CHAPTER 132
The afternoon sun cast golden light across the private garden behind the Sky Castle, where a small table had been set with a chess board and two chairs.
Arthur sat in one of the chairs, his golden hair catching the light, his red eyes focused on the black and white pieces arranged before him.
Across the table, Solas leaned back in his chair, his silver hair a stark contrast to the golden hair he had once possessed. The battle with the Tier 9 Dragon had aged him.
His face was lined, his hands trembled slightly when he reached for his tea, and his mana core, once among the strongest in the empire, had been reduced to a fraction of its former power.
Solas moved his bishop, sliding it diagonally across the board to capture one of Arthur's knights. "Your control has improved," he said.
Arthur studied the board. His father had always been better at chess, even now,. "I have had time to practice."
"Time, yes. But time alone does not teach control. You have been working on it deliberately."
Arthur moved his rook, opening a line toward his father's king. "The Elites respect strength. They follow power. But they do not trust blindly. I have learned that trust requires more than victory in battle."
Solas nodded slowly. He moved his queen. "You have been watching the clover clan closely."
Arthur's jaw tightened slightly. "The tension increases every day. The elders demand action. The clan demands recognition. Both sides are waiting for the other to make the first mistake."
"And you are standing between them."
"I am trying to keep the city from tearing itself apart." Arthur moved his knight. "The other Hidden Cities are watching. If we fight among ourselves, they will attack. We cannot afford a civil war, not now, not when we have already lost three Saint Classes in a single year."
Solas was quiet for a moment. He looked at the board, but his mind was elsewhere. "The Clover Clan is valuable. Their Moon Class Elites, their warriors, their history. Losing them would weaken the city as much as losing the Light Clan weakened it."
Arthur looked up at his father. "You never speak of the Light Clan."
"I never had reason to speak of them. They are gone." Solas's voice was flat, matter-of-fact. "But you are right to bring them up. The Light Clan was my clan, before the attack. We were powerful, perhaps the most powerful clan in the Hidden City's history. Every member had an affinity for the light element. Our techniques were unmatched, our warriors were feared, and our estate outside the city was vast."
"What happened?"
"The Hidden City of Sand, in the Masan Empire." Solas picked up his tea and took a slow sip. "They attacked without warning. They had been planning it for years, gathering intelligence, mapping our defenses. When they struck, they struck hard. My mother, my father, my brothers, my sisters, my cousins—everyone was in the estate that day. It was a celebration. Some festival, I do not even remember which one."
Arthur did not speak. He had heard fragments of this story before, but never the full telling.
"I was not there," Solas continued. "I was in the city, training with the Sky King's guard. When the news arrived, I rode out with a relief force. It took us three hours to reach the estate." He set his tea down. "Three hours. By the time we arrived, everyone was dead. The Hidden City of Sand had already withdrawn. They left nothing behind but bodies and rubble."
Arthur's hands rested on the arms of his chair. "That is why the Hidden City expanded to three hundred kilometers."
Solas nodded. "After the attack, the Sky King decreed that no clan would have estates outside the city walls. Everyone would live within the barrier, where the runes and the guards could protect them. The city expanded to three hundred kilometers to accommodate everyone, and the old estates were abandoned or destroyed."
"The Clover Clan lost their estate too."
"They lost their estate, yes. But they did not lose their people. The Light Clan lost everything." Solas looked at the chess board, at the pieces scattered across the squares. "That is why I do not want the Clover Clan to be destroyed. I know what it is to lose a clan. I would not wish that on anyone, not even my enemies."
Arthur was silent for a long moment. Then he spoke. "I want to give them a chance."
"A chance for what?"
"To become Sky King, not just the Clover Clan but every clan we have in our Hidden City. Every elite who has the strength and the will to lead." Arthur met his father's eyes. "Why should only the Imperial Clan and the Light Clan and the City's chosen elites have the right? If someone is strong enough, if they can protect the city, if they can command the respect of the people, why should they be denied?"
Solas studied his son's face. "The elders will never allow it. The governing council will never allow it, because of them fearing change and losing their power."
"Then I will make them allow it."
"That is a dangerous path, Arthur."
"All paths are dangerous." Arthur moved his queen. "The city is weak. We lost three Saint Classes, and the other Hidden Cities are circling like vultures. If we do not change, we will die not today or tomorrow, but soon. The old ways are not working."
Solas moved his bishop. "You sound like your mother."
Arthur blinked. "I never knew her."
"She died when you were born. But she was like you—impatient with tradition, eager to build something new." Solas smiled, a rare expression on his weathered face. "She would have liked you."
Arthur did not respond. He looked at the board, at the game that was slowly turning in his favor. "What do you fight for, Father?"
Solas was silent for a long moment. The garden was quiet, the only sounds the distant calls of birds and the soft rustle of leaves in the breeze.
"I fought for my clan," Solas said finally. "When they were alive, I fought for them. When they died, I fought for the city. I fought to protect what remained. I fought so that no other clan would suffer the same fate as the Light Clan."
"And now?"
"Now I am old. My power is gone. I fight to see you succeed." Solas looked at his son. "And you? What do you fight for?"
Arthur did not answer immediately. He stared at the chess board, at the black and white pieces, at the game that was still ongoing.
"I fight for this city to become the greatest once more," he said. "I fight to become the greatest Sky King who has ever existed. Greater than the first Sky King. Greater than the founders. Greater than anyone who has ever sat on the throne."
Solas laughed. It was a short, surprised sound, not mocking but genuine. "You want to surpass me?"
"Yes."
Solas laughed again, longer this time. He shook his head, still smiling. "You have a long way to go, boy. A very long way. There are many things you must achieve before you can even think of surpassing me."
Arthur leaned back in his chair. "I am young. My future is limitless. But I need to stabilize the city before I can reach for anything more."
Solas nodded. He looked at the chess board, then back at his son. "Then stabilize it. Give the Clover Clan and the other clans their chance. But do not move too fast or the elders would notice. They are old, but they are not weak. If you push them too hard, they will push back."
Arthur moved his queen. "Check."
Solas looked at the board. His king was trapped, surrounded by Arthur's pieces with no safe square to move to.
"You have improved," Solas said.
"I had a good teacher."
Solas knocked his king over.