbed his hands together, repeating the nervous habit Rowan had taught him to calm himself whenever fear took hold.
Without another word, the king turned away from the doors and walked toward him, covering the distance between them in a single step as he knelt before his son.
"What is it, Arlo?"
Arlo lowered his head for a moment before gathering the courage to speak.
"I... I just wanted to ask if you’ll... if you’ll be alright..."
A gentle smile replaced the king’s anger as he looked directly into his trembling eyes.
"Tell me, Arlo. What is my full name?"
"Rowan Eclipsion, the Unconquered!"
A proud chuckle escaped the king.
"That’s right, Arlo. In all of Umbrasol, none have ever known me to lose."
The words immediately reassured Arlo, replacing his fear with the admiration that had always burned within him.
It was not an empty boast, for his father was said to have fought more than a thousand battles throughout his lifetime without ever suffering a single defeat.
Definitely, this battle would be no different.
"I’ll return before you know it."
Rowan placed both hands upon Arlo’s shoulders, giving them a reassuring squeeze before rising to his feet.
His gaze shifted toward his two wives, neither of whom showed the slightest trace of fear, only absolute confidence in the man standing before them.
Clad in obsidian armor with a sword resting at his waist, the king marched through the palace gates toward yet another battlefield, his posture unwavering in a world where war had become a part of everyday life.
___________________
"RUN, ARLO! RUN!"
His mother’s desperate scream echoed behind him as he sprinted through the forest with every ounce of strength his young body could muster.
Tears blurred his vision, yet he never slowed, refusing to look back as the sounds of steel colliding, explosions of fire, water, and astral energy illuminated the darkness behind him.
His peculiar crimson eyes pierced effortlessly through the night’s darkness, allowing him to weave between towering trees with astonishing precision despite the absence of light.
He had no idea where he was running or what awaited him ahead; he only knew that five hundred royal guards had willingly sacrificed their lives to carve out this single path of escape.
Even now, his mother remained behind, fighting to buy him every second she could, because the enemy desired only one person:
Him.
________
One hour passed...
...three hours.
Seven hours...
The faint sound of flowing water eventually reached his ears, causing Arlo to freeze.
His exhausted eyes narrowed while his ears twitched repeatedly, desperately trying to confirm that he was not imagining it.
"Water..."
The cracked whisper barely escaped his lips before he forced his aching legs into another sprint.
At this point, his fastest speed could scarcely rival a slow jog, but it was all his battered body had left.
Bursting through the final wall of dense foliage, he stumbled out of the forest and onto a vast shoreline where an endless sea stretched before him, its horizon disappearing into the sky.
But his relieved smile soon disappeared when his eyes locked onto a lone figure sitting peacefully at the water’s edge.
"Roderic..."
The name escaped through clenched teeth.
The man sitting there possessed the same midnight-violet hair and the same striking features, appearing almost like an older reflection of Arlo himself.
Yet Arlo no longer saw a brother, only a monster wearing familial skin.
"It couldn’t have been easy, little brother," Roderic said with a faint smile, calmly rising to his feet.
"Crossing the entirety of Eclipsion Forest on foot before even opening the First Gate of the Nine Shards. I expected nothing less from the one blessed with the Black Sun’s complete inheritance."
"You traitor!"
Arlo growled, leading to Roderic to freeze for the briefest moment, before sighing.
"I must admit, hearing you call me that wounds my heart a bit. I used to boast that my youngest brother had never once spoken to me with disrespect. I suppose that record has finally been broken."
Slowly, his sigh turned into a smile which slowly twisted into something far darker.
"Though, to be fair, many records were indeed broken today. Far more important ones."
Arlo’s fists trembled as every instinct within him screamed to tear the man apart.
Yet beneath the hatred burning inside him, confusion remained.
"Why? Why are you so desperate to kill me?"
Only hours earlier, the kingdom had been shaken by the news that King Rowan had fallen in battle.
The announcement had come from the very men who had fought beside him, his own son, Roderic and Orion, the same brothers to Arlo.
Yet why had they suddenly decided to slaughter countless loyal soldiers under his mother’s command, and single him out as the one person who needed to die?
"Why, Arlo?"
Roderic asked quietly, genuine bewilderment filling his eyes.
"How have you remained blind for so long? Even after all the times this truth has been placed before you?"
"I... I don’t understand."
"You bear the Nine-Shard Crest, Arlo!"
Roderic snapped in anger!
"A legendary blessing with the power to rival the gods themselves."
He slowly raised a hand,
"Our father possesses five shards, and with only five, he conquered battle after battle until the whole of Umbrasol came to know him as its God of War."
"Orion awakened Three Shards, and I awakened Four Shards."
"Fate had already chosen who would one day inherit the throne of the Eclipsion Kingdom."
His smile disappeared.
"But then you were born becoming the greatest obstacle."
His hands lowered, as he turned to Arlo, a trace of disappointment crossed his face.
"To think you’d still fail to see that even after everything I taught you, tsk, tsk."
Slowly, he began to step forward.
"But..."
Arlo tried to say, his mind reeling in the disbelieve of it all only to be cut short.
"Tell me Arlo, what did I always teach you about obstacles?"
His cold smile returned, his eyes burning with a light completely devoid of mercy.
"When something stands in your path... what did I tell you to do with it?"