Queen Seraphine: "First, allow me to thank you all—for braving the storm in Lunthale, saving Moltrenhold, and carrying yourselves with honor through the chaos. You've earned this audience."
She rose slowly, every movement poised—graceful and commanding.
Queen Seraphine: "You are Stray Dawn. A wandering band, yes—but you've stepped where soldiers could not. Which is why I summoned you."
The court murmured, cautious interest in every pair of noble eyes.
Queen Seraphine: "Lithrium is not at peace. The mines have spoken. The seals are weakening. And the Cult of Magnus stirs in the shadows."
She turned to face them fully now, eyes narrowing slightly.
Queen Seraphine: "We believe there are still pieces of the old seal—keys—scattered across the land. Sacred artifacts meant to suppress what slumbers beneath this kingdom."
Kael stood just behind the throne, arms crossed, jaw tense.
Queen Seraphine: "I want your help. Not as mercenaries. Not as spies. But as free agents, under my name, granted authority and access as you search for these keys before the cult finds them."
Rica gave a cautious nod, the party exchanging glances. Then—
Queen Seraphine: (softly, with regal poise)
"So... Ren, I have a favor to ask."
Ren shifted, eyes narrowing slightly. The air stilled.
Queen Seraphine: (with a smile like a secret)
"Marry me."
.
.
SILENCE.
Pure, earth-shattering silence.
Until—
Elly: (from somewhere near the center of the group, completely reactive)
"No! You cannot—!"
Everyone's head snapped toward her.
Elly, now beet red, covered her mouth with both hands in horror, eyes wide.
Koirin, floating by her shoulder, gave a curious little splash.
Ren: (in perfect dramatic timing)
"HUHHHH!?"
The throne room erupted.
Nobles gasped, some outraged, others scandalized.
Nobleman: "This is madness!"
Noblewoman: "Outrageous!"
Nobleman: "He's a commoner!"
Another: "Your Majesty, this is blasphemy—"
Prince Luther: (sternly)
"Mother, for the love of the Realm, listen to yourself!"
Kael: (hand dragging down his face)
"...I should have expected this."
Kristie was clutching her sides, trying not to wheeze.
Cedy mouthed the words "Elly?!?" in shocked betrayal.
Josh looked like he was living for the drama.
Ren, caught mid-breath, looked over at Elly, confused and stunned.
Elly, now rigid as a board, muttered:
Elly: "I... I meant to say... m-maybe that's too sudden...?"
Kristie: (grinning, elbowing Lily)
"She said it like he's hers."
Lily: (expression unreadable, voice low)
"...She's not the only one who flinched."
Rej: (in mock horror)
"First the Queen, now Elly? Who else is lining up to marry him—Glint?"
Jonax: (arms crossed)
"...Wouldn't be surprised if Glint had a ring hidden in those antlers."
Kristie: (elbowing Lily)
"She's totally not joking. I'd bet my last pastry on it."
Cedy: (clutching her chest)
"My heart actually stopped. I think I need therapy."
Marian: (smirking)
"Ren almost ascended to royalty by accident. That's gotta be a new record."
Josh: "Bro. You should've said yes. I could be a duke by now!"
Jonax: (dryly)
"Of course she picked him. Of all people."
Lily: (quietly to herself)
"...That smile she gave him wasn't a joke."
Rej: "This better not awaken anything in you, Ren."
Queen Seraphine chuckled softly, waving her hand.
Queen Seraphine: (playfully)
"Relax, children. I'm joking. Your faces were worth the trouble."
The court's tension loosened, some nobles chuckling nervously, others still muttering in disbelief.
Kael: (murmuring to Ren)
"Next time I'll just lock her in the garden..."
Josh: (to Ren)
"Bro, what's your secret? Is it the hair? The trauma? Tell me."
Ren, blinking between Elly, the Queen, and everyone else, sighed.
Ren: "...Can we talk about the sacred keys now?"
Queen Seraphine, clearly enjoying herself, gave a serene nod.
Queen Seraphine:
"Very well. On to business—though I must admit, I haven't seen such genuine reactions in years."
Queen Seraphine stood from her throne, the folds of her deep sapphire gown cascading like waves. Her playful smirk faded, replaced by a gaze that felt ancient—stern and commanding.
Queen Seraphine:
"...Enough games."
The room stilled again, the laughter and awkward tension from before swept away like dust in a storm.
Her voice echoed through the gilded halls of the throne room, clear and grave:
Queen Seraphine:
"You've heard whispers, haven't you? Of celestial beasts. Of those born with unnatural strength. Of the Cult and their pursuit of power beyond the Veil."
She turned to face Ren, her eyes locked on him—not as a monarch to a subject, but as a seer staring into fate itself.
Queen Seraphine:
"Stray Dawn. You are more than wanderers. You are vessels of fate."
She raised her hand, three fingers slowly extended.
Queen Seraphine:
"Three... Marked Ones."
A murmur spread among the nobles like wind rippling through dry leaves.
Queen Seraphine:
"One... is you, Ren. You bear the seal of something far older than even I. A Starbeast—dormant within your soul. The one they called the Flame of the Starborn."
Ren's jaw clenched, a flicker of the Earth Dragon's final words echoing in his mind.
Queen Seraphine:
"The second... is the girl who's barely said a word since entering this room."
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Her gaze shifted to Elly.
Queen Seraphine:
"Elly. A Marked One of the Sea's Song. Koirin... is no ordinary bond. She is a Starbeast, hidden in plain sight."
Elly's eyes widened, hands curling in her lap. Koirin shimmered faintly at her side.
Queen Seraphine:
"And the third..."
All eyes turned.
Queen Seraphine:
"...is the one the Cult seeks most of all. The Child of Foresight. The Dreamer."
A hush fell as Seri flinched, eyes wide, her small frame partially tucked behind Kristie.
Queen Seraphine:
"Seri is a Marked One. The final thread. The potential wielder of the last Starbeast. One who could either open a path forward—or bring about the fall of kingdoms."
Kael, at her side, remained silent, his eyes unreadable.
Queen Seraphine:
"The Cult knows this. That's why they chase you. Why their Aequinox move in the shadows."
She looked at them all now—Stray Dawn, every member quiet, breath caught between fear and disbelief.
Queen Seraphine:
"If the three Marked unite—"
Her voice turned heavy.
Queen Seraphine:
"It could awaken something ancient. A pathway to salvation... or a calamity worse than we've ever seen."
She stepped forward, her tone softening—but somehow, it felt more dangerous that way.
Queen Seraphine:
"So, here is the favor..."
A pause.
A deep breath.
A chill in the air.
Queen Seraphine:
"Hand over the girl."
.
.
.
Silence.
Not a breath.
Not a word.
Only the tension... like the moment before lightning splits the sky.
Ren felt it.
That subtle shift in pressure—like the air was bracing itself. Like the storm was already here but pretending to wait.
His eyes narrowed. Slowly, almost politely, he stepped forward.
Ren:
"My apologies, my Queen... but could you elaborate the details of your request?"
The nobles murmured again, their polished boots scraping against the marble as they leaned closer. The Queen didn't blink.
Queen Seraphine:
"The convergence is near."
Her voice carried the weight of prophecy and desperation.
Queen Seraphine:
"Three Starbeasts, when awakened together, may rend the heavens themselves. The kingdom is not ready. We have neither the power, nor the time."
She stepped down from her throne, one hand raised as if she were reaching for a falling star.
Queen Seraphine:
"To delay the awakening... even for a few years... we must act."
"We have reason to believe the mark can be extracted from the girl."
Ren's gaze sharpened. The room seemed to still around him.
Ren:
"...And after you extract it?"
She didn't answer right away.
That pause said everything.
But still, she spoke.
Queen Seraphine:
"The mark... is similar to her soul."
A beat.
Kristie's eyes widened. Elly gasped, one hand darting protectively in front of Seri.
Seri just stared—her expression unreadable, yet somehow... already accepting.
But Ren—
His body tensed.
Like a bow drawn past breaking point.
Like a dam before the flood.
Ren:
"No."
The word cracked through the throne room like a blade being unsheathed.
Dead silence.
Then—
Queen Seraphine, voice colder now:
"...I see."
She turned ever so slightly, and her voice rang out with calm finality:
Queen Seraphine:
"Kael."
A blur of motion—
The royal Vahlcrest stepped forward, his golden hair catching the light—eyes distant but sharp.
A blade flashed from its sheath.
Kael:
"...Forgive me."
He surged forward—toward Ren.
Kael's blade sang through the air, silver and death in one stroke.
But Ren moved.
Just in time.
Steel kissed wind—not flesh.
He rolled, shoulder-first, coming to his feet as the entire throne room erupted into chaos.
Nobles gasped. Guards shouted.
And around them—a shimmering barrier flared like an invisible dome.
No Essentia pulsed.
No bond marks ignited.
Nothing.
Elly tried to call Koirin—her mark glowed faintly, then sputtered like a dying star.
Elly:
"It's not working... Koirin—won't respond!"
Kristie, already lunging forward to protect Seri, hissed through clenched teeth.
Kristie:
"They've cut off the Bond Field!"
Rica's eyes scanned the ceiling—the walls—the floors—and then her voice exploded with fury:
Rica:
"They set us up!"
Royal Knights emerged from behind pillars—cloaks falling, blades already drawn, forming a ring of steel around Stray Dawn.
Seri whimpered, clinging to Elly's arm.
Cedy and Iver instinctively moved in front of them.
They were surrounded. Disarmed. Isolated.
But Ren—
He stood in the center, chest heaving, eyes locked with Kael's as the Vahlcrest slowly advanced again.
Kael's sword gleamed with eerie calmness, steady as his stride.
Kael:
"I warned you... I truly did not want this."
Ren's fingers curled.
He didn't have Vultherin.
He didn't have his blade.
But he had something else—
A stubborn, furious pulse rising from within.
He lifted a hand—and willed it.
A crackle of frost leapt from his skin.
Crystals formed.
A sword—uneven, jagged, but real—coalesced in his grasp.
A weapon forged of pure Essentia and frost.
Kael paused.
A flicker of surprise.
But then he charged.
Blades clashed—once, twice, ten times.
Kael's form was a whirlwind of discipline—every strike perfect, every move calculated.
Ren parried. Staggered. Slashed.
But Kael was faster. Stronger. Flawless.
Ren could feel it—he was losing.
His blade was already cracking, the strain of raw Essentia breaking at the edges of his control.
And then—
Screams.
Elly's.
Seri's.
A Royal Knight had broken formation—rushing straight at them, blade raised.
Ren turned his head—
And the world slowed.
The air changed.
Like winter stepping into the room.
His eyes... lost focus.
His pupils narrowed into rings of faint, glowing ice.
And then he whispered—
Ren:
"...Frozen Realm."
The world stopped.
A pulse of pure frost erupted from Ren's core, faster than sight—lashing out across the throne room like the snap of a god's fingers.
Everything froze.
The floor. The columns. The air itself.
Kael's blade halted mid-swing, locked in glacial time.
The knights froze where they stood, frost blooming across armor and eyes wide in suspended breath.
Even the Queen—her regal expression twisted in surprise—was frozen in mid-turn.
The throne room had become a cathedral of ice.
White, crystalline silence.
A glimmering stillness... beautiful and terrible.
Ren stood alone.
His breath misted out.
Eyes empty.
Emotionless.
Like the cold had claimed him, and something inside finally stopped pretending to be human.
...
The grand marble throne room of Lithrium was now an arctic tomb.
Frost coated the gilded pillars.
Banners froze mid-ripple.
A chandelier above dangled with icicles instead of candlelight.
All of it—frozen by a single boy.
REN.
Standing at the center of it all—motionless.
His breath no longer steamed.
His eyes, glowing silver-blue, were wide, but empty.
He looked awake, but no one was home.
From his outstretched hand, a jagged iceblade shimmered in quiet menace—crystalline and growing, every second longer, sharper.
He could feel it—power, coiling like a blizzard within his veins. His feet didn't feel the marble floor. His hands didn't feel the hilt of his blade.
Only one thing remained in focus:
Kael.
The Vahlcrest knight.
The golden warrior. The threat.
The target.
Ren took a step—
—and was suddenly right in front of him.
A blur.
A whisper.
A ghost of frost.
His sword swung—
CLANG!
Kael barely raised his blade in time.
Then Ren moved again.
Faster.
Another strike. Then a second. A third. A fourth.
Each swing heavier. Sharper.
Kael blocked, parried, twisted—but was pushed back. Forced to defend.
For the first time, the knight looked afraid.
Kael: "Ren—this isn't you—"
But Ren didn't hear him.
He couldn't.
His heartbeat was gone.
His warmth was gone.
Even his breath felt... distant.
The throne room had become a glacier of panic—shards of frost lifting like petals, twirling around Ren's feet as he chased Kael down in a storm of relentless strikes.
Every slam of blade-on-blade echoed like thunder through crystal walls.
And across the frozen floor, the others could only watch.
Josh, arm around Seri, whispered:
Josh: "That... can't be him."
Kristie, knuckles white, voice trembling:
Kristie: "He's too fast. Too strong. That's not Ren—that's..."
Elly clutched her chest, eyes wide with horror.
Elly: "He can't hear us—he's not even seeing us."
Iver, jaw clenched, whispering calculations under his breath.
Iver: "If this keeps up... he'll kill Kael."
Then—
Rica.
Stepping forward, eyes locked on the white-haired blur cutting down a knight once thought untouchable.
Her voice cracked—but carried weight.
Rica:
"The Cold One..."
Everyone looked at her.
She whispered again.
Rica:
"He turned cold... He'll lose himself."
Her eyes flashed with a chilling memory—Lunthale, the battlefield where Ren once fell.
The same blank stare.
The same glacial rage.
Rica:
"We have to stop him."
No one moved.
Because how do you stop a storm...
when the storm wears your friend's face?
Wind. Whispering. Like spirits screaming through a canyon.
And from the walls—
The nobles and guards stood frozen, quite literally.
Some trapped mid-speech, others mid-scream.
Eyes wide with terror.
Breaths stolen from their lungs.
The moment was still. But beneath that stillness—a terror churned.
ELLY: (desperate)
"REN! STOP! THIS ISN'T YOU!"
Her voice barely echoed past the frost.
No answer.
Just the slow, cold steps forward.
One.
Two.
Three.
The ice cracked beneath him like bones snapping in winter.
KAEL: (weakly)
"You don't want this. You're not a killer."
Ren stopped—
Only for a breath.
Then moved again.
Too fast.
Too quiet.
Too... cold.
JOSH, gripping the frozen ground:
Josh: "What the hell is this... Is this the power of a Starbeast?"
KRISTIE, pale:
Kristie: "It's like he's possessed. He's not fighting. He's executing."
A sudden blur of motion—
CLANG!
Ren's blade slammed into Kael's with earth-splitting force.
The knight slid back, boots carving a line of frost through the marble.
Kael: (desperately)
"Ren. This isn't strength. This is collapse."
Rica:
"This is him... when he loses everything."
She stepped forward.
Everyone stared.
Iver: "Rica—wait. It's not safe—"
Rica: (ignoring him)
"We lose him now... he might never come back."
Ren raised his sword for a final strike.
Kael, still kneeling, closed his eyes—
.
.
.
To be continued...
Ok, Cold One on the loose, who do you think make Ren snap out of it?
