Aurelian Training Grounds
The clang of steel echoed through the cold morning air.
Lucien Aurelian stood at the center of the Aurelian family's private training grounds, golden hair damp with sweat, sword flashing like a streak of sunlight.
His sparring partners lay defeated around him, breathing hard on the stone tiles. None could last more than a minute against him.
But Lucien's expression remained blank.
Internal Turmoil
Perfection means nothing if the soul fractures, he thought.
His mind was elsewhere—not on the training, not on the politics, but on Selene Valeburne.
"I remember dying."
Her words from the temple balcony haunted him.Not because they were strange, but because they were true.
Enter Alaric Thorne
A voice cut through the silence.
"You're pushing too hard."
Lucien lowered his sword, golden eyes narrowing as he turned.
Alaric Thorne stood there—his personal knight and closest confidant since childhood.
With midnight-blue hair tied loosely at the nape of his neck and cold gray eyes, Alaric was as feared on the battlefield as Lucien himself. But unlike the other nobles, Alaric spoke plainly.
"You're distracted," Alaric said, tossing Lucien a fresh cloth to wipe his blade. "That's dangerous."
Lucien caught it without looking.
"I'm preparing."
"For what? A duel or a rebellion?"
Lucien's lips curved into something like a smile—but there was no warmth in it.
"Perhaps both."
A Bond Deepening
That night, as Lucien closed his eyes to sleep, he felt it again.
A soft pull.
A thread.
Somewhere across the city, Selene Valeburne was awake—her thoughts brushing against his.
Selene's Room – Valeburne Estate
Selene sat by her window, crimson hair spilling over her shoulders.
She whispered into the quiet.
"Lucien?"
The connection wasn't perfect. It was like speaking through fog, but it was there.
Lucien Responds
"I'm here."
The words echoed softly in his mind, his golden eyes opening in the darkness.
The Conversation
Selene:
"Did you find anything in the old texts?"
Lucien:
"Enough to know we're in danger."
Selene:
"We always were."
A silence passed between them—a silence heavier than words.
A Shared Memory
Suddenly, without warning, another flash of memory surged through both of them at once.
A battlefield.Crimson snow beneath their feet.
Lucien—no, his past self—stood with a sword at Selene's throat.
His hand trembled.
Selene's past self smiled softly, tears in her eyes.
"If killing me saves the world, do it."
"I can't," he whispered.
Back to the Present
Lucien's fists clenched in the dark.
His breath came faster, sharper.
Selene's voice cut into his thoughts—soft but steady.
"That was you, wasn't it?"
He didn't answer right away.
Then finally, quietly:
"Yes."
A Dangerous Promise
Selene's voice echoed again.
"If it comes to that again, Lucien—don't hesitate next time."
His golden eyes narrowed.
"Don't give me reasons to."
Across the City – The Greymoor Estate
Meanwhile, Evelyne Greymoor watched the two moons from her private balcony, emerald eyes gleaming.
She held a sealed letter in her hand.
It bore the crest of the Eastern Nobility, not the central court.
The message was simple:
"The Crimson-Gold Bond has awakened. Prepare to move. The Valeburne girl and the Aurelian heir cannot be allowed to unite—or the world will break again."
Evelyne smiled softly.
"So be it."
The Threads Tighten
In Aerthrial, power was shifting.
Old kings whispered. New players moved unseen.
And in the shadows, fate prepared its sharpest blade.