When Rayen opened his eyes, everything was silent — no desert winds, no sun glare, just a dim, red-lit chamber made of cracked glass and steel veins. His head throbbed. The last thing he remembered was collapsing after Umair's fight... and Raj's death echoing in his mind like a broken bell.
A figure stood before him, tall, sharp, wrapped in a cloak made of metallic threads. His left arm was covered with mechanical veins glowing faintly yellow.
Prince.
Prince: "You're awake… barely. You were unconscious for three days. Any longer, and the Solar sickness would've consumed you."
Rayen (hoarse): "Prince?… Where the hell am I?"
Prince: "My laboratory — or what's left of it. You're here because you didn't die. That means you're worth something."
He turned, slicing off a piece of his own flesh with a calm hand. The wound sealed instantly — the flesh in his palm glowing like molten metal.
He placed it before Rayen.
Prince: "Eat this. My flesh. Once it merges with your cells, you'll become one of us — a Stable of the First Rank."
Rayen looked at the burning piece, disgusted.
Rayen: "You've lost your mind. I'm not eating that."
Prince smirked.
Prince: "Exactly what I thought. You'd never eat it."
Rayen (snapping): "You think I'll become what you want? Some experiment?"
Prince: "No. You'll become what the world needs. You think refusing makes you pure? You're already tainted by Solar darkness. Look at you, Rayen — you carry death in your aura."
Rayen's breathing grew heavier, Raj's voice flashing through his head — "We'll eat under real sunlight…"
His fists clenched.
Rayen (growling): "Don't… talk about Raj."
Prince's tone turned colder.
Prince: "Then remember how he died. His blood painted the desert while you watched. You want to protect your friends? Accept what you are."
Something inside Rayen broke. The room darkened, the air thick with static. A massive shadow hand emerged from his back — clawed, trembling with fury — and slammed Prince into the wall, cracking it.
Rayen (furious): "Don't talk about Raj, you monster!"
Prince's eyes glowed golden through the darkness.
Prince (smiling through pain): "Monster? Look at yourself, Rayen. You're worse than me."
The shadow hand tightened its grip.
Prince: "You think darkness makes you human? No… it makes you closer to us."
Then his tone shifted — calm, eerie, prophetic.
Prince: "Do you know what happened after the Solar Blast? The world ended. Oceans boiled, cities melted, and the sun's fragments rained down like judgment. Humanity wasn't wiped out… it was rewritten."
He slowly lifted his mechanical arm, letting Solar veins pulse through it like light through lava.
Prince: "Some minds shattered under that pressure — those became the Unstables. Wild, chaotic, ruled by instinct. Others, the broken ones before the blast… those with scars, those drowning in mental pain — they became Stables. Their minds had already survived worse."
Rayen froze, his anger fading into confusion.
Rayen: "So… because I was depressed… I survived?"
Prince: "Exactly. At the moment of the blast, what you were thinking became your essence. You were living in darkness — so the Solar made it real. You gained Darkness Manipulation. A perfect reflection of your soul."
Rayen looked down at his trembling hands, dark mist seeping from them.
Rayen: "So that's it… this curse was born from my pain."
Prince (coldly): "A curse? No. A design."
He stepped closer, his voice dropping into a whisper that felt like thunder.
Prince: "I researched everything — every Stable, every Unstable, every mind. And I found the truth."
He leaned closer, his golden eyes burning through Rayen's soul.
Prince: "Those who suffered before the blast… became gods after it. Those who were fine… lost their sanity."
Rayen's heartbeat thundered in his ears.
Rayen: "Who… are you?"
Prince smiled faintly, his expression both divine and terrifying.
Prince: "I am the first Stable. The mind that never broke. The one who saw beyond the light."
He extended his hand.
Prince: "I am your God."
The chamber trembled. The Solar veins around them blazed brighter, forming spirals of golden fire as Rayen's shadow hand shattered the ground in rage.
Rayen (gritting his teeth): "Then this god… is about to bleed now