Chapter 6: He who was alone
Beyond the tall, enormous windows, the sky was dark and grey. Thick clouds covered the sun, making the world look dull and lifeless. Only a weak light came through the glass, leaving the room in a quiet, gloomy shade.
It should have been a bright day.
A happy day, meant to celebrate.
Instead, the air felt heavy and still, as if the world itself was holding its breath—waiting for one heart to stop beating.
At the center of the vast room lay a man with hair as white as snow. His body was thin, worn down to its limits, as if time itself had carved him hollow. His eyes were closed, his face calm, almost gentle. His chest rose and fell slowly, shallow breaths passing his lips like the fading tide.
He looked as though he were only sleeping.
Beside the bed sat a young man.
The young man held his father's hand gently, as if it might break if he squeezed too hard. His face and mind was filled with a sadness, the heavy feeling in his chest he did not yet understand.
For the first time since his rebirth, he was meeting his father. The sadness in his chest confused Alexius. He did not know why it hurt so much, or why this man's quiet breathing made his throat tighten. was the feeling was former owner of this body or himself?
Behind him stood two men who are important for him and his father.
The man on the left dressed in a simple butler's coat, his posture bowed slightly, his hands folded. His hair had long since turned gray. Elias.
Beside him stood a man in golden armor that covered his massive body. His frame was like a wall of muscle and scars, showing that he had fought in many wars throughout his life. The man is Royal Guard Captain Fidus.
"…He looks peaceful."
Elias lowered his gaze.
"He is, Your Highness."
Alexius tightened his grip slightly.
"There is illness" he said. "Yet, .....it's just his body has reached its natural limit."
Fidus nodded.
Elias stepped closer to the bed.
"He was not a great conqueror nor a great ruler," the old butler said softly. "History will not sing of vast territories claimed or enemies crushed. But he kept balance. Between nobles. Between crown and court. Between survival and collapse."
Alexius listened.
"That is why he married your mother," Elias continued. "Princess Lyra of the South. Daughter of the leader of the neutral nobility. It was meant to bind the factions together. A great political decision."
Fidus added,
"But he loved her. He loved her with all his heart, from the moment he first met her in the Royal Garden." "
Alexius looked up.
"He did not love her because she was neutral," Fidus said.
"He loved her mind. Her fire. Her belief that this rotten country could still be saved."
Elias nodded.
"She protected the Grand Prince as much as she protected the crown. It was she who brought the nation to the light AND happiness to your father, the Grand Prince Aegar"
Alexius looked back at his father.
"And when she passed away!"Elias continue,
"Everything fell apart,"
The Grand Prince's fingers twitched faintly.
"He mourned until grief carved him hollow," Elias said quietly.
"Sleep would not come. Food lost its taste. He tried to lead the Nightwatch, which your mother founded, the great intelligent network of an era, the shadow forces of the crown, with his own hands—but he failed, his mind have already broken."
"What happened?" Alexius said.
"Each one of Nightwatch agents have tragedy past even words couldn't describe. Your mother took them in and gave new purposes for their life. Without her, the agents broke away. The Power returned to those who should never have held it."
Fidus answered.
"The palace became a nest of vipers," Elias said quietly.
"Nobles turned on one another—scheming, fighting, killing. Power was all they cared about, and blood was spilled like water."
Fidus spoke next, his voice low and steady. "Even when his mind was already breaking, he still cried for you. You were the last thing he held onto. He knew the palace would destroy you."
Elias finished quietly, "So he made a choice. The Nightwatch could not save the palace—but they swore to protect you. You were the only one he had left."
Fidus interrupted.
"So he pushed you away. Sent you from the Central Wing. Let you believe he did not care."
Alexius felt his chest tighten.
"He chose to be cruel," Elias said softly, "because cruelty was safer than love."
The silence stretched.
"Nobles began to fight openly," Fidus said. "Factions rose. Lesser houses bled each other dry for land and coin. The crown barely held on."
Alexius's fingers trembled.
"For eight years," Elias continued, "the Grand Prince endured it. Though he was strong in swordsmanship and in magic, it was not battle that broke him."
Fidus's voice dropped.
"It was his mind."
Alexius closed his eyes.
"Dementia came first," Elias said. "Confusion begun and, He started to forgot names... Then he lost consciousness occasionally. And in the end—his strength gave way."
He gestured to the bed.
"For two years now, he has been like this."
Alexius bowed his head until his forehead touched his father's hand.
"So the only thing he protected… was me."
Fidus answered quietly.
"You were the last thing he loved."
A tear fell onto the sheets.
Alexius straightened slowly.
"I understand now," he said. "He wasn't weak. He wasn't blind."
He looked at the two men.
"He was alone."
(Continue....)