The air inside the Grand Hall buzzed with a thick, palpable tension, the kind that settled deep into the bones of all present. Veythor stood motionless, the challenge hanging between him and Sugen Riku, like a blade poised to drop. His gaze never wavered, cool and calculating, while Riku's smirk only grew wider, as if he had already won. The Emperor's laughter echoed around them, cutting through the murmur of the crowd.
"Perfect entertainment," Avantis had said, and the words still lingered in the air like a dare.
Veythor, for all his stoicism, knew the significance of this moment. It wasn't just a game. It wasn't even a test of strategy. It was about power the kind that rested in words and movements, the kind that could shape the future with a single, calculated decision. He had no intention of losing.
Riku sneered, his voice dripping with mockery.
"Supreme Commander, are you truly ready? Even the Emperor has given his approval. Or will you simply prove that all you can do is talk big?"
Veythor's lips curled into a small chuckle.
"Alright, let's play. I accept your challenge."
Riku's smirk widened, his eyes glinting with amusement.
"Oh-ho! Then don't start crying after you lose. It would be quite a spectacle for our esteemed guests to witness the Supreme Commander of Narzan reduced to tears! Hahaha!"
Veythor's chuckle deepened, his gaze cool and unfazed.
"Hahaha, Mr. Sugen, time will tell whose rage and tears we shall see in this Grand Hall."
At that, Emperor Avantis's voice rang out, sharp and commanding.
"Silence. Bring the chessboard."
At his order, servants swiftly placed a small table in the center of the Grand Hall. On it, they set the chessboard, while another table, laden with wine bottles, was placed beside it. Veythor and Riku took their seats, both smirking, the tension palpable in the air as the room held its breath.
Everyone watched. Time itself seemed to freeze, suspended by tension and wine.
Emperor commanded with his usual commanding voice
Start the game.
Vaelina looked at veythor her eyes and facial expressions were unreadable Veythor looked at her for a moment then looked away he took a sip of wine.
Grand Hall of Royal Palace The air was thick with silence, save for the faint clink of wine glasses. Two chairs. One board. Thirty-two pieces. And only one victor.
Riku played White. Veythor held Black.
Riku opened with a confident pawn to d4, signaling he wanted a slow, positional buildup. Veythor, ever the tactician, replied with Nf6, a flexible response. Soon, the board took the shape of a Queen's Gambit Declined, a favorite of disciplined masters.
Riku thought for a moment then started playing his moves again.
Riku pushed c4, and Veythor answered with e6 nothing fancy yet, but the tempo was measured. Knights came out: Nc3, d5, Nf3, Be7. Both sides castled early. The symmetry hinted at balance, but tension coiled underneath.
Then, Riku broke it.everyone on the grand hall were eagerly watching grey, Eliya and Morgan were watching too both of the player took a sip of wine again.
He launched Bg5, a quiet but annoying pressure. Veythor calmly played h6, and when Riku retreated to Bh4, Veythor pushed b6, signaling a queenside fianchetto.
But it was a trap
Emperor found this game very interesting and he was watching it while smirking meanwhile Vaelina was quiet sad after all her marriage day with Riku is coming closer but she only loves veythor she is obsessed with him and hated Riku.
Riku continued logically, placing his bishop on d3, eyeing Veythor's kingside. Veythor stopped and was thinking for 42 seconds at most then slid his dark-squared bishop to b7, indirectly reinforcing central control.
Then came Riku's early aggression: e4. A bold push. Tension in the center. Veythor paused... and then captured: dxe4.
Riku recaptured with his knight, and now the board turned sharp. Veythor immediately placed his queen on d7, quietly linking his rooks and threatening tactics along the e-file.
Sensing danger, Riku reinforced his e4 knight with Re1, but Veythor's reply was cold and brilliant: Rad8. With each move, his pieces clicked into place like the gears of a war machine.
Then, out of nowhere Nxd4!
Riku blinked. A sacrifice?
But no. The move was sound. If Riku captured, Veythor had a discovered attack sequence lined up with Bxf3 and a lurking queen ready to invade.
Riku declined the bait.
Now under pressure, Riku retreated his knight. Veythor pushed f5, aiming to open the kingside. The battlefield shifted. Bishops were exchanged. The center exploded.
Riku tried to break with d5, but Veythor captured, rerouted his knight to f6, and swung a rook to e8.
The tempo changed. Every move screamed precision. Veythor's queen hovered on g6, his knight danced to g4, then to e3 forking rook and bishop. Riku scrambled. He sacrificed material to survive.
But the noose was tightening.
Both player stopped they were thinking about their next moves Riku's hands started to tremble with fury he was enraged his mind drifted.
Fuck,fuck,fuck....this fucker, bastard I can't lose after talking big in front of everyone even the Emperor and Princess Vaelina is watching!
The board now leaned heavily in Veythor's favor. He had a passed pawn on the d-file, two active rooks, and a knight perfectly placed in enemy territory. Riku had fewer pieces and less time.
A beautiful rook lift brought Veythor's Rook to g6, then to g2, slicing into Riku's second rank like a dagger.
Veythor's mind drifted.
Riku you can't win you have already lost by losing your temper.
This game is mine.
Although Riku hasn't lost his temper externally but inside it was true veythor was reading him like a open book because of Veythor's experience of three lives his mind was superior compared to these nobles Riku only has
Riku tried one last counterattack, placing his queen aggressively near Veythor's king. But Veythor parried effortlessly. Kh8. Cool. Composed.
Then came the finale.
Veythor advanced his rook to e1, a brutal infiltration. Riku moved his king in desperation, only to fall into the trap. Veythor's queen slipped to h1.
Silence—
Checkmate.
The board froze. The guests stood breathless. Riku leaned back, stunned. It wasn't just a defeatit was a masterclass.
Veythor, sipping wine, whispered with a grin,
"A game, like war, is not won by power… but precision."
This was no simple victory. Veythor played with cold elegance setting traps, rerouting pieces like pawns in his empire, exchanging material for space, then suffocating his opponent. Riku played brilliantly, like a true grandmaster, but Veythor was merciless in the endgame.
Everyone in the room stood even emperor everyone started applauding not only for Veythor but also for Riku it was a masterclass.
Riku who was silent up until now was feeling that they were insulting him for Riku even winning in this match with extreme difficulty would have been a insult he wanted humiliate Veythor but Veythor won the game instead.
Veythor looked at him as his mind drifted
His arrogance has corrupted his brain.
His anger has destroyed his heart.
His greed has blinded his eyes.
And lust has destroyed his body
He is led by his emotions one who is led by their own emotions are walking at the path of self destruction and Riku is exactly doing the same.
"Suddenly Riku crushed his wine glass. Blood dripped from his clenched fist. He said nothing. But in his silence, his pride bled louder than his wounds."
Vaelina watch the whole game silently she was deep inside her thoughts.
They applauded. The hall rang with claps and cheers,
Yet none could hear the quiet breaking inside me.
He sat there composed, untouched, immortal in mind.
And I, dressed for another man, watched him win.
Veythor does not smile, not with joy.
He smiles like a blade....sharp, silent, final.
Each move he made was not just strategy… it was prophecy.
Even his pauses were pre-written chapters of fate.
Riku never stood a chance. I knew it.
Not when he mocked, not when he moved, not when he bled.
He was playing chess. Veythor was playing something far crueler.
A mirror of war, of empires, of inevitability.
I watched his fingers curl around the wine glass.
No trembling. No hesitation. Only grace, carved by lifetimes.
And my heart my foolish, disobedient heart ached again.
How can I love a man who destroys what he touches?
How can I not, when I am one of the few he spares?
Do you know what that mercy feels like?
It feels like punishment.
I am to marry Riku. For peace. For politics.
But what peace can there be, when the man who holds my soul
is already at war with the world and winning?
He looked at me once during the game. Just once.
And in that fleeting second, I remembered everything.
The night he left without a word.
The promise he never gave but I still held.
Riku bleeds on the floor. The nobles murmur, the Emperor smiles.
And Veythor? He walks away victorious… and alone.
But I remain behind, the silent piece on a board I never chose.
Still loving the king who made me his pawn…
Yet left me with a crown I never wanted."