A Gamble for Greater Good

"You must do it, Temina."

That time I could not help but resist this gamble.
But I made my resolve.
This is for greater good.

I hope no harm will come of it.

I, then came back to Beaster, it was his first birthday. That was a great opportunity for me.

I have to do it.

I attended the ceremony in a disguise, I was in the crowd, blending into the guests, hiding myself, finding the perfect chance to go near Basalin and...
I didn't want anyone to know about this.

But then—

King Pholomin yelled, "Ladies and gentle-beast-men, may I have your attention, please! It is finally time for the special programme."

Basalin's parents brought him to the royal family.

The King took the boy in his hands and made his announcement:
"You all know that our kingdom's responsible and trustworthy general standing beside me is my beloved brother, Sakan Lenard. His newborn boy, little Basalin, is like a son to me. Therefore, I have decided to give him a golden opportunity."

He paused. The hall leaned in.

"After discussing this with my ministers and family, I, Pholomin IV Lenard, King of Beaster, hereby declare Basalin Lenard as the second in line for heir of this kingdom after my own son, Prince Pholomin V Lenard."

What?! Why?! From where did this come?! Now it's not possible for me to do the job without any notice. Unless...

The room fell into a stunned silence.

I saw a Wolf-kin shouted piercing the quiet hall: "A mixed-blood will be a royal heir, don't be absurd!"

Then chaos erupted across the hall as many nobles began murmuring and objecting to the King’s decision. Just as the opposition began to grow louder…

I should go now.

I appeared before Basalin and the king, as the hall got quite.
But I could hear them whispering.

"What is the guardian doing here?!"
"I think even the guardian could not accept this!"
"Even the king couldn’t summon her throughout last year—why now?"
"I believe in our forest guardian. Such a decision can never be appropriate."

Pholomin raised his hand, silencing the whispers with a wave of Terris.

He looked directly at me. "First of all, why didn’t you contact us after disappearing without notice for so long? You never told me why you were in the hallway that day last year when I came to visit Basalin. And now you've shown yourself in such an odd way... still, I'm happy to see that you're alright and that you came to this party."

Just as I thought, he can't be fooled that easily.

"I apologize for my rude behaviour that time," I said calmly, "I was quite busy in the spirit realm for a while. I came here as soon as I heard about this occasion."
I softened my tone, hoping to steer the attention. "And I think it is neither the right time nor the right place for all this. Besides that, weren't you in the middle of something while I came?"

Looking dissatisfied he turned towards the guests as they were trying to understand what was going on. "Now, as I was saying, to finalize my decision, I honour Basalin Lenard with the sword, Hellframe."

He described how he got the Hellframe from a mysterious man. Though I couldn't concentrate on the story.

I could only hear my heart, beating fast and loud. As for me, I was continuously trying to find a favourable point.

As the ascension of Basalin finished,

Breaking past my doubts, I stepped forward, lifted my hands toward Basalin, and spoke as naturally as I could, "Now, I guess it's my turn."

Basalin started to glow as I started the ritual...

"I, the seventh guardian of the spirit realm, Temina, bestow upon you, Vulcan, to inhabit this little boy! Help him in his long journey through life!"

The glowing faded. And Basalin remained still.

I stood there, heart trembling.
I did it. Basalin, please survive, prove me wrong.

***

And then... one day, it really happened.

I again sensed the malice, getting stronger and stronger. As I reached out, the royal palace was in a big commotion.

Camouflaging myself as a servant, I slipped in, dreading, to confirm what I felt.

Basalin... He was burning, alive.
Fire danced across the room, licking the curtains and threatening to advance to the adjacent rooms.

Basalin... It seems you really had a spirit within you...
How? How can a being like yourself exist? I never wanted this for you.

Yet... My heart didn't ache.
Not this time.
I don’t know why.
Was it because I had prepared myself?
Or was it because I had committed something so inhuman… to a mere baby?

The palace was in chaos.

Everyone was desperate to put out the fire. Knights poured buckets of water. But the flames didn't lower.
It didn't just stop there, as the time went by the fire roared louder, angrier, hotter; leaving everyone unable to go near it.

And I could feel it. Vulcan, using his strength to fight over something, but his powers were leaking, spilling through Basalin’s fragile body in the form of uncontrollable fire.
As for the unknown foe, I couldn't say anything, all that I recognised, it was strong and...
For some reason it wasn't like the other spirits, it was not primal at all; as it's power wasn't escaping through Basalin. It was contained, anchored.

How immense! Horrifying!

The inferno kept growing. It seemed the whole palace might burn. But then—

A faint light gleamed from the crowd.
Thick walls rose from the floor and surrounded the flames, keeping them from spreading.
Terris.
So the prince has already inherited the earth spirit.

Even though the fire was not near to end. But soon after...

A blinding light cut through the flames.
The flames burnt the hottest and brightest. Then, suddenly, it was gone.

I couldn't sense Vulcan any longer.
Finally, it's over.

One servant ran and grabbed Basalin as soon as the fire extinguished. She brought him to his mother who was unconscious a moment ago.

But—

"Thank you God! Basalin, you are safe."

I froze.
My face darkened as soon as I heard those words.

What!!! What is she saying?! He is dead, isn't he?
How?! What is happening here?
If he isn't dead, then... then where is Vulcan? What... happened to him?!