The Crown Sends Its Prince
The night after the Crown's proclamation was suffocating.
Even the wind seemed hesitant, brushing against the rooftops like a creature afraid to wake something sleeping beneath the stones. The shadows along the buildings were thicker than usual, clustering in corners as if whispering secrets to one another.
Lorian Vale stood atop the same rooftop where he had crushed the Death Herald. His cloak drifted lazily behind him, catching the faint, uneasy breeze.
Below him, Seren knelt on one knee, her eyes fixed on the city.
"Master," she said quietly, "the Duskwalkers report anomalies across Ebonreach."
"Describe them."
"Windows trembling. Lanterns flickering without wind. People waking from nightmares, all with the same symbol burned into their vision."
Lorian's head tilted slightly. "Which symbol?"
Seren extended her hand.
A sketch lay there — hastily drawn, shaky.
An eye.With a jagged crown above it.
The Eye of the Crown.
Lorian sighed."Subtle," he murmured. "As always."
Seren's brow tightened. "Master, they're escalating. Only beings of the Crown can manipulate the city at such a scale."
"Or," Lorian said, "they're preparing an entrance."
She hesitated. "You think they're sending another envoy?"
"No." He turned, hand behind his back. "They wouldn't bother with an envoy after the last one's demise."
Seren swallowed. "Then what…?"
"Their Prince."
The word fell heavily between them.
Seren's eyes widened. "The Prince of the Crown… He is said to be one of the oldest shadows formed from the primordial void. A being born when the first story was written."
Lorian's cloak brushed the ground as he stepped past her.
"Good," he said. "I was hoping the Crown wouldn't delay."
Obsidian Hall — The Gathering Storm
The Duskwalkers assembled again, forming a circle around Lorian as he entered.
Duskwalker Two knelt. "Master Sovereign, we've collected reports from all districts. The disturbances follow a clear pattern."
Duskwalker Five projected a map onto the table — lines of red chalk marking areas of shadow activity.
The lines curved inward, spiraling.
Seren's eyes widened. "A sigil… They're making a sigil out of the entire city."
Duskwalker Four trembled. "Master, this is a summoning pattern. Something is coming through."
Lorian nodded. "The Prince."
Duskwalker Six whispered, "If the Prince enters the physical realm, the city could collapse entirely."
"Then," Lorian said, "we'll intercept him before he arrives."
Seren blinked. "Master… how do we intercept a being that isn't even here yet?"
"Simple," Lorian said. "We go to where he's entering."
"But—" Duskwalker Five hesitated "—he will tear the veil between realities. That kind of breach is beyond anything we've seen."
Lorian placed a hand on the map.
The red lines pulsed, as if acknowledging him.
"I intend to tear it first."
The Crown-Sigil Awakens
The team moved swiftly to the city's rooftops. The sky had begun to swirl unnaturally—dark clouds spiraling inward toward the center of Ebonreach.
On the highest building of the northern district, the Duskwalkers and Lorian stood in formation.
A massive circular sigil, invisible to ordinary eyes but blazing bright to theirs, spread across the sky like an enormous ink stain.
Seren stepped forward, studying it. "This is a gateway… but incomplete. The Prince is pushing through."
Duskwalker Three adjusted their mask. "Master Sovereign, your orders?"
Lorian raised his hand.
"The Shard."
Seren placed the Echo Shard into his palm. It pulsed, vibrating softly, as though reacting to the tension in the air.
The sky rumbled.
Lorian lifted the Shard toward the swirling void.
Immediately, the sigil shuddered.
Duskwalker Four gasped. "Master, the Shard is interacting with the Crown's magic!"
"Of course it is," Lorian said. "It was part of their design."
The Shard pulsed again—
And the sigil in the sky cracked.
A tear formed.
Something began pushing through.
A hand — elegant, clawed, draped in ornate obsidian armor.
Then another.
Then a face.
Handsome. Sharp-featured. Too symmetrical to be human. Hair like liquid shadow. Eyes silver with streaks of violet lightning dancing in the irises.
His presence alone made every Duskwalker stagger.
Seren's breath hitched. "He… he's beautiful."
Lorian glanced at her.
She coughed. "I mean— terrifying. Absolutely horrifying."
The Prince stepped fully into the world.
A ripple of darkness swept across the rooftops as he landed, cracking the stone beneath his feet.
"Umbral Sovereign…" His voice was soft, melodic. Disturbingly calm. "You have caused quite the disturbance."
Lorian lowered the Shard and observed the Prince with mild interest.
"You're late."
The Prince blinked."Late?"
"I expected you an hour ago."
The Prince's silver eyes flickered with amusement. "You… expected me?"
"Of course," Lorian said. "It would be rude of the Crown not to escalate."
Silence.Wind.Tension thick enough to slice.
Then the Prince smiled — a slow, cruel smile edged with fascination.
"You are certainly unlike any mortal I have met."
"Flattery," Lorian replied, "will get you nowhere."
Seren whispered from behind him, "Master, he's gauging your power."
"I know," Lorian said softly. "Let him."
The Prince extended a hand.
Black flames swirled around his fingers.
"I did not come only to meet you," he said. "I came to retrieve what you stole."
His gaze shifted to the Echo Shard.
Lorian twirled it in his hand.
"You mean this?"
"Yes." The Prince's voice deepened. "Return it, and I may allow you to live long enough to regret your defiance."
Seren tensed. "Master—"
Lorian raised a finger. "Quiet, Seren."
He met the Prince's eyes.
"No."
The air cracked.
The Prince's aura surged, blasting a shockwave outward. Duskwalkers went skidding back. Seren was thrown, but Lorian caught her wrist midair without looking.
The Prince smiled again, but this time with genuine rage.
"Very well."
He stepped forward—
And the rooftop collapsed beneath him.
Not from force.Not from power.
From the sheer pressure of his presence.
Seren pulled back, breath shaking. "Master, we can't fight him head-on!"
"We aren't," Lorian replied. "He's the one playing my game."
The Prince blurred forward, appearing in front of Lorian.
Seren shouted—"MASTER!"
The Prince's hand closed around Lorian's throat—
But passed through a decoy of swirling shadow.
The Prince froze.
Behind him, Lorian leaned against a chimney, arms folded.
"You really must stop grabbing my throat," he said. "It's becoming predictable."
The Prince's jaw clenched. "How—?"
Lorian stepped forward.
His shadow rose behind him, towering into a shape like a dark monarch. The rooftop shook under its weight.
"You crossed into my domain," Lorian said softly. "The moment you did, the story ceased to be yours."
The Prince lunged again.
This time, Lorian did not dodge.
He raised the Shard.
The Echo Shard burst into violet light, sending a shockwave that slammed into the Prince with devastating force.
The Prince snarled as the Shard's light burned through portions of his body, leaving cracks of glowing purple.
"That shard," the Prince hissed, "is not yours to wield!"
"No," Lorian agreed. "It's yours."
The Prince froze.
"What?"
"This shard is part of your Crown. Your story. Your design."
Lorian stepped closer, eyes glowing faintly violet.
"And I," he said quietly, "am rewriting it."
The Shard pulsed, responding to Lorian's will.
The Prince stepped back.Fear — actual fear — sparked in his eyes.
"You… you're changing its resonance."
"Yes," Lorian said. "Because a Sovereign's role is to alter the script."
The Prince roared and unleashed a hurricane of shadow.
Lorian raised his hand—
And every shadow on the rooftop bent to his command, swirling around him like a living cyclone.
Seren watched in awe, knees trembling.He wasn't fighting the Prince.
He was overwriting him.
Shadow met shadow.
Light met darkness.
The rooftop exploded with raw power.
When the dust cleared—
The Prince was kneeling.
Barely holding form.Cracks spread across his body.
"You…" he gasped. "You should not exist…"
"Maybe not," Lorian replied. "But I do."
The Prince trembled. "The Crown will not tolerate this."
"I expect nothing less."
Lorian lifted the Shard.
The Prince flinched. "What are you—?"
"Returning your shard," Lorian said.
He placed the Shard against the Prince's cracked chest.
The Prince gasped—Then screamed.
Power surged, swallowing him in a vortex of light and shadow.
When it cleared—
The Prince was gone.
Only drifting ash remained.
Seren approached slowly. "Master… was he destroyed?"
"No," Lorian said. "He retreated."
"Why let him?"
Lorian stepped to the edge of the rooftop, cloak billowing.
"Because," he said, "I want him to deliver a message."
"What message?"
Lorian looked at the swirling clouds above.
"That the Umbral Sovereign accepts the Crown's challenge."
He turned away.
"And I will win."
End of Chapter 5
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