The palace of **Aelthrys** had always been majestic—
silver spires rising into misty skies, moonlit walkways, crystal arches that hummed with mana.
But in the days following Liam's return, it became something else entirely.
Sacred.
Dangerous.
Alive.
Priests prayed at dawn.
Soldiers patrolled with trembling diligence.
Magical wards glowed brighter than ever, as if the palace itself was preparing for a divine guest.
But the only one who truly understood the change…
lay in a cradle, staring quietly at a floating mobile.
---
## **THE PRINCE WHO WATCHED EVERYTHING**
Liam studied the spinning wooden stars above him.
Not with wonder—
but with calculation.
Pressure differences made them rotate.
Light reflections created shifting patterns.
Mana threads sewn into the structure allowed subtle movement.
His infant eyes narrowed slightly.
*Mana density in this wing is rising every day…*
He could sense it.
As a soul in the system space, he had learned to feel mana like wind or sound. Now, even though his physical body limited his abilities, his soul remained sharp.
He could not speak.
He could not walk.
He could not cast.
But he could **observe**.
And observation was the first step to power.
---
## **THE FIRST SIGN — MIRACLE OF THE CRADLE**
Seraphielle entered with a basin of warm water.
"Good morning, my star," she whispered.
Liam blinked up at her.
A soft glow shimmered behind his eyes.
The moment she lifted him from the cradle—
a soft wave of mana pulsed outward from his tiny body.
The wooden mobile above him shook.
The basin water rippled.
The moonlight bent slightly toward him.
Seraphielle froze.
"…Did you see that?"
A maid bowed nervously.
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty… I thought it was my imagination…"
Seraphielle pressed her lips together.
"That was… not elvish magic."
Liam inwardly winced.
His sealed power was leaking.
Just drops—
but drops from an ocean were still terrifying.
He forced his body to relax, pretending to gurgle like a normal baby.
Seraphielle smiled faintly.
"You're trying to talk… how precious."
No—he wasn't.
But he let her believe it.
---
## **THE EMPEROR'S SHADOWS DETECT MOVEMENT**
Far below the palace, in the underground halls where only elite soldiers tread, Commander Lyren knelt before Emperor Thalorien.
"We've caught six spies, Your Majesty."
Thalorien's jaw tensed.
"From where?"
Commander Lyren swallowed.
"One from the human kingdom.
Two from demon clans.
Three… dragons."
Thalorien's eyes sharpened.
"They move fast. Too fast."
Lyren lowered his head.
"Word of the Protector's kneeling has spread… They think your son is a divine weapon."
Thalorien's gaze darkened.
"Then we must hide him better than a treasure. More sacred than relics. More guarded than kings."
He stood, aura flaring.
"If they try to touch him again…"
His voice lowered into cold steel.
"…they will regret not dying in the war."
---
## **THE PROTECTOR'S SILENT PURGE**
That night, the three remaining spies hiding near the palace gardens made their move.
A human assassin cloaked in shadow.
A demon wearing a shifting disguise.
A dragon wyrmling disguised as a merchant's son.
All three had one goal:
**Identify the elvish prince.**
They crept through silver archways
and glided past moonlit pools
until they reached the side of the palace wall.
The demon whispered:
"The child must be in this wing—"
A voice behind them spoke:
**"You trespass in my lord's domain."**
The three froze.
A tall figure stepped from the shadows—
not walking, but emerging like a memory taking form.
Cosmic robes shimmered.
Eyes glowed like ancient stars.
Elyndor.
The Planetary Protector.
The human assassin trembled violently.
"W-We… we didn't mean—"
Elyndor raised a hand.
They disintegrated.
No explosion.
No scream.
Just quiet erasure.
Dust.
Nothing.
Elyndor turned his gaze toward the nursery window.
"My lord…" he murmured,
"…sleep safely."
Then he vanished.
---
## **THE QUEEN'S REALIZATION**
Later that week, Seraphielle held Liam in her lap while feeding him warm milk.
He drank politely.
Carefully.
Calmly.
Too calmly.
She watched his eyes—how they tracked movement, how they focused, how they flickered with analysis.
No infant did that.
"Liam…" she whispered, stroking his cheek,
"you're… not normal, are you?"
He blinked twice—intentionally.
Her heart skipped.
"You understand me."
Silence.
Her breath shook as she hugged him tightly.
"What happened to you in those years…?
What did the gods do to my baby…?"
Liam's fingers curled around her gown.
He wanted to speak.
He wanted to reassure her.
He wanted to tell her he was still her son.
But his mouth could not shape the words.
He could only cling to her.
That was enough for now.
---
## **THE EMPEROR'S FEARFUL THEORY**
Meanwhile, Thalorien sat with his council late into the night.
"The Protector bent his knee," a general murmured, voice trembling.
"That means the prince is above Elyndor's tier."
A mage shook her head frantically.
"That's impossible! Elyndor is the strongest being on the planet! How can a *child* be above him!?"
Thalorien spoke quietly, his voice heavy with dread.
"He is not above Elyndor.
He is… *outside* the classification."
The room fell silent.
Outside the system.
Outside the world's laws.
Outside fate.
A being who shouldn't exist—
yet did.
---
## **THE WORLD'S PROPHECIES AWAKEN**
Across the continent, prophets and seers woke screaming.
Visions flooded their minds:
A child holding a star in his palm.
Dragons kneeling before him.
Demons turning to ash.
Empires collapsing at a glance.
The Protector following him like a shadow.
The world splitting into light and darkness.
A human oracle clawed at her eyes.
"He will choose…
Mercy… or ruin…"
A dragon priest wailed.
"He is the one our ancestors warned us of—
the Child Who Wakes the Heavens!"
A demon shaman collapsed.
"We spilled the blood of his people…
Our doom is sealed…"
Fear pulsed across nations.
---
## **LIAM'S SYSTEM STIRS**
That night, as Liam lay in his cradle, moonlight glowing on his skin, he felt something shift inside him.
A warmth.
A memory.
A voice.
Faint.
Like a whisper coming from a deep ocean.
**[System… booting…]**
Liam's breath caught.
**It was returning.**
The sealed power inside his body trembled, forming thin cracks in the barrier that contained it.
A soft glow spread across his chest.
Not visible to others—
but overwhelming to him.
His consciousness flickered.
He heard the system again:
**"Host…
your body grows.
Soon…
functions will return."**
Liam clenched his tiny fists.
He wasn't helpless.
Not anymore.
His return to the world was only the beginning.
He had parents to protect.
A world that feared him.
Enemies hiding in shadows.
A protector who viewed him as a lord.
And a destiny that refused to stay silent.
The sealed power inside him pulsed once—
a warning to heaven and earth.
The prince who shouldn't exist
was waking again.