The antiseptic scent of the hospital room was the first reality Jaigold

  He was kneeling on polished marble, his head bowed before a figure of terrifying, glorious authority. She sat upon a golden thronewhiteauragolden power

  “Son, do you understand why I speak those words?” the Dominatrix’s voice boomed, its tone both majestic and dismissive. “This power you have been given is both powerful and dangerousproblems will follow

  He was forced to his knees by an unseen weight, his body trembling, not from fear, but from the raw, sheer force of her being.

  “See?” she said, the amusement evident in her tone. “I didn't release even one percent of my powerfight for itjustice

  Then, the crushing pressure vanished. The golden aura receded like a tide, and Jai, now simply a man in a hospital gown, was able to rise. He faced her, curiosity overriding the remnants of shock.

  “Madam, what these powers?” Jai asked, his voice shaking only slightly. “Who are you? And who is the person you warned me to be careful of? There is also a man—black hair and red eyes

  She offered a small, knowing smirk beneath the white veil. “Son, you will understand everything

  The gold disintegrated.

  Jai woke, cold sweat plastering the thin gown to his chest. The hospital ceiling was back, and the pale light filtering through the window told him the sun had long set. It was night

  Needing air—air that hadn’t been filtered through a vision of divinity and danger—he slipped out of the room and walked toward the small, well-tended hospital garden

  He sank onto a simple black wooden chairEven after taking a death blow, I can still maintain the disguise of Arthur he mused.

  The garden was quiet, the air sweet and thick with the combined fragrance of night-blooming flowersblue lightazure shore

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  Then, another man approached. He settled easily onto the chair right beside Jai, the simple black wood of the seat joining them.

  The newcomer's skin was stark whitebluesea-bluebrown coatblack pants

  The man looked at Jai and offered a small, unsettling smile. Jai returned a nervous, polite grin.

  “Hey, mister, what are you doing in the hospital this late?” Jai asked, trying to sound casual. “You don't look injured. Are you a patient or not?”

  The blue-haired man chuckled softly. “Your body doesn't look injured either. Are you also an outsider

  “I’m a patient ,” Jai replied quickly. “The doctors here healed my injuries.”

  “And for what reason did you find yourself in a hospital?” the man inquired.

  “An accident happened,” Jai explained. “A great blast at a palace, so that’s why I was brought here.”

  The man cut him off, his sea-blue eyes suddenly sharp. “Oh, you were also there, in that palace.”

  Jai felt a cold shock. He stared, speechless, as the man resumed, a cruel smirk spreading across his lips.

  “I am the reason that accident happened. And you tried to hide your personality, Mr. Jai

  Jai shot up from the chair, the shock turning instantly to anger and fear. “How do you know that?

  The man rose slowly. “I think you also know the reason.”

  As the mysterious man began to walk away, Jai instinctively drew his weapon. A brilliant flash of golden sword-light

  The man merely turned back and smiled—a terrifying, confident expression. “Don't worry. We are going to meet one day, and it is going to be an extraordinary day

  He vanished. One moment he was there, a figure of impossible blue and white, and the next, he was gone, leaving only the tranquil, luminous garden under the steady, beautiful moonlight.

  Despite the calm environment, sweat beaded on Jai’s face. His mind, already overflowing with royal tensions, magical duties, and prophecies of doom, now received an immense new weight.

  He stood, frozen in thought.

  Just as the anxiety threatened to consume him, the tranquil blue light began to fade, overpowered by the slow, golden warmth of the arriving sun

  “Mr. Arthur, what are you doing out here?” a nurse asked, approaching with a doctor.

  Jai realized he’d been so deep in thought, he hadn't noticed the sun had arrived. He turned to the doctor. “Where are my brother and my friends?”

  “You were asleep for three days

  As the doctor spoke, James

  “Why are you still covered in bruises?” Jai demanded, his eyes flashing with sharp anger as he looked at the doctor. “Why didn't he get treatment?”

  The doctor immediately understood the silent threat. “Sir, they require a Tier 6 healing artifactJai remembered a poem:

  "The weight of worlds rests on my hand,

  A hero's heart, a frozen plea;

  I see the storm engulf the land,

  With strength enough to only see."

  Jai’s fury evaporated into cold, sickening understanding. He had the power of an artifact, and his enemies had the power to appear in dreams and vanish in an instant. His loved ones, the people around him, were in immediate, deadly dangerpowerless