The King's Verdict
As YUJI arrives The gates of the royal castle loomed before Yuji like the jaws of a titan, its ancient stones darkened by centuries of storms and shadow. Every echo of his boots against the marble floor sounded like thunder in the vast hall that stretched ahead. This was no ordinary place — it was the seat of power, where laws were made and broken by a word.
Yuji's pulse quickened, but his face remained steady, hiding the chaos inside. Around him, soldiers and commanders moved with silent precision, their eyes sharp, tracking his every step. Some glared with suspicion, others simply watched like hawks waiting for the kill.
At the far end of the hall, elevated on a black dais, sat King Kael. The throne, forged from obsidian and veined with silver, seemed to drink the dim torchlight, focusing every shadow onto the man seated there. Kael's gaze was like ice—cold, unforgiving, and infinitely sharp.
"Yuji Kazehaya," the king's voice cut through the silence, clear and commanding. "You have been summoned before the Crown for one reason: to explain why you defy the laws of nature and man alike."
Yuji swallowed. His jaw clenched, but he did not bow. "I did not choose my fate, Your Majesty."
A murmur rippled through the gathered council. The king's eyes narrowed, piercing straight into Yuji's soul. "Explain, then. How many elemental powers do you possess?"
Yuji's heart hammered. This question was the blade that had been hanging over him since the day his secret first stirred.
Before he could answer, Commander XIN ZEE stepped forward, his voice smooth and unwavering.
"Your Majesty, the laws governing the Elements are absolute. Each soul is bound to a single elemental affinity — wind, fire, ice, earth, or water — granted by the Core of their nation. No deviation is tolerated."
The council nodded in solemn agreement. Yuji met their eyes—some filled with disbelief, others with quiet condemnation.
XIN ZEE continued, "The boy before you wields not one, but two elements: the Wind and the forbidden Dark. This violates every law that maintains order in our realm."
The air grew thick with tension. Yuji felt the weight of countless eyes judging him — a pariah.
King Kael stood, his stature commanding. "Is this true, Yuji Kazehaya? Do you wield the Dark Element alongside the Wind?"
Yuji met the king's gaze steadily. "I do not choose the powers I was born with. I use them to protect my home."
Kael's lips curled in a cold smile, but his eyes remained hard. "You tread a dangerous path, boy. The Dark Element is not from Zeyrus. It is the mark of the Verin — a nation of shadows and treachery. To possess it is to risk everything."
Yuji's fists clenched at his sides. The room seemed to constrict around him like a noose.
"Do you deny being a threat to the kingdom?"
"I am loyal to Zeyrus. I fight for it."
A sharp chuckle escaped Kael. "Loyalty is measured by actions, not words."
He motioned sharply. "Guards. Detain him."
Two soldiers stepped forward, their faces grim and unyielding. Rough hands seized Yuji's arms, shackling his wrists in cold iron.
As they led him away, the king's voice echoed through the hall, "Let it be known: any who harbor forbidden elements will face judgment and punishment. The laws are clear, and the Crown's will is absolute."
Outside the throne room, whispers rippled like wildfire. Yuji's arrest was not just a punishment—it was a warning to all who dared break the elemental law.
Behind closed doors, King Kael turned to Commander XIN ZEE and the council. "This boy's existence threatens the stability of our nation. We must investigate those close to him—Miyawaki, Sagai, and Hakiru. If they conspire, their fates will be sealed as well."
The room nodded solemnly, understanding the weight of the king's command.
For Yuji, the ordeal was only beginning. He had crossed the threshold of power and suspicion, and now the true battle to prove his loyalty and existence would begin within these cold castle walls.
---
The Dungeon & Experiments
The heavy iron door slammed shut behind Yuji with a bone-chilling finality. The cold stone walls of the dungeon swallowed the fading light of the throne room, leaving him in near-complete darkness. The only illumination came from flickering torches mounted in rusted sconces, their flames casting twisted shadows across the rough walls.
Yuji's wrists and ankles were shackled to a thick iron chair bolted to the floor. The cold metal bit into his skin, sending sharp jolts of pain through his limbs. He was stripped to his shirtless torso, every muscle tense with suppressed fury and exhaustion.
The air reeked of antiseptic and burnt ozone. Machines with glowing tubes and pulsing energy cores hummed ominously, their veins of electric blue light pulsating rhythmically like a heartbeat. The hum was broken only by the distant drip of water echoing in the vast underground chamber.
Several scientists, clad in white coats stained with smudges of blood and oil, busied themselves around him. They attached strange devices to his arms—needles, sensors, and rods crafted from a mysterious alloy designed to probe the elemental flow within his body.
Yuji's head snapped sharply with every jab and stab.
A harsh voice barked orders.
"Prepare the serum injections. We need to test the limits of his dual elements."
Before he could resist, a needle pierced his skin. Ice-cold liquid seared through his veins, making him gasp and clench the chains.
Static electricity crackled from nearby electrodes. The energy from embedded Energy Bottles coursed into his body through the machines, flooding him with unnatural currents that seared every nerve ending.
His vision blurred.
Pain flared like wildfire.
The lead scientist, a tall man with gaunt cheeks and sharp eyes, paced in front of him, analyzing readings flickering on a holo-display.
"Elemental activity is fluctuating wildly. The Dark element is unstable—yet surprisingly potent. This boy is a phenomenon."
Yuji gritted his teeth through the agony.
His voice cracked as he shouted, "You fear what you don't understand… just like all the rest!"
A sudden hush fell across the room.
From the shadows emerged a young woman. Barely more than a girl, she looked no older than seventeen. Long, silky blue hair cascaded down her back, catching the dim light. Her piercing sapphire eyes held a depth of sadness and hesitation.
She approached slowly, clutching a syringe filled with a glowing liquid.
The room's temperature seemed to drop as she stood close enough for Yuji to see the tremor in her slender hands.
The lead scientist barked, "Inject it! We must see how the Dark element responds to the suppressant serum!"
Mina's eyes met Yuji's.
No words passed between them, but the silent exchange was heavy with meaning.
Yuji's breath hitched as he sensed something almost… human. Vulnerability.
She nodded once, barely perceptible, and then her hand shook violently as she pushed the needle into his exposed shoulder.
Pain exploded.
Yuji grit his teeth but did not break.
Mina stepped back, eyes wet with unspilled tears. I Don't want to hurt you, I am sorry. She said almost to herself
The lead scientist's face twisted in surprise as the readings on his holo-display stabilized.
"Wait… this can't be right."
He tapped rapidly on the screen, frowning deeply.
Another scientist leaned closer, whispering.
"His elemental composition… it's stable. He was born like this. Wind and Dark intertwined naturally. Not a mutation or infection."
The lead scientist's eyes widened.
"So, he is not a traitor?"
"No," the other whispered. "He's something else. A weapon."
"A weapon… against the Verin. Against Sareyna. Against all who threaten Zeyrus."
Yuji's gaze locked with Mina's again. Her lips trembled.
She wiped away a tear with the back of her hand, silent, powerless to help him.
The machines hummed louder, pulsing with energy that made Yuji's skin crawl. Every injection, every shock, felt like his body was being torn apart and rebuilt.
But the emotional weight pressed heavier than the physical.
He was alone. Even among these scientists, he was an experiment—not a person.
Despite her sympathy, Mina said nothing. She was bound by duty, trapped between loyalty to the crown and the compassion she dared not voice.
At the far end of the chamber, a massive stained-glass window framed the darkening sky beyond.
Through the glass, King Kael's silhouette was visible, standing with his back to the room. His broad shoulders were tense; his jaw clenched in a rare moment of visible doubt.
The king murmured under his breath, almost to himself.
"He is not the first…"
A storm of questions loomed in the air. Secrets buried in ancient scrolls and forbidden knowledge danced behind Kael's steely gaze.
Yuji clenched his fists, his voice raw but steady.
"You fear what you don't understand. I am not your enemy."
The flickering machines, the cold chains, the harsh injections—all of it was the price of being different. Of being something beyond their control.
But Yuji's spirit burned with an unyielding fire.
He was more than their prisoner. More than an experiment.
He was a force born to change everything.
---
Council of Shadows
In the highest chamber of the Royal Citadel, the Grand Strategy Hall pulsed with low voices and heavy tension. The room was massive—domed ceiling painted with the history of Zeyrus in ancient murals, gold and black banners hanging like memories, swaying in the torch-lit gloom.
At the center stood a long, obsidian table. Seated around it were the highest officials of Zeyrus.
– Commander XIN ZEE, Supreme Tactician of the Outer Fronts.
– Elda Veyren, Head of the Healing Council.
– Arkus, Commander of Intelligence.
– And of course, at the far end, seated on a throne carved of volcanic glass, King Kael himself.
His presence radiated command. Tall, broad-shouldered, his eyes burned like dark embers—cold, calculated, and ancient.
The Red Crown of Zeyrus sat upon his head, shimmering with EB-forged metal.
None dared speak until Kael did.
He finally rose, casting his shadow across the room.
"Yuji Kazehaya," he said, voice calm and thunderous. "Wind… and Dark."
A silence followed. Even the torches seemed to flicker more carefully.
XIN ZEE leaned forward, arms crossed. "A dual-elemental. I've never seen such a thing outside of the ancient myths."
"He is not mythical," said Arkus, flipping through a crystalline tablet. "The lab results are clear. The boy was born with it. He's not corrupted by Verin or infected by foreign magic. This… is natural."
King Kael walked to the window. The skies above Zeyrus swirled with blue clouds and streaks of wind, but his gaze didn't follow the sky.
It was far deeper. Somewhere dark.
"I want him kept locked beneath the mountain. No contact. Not with the public. Not even with his comrades."
Elda, usually quiet, finally spoke. "Not even Aika Miyawaki? She was the one who—"
"No." Kael's voice cut like a sword.
XIN ZEE raised an eyebrow. "And if his friends grow suspicious?"
"Let them," Kael said. "If we tell them the truth too soon, they might act irrationally. Or worse, help him escape. Until I decide, no one is to know of his survival."
Arkus nodded slowly. "He's an asset. But also a threat."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"He is both. And if we are not careful, he could become something far more dangerous. The Verin nation has long sought chaos. Imagine what they'd do to recruit a boy born of Dark."
Commander XIN ZEE tapped his fingers on the table. "What are you suggesting?"
Kael turned back toward the council.
"I will decide what becomes of Yuji Kazehaya. Whether he remains locked away… or is molded into a weapon. He may be our greatest tool against Verin and Sareyna."
Elda's voice dropped to a whisper. "Or our greatest enemy."
Just then, the hall doors boomed open.
Guards jolted, spinning toward the entrance with hands on their blades—but froze as they saw who entered.
A man in a long black coat strode forward, the sound of his boots echoing like thunder.
Ryen Sylvan.
The room changed.
Kael's face tightened instantly. His grip on the throne's edge turned white-knuckled.
Every commander in the hall sat straighter.
Ryen walked without bowing, without speaking. His silver hair was slightly wet, cloak torn slightly at the edge as if he'd just returned from a long, vicious mission. His ADM gear was still strapped to his body—massive, advanced, and covered in dust.
Kael stared at him with a flicker of something rare—unease.
"…You," he said, voice low.
Ryen's gaze met his, cool and detached. His eyes were unreadable.
He didn't smile.
Didn't blink.
Didn't break stride.
Kael took a single step back and whispered under his breath—
> "It's him… It's really him…"
The hall, for one breathless moment, felt like the calm before a cataclysm.
END OF CHAPTER 10