From a distance, a lone figure watched Solarphel, draped in a child’s tiny jacket and oversized sunglasses, playing the role of a "hidden prince" with ease, surrounded by his new loyal subjects.

  A quiet chuckle. Even without knowing, he still fit the part.

  Good.

  For now, he was safe.

  No need to interfere. Not yet.

  I was still in my ridiculous “disguise,” surrounded by my tiny army of bodyguards, when a kid walked into the park.

  At first, I didn’t think much of him. Just another kid wandering around. He had messy blond hair, dark brown eyes, and an unimpressed look, like he was already over life. His plain sweater made him blend in, but something about him felt… off.

  He wasn’t acting like a normal kid. No excitement, no energy. Just cold, calculating eyes scanning the place. Then he spotted me.

  Does he know me..?

  The kids noticed him too.

  “Who’s that?” one whispered.

  “That’s the loner guy,” another said. “He comes to the park, stares at the kids, then leaves with a disappointed face.”

  “Weird…” a third added dramatically.

  The boy sighed, like he’d officially lost all hope for humanity. And then, to my surprise, he walked straight toward us.

  The kids immediately ran behind me, pushing me forward like a human shield.

  “Hey,” the kid said, stopping right in front of me. “What the hell are you supposed to be?”

  I blinked. “Uh…”

  One of the kids answered for me. “HE’S PRINCE SOLARPHEL!”

  There was a long, awkward silence.

  The boy looked at me. Then at the kids. Then back at me.

  He tilted his head, trying to hold back a laugh. “You’re kidding.”

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  I hesitated. “...Hey, look, I-”

  “Oh, this is tragic,” he cut in. “You look like a full-grown man, and you're seriously out here playing fantasy prince with a bunch of six-year-olds?”

  The kids gasped. One clutched their heart like they’d been personally attacked.

  “You’re so rude!” one yelled.

  “Like, actually!” another agreed.

  “Who even are you?!”

  The boy ignored them, still staring at me. “Seriously, what’s your deal? You got maturity issues, or is this just a midlife crisis hitting early?”

  I felt personally attacked, even though I didn’t understand half the words he used. “Excuse me?! I’m just blending in!”

  “Blending in,” he repeated, deadpan. “Right. Because nothing screams ‘normal guy’ like dressing up as a confused medieval noble and leading a daycare army.”

  The kids looked at me.

  I looked at them.

  …Okay. maybe he had a point.

  But I wasn’t about to admit that.

  “Wait! I told you guys I’m going undercover!” I realized.

  The kids immediately nodded.

  “Yeah! He’s going undercover!”

  “Totally undercover!”

  “It’s a secret mission!”

  I sighed.

  The blond kid just stared at me, then pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “You know what?” he muttered. “I don’t even wanna know anymore.”

  He turned and walked away, shaking his head in disbelief.

  “That guy was weird,” one of the kids whispered.

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “Super weird… I guess?”

  And just like that, my ridiculous cover was safe once more.

  The kids suddenly turned their attention back to me, grinning like nothing had happened.

  "Okay, time to play!" one of the kids cheered.

  "Yeah! We want to climb!" another said, already scrambling up the jungle gym.

  I blinked, still a little lost from the weird interaction with the other kid. "Climb? Uh, I'm not sure I can-"

  Before I could finish, the kids grabbed my arms and pulled me over to the jungle gym. "Come on, Solarphel, it'll be fun!"

  I stood there, unsure how to approach this. The kids were scaling the bars with ease, but every time I tried to mimic their movements, I felt clumsy and stiff.

  "You're too slow!" one kid giggled, giving me a little push.

  "I’m not., I just... don’t know what I’m doing.." I muttered, trying to grab a bar, But I misjudged the distance and slammed my hand too hard against one of the metal bars, causing a loud thud.

  but instead of pain, all I felt was a weird tension in my hand. I froze, confused. Why didn't it hurt? Wasn't I supposed to feel pain? Weird..

  The kids noticed my sudden pause and looked at me, giggling. "What's wrong, Solarphel? You okay?"

  "Y- yeah im okay.." I mumbled, still confused. It didn’t hurt, just felt... tight. My other hand was still holding on against the metal, but I couldn’t shake the weird feeling of tension on my other one.

  But before I could figure it out, I tried to climb again, but this time my hand slipped and my head hit the floor harder. Everything went black.