The following morning, the entire palace surrounding **Aelthrys** felt… wrong.
Too quiet.
Too tense.
Too alive.
Whispers spread through the silver halls as priests, generals, and high nobles were ushered into emergency meetings without explanation. Every corridor hummed with mana as though the palace itself was watching.
But only three people in the world knew the truth:
* The Emperor
* The Queen
* And the cosmic guardian who had knelt before their infant
Everyone else only sensed one thing:
**A divine pressure had awakened in the Elvish Empire.**
And the world beyond its borders was terrified.
---
## **THE QUEEN HIDES A MIRACLE**
Queen Seraphielle stood over her son's cradle, watching him sleep in the soft glow of dawn. Her eyes were swollen from crying, but there was a new fire in them—sharp, protective, dangerous.
She lightly stroked Liam's cheek.
"My love… you cannot show the world what you are. Not yet."
Liam blinked awake, silver eyes focusing sharply—too sharply—on her face. It was unnerving, like looking at an ancient scholar trapped in a baby's body.
He reached up, grabbed a strand of her hair gently, and smiled.
Seraphielle's chest ached.
"You're so aware… far too aware…"
She wasn't blind.
Her baby did not behave like a baby.
He blinked with intention.
He moved with purpose.
He watched everything.
And deep inside him—
she felt something vast, sealed, suppressed…
Something sleeping behind a glass wall.
She shuddered.
If the world saw her son's true nature?
They would worship him.
Fear him.
Envy him.
Try to control him.
Or worse—
destroy him before he grew.
Her wings tightened around him protectively.
"No," she whispered. "The world will not take you again."
---
## **THE EMPEROR'S SECRET COUNCIL**
Deep in the war room, a handful of trusted commanders gathered around **The Elvish High Council** table.
Thalorien entered without armor, without ceremonial robes—only wearing the same tunic he held Liam in last night.
Yet every commander rose.
His presence was heavier.
Sharper.
More dangerous.
As if something inside him had awakened too.
Thalorien's voice was low.
"What I say here does not leave this room. Not to your wives. Not to your sons. Not to your shadows. Understood?"
The council swallowed.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
He looked around them—
at warriors who had fought beside him for centuries—
and said words none expected to hear:
"The Protector of this world has sworn fealty to my son."
Silence.
Then—
A chair fell over.
A general fainted.
A high mage burst into tears.
Thalorien raised his hand.
"There will be no worship. No celebration. No rumor. Anyone who spreads this knowledge will be silenced."
"Y-Your Majesty," a trembling commander whispered, "if the Protector serves the prince… then what is the boy?"
Thalorien didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
All he knew was fear—
not of Liam,
but for him.
"From this day," he commanded,
"Liam is to be hidden.
Protected.
Shielded from the world."
He slammed a seal onto the table.
"We will rebuild our empire stronger than ever.
But we will **not** let the world know who returned to us."
His voice dropped into something cold.
"If they knew, they would either fall to their knees…
or burn our world trying to claim him."
---
## **THE WORLD PANICS**
The moment Elyndor's vow echoed across the planet's mana layer, spies and scouts from all races sent reports to their rulers.
**HUMANS**
A human Archmage snarled:
"This is impossible! The Protector has never bowed before any king!"
A court priest whispered:
"If he bowed to an elvish child, that child must be… a destroyer…"
The Human King clenched his jaw.
"Prepare envoys.
Send gifts.
Pray for mercy."
Because they remembered every elvish village they burned.
Every arrow fired.
Every life taken.
And now?
They had offended the child of a being higher than their world's ceiling.
---
**DRAGONS**
On the Crimson Peaks, an elder dragon screamed, voice shaking mountains.
"We are doomed! We killed thousands of elves!"
Another dragon curled into a trembling ball.
"If the Protector guards their prince, then we cannot hide from judgment…"
Elders clashed, fighting over how to survive a calamity they couldn't fight.
Some wanted to flee the continent.
Some wanted to bow.
Some wanted to burrow deep into the molten core and pray.
None wanted war.
---
**DEMONS**
In the Abyss, demon lords raged.
"We sent assassins!"
"We attacked his empire!"
"We hunted their king!"
"And now the Protector kneels before their infant prince!?"
One demon whispered:
"What if the boy orders our extinction?"
The Abyss went silent.
Even demons feared that possibility.
---
## **THE PROTECTOR WATCHES FROM ABOVE**
High above the world, on a floating citadel of cosmic stone, Elyndor stood motionless, staring down at **Aelthrys**.
His vision pierced walls, mana, and flesh.
He watched Liam.
He observed the sealed glow inside him.
He whispered to himself:
"A soul not forged in this world…
A law not written by its creators…
A presence not bound by cosmic rank…"
He lowered his head—
a gesture of reverence.
"When he awakens fully…
this world will either evolve…
or crumble."
He placed a hand on his chest.
"My lord… until you choose your path…
I will stand between you and fate."
---
## **THE PRINCE WHO IS A MIRROR**
Back in the nursery, Liam sat upright—
a rare feat for an infant yet he did so with precision.
Seraphielle froze.
"My love… that's not normal."
Liam blinked at her calmly.
She reached forward, voice quivering:
"Can… can you understand me?"
He tilted his head thoughtfully…
then reached for her hand.
She gasped.
"That's… an answer…"
She hugged him to her chest, heart racing.
Her baby understood.
Her baby returned with a mind sharp as crystal.
Her baby…
Her baby had something ancient inside him.
---
## **THE SHIELD OF SILVER**
Thalorien entered the nursery, kneeling beside Seraphielle.
His voice was steady, but fear lingered in his eyes.
"We must protect him.
Not because he is dangerous—
but because the world is terrified."
Seraphielle nodded softly.
"We must hide his intelligence.
Hide his awareness.
Hide everything."
Thalorien touched Liam's small hand gently.
"Grow," he whispered.
"Grow safely.
Grow quietly."
His fingers trembled.
"And when you are ready…
show the world who you choose to be."
---
## **A WARNING WRITTEN INTO DESTINY**
That night, a tremor rolled through the mana layer of the continent.
Not violent.
Not destructive.
Just a whisper.
A warning.
A promise.
Even humans felt it in their dreams.
Even dragons felt it in their bones.
Even demons felt it in their corrupted hearts.
A prophecy spread through cults, temples, and magical circles:
**"The prince returned.
The Protector knelt.
A lord sleeps in flesh too small.
The world waits for his judgment."**
And in the palace, Liam slept peacefully—
completely unaware of the fear his existence spread.
Yet deep in his soul,
the sealed power stirred softly.
A second heartbeat.
Growing.
Waiting.
Awakening.