The dawn came without warmth.
A dull red light bled through the palace windows, casting long shadows across the marble halls. Every corner of the kingdom seemed to whisper the same name — Ryo.
Servants avoided his eyes. Guards followed his steps.
Even the wind that once moved freely through the open courtyards now felt restrained, as if the air itself feared to breathe near him.
King Deros had ordered silence, but silence only made the rumors louder.
1. The Quiet Cage
Ryo walked the length of his chamber with measured steps.
He had not slept since the fire in the archives — the flames that had almost swallowed the truth before it could be seen.
Caro stood by the window, voice low.
"They've doubled the guards again. The King fears something."
Ryo's gaze drifted to the faint shimmer beneath his collar — the mark pulsing like an ember under his skin.
"He should," Ryo said softly.
"Because I finally do too."
There was no anger in his tone — only certainty.
2. The Hidden Path
At sunset, Ryo slipped from the palace through a servant's passage long forgotten.
The streets beyond the walls were hollow and dim, the air thick with dust and incense.
He and Caro moved in silence, passing the broken statues of old kings whose faces had been chiseled away — erased, just like the truth.
Their destination: The Old City Archives, a buried temple beneath the southern quarter.
The heavy doors creaked open, revealing shelves of rotting scrolls, stone tablets, and books bound in ash-black leather.
A figure moved among them — an old caretaker, blind in one eye, muttering prayers to gods no one remembered.
When the torchlight touched Ryo's face, the old man froze.
He knelt immediately, trembling.
"The mark… it still burns in your blood…"
Ryo stepped closer.
"You know what this is?"
"I know who you are," the man whispered, pressing a sealed parchment into Ryo's hands.
"They called your blood cursed… because it was divine."
3. The Truth Beneath Dust
The scroll cracked as Ryo unsealed it.
Ancient writing shimmered faintly — the ink alive with traces of gold.
As he read, the truth unfolded like a blade sliding free of its sheath.
'The Throne of Asskar, bearer of the divine essence, was usurped by the House of Deros. The true heir's line erased, the blood scattered and cursed to hide its light…'
Ryo's hands trembled slightly, but his voice was steady.
"House Asskar… my name."
The caretaker nodded, eyes wet.
"The curse you bear was the gods' mark of right — not sin. King Deros' blood is a shadow of what was stolen."
A heavy silence filled the hall. The torches hissed, dimming as if the air itself bowed to the truth.
Caro whispered, "Then… you're the true heir."
Ryo looked at the sigil on the scroll, then at the faint glow of his veins.
"No. I am what they made me — and what they feared."
4. The Shadow's Warning (Fight Scene)
As they left the temple, the night was already alive with pursuit.
Footsteps echoed in the narrow alleys — the sound of soldiers who moved like ghosts.
From the shadows emerged Varen, the spy who once followed Ryo in secret.
His hood fell back, revealing sharp, calculating eyes. In his hand gleamed a thin, curved dagger.
"You shouldn't have come here," Varen said quietly, voice like ice. "The King already knows."
Ryo didn't flinch.
"Then tell me, Varen — what did he make me into?"
Varen smirked, then lunged at Caro with the dagger.
"Run!" Ryo shouted.
Caro stumbled backward, but Ryo reacted instantly — faster than thought.
His hands flared with golden-red light as veins along his arms pulsed. A wave of energy shot from him, slamming into Varen, forcing the spy back several feet.
Varen rolled, recovering with a sly grin.
"Impressive. But not enough."
The spy attacked again, blade flashing through the moonlight.
Ryo ducked, his curse-powered reflexes keeping him just out of reach. A second strike grazed Caro's shoulder — a shallow cut — and she cried out.
Ryo's eyes burned. In a heartbeat, the air around his fists shimmered, every pulse of his veins sending arcs of golden-red energy rippling outward.
He struck Varen with a crushing blow to the chest, sending him sprawling into the alley wall.
The spy hissed through clenched teeth, slashing wildly with his dagger. But Ryo's curse moved almost on its own, blocking, dodging, and countering with speed he hadn't known he could summon.
Finally, Ryo kicked Varen backward with a force that shattered a stone crate nearby. The spy slid across the cobblestones, leaving a deep scratch along the wall, but remained alive — silent, calculating, and even more dangerous.
Breathing heavily, Ryo turned to Caro. She trembled, but the cut on her shoulder was minor.
"Are you all right?" he asked, voice trembling.
"Yes… thanks to you," she whispered, eyes wide with fear and awe.
Varen slowly stood from the shadows, his dagger held loosely.
"You've grown," he said quietly. "But this isn't over."
And then he vanished into the dark, moving like smoke — leaving Ryo and Caro alone in the alley, hearts pounding, knowing the spy would return.
5. The Heir Awakens
Back in his chamber, the palace was silent again — too silent.
Caro shut the door behind them, his face pale with disbelief.
Ryo unrolled the scroll once more. The golden letters reflected in his eyes as the curse beneath his skin began to glow — not crimson this time, but deep gold, pulsing like a heartbeat.
The candlelight flickered violently, then steadied.
Ryo's voice was barely a whisper, but it filled the room.
"It was never a curse."
He looked toward the throne room far beyond his walls — where King Deros slept under stolen crowns.
"It was a crown they could not bear to see."
The flame went out, leaving only the golden glow beneath his skin — the mark of a bloodline that had begun to awaken.