"Edric."

  "Yes, Father?"

  "Do you recall the day of your birth in this very place?"

  "N—"

  "Of course not. For me, however, it was the most blissful day of my life. You were born upon my favorite place in all the realm… the very place your mother..."He paused, his voice catching for a breath. "I do not say this to burden you with sorrow, only to remind you—You will return to us, won't you?"

  "I will, Father. I swear it."

  The Grand Duke turned away, folding his hands behind his back as he gazed through the narrow slit of the Solar Tower's window.

  "Good."

  Silence fell between them, heavy and still.

  The Duke nodded slowly, watching the sunset. "We've sent scouts to the edge of the enemy's territory. The weapons they wield—those thunder sticks, iron mortar that shoots out rock at speed birds can never dream of over taking—they're not of our time. But the Archmage insists he's traced their origin. A thread, thin as spider’s silk, pulled from another world."

  Edric looked down at his gloved hands, already trembling slightly. "Will the portal hurt?"

  "It'll feel like fire and ice colliding in your bones." the Duke said. Then, after a pause, "But only for a moment."

  Finally, he turned back to his son. His stern expression cracked, just barely. A ghost of warmth touched his voice.

  "You are of Arkin's blood. Don't forget who you are—even when the world around you forgets."

  Edric straightened. "I won't, Father."

  The Duke placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then go. Make them remember."

  I could feel the weight of my father's words still hanging in the air, heavy like the dusk that pressed against the narrow windows of the Solar Tower. The tension had followed me out of that room, and now, as I walked down the stone corridors of Arkin's Keep, the stillness of the castle felt oppressive.

  The flickering torchlight cast shadows that danced on the walls, stretching and pulling like ghosts, making it hard to think clearly. My steps echoed off the cold stone, far cry to the usual bustle of activity that once filled the halls before the war.

  I paused in front of the Eryndor's research chamber, my hand hovering over the iron handle. The mage had been my mentor since I was old enough to remember things. He's probably the reason I volunteer for this in the first place as I trust him the most.

  "Come in, Eddie," a voice called from within. It was faint, almost a whisper, but unmistakable.

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  I didn't know how long he had been waiting for me, but I turned the handle without a second thought. The heavy door creaked open, and the familiar scent of herbs and parchment filled the air.

  The mage sat at his desk, hunched over some scrolls. His face, lined with age and wisdom, lit up faintly with the candlelight, but his eyes—they were sharp, calculating. Too sharp, not like his usual carefree demeanor. I noticed how his hands trembled ever so slightly as they held the parchment, like he was trying to control something just beneath the surface.

  "Are you oka—"

  "You're ready," he said, his voice barely above a murmur. "I am prepared. Your father is certain of his decision, and now, it's your turn. Go to the war chamber, I'll follow you in a moment"

  I swallowed hard, fighting the sudden knot that had formed in my throat. "What should I expect?"

  The mage didn't look up from the scrolls. "Unimaginable Pain," he said. Then he chuckled softly. "But, what's the point in thinking hard about it, if it's unimaginable, Eddie?" he smiled wryly. Now that's more like the normal Eryndor. "Now go—go and learn Eddie. For there is knowledge beyond anything you could ever imagine inside that portal. It is time... time for you to save your own world"

  Save my world. The words felt hollow. Was I really the one who could do that? Could I truly stop an entire war with only knowledge of a world I'd never seen? I didn't know the answer, but I had no choice but to find out.

  "I will go," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.

  Eryndor finally looked up, his gaze piercing. "Good. Don't forget who you are, Eddie. You may leave, but you will always be an Arkin. And that… that is your greatest strength."

  I nodded, unsure if his words were meant to comfort or warn me. But they were all I had.

  With a final glance at the mage's hollow eyes, I turned and left his chamber, the door closing quietly behind me. The world outside seemed both infinite and tiny at once, and for the first time, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was standing at the edge of something much darker than I could imagine.

  As I continued walking down the halls of our castle, I eventually found my way to the war chamber. The guard outside didn't even blink as I passed. To them, I was entering the war chamber just for another round of war gaming. Only father and Eryndor knew what truly lay behind this charade.

  In front of me was a wall that seems ordinary at first, that's what I certainly thought from all of my time playing war with my brother since we were a kid. But I learned from my father last year on the age of coming ceremony, that it was actually an emergency escape route for our family and close tie known by but a few.

  A talking sound come through the wall from behind me, then a dull thump.

  "Hey! Is everything alright?" I yelled.

  "It's fine, It's fine," Eryndor spoke as he opened the door.

  "Was that...? The sound of you falling?" I asked him.

  "No, well... yes," he said truthfully after I sent him a suspicious look. "I was just tired from confirming the portal spell worked alright as theory. That is all, young Eddie"

  He brushed off his robes as he stepped aside, tiring his already assumed terrible condition in the process. The wall seemingly opened with no effort when confronted with the Arkin's archmage. It seems like it had been maintained after all this time.

  I stepped after Eryndor push through the thick air inside the narrow passage, it was warm and tinged with the scent of settled dust and faint herb—magic. Not the usual kind used by the common peasantry, but one seems so full of history it makes your lungs burn with coarseness not seen before.

  The stone shifted back into its place behind us with an almost silent grind. The passage descended, torchless and steep, with only the faint light glowing from Eryndor's staff to see my way through. The wall seemed to contain magical defenses system—etched with un-intelligible runes translatable only by the most seasoned mages, pulsing with our steps, as if watching our every moves.

  "We're close," he said in a low voice, distinguishable only in the silence of the tunnel. "Once you pass through, the link will close behind you. No one will be able to follow. And I mean no one, even me"

  I hesitated "You mean... I won't be able to come back?"

  "With this thing, you will," he said as he hands me an orb glowing with a reddish hue.

  "What is this?" I asked while looking at it.

  "It's the orb that will bring you home. Only use it for when you're ready, and do not, in any circumstances, lose it. Then you'll lose your chance to come home. And you'll be stuck in a world that's not yours, Eddie. You're my—our—only chance at redemption." he said. His eyes piercing into mine.

  "Then how do I use it?"

  "When you think you are ready to come back. Just break the orb, and the area around the orb will come back here. Careful to not stick your limbs too far off of the orb, or else you might be coming home with a few things back in the other world." I shuddered at the thought.

  "We're here," he whispered. The chamber was a small, circular room etched with runes. The floor carved into a sigil—complex beyond understanding. At its center, an empty space—clearly meant for me.

  I stepped into the space provided. And braced.

  "Farewell, Edric von Arkin. May you be the one to decide our fate… for I shall see you later." he spoke with pained eyes.

  I wasn't sure if it was meant to comfort me for a little, if at all.

  But I nodded anyway—and closed my eyes.