Hearts

Hours before the invasion of Solvar, the King arrived at Elora Falls.

The place still bore the marks left by the awakening of the Colossus. Part of the mountain had collapsed, trees remained torn from the ground, and enormous furrows stretched across the earth where the creature had lain dormant for centuries.

The Shadows accompanied the King to the entrance of the ancient cavern.

One walked ahead of the others. Four remained a few steps behind with his segmented spear strapped to his back, while Five, Six, and Seven silently observed the enormous empty space where the Colossus had once rested.

The King stopped before the opening.

“Stay here.”

One turned toward him.

“All of us?”

“You’re coming with me.”

None of the others questioned the order. One followed the King inside.

Once they were farther away, Seven muttered:

“So that’s why I stole that scroll from Solvar’s royal library?”

“Shut up, Seven! I’m the only one who’s done anything useful these past few days. Or did you all forget who was responsible for Zero’s downfall?” Five tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Don’t make me laugh. That poison hardly counts as an accomplishment.” Six interrupted, his arms crossed and his eyes fixed on the King, who was already disappearing into the distance.

The passage was different from the one the Shadows had entered when Two awakened the creature. The movement of the Colossus had torn tons of stone from the mountain and destroyed part of the inner walls, revealing an opening that had previously been completely buried beneath its body.

The King walked straight toward it. One noticed.

“You knew this was here.”

The King kept walking.

They passed through the opening and entered a narrow corridor. The light coming from Elora Falls gradually disappeared, replaced by the small flames One lit in the ancient fixtures attached to the walls. Neither of them knew how long the path had remained sealed, but the untouched dust and heavy air made it clear that no one had passed through it for generations.

The farther they went, the less the passage resembled a natural formation.

Stones had been cut. Walls had been built. Someone had created that place before the Colossus fell asleep over it.

The corridor ended at a chamber. At its center, resting upon a structure of dark rock, was a small stone. It was slightly larger than a fist, with an irregular surface of such deep violet that it appeared black around the edges. Unlike Noctrium, however, its color did not remain uniform. Beneath the translucent surface, lighter filaments moved slowly within it, appearing and disappearing like veins of light trapped inside the mineral: a Primordial Stone.

One stopped.

For a few seconds, even he forgot whatever questions he had.

The King stepped forward.

One looked at the Stone, then back at the passage they had just entered. Slowly, the pieces began to fall into place.

Two; the Heart of Noctrium; the Colossus. Everything had begun there.

“Was this why?”

The King stopped before the Stone.

One continued:

“Was this why Two sacrificed himself?”

The King slowly turned his head.

“He didn’t sacrifice himself.”

One fell silent.

“Sacrifice requires a choice.”

The coldness in the King’s voice made One hold his gaze for several seconds.

“Two did what needed to be done,” the King continued.

One clenched his jaw. The King noticed.

“Do you want to be next?”

The silence answered for him. One looked away.

The King turned back to the Stone.

For years, he had wondered where he would find one again. Ancient records pointed to Elora Falls, but no map showed a chamber, an entrance, or any path leading to it. That is why he had to go to Solvar and steal a sacred scroll. When he finally understood what slept beneath that mountain, he understood the reason as well.

The path had never been lost. It had been buried beneath a Colossus. That was why Two had been sent there. That was why the Heart of Noctrium needed to awaken the creature.

Now, nothing remained between the King and what he sought.

He extended his hand. His fingers touched the Stone, and the world went dark.

For a moment, there was only him and a presence impossible to locate. It occupied the very space within his mind.

A question emerged.

What do you desire?

The King closed his eyes.

He already knew that sensation. The last time, he had asked for control. This time, he needed something greater.

“Hearts.”

The presence remained silent for several seconds. Then came another question.

What do you offer?

The King opened his eyes.

Far away, beyond the mountains and the roads that would soon be consumed by war, Mezi still existed. Cities bore his crest. Families lived under his name. Men marched believing they served the kingdom he ruled.

Thousands of lives.

“Half.”

Half?

“Of what I love most. My kingdom.”

The silence that followed lasted longer.

The exchange is equivalent.

At that very moment, in Mezi, a woman dropped a basket in the middle of a street. Her body fell soon after.

In a nearby house, a man eating dinner with his children stopped breathing before he could understand what was happening. In barracks, soldiers collapsed among their comrades. Workers fell among the fields. Children died in their parents’ arms while, in other homes, it was the parents who never rose again.

Rich and poor. Young and old. Soldiers and civilians. Half of Mezi.

In the chamber beneath Elora Falls, the King removed his hand from the Stone.

One remained behind him.

“What did you do?”

The King studied his own hand for a few seconds. Then he closed his fingers.

“What was necessary.”

(...)

When the battle in Solvar ended, the silence before the walls was broken only by the fire still consuming parts of the fortifications and the groans of those who remained alive.

Solvar’s soldiers covered the field in every direction, some motionless among broken weapons and craters carved by the Colossus, others too wounded to stand. The few who could still remain on their feet had already been surrounded by Mezi’s forces.

One walked a few steps behind the King. The other Shadows had rejoined them during the advance, but none of them seemed interested in the defeated soldiers.

Neither was the King.

His eyes were fixed on the gates. There lay the body of the primordial Colossus.

The creature still covered part of Solvar’s fortifications, exactly where it had fallen after Nino redirected its descent. Tons of stone formed a motionless mountain over the ruined gates, with parts of the walls still trapped beneath its arms and chest.

Soldiers had fought and died around that body throughout the entire battle without it moving once.

The King walked toward it. One watched in silence.

When he was close enough, the King raised his head. Even fallen, the Colossus still towered above him like part of the mountain itself.

He extended one hand. For several seconds, nothing happened.

One noticed the King’s open fingers.

“What are you doing?”

The King kept his eyes on the giant.

“Before, I needed to find a way to control them.”

His fingers slowly closed.

“Now, everything answers to me.”

A deep sound rolled across the battlefield.

THUMP.

Several Solvar soldiers raised their heads. Stones slid from the body of the Colossus. One took a step back.

THUMP.

This time, the ground trembled.

One enormous hand closed among the rubble. Its fingers dug into the earth, crushing stone and remnants of the fortifications as its arm began to support a weight that had remained motionless since its fall.

Cries erupted among the survivors. The Colossus’s shoulder moved.

Entire blocks of the wall tumbled from its body as the creature began to rise. First came its head, casting a shadow over the soldiers below. Then its shoulders. Its chest pulled away from the ruins, dragging tons of stone with it as the sound of structures breaking apart echoed across Solvar.

(...)

Nino followed the official through the palace corridors. Three, Alicia, Tenshi, and Raysa walked beside him.

The official led them into a more secluded part of the building. The corridors grew quieter, and the number of guards increased as they continued. When they finally entered a large room, the Queen was already waiting for them.

She was accompanied by two guards. And a child.

Nino stopped.

The boy sitting near one of the windows held a small bag of roasted chestnuts. He looked up when he heard the door and recognized him as well.

“Ah. The adventurer.”

Three looked at Nino.

“You know each other?”

“No.”

The boy popped another chestnut into his mouth.

“I met his friend.”

The Queen looked between them. Nino frowned.

“How?”

The boy seemed confused by the question. Three looked from the boy to the Queen, then back at Nino. The Queen sighed.

“Nino, this is my son.”

Nino remained silent for a moment. Then he looked at the boy again.

“The prince.”

“Unfortunately,” the boy replied.

The Queen shot him a look. He went back to eating his chestnuts. Three had to turn her face away.

“He was at the arena?” Nino asked.

“He was.”

Alicia gave the boy a small wave. Nino imagined Alicia talking to the Prince of Lumeris without having the slightest idea who had been sitting beside her.

The Queen walked toward another door.

“Come.”

The prince stood.

“Me too?”

“You are your father’s successor.”

The smile disappeared from the boy’s face.

They followed.

They descended a narrow staircase leading beneath the palace. The architecture changed as they went. The carefully finished walls gave way to ancient blocks of stone, and the crests of Lumeris disappeared. After several minutes, they reached a corridor guarded by four soldiers.

A metal door stood at the end of it. It was imbued with Pulse.

The Queen stopped.

“There is an order every member of my family learns before they are even old enough to understand why it exists.”

Nino waited.

“No one touches them.”

Three crossed her arms.

“Why?”

“We don’t know.”

She signaled to the guards. Two of them began opening the door.

“The decree predates the oldest records of my family. Some versions say it was established when the Four Nations were founded. Others claim it existed even before them. Kings died, families changed, wars were fought, but the order remained.”

The door opened. At the center of the chamber was a stone. Nino recognized it immediately. It looked just like the one on the King’s collar.

A Primordial Stone.

He stepped inside but kept his distance.

“Yes,” she said.

Three observed the Stone.

“So that’s what the King is looking for.”

“If everything you told us is true, probably.”

Nino looked at the Queen.

“You said them.”

She held his gaze.

“Because there is another.”

Three uncrossed her arms.

“Where?”

“In another chamber.”

The Queen stepped back into the corridor and gestured toward the passage continuing beyond the first door.

“The two are never kept in the same place. If someone manages to reach one, they would still have to cross another section of the complex to reach the second. Different guards. Different keys. Different entrances.”

Nino followed her.

“Why does Lumeris have two?”

The Queen walked several steps before answering.

“Because the second did not originally belong to Lumeris.”

They reached another fork in the corridor.

“It belongs to the other Nation... Orvain.”

Three looked at her. The Queen continued:

“For generations, our kingdoms were in conflict. The current King’s grandfather brought it to an end through a treaty. Orvain’s Stone was brought to Lumeris as part of the agreement. The two would remain under the same protection as a symbol that our kingdoms would remain united as well.”

“But in separate rooms,” Nino said.

“Peace does not require stupidity.”

Three gave a small laugh. The Queen continued:

“The treaty also united our families. Since then, the two houses have maintained ties that prevented old disputes from becoming war again. My husband is in Orvain now because of those very obligations.”

Nino looked toward the corridor leading to the second chamber.

“And no one has touched either of them?”

“There is no record of anyone doing so since the decree came under the Crown’s protection.”

Nino remained silent. Then he turned his eyes back toward the first chamber.

“I need to touch one.”

The Queen answered immediately.

“No.”

“If the King is looking for these Stones—”

“I just told you that entire generations of my family lived and died without breaking that order.”

“And none of those generations were facing someone who had already used one.”

The Queen stared at Nino.

“According to you.”

Three remained quiet.

“You believe me enough to have brought me here,” Nino said.

“I believe you enough to protect what he is looking for. That is different from placing one of these things in your hands.”

Nino took a step toward her.

“If he reaches Lumeris, doors and guards won’t stop anything.”

One of the soldiers looked displeased, but the Queen raised a hand before he could speak.

“And what do you intend to ask for?”

Nino looked at the Stone.

“A way to end this.”

“That isn’t an answer.”

Before Nino could continue, footsteps echoed from the staircase. Fast.

A soldier appeared in the corridor, almost running. Two guards immediately reached for their weapons, but he raised the emblem of Lumeris fastened to his chest.

“Your Majesty!”

The Queen turned.

“What happened?”

The man stopped before her, trying to catch his breath.

“Troops have been sighted advancing toward the city.”

The corridor fell silent.

“How many?”

“We don’t know yet. Our scouts returned as soon as they realized the size of the force.”

“Mezi?”

The soldier hesitated.

“Mezi and Solvar.”

The Queen’s expression changed. Three stepped forward.

“Solvar?”

“There are soldiers carrying both banners.”

Nino felt his body tense.

“Leo?”

“The Hero of Solvar was seen among them.”

Three looked at Nino. The Queen continued:

“How much time do we have?”

The soldier swallowed.

“Not much.”

“How much?”

“A day, maybe. I don’t know how fast that thing moves.”

She frowned.

“Thing?”

The man did not answer immediately. Nino realized what he meant.

“Speak,” the Queen ordered.

The soldier took a breath.

“Colossi.”

No one spoke. The Queen slowly looked at Nino.

“How many?”

“Four. And one of them... is bigger than a mountain.”

Even Three lost every trace of expression.

The soldier continued talking about positions, direction, and estimates, but the Queen was no longer listening. Her eyes remained fixed on Nino.

He had told her about Mezi. About Solvar. About the King. About the Stones.

Now an army from two nations was marching directly toward Lumeris, accompanied by four Colossi.

The Queen turned toward the open door. Toward the Primordial Stone.

“If this truly does what you say...” She took a step toward the Stone. “Then I don’t need to let you make the wish.”

Nino understood.

“I can make it myself.”

“Are you willing to sacrifice something you love to gain more?” Three asked.

The Queen stopped. The prince was still a few steps behind her. For a moment, she simply looked at him. Alicia, her mother, and her brother stood motionless. Despite the joy of finally being together, they now found themselves in the middle of a war between nations.

The boy remained silent as well. The Queen slowly exhaled and turned back to Nino.

“Then why should it be you?”

Nino remained still.

“Do you have nothing you love?”

The question hung between them. Nino closed his eyes.

For several seconds, he found only what his mind had always given him.

Two people kneeling. His parents. The blood.

The memory he had believed for years belonged to him, until he discovered those eyes had belonged to another man. Even the memory that should have explained where his pain came from had been stolen.

He tried to find something before it. A face. A voice. A moment that could teach him what it was supposed to feel like.

Nothing came.

Then Alicia appeared.

Sitting inside a cage, talking to him when any other child would have backed away. Alicia holding his hand. Alicia giving him the red ribbon and giving him a name. Alicia being carried through the mountains. Alicia calling him an adventurer. Alicia screaming that he was her Hero while he fought against a mountain falling over Arvendel.

Another memory surfaced: Three sitting beside him.

The diary in her hands. Their arguments. The way she continued following him even after everything he had forgotten. The brief touch of her lips against his cheek before she pulled away as though it meant nothing.

Tenshi came next.

The two of them walking through the mountains. The boy insisting on continuing when his body was already begging for rest because, somewhere ahead, his sister and mother were still waiting for him.

Then came people whose names Nino did not even know.

Arvendel. Men and women looking toward the sky as the Colossus fell. People running. Children being carried. Voices crying out for help.

For a long time, Nino had believed there was nothing inside him except what the King had left behind. Now there were too many faces.

He opened his eyes. The Queen was still waiting.

“I still don’t know exactly what love is.”

Three looked at him.

“But I think I’m beginning to understand.”

Nino turned his eyes toward the Stone.

“I’m going to end my King’s reign. After that, I want this world to have the chance to continue without someone deciding who gets to be free and who has to live in chains because they were born weaker.” He looked at the Queen again. “I spent too much of my life on the other side of that.”

Silence remained in the corridor. The Queen watched Nino for several seconds. Then she nodded.

“I believe you.”

Nino had not expected the answer so quickly. She looked at her son once more.

“Perhaps because I understand that part better than you think.”

The nearby guards remained attentive.

“I was born the daughter of slaves.”

One of the soldiers turned toward her. Another’s mouth fell open involuntarily in shock. Even the prince looked startled, despite already knowing the story.

Nino noticed their reactions. So did the Queen.

“That is a story for another time.”

She looked at him again.

“Yesterday, you asked me to prove that I believed no one should belong to another person. I did.”

Nino remained still.

“Now it’s your turn.”

She walked toward the entrance of the chamber.

“If there is a chance to stop the man coming to Lumeris, I would rather place it in the hands of someone who, when given the opportunity to ask for wealth, power, or any reward for himself, asked for the freedom of people he did not even know.”

Her expression grew more serious.

“But I want a promise.”

“What?”

“Fight for them. Not for my Crown. Not even for Lumeris. Fight so those people have the chance to live without belonging to someone stronger than they are.”

Nino looked at the prince. Then at Alicia, Three, and the others. Finally, at the Stone.

“I promise.”

The Queen stepped away from the entrance. None of the guards tried to stop him.

Nino entered the chamber.

His footsteps echoed against the ancient walls as he approached the Primordial Stone, violet Pulse flowing across the entire surface of the ancient rock. Centuries of kings had obeyed the same order. None of them were ever supposed to touch it.

Behind him, no one spoke. Nino stopped before the Stone, extended his hand, and finally touched its surface.