The echoes of the brief, brutal victory died when they stepped back into the throne room.
Before the scent of burnt air from the barrier breach had even faded, Chalybs strode to the center of the floor, his metallic plating ringing with indignation. The other Elders took their places, silent and weary, but the Metal Elder's fury eclipsed their fatigue.
"Your Highness," Chalybs began, the honorific a dripping formality. "You engaged the enemy without orders. You violated four years of established protocol. Your actions were reckless, impulsive, and put this entire kingdom at risk—"
"I won."
Null, still in his simple human form, cut him off. He looked almost bored. "End of discussion."
Chalybs's face hardened, his voice rising from indignation to rage. "You do not have the—"
His words stopped, choked off by a sudden, immense weight. It wasn't a push; it was a cosmic judgment. An invisible force slammed Chalybs to his knees, his armored joints buckling with a sound like cracking stone. The marble floor beneath him split, spiderwebbing under the singular, impossible pressure. He strained, his metallic sinews groaning, his armor plating bending.
He looked up, struggling for breath, and saw only two black holes staring back at him.
Null's voice was perfectly calm, devoid of the energy he had unleashed. "I am your prince. Your future king. Do not question me, and do not question my mother." He held the pressure for one more agonizing beat. "...Anything else you want to add?"
Then, as instantly as it had arrived, the force vanished.
Chalybs rose, trembling with exertion and shock. The other Elders were frozen.
Into that pressurized silence, Aurora's voice cut like a scalpel.
"That was not an invasion," she said, pivoting the room from physical confrontation to strategic reality. The Elders snapped to attention. "It was a probe. They sacrificed one thousand units to gauge our response time and test the Elder's current strength. They sent one thousand,"—her voice was cold steel—"which means they have thousands more to spare. Or they've already moved on to something better."
The council absorbed the chilling logic.
"Barrier to maximum resonance," Aurora commanded. "Elder patrols, full 24-hour rotations, effective immediately. Tempestus, you will check the other kingdoms. See if they suffered similar probe attacks."
He nodded once and vanished in a swirl of wind.
"Dismissed."
They bowed, Chalybs deepest among them, and filed out of the room. The great marble doors closed with a heavy thud, leaving the throne room silent once more.
Null and Aurora stood alone in the vast space. Her gaze was still stern, but the focus had shifted from the council to her son.
"What you did," she said, her Queen's voice still in place, "was not called for. He is an Elder of this kingdom. You humiliated him to make a point of strength you have already proven. Respect works both ways, Null."
Null looked at the cracked marble. The adrenaline of the fight hadn't faded; pinning the Elder had felt right, the next logical step in establishing order. But he saw the political truth in her words. He looked back at her and gave a small smile.
"I understand, Mother."
Aurora's expression softened, the hard edges of command dissolving, replaced by a flicker of awe. She stepped forward and rubbed his hair, mussing it up.
"How did you get this strong, this fast?" she marveled. "You went from failing to dodge my spars to obliterating an army."
Null's smile widened, a flash of arrogance in his eyes. "I could probably beat you now."
Aurora laughed, a warm, genuine sound that chased the last of the tension from the room.
"Maybe in a thousand years, little star," she said, tapping his forehead. "Go. Go to your room and practice with that new form. Learn what it actually costs you."
Null nodded, the playful light gone, replaced by focus. He turned and disappeared. There was no sound, no flash of light; he was there, and then he was gone.
In the corridor outside, Chalybs didn't even look at the others, stalking away, his armored footsteps echoing his humiliation.
Igniscor, the Fire Elder, watched him go before turning to Cryos, who was calmly adjusting the crystal cuffs on her sleeves.
"Chalybs always let his pride forge his chains," Igniscor rumbled, stepping beside her. "But I did not expect... that. The force of it. It was..."
"Proportional," Cryos finished for him, her voice calm and firm.
Igniscor raised a fiery eyebrow. "Proportional? My friend, that was power I've never felt. He threatened to unmake our colleague."
"And our colleague threatened the chain of command," Cryos countered, not missing a step. "He was loud, he was disrespectful, and he was wrong. The Order is moving, and Chalybs chose that moment to debate protocol? The Prince's response was not just proportional, Igniscor, it was necessary. He showed absolute power because the royal line is absolute. For the first time in four years, I've never felt more secure."
Igniscor looked at her, genuinely surprised by the straightforward, immovable logic. "More secure? Because a boy can crush an Elder?"
"Because our Prince can," she corrected him. "I am thinking of my daughter, Sierra. I am thinking of this kingdom. The Prince's display today didn't just put Chalybs in his place; it put the Order on notice. That 'probe' just received an answer they cannot possibly comprehend."
Igniscor was silent for a long moment, processing her perspective. The raw, fiery power he had respected was reframed by her sharp, strategic logic. She wasn't just impressed; she was relieved.
"You're right," he said, his voice acquiring a new, more profound respect. "With power like that, growing so fast..."
"He is not just a prince," Cryos said, pausing at the junction where they would part. "He won't just be a king in a few more years."
She looked Igniscor dead in the eyes, her gaze absolute. "Igniscor... he could be a Nexus."
The word settled between them—a force of nature, not just a ruler.
A slow, fiery grin spread across Igniscor's face. "A Nexus. I like it. You've always been the most level-headed of us all. Good. Let the Order come."
"They won't," Cryos said, turning to leave. "Not after the report from today's 'probe' gets back. Go, Igniscor. Secure the east. I have the north."