The underground chamber remained still, but the weight of Vierd’s decision lingered in the air.
Rain had heard his words. "We’re going to find out who created it."
A dangerous choice.
A path that could lead to either revelation or ruin.
But Rain didn’t argue.
Instead—he closed his eyes.
For a moment, his mind drifted away from this dying fortress… and back to a place that no longer existed.
A world that had been swallowed by the very thing they now sought to understand.
A Kingdom That Once Was
Valtaria.
That was the name of his world.
A kingdom of eternal dusk, where the sun never fully rose, but neither did the night consume the sky.
The air was always cool, carrying the scent of faint embers from the city’s massive forges, where weapons and artifacts of arcane steel were crafted for warriors and scholars alike.
Its cities were built upon floating spires, bridges of black stone stretching between them.
And at its heart, standing above everything else, was the Sanctum of the Ashen Throne.
It was there that Rain Valtarius was born.
Not as a soldier.
Not as a scholar.
But as a prince.
The Weight of Blood & Duty
His name had been chosen for him.
Rain, the Silver Flame of Valtaria.
A name meant to embody wisdom and strength, as was tradition among the royal bloodline.
He had been raised not merely as a ruler, but as something more.
A protector.
A guide.
A living symbol of balance in a world where power was both a gift and a curse.
And his power…
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
It was unlike anything else in Valtaria.
The Ashen Veil.
A force that existed between destruction and rebirth.
It was a power that allowed him to burn away the weaknesses of the body and mind, refining those he touched into something greater.
To his people, he was a beacon.
A prince destined to bring Valtaria into a new age of prosperity.
But fate… had other plans.
The Woman He Left Behind
Rain exhaled, his hand clenching slightly.
He had not been alone in that kingdom.
Seraphis.
She had been more than just a noble.
More than just a warrior-scholar.
She had been his equal.
While others saw him as a ruler in waiting, she had seen the man beneath the crown.
And despite his duty, despite the burdens placed upon his shoulders…
With her, he had felt free.
"You always try to carry everything alone."
Those had been her words, whispered to him under the silver-lit skies of Valtaria.
"But even you have limits, Rain."
He had laughed then, telling her that a prince could not afford weakness.
She had smiled softly.
"Then I will be your weakness. And you will be mine."
For the first time in his life…
He had believed in a future that was his to shape.
But the future never belonged to him.
Not truly.
Because that night…
Everything changed.
The Shattering of a World
The stone had appeared first.
A crystal not unlike the one Vierd had found.
It was discovered deep within the ruins of the Forgotten Archives, buried beneath centuries of lost history.
At first, it had seemed like a gift.
An ancient artifact that pulsed with raw, untapped energy.
The scholars believed it to be a remnant of the First Flame, the primordial force said to have birthed their world.
But Rain had felt it.
Something wrong.
Something hungry.
And when the cracks had begun to appear—
It was already too late.
Valtaria did not fall to war.
It did not crumble from within.
It was consumed.
The very skies split open, and the crystal breathed in the world itself.
The land fractured.
The floating spires collapsed into the abyss.
And Seraphis—
She had stood beside him until the end.
"Run!" she had yelled, her hand outstretched, her voice desperate.
But he hadn’t moved.
"Not without you."
She had smiled then. A sorrowful, knowing smile.
"Then we both die here."
He had refused that fate.
So he had done the one thing he swore never to do.
He had used his gift.
The Ashen Veil.
And instead of burning away weakness…
He had burned away the bond between them.
The last thing he saw was her eyes widening in shock.
Then—
The world swallowed her whole.
And Rain…
Was cast into the void.
Arrival in Vierd’s World
Rain had awakened in the desert.
Alone.
Broken.
A kingdom lost.
A woman gone.
And the same kind of stone that had destroyed his world…
Had appeared before him once more.
Back to the Present
The chamber was quiet.
Vierd was staring at him, golden eyes unreadable.
"You never told me how your world fell."
Rain smirked, but there was no warmth in it.
"You never asked."
Vierd studied him for a long moment.
Then, in a voice that was calmer than expected, he asked—
"And if you had the chance… to go back? To change it?"
Rain exhaled.
"We don’t get to change the past, Vierd."
He turned, gazing at the fractured stone.
"But we can make sure it doesn’t happen again."
Vierd’s expression darkened.
"Then let’s find out who’s responsible."
Rain chuckled softly. "You sound so certain."
"Because I don’t have the luxury of doubting." Vierd replied.
Rain shook his head, but his smile was different this time.
Not mocking.
Not cold.
But understanding.
"Neither do I."
And for the first time in a long time…
Rain felt like he wasn’t alone.
End of Chapter 12.5
