The crest on the broken stone wall didn't fade.
It pulsed.
Like a heartbeat.
Golden cracks spread across the surface, glowing brighter each second — until the whole chamber was lit with a burning light. Instinctively, everyone stepped back.
Aadi didn't.
He didn't blink, didn't breathe, didn't move.
That symbol… he knew it. Not in memory, but deep in the bones — like something written into his blood before birth.
Riva grabbed his arm, worried."Aadi, get back—"
He shook her off, not harshly, but firmly.
"No. They came for me."
Rune swore under his breath."Yeah? Well, they can wait outside. Nobody's tearing you away again."
But the light didn't form a doorway to the outside.
It formed a holograph. A projection. A recording.
A figure materialized — robed in gold, crowned, dignified, and impossibly sad. His voice filled the room like thunder wrapped in sorrow.
"If this message has found you… then the Forbidden Seal has broken."
Aadi felt his stomach drop.Seal.The glowing eyes.The lost memories.
It was him.
His father.
He didn't remember the king — not like a memory — but the voice clicked somewhere inside, and Aadi flinched like his heart had been stabbed from the inside.
The recording continued.
"Aadi… my son… forgive me."
Rune froze.Riva covered her mouth.Aria lowered her head — guilt filling her eyes again.
Aadi stood very still.
The king's voice trembled.
"We did not erase you to forget you. We erased you to protect you."
Suddenly the hologram showed images — cities on fire, armies marching, magic storms ripping through landscapes, flames consuming kingdoms.
"The world hunted you before you were even born. Prophecies said the child of the Sun King would decide the fate of magic — destroy it, or save it."
Aadi whispered with disbelief, "That's insane…"
Riva whispered back, eyes wide with fear."No… that's why your power feels like divinity. It's not from magic schools or spells… it's something older."
Then came the part that turned the room to ice.
"The Sun Kingdom fell trying to protect you. We sent you to another world — not to abandon you… but to keep you alive."
Aadi felt like the floor had disappeared beneath him.
His whole life — the struggles, the loneliness, the pain — wasn't random fate.
It was a consequence of protecting him.
But it didn't feel like protection.
It felt like exile.
The Choice
The hologram shifted again.
"If you have awakened… the world is preparing to do the same. They will come for you. Your power can no longer be hidden."
His father's voice grew weaker.
"The only place that can shelter you now… is home. The Sun Kingdom. Return… and reclaim what is yours."
The glow faded.The crest dimmed.The message ended.
The room fell silent — but the silence wasn't empty.
It was heavy.
Aadi finally breathed — but it was sharp, painful, and angry.
"So that's it," he whispered. "After everything… after ruining my life… now they want me back."
No one dared speak.
Aadi laughed bitterly — not from amusement, but disbelief that life could be this cruel.
"I lost everything because of them. My childhood. My identity. My sanity. And now I'm supposed to run back like some fucking lost prince?"
Rune stepped close, steady and strong.
"You're not going anywhere alone. If you choose to go, we go with you. If you choose to burn that kingdom down, we burn it with you."
Riva nodded instantly.
"I don't care what the prophecy says. You're not a weapon. You're a person. We stay with you."
Aria was the last — eyes lowered, shoulders heavy.
"I won't make excuses. I should have told you what I knew. And I know I don't deserve to ask this but…"she looked up, voice cracking,"I want to stay too. If you'll let me."
Aadi didn't answer immediately.
Not because he didn't care about them — but because something much darker sat behind his eyes.
The truth wasn't relief.
It was a question that cut deeper than all the others:
If the Sun Kingdom fought to protect him…then who was it that wanted him dead?
The Footsteps in the Dark
Before anyone could speak again — a cold wave of energy sliced through the chamber.
The torches flickered.Every living thing shivered.Even the stone floor vibrated.
Aria's face went pale.
"They came too fast… someone must have followed the signal."
Rune drew his blade.Riva raised her staff.Aria took position beside Aadi.
From the darkness, dozens of glowing red eyes appeared — soldiers in black, wearing no crest, no banner, no symbol.
Hunters.
Not here to capture him.
Here to eliminate him.
Aadi's blood turned to ice.
These weren't soldiers of the Sun Kingdom.
They were the ones the prophecy warned about — the ones who never wanted him born.
Rune whispered:
"Aadi… what do we do?"
Aadi clenched his fists — not in fear, but with a fury that had been waiting his entire life.
He looked up slowly, and the glow returned to his eyes like wildfire.
"We survive," he said."And then—"
His voice dropped to something terrifyingly calm.
"—we go home."