Walking around the temple that had numerous red-brown boulders carefully organized around the spacious area, En noticed several marks on the ground. He raised a brow, realizing that the marks looked like foreign writings.
He frowned, recognizing those symbols. He stopped and bent over a bit to examine those writings more closely.
"These marks," he said, his fingers rubbing the rough ground, "they are the same as the ones on Zhurog's Eye."
En remembered his curiosity about the symbols inscribed on the blade of the King's sword.
"That's because Zhurog's Eye was found here," said Regina, her voice echoing in the area. "It is believed that those marks were seals that trapped the sword on the stone until the Fourth Dragon King removed it."
En stood up, his gaze meeting the tall woman with slightly wavy short brown hair, standing several steps away from him.
"So this is the place where the God of Fire sent their answer to the Dragon Clan's prayers," said En, examining his surroundings.
Not far from where he was standing, he spotted another boulder in the middle of the area. It looked as though all the marks on the ground lead to it. He concluded that maybe the sword was stuck there.
"Yes," said Regina, admiring her surroundings. "According to the legend, after many years of our people asking for help to fight the creatures from other worlds, a red light shone on this island and something fell on it. The impact was so strong that it caused an earthquake."
En kept examining his surroundings as he heard his aunt. His dark eyes met a large hole on the cavern's ceiling, illuminating with a bright light the spot where he guessed the sword used to be stuck in to.
"When our people checked what had fallen on this island," continued Regina, "they found a sword with a red gem on its pommel and concluded that it was a weapon sent by Zhurog to protect us."
"But none of them were able to remove the sword until the Fourth King showed up, I know," said En, looking back at his aunt. "Aunt Regina, why did you bring me here?"
The slightly tanned woman gazed at her nephew, her green eyes looking thoughtful.
"Remember the tale of the Fourth King?" she asked.
"The second son who wasn't supposed to be born," said En, remembering the tale. "Yet he was born looking exactly like his brother, but powerless."
En couldn't imagine how useless the Fourth King must have felt for being born minutes after the heir was born. With the kingdom already having a future King, his existence wasn't needed.
"Even though the Third King had twins and one of them had no powers," continued Regina, "He raised his boys equally. The boys grew up with a strong bond, even though the kingdom would always compare them."
Despite most of the time wishing he had a sibling as he saw Miria's relationship with her brother and Kazuya's relationship with his sisters, part of En was glad he was an only child. He couldn't imagine how annoying it must be to be compared with your own sibling.
"The youngest prince had accepted that he would never become a King and had told his brother he would always support him," continued Regina. "But after his older brother died protecting him, the young prince had great responsibilities ahead.
"People still didn't like him as the next King and even spread rumors saying that he had planned to kill his brother to get the throne. Despite the slander, the young prince did his best to show his people that Eteria would be in good hands. It wasn't after he removed the sword on the stone to protect Eteria that he gained the respect and trust from his people."
"I already know the tale, aunt Regina," said En, folding his arms. "What I'm curious about is why you brought me here."
En couldn't count how many times he and his cousins would hear that tale.
"I brought you here to remind you of the path of a King," said Regina, walking towards him. "King Martius went through a lot of struggles before our people accepted him as the Fourth Dragon King.
"If he can rule Eteria as a powerless individual with a magical sword, you can rule the Kingdom as a mixed-blood blessed with Astral powers. Don't mind what our people say; I'm sure they will accept you with time."
En looked away, doubtful. At least King Martius was a pureblooded Eterian and was only looked down for being born without powers. En could see his people looking at him with disgust just because he was part Earthling.
"Your silence tells me you're still doubting yourself," said Regina, touching his shoulder. "Please remember that there are people who support you, En, and would like for the late King's only son to continue to take care of our kingdom.
"Father never recognized Belinsk as his legitimate child. He told the kingdom that he only had three children and that's sister Reina, Reiji, and me. As Reiji's son, you're the rightful King. "
En's gaze met his aunt's green eyes, still not sure if he would handle ruling a kingdom that despised him.
"When you return to Celestia, please think of us," said Regina, tightening her grip on En's shoulder. "Please fight to reclaim your throne and don't fight to avenge your parents."
---♈♌♎♐♓♑♍♏♊♋♒♉---
To fulfill his late mother's dream has always been En's aim in life. Even though he's not sure he will succeed bringing peace between Eteria and Celestia, he promised himself to at least become the next King.
Despite his people's doubts about him, En has been encouraged by his father to believe in himself. However, after his father's sudden death, fulfilling that dream seems impossible as his uncle is chosen to become the new King. Confused with what is happening, En is told his uncle is who his people want as their King.
With his people rejecting him and with his friends no longer trusting him, En finds himself lost in nothingness, questioning his purpose in life.
Passing through his struggles, he finds a temporary home in his maternal family's residence and as he bonds with his family, he finds a moment of peace. But when he finds out what really happened to his mother and father, feelings of uncontrollable anger emerge within him.
Despite being told to focus on reclaiming his throne, En only has one thing in his mind: revenge.
Unexpected encounters and a twisted fate test the Fallen Prince in this third installment of the Astral Guardians Series.
The Fallen Prince, coming August 13th, 2020
Cover, royally designed by scmimi
A/N
Greetings, my dear readers and fellow writers,
I hope that you're doing well in these difficult and painful moments the world is going through. I'm excited to finally announce the release date of the third installment. The plan was to post between September and October, but with the state of emergency, I've had a lot of free time to write a good number of chapters.
I thought of being strong and keep that deadline, but as my inspiration is at full throttle and I miss seeing your reactions, I decided to post the third book a bit early. I also thought it would be interesting to post on this date as August 13th is En's birthday.
I also would like to thank my new designer scmimi for the stunning cover. If you're a writer and would like to have a cover, don't be shy to check her graphic shop. If you're just a reader and enjoy Asian inspired fantasy, I recommend to check her book: Blind and Bereft.
Until we reach that date, I'll keep writing to guarantee an update every week without a break. I hope to see you there. Thank you for supporting me.
Have a wonderful weekend and stay safe,
-Diana