As soon as the Emperor descended with his daughter Forn into the secret hall beneath the throne room, the latter felt a faint chill spreading through her limbs—not from the air… but from the very aura of the place itself.
She looked around carefully. The dim golden glow reflected off the polished walls, and she said in surprise:
"Doesn't this hall resemble the throne room?"
The design was indeed similar: towering pillars, a gleaming floor, a high ceiling that evoked grandeur… yet something in the atmosphere was different.
An invisible heaviness filled the space.
The moment she finished speaking, her attention was drawn to the spear standing in the center of the hall, firmly embedded in a stone platform, surrounded by piles of strangely gleaming metals.
She stepped forward, pointed at the spear and the metals, and asked:
"What is this, Your Majesty? Are these metals and this spear the only things we are hiding here?"
He did not let her finish.
The Emperor waved his hand firmly, cutting her off, and said in a low but commanding voice:
"Come closer to the spear, Forn."
She hesitated for a moment.
Something inside her warned her… but her obedience to him was stronger. She did as she was told and slowly approached the spear resting at the heart of the hall.
With every step she took, her sense of unease grew.
The closer she came, the more she felt a destructive power surrounding the spear. It was not merely a weapon. It was an entity pulsing with suppressed energy. An invisible pressure began to weigh heavily on her chest. Forn had never encountered a magical weapon or artifact capable of such an effect before.
When she was only a few steps away, she suddenly stopped.
As if struck by lightning.
Her mind connected the threads with astonishing speed.
A powerful weapon her father could not display openly.
A spear.
Stronger than any magical artifact she had ever seen.
Then her thoughts immediately linked to the dwarves…
The dwarves who had been searching for centuries for a sacred weapon stolen from them.
A spear.
Her eyes widened in visible shock. She slowly turned to her father and said in a strange voice filled with disbelief:
"Is… is this the sacred spear that was stolen from the dwarves long ago, Father?"
He did not answer immediately.
He stared directly into her eyes, as if testing her awareness.
Then he said steadily:
"Exactly, my daughter. But it is no longer a sacred weapon of the dwarves… it is a sacred weapon for us humans. It has already become ours."
A heavy silence followed.
Forn stopped thinking for a few seconds, then glanced again at the scattered metals near the spear and said slowly:
"Then these metals are…"
The Emperor finished her sentence before she could:
"Yes. We took these metals from the dwarves as well."
He stepped closer to the spear and added:
"Do you remember the incident of the disappearance of the newly discovered metals among the dwarves?"
Forn nodded and listened carefully, wanting confirmation that her suspicions were correct.
Indeed, her father continued:
"We also took that newly discovered metal. The sacred spear was broken, my daughter, and it required a powerful, energy-receptive metal to repair it. And by coincidence… the dwarves possessed such a metal."
As soon as the Emperor said that, Forn laughed slightly in her mind—a silent laugh that did not show on her face. She had long suspected that her father had a hand in the disappearance of the dwarves' metals, but that they had stolen the sacred spear itself… that she had never expected.
She raised her gaze and said cautiously:
"But Your Majesty… are we on bad terms with the dwarves? Do we hold any grudge against them?"
The Emperor raised an eyebrow slightly, as if surprised by the question, and replied evenly:
"No. We have no personal hostility toward them. They have been a peaceful race."
Her confusion deepened.
"Then… is it merely coincidence that we stole the spear that had belonged to them for ages, and now the metals they recently discovered?"
The Emperor waved his hand lightly and gave a short laugh.
"Do you think we have taken from the dwarves only what belonged to them?"
Forn stopped breathing for a moment.
Before she could ask further, he waved his hand again.
"No… you are not ready yet to know that. Let us end this matter for now. And remember—this must remain between you and me only. Do not dare speak of it to anyone, not even your siblings or your future children. Do you understand, Forn?"
She nodded slowly.
"I understand, Your Majesty. This matter is extremely dangerous. If it were to leak outside… it would be catastrophic."
He gestured with faint approval.
"Then let us leave."
She walked beside him. As she approached, he waved his hand, and the same golden aura wrapped around them, lifting them within seconds back up to the imperial hall.
Once they reached the surface, Forn glanced around and murmured softly:
"It resembles it greatly… in almost every way… except—"
The Emperor suddenly interrupted, his voice returning to its usual sternness:
"Have you dealt with those troublesome creatures on the borders of our empire, Forn?"
She immediately returned to reality and recalled what had happened during her pursuit.
"Your Majesty… those creatures have been acting strangely lately."
The Emperor's eyes gleamed with interest.
"Why? What were they doing?"
She lowered her voice slightly, as if reliving an unsettling memory.
"When I was hunting the vampires and the werewolves… they were slightly stronger, even if only by a small margin. But it was not just their strength… they did not fear death. Their eyes were dead… they did not care about life, nor about any form of torture. It was strange."
The Emperor fell silent for a moment, deep in thought.
"Next time… take some strong priests and mages with you. Let them see what is happening to those wretched creatures."
His voice was calm…
But not reassuring.
For something had begun to move in the shadows.