The air vibrated with leftover golden particles, drifting around Aiden like dust from a shattered sun. The obliterated section of the orchard smoldered, leaves glowing faintly with residual celestial heat.
Mythras slowly rose to his feet, still stunned.
"I never believed I would witness that sigil again…" He touched the glowing shards of the crown still flickering on Aiden's chest. "The Crown of Erased Kings vanished when your world did. It should not exist."
Aiden pushed himself upright. His arms trembled from the energy surge. "I don't even know what I did. It just— happened."
Mythras nodded gravely. "Your power reacted instinctively. A king's soul cannot truly hide what it is."
Aiden swallowed hard.
He didn't feel like a king.
He barely felt like himself.
Before he could speak again, the orchard shifted.
The trees rustled all at once — a ripple of unease spreading through them like a warning. Some fruits cracked slightly, spilling faint light. Mythras' expression hardened.
"They felt the awakening of your crown," he murmured. "More Hunters will come. The orchard cannot hold them all at bay."
Aiden's voice shook. "What should we do?"
"We leave. Now."
Mythras extended his hand, and a shimmering root spiraled upward from beneath the soil, twisting into a staff made from star-infused wood. He tapped its end on the ground, and lines of energy spread outward like veins of glowing silver.
A portal began forming — not a violent tear, but a graceful fold of space, bending softly like silk.
But before the portal could stabilize—
another roar shattered the calm.
Aiden turned sharply.
At the far edge of the orchard, the shadows blurred again — but this time the creature emerging was larger, its form more defined. Its body resembled a wolf sculpted from obsidian, eyes like empty voids, claws dripping black fog that melted the ground.
An Oblivion Hound.
Mythras cursed under his breath. "They sent a tracker-class beast already…"
The hound sniffed the air, its ears twitching. When its gaze locked onto Aiden, it froze—
—then its jaw unhinged unnaturally wide, emitting a shrill, distorted howl.
The howl was not sound.
It was a signal.
Aiden felt it like needles in his mind.
"They're calling more," Mythras said sharply. "Aiden, stay behind me!"
But the hound lunged before Aiden could respond.
This one was faster — impossibly so.
Mythras blocked with his staff, vines of silver wrapping around the hound, but the creature ripped through them, slamming into the caretaker. Mythras staggered backward, crashing into a tree that flickered violently at the impact.
"Mythras!" Aiden shouted, rushing toward him.
But the hound pivoted, tail whipping like a spear.
Aiden ducked under the strike, stumbling onto his hands. The ground shook as the creature landed nearby.
His pulse pounded in his ears.
He couldn't rely on the crown again.
Not when he didn't understand it.
Not when the last burst nearly tore the orchard apart.
The hound crouched low, preparing to pounce.
Aiden raised his fists, but the trembling in his arms betrayed his fear.
The creature lunged.
Aiden braced himself—
—but a sharp whistle cut through the air.
A silver arrow streaked down from above, piercing the hound's shoulder and pinning it to the ground. Black ichor hissed where it touched the soil.
Aiden turned in shock.
A figure descended through the canopy, landing with the grace of falling feathers.
Tall. Elegant. Eyes like moonlit steel. Hair flowing in white waves tied with stardust threads.
A bow carved from a white branch rested in her hands, glowing faintly.
Mythras groaned, pushing himself upright. "You… came."
The woman didn't look at him. She walked past, drawing another arrow.
"Your orchard is leaking Hunters into the astral winds," she said. Her voice was cold, precise, beautiful. "I assumed you were incompetent. I didn't expect you were simply dying."
Mythras snapped, "I am not dying!"
She glanced at him.
"…Your bark is peeling."
He covered his arm self-consciously.
Aiden stared at her.
"Who… are you?"
The woman finally looked at him — and the moment their eyes met, Aiden felt a strange jolt, like recognition without memory.
Mythras cleared his throat.
"This is Seraphyne, the Celestial Huntress. One of the orchard's guardians."
Seraphyne lowered her bow slightly, analyzing Aiden with dispassionate precision.
"So this is the anomaly," she murmured. "The king who should not exist."
Aiden stiffened. "I didn't ask for any of this."
Seraphyne blinked — slowly.
"Kings rarely do."
Before Aiden could retort, the pinned Oblivion Hound convulsed violently.
Seraphyne's eyes widened. "Move!"
The hound exploded into black particulate shadows, which reformed instantly into three smaller beasts. They leapt in different directions, circling Aiden and Seraphyne.
Mythras groaned. "They're dividing. They want the king isolated."
Seraphyne stepped in front of Aiden, bow raised.
"They will not succeed."
But the ground ruptured behind them — another Hunter emerging, then another, then dozens of flickering void-shapes crawling from between the trees.
The orchard dimmed.
Aiden's breath caught.
There were too many.
Way too many.
Mythras slammed his staff into the ground. "The portal is ready!"
"But we'll never reach it," Seraphyne said, her voice steady but grim. "Not with the beasts surrounding him."
Aiden's hands shook.
The crown mark itched.
The energy inside him pulsed wildly, as if hungry.
A Hunter lunged—
Aiden threw up his hand instinctively—
—but this time the crown didn't explode outward.
Instead, it formed a thin shield of golden light.
The beast struck it and recoiled.
Aiden stared at his glowing hand in disbelief.
Seraphyne's tone shifted for the first time — curiosity softening her icy voice.
"…You manifested a barrier? Without training?"
Aiden swallowed hard. "I… don't know how I'm doing this."
"Good," she replied. "Because you're doing it again."
Another surge of Hunters crashed forward.
Mythras shouted, "Aiden! Focus! Don't fight the power — guide it!"
Aiden closed his eyes, palms facing outward, feeling the pulse of the crown.
It wasn't rage.
It wasn't agony.
It was rhythm — like a heartbeat buried beneath centuries of silence.
When the next Hunter struck—
Aiden pushed.
A golden shockwave erupted, flattening a dozen beasts and splitting the orchard floor open in a glowing arc.
Seraphyne whistled. "Not bad."
Mythras yelled, "Now! Into the portal!"
The three of them sprinted toward the glowing fold in reality. The beasts regrouped, racing after them. Black fog coiled like tendrils inches from Aiden's back.
Aiden dove through first.
Light swallowed him.
Then the world twisted—
And everything changed.