The Palace Starts Breathing

Wind cut across the ruined palace like a mourning cry.
Kedar stepped inside the fallen arches, the torch in his hand trembling slightly—not from fear, but because the air itself felt alive, vibrating against his skin. The deeper he walked, the more the world behind him faded, swallowed by shadowed corridors and the lingering scent of ancient dust.
The palace didn’t feel abandoned anymore.
It felt aware.

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1. The Ruin Wakes Up
A faint hum—almost like a heartbeat—echoed beneath the cracked marble.
Dhumm… dhumm… dhumm…
Kedar stopped.The palace stopped with him.
He took another step.The heartbeat followed.
Dhumm… dhumm…
“It’s the curse,” Kedar whispered, tightening his grip on the torch. “It’s reacting to my prana.”
The flame flickered.Turned blue for a moment.Then yellow again.
Somewhere in the distance, a chain dragged against stone.
Kedar’s pulse quickened.
Not from fear—but recognition.

---
2. The Prince’s Laughter
A voice drifted through the hall.
Low.Tired.Almost mocking.
“You came back, wanderer…”
Kedar’s eyes scanned the darkness.
“…even after I told you to leave.”
A figure leaned against a massive fallen pillar, wrapped in layers of blackened cloth, mask cracked. Only his single eye glowed faintly in the dark.
The Cursed Prince.
His posture looked casual, but it was only a disguise—his legs trembled underneath.
“You shouldn’t be here…” he said again, the bitterness deeper now. “This place is waking. It remembers blood.”
Kedar stepped closer.
“You knew I would come.”
The Prince scoffed.“We both know you don’t run away from things that should terrify you.”
Kedar didn’t deny it.

---
3. The Palace Plays with His Mind
The Prince walked ahead, disappearing into a corridor.Kedar followed—only for the corridor to twist like a living snake.
The walls rippled.Tiles shifted.A doorway appeared where a wall used to be.
And then—
Kedar found himself standing in his old home.
Not the real one.Not truly.
His mother’s cooking pot.His father’s favourite chair.His books stacked neatly.
He froze.
A soft voice behind him whispered:
“See? This palace knows you. It knows your fears. Your memories. Your attachments.”
The Prince’s voice.
Kedar turned—but the Prince wasn’t there.
Instead, the room cracked apart like broken glass, the illusion shattering into fragments of light.

---
4. The First Monster Appears
The shards of light fell to the floor and pooled into a shape.
A dog.
No—ten dogs.
Snarling.Dripping shadow from their mouths.Eyes glowing dark violet.
Kedar lifted his hand, flame shimmering at his fingertips.
The Prince’s voice echoed from somewhere above:
“Seven are lies.Three are truths.All of them can kill you.”
The dogs lunged.
Kedar dodged.Rolled.Struck one—his hand passed right through it, breaking the illusion instantly.
But another bit into his arm—and Kedar felt the pain.
A real one.
He gritted his teeth.
“Fine,” he whispered. “So that’s how this place wants to play.”
He closed his eyes.
Listened.
Breathed.
Prana humming.
He felt it—the faint warmth of reality versus the cold emptiness of illusion.
Three dogs glowed faintly in his prana sense.
Kedar smirked.
“You’re real.”
He slammed his foot into the ground—a burst of force shattered two instantly.
The third leapt.
Kedar twisted, grabbed its throat, and crushed the monster as it dissolved into dust.
Silence returned.
The palace seemed impressed.
Almost… pleased.

---
5. Prince Reveals a Fragment of the Past
The Prince reappeared high on a broken balcony.
“You’re learning faster than I expected,” he said. “Most lose their sanity long before they identify the real from the unreal.”
Kedar wiped blood from his arm.
“You created those illusions?”
“No,” the Prince said quietly. “It did.”
He touched the wall beside him.
“This palace… responds to me. To my curse. To my anger, my regrets, my nightmares. It gives them form.”
He looked down.
“You wandered into my mind. Congratulations.”
Kedar frowned.“You’re trapped in here too.”
“Yes,” the Prince muttered. “And now you risk being trapped with me.”
His eye flickered—just once—between fear and warning.
“Leave.”
Kedar shook his head.
“No.”
The Prince looked down at him.
“You’re a fool.”
Kedar grinned.“Probably.”

---
6. The Palace Tightens Its Grip
Suddenly—
A deep growl rolled through the hall.
The temperature dropped.The walls cracked.A dark mist seeped from the ceiling.
The Prince stiffened.
“It’s beginning…” he whispered.
Kedar looked around. “What?”
“The Warden,” the Prince said, stepping back. His voice trembled for the first time.“The guardian of my curse. A creature born from the darkest part of my illusion. If it wakes fully…”
His eye locked with Kedar’s.
“…neither of us will leave alive.”
The ground split open.
A huge, twisted shape crawled out—multiple legs, face shifting, constantly changing forms like melting wax.
The Warden of Illusions.
Its voice scraped the stone:
“Prince… return to your chains.”
Kedar stepped forward.
“I’m not letting him fight alone.”
The Prince stared at him—confused, angry, and something else he couldn’t define.
The Warden roared.
The palace trembled
To be continued.....