Nikos (grumbling):
"Darius, leave the spoon! I lost fingers, not my tongue! I can eat on my own."
Darius (with a playful smile):
"Be quiet, old man. Doctor Nirar said you need pampering. Besides, you always forced me to eat that disgusting fish when I was little — now it's my turn to make you drink this gray broth Pikos cooked."
Pikos (shouting from a corner of the cellar while cleaning a metal pot):
"Gray broth?! It's the 'Renewed Hope' stew, you insolent boy! I used the last spices we brought from Siwar. If Governor Midon tasted it, he'd give up his throne immediately!"
Ortenos (laughing softly):
"If Midon tasted it, he might execute you for attempted assassination by flavor, Pikos."
Everyone burst into laughter — even Miron, leaning against the wall in the dark corner, let out a short laugh that quickly turned into a painful cough.
Romilius:
"My children, fear is an enemy that feeds on silence. What do you say we play a game? Let's play 'The Secrets Game.' Each of us asks a question, and the other must answer honestly — or spend a week cleaning Pikos's pots."
Pikos (excited):
"I agree! I'll start. Nirar, you cold genius… tell us — have you ever fallen in love back in your wonderful hometown, or is your heart made of wires and crystal?"
Silence fell. Everyone looked at Nirar, who seemed embarrassed for the first time.
Nirar (scratching the back of his head):
"Me? Well… there was a girl in engineering school. Her name was Layla. She could fix an aircraft engine in ten minutes, but she could never fix my foolish way of speaking to her. The day I decided to confess my feelings… the laboratory exploded because of my mistake, and I was expelled."
Darius (laughing loudly):
"So you didn't just blow up the warehouse for us — explosions run in your blood, my friend!"
Nirar laughed bitterly.
"Maybe. And now, my question for Ortenos… Prince, if your father hadn't been assassinated, and you had remained in Acadia… what would you be doing now?"
Ortenos's smile faded. He looked at the sword resting beside him and spoke quietly:
"I would probably be at a boring hunting banquet, or listening to advisors argue about grain taxes. I would be living a 'complete' life — but an 'empty' one. Believe me, Nirar… despite the pain, despite Nikos losing his fingers, here in this dark cellar I feel more like a king than I ever would in my palace."
Suddenly, Miron moved from his place. His face was pale in the candlelight, but his eyes were sharp.
Miron:
"You laugh while death surrounds you from every side? Rakion does not joke. He is outside now, cutting off heads to find you."
Romilius (calmly):
"Laughter is not mockery of death, Miron — it is protest against it. Tell us… what is your secret? Why did you choose the path of blood?"
Miron looked at the ceiling, lost in thought.
"My secret? My secret is that every night I close my eyes, I see my little brother's face asking me: 'Why isn't there any fire in the fireplace, Miron?' I couldn't answer him that day. Now I light fires everywhere so no child will be cold again. But the bitter truth… is that the fires I lit burned innocents too. Belon was your friend, Nirar. Killing him was necessary — but it left a knot in my throat."
Nirar (with a strained voice):
"Belon chose his path. And now we've chosen ours."
Darius:
"Enough drama! Let's play a game of chance to decide who takes first watch. Whoever loses the coin toss goes to guard the sewer entrance — where the smell makes you wish for death!"
They began playing. Pikos lost every time, and his muffled cries of "Damn it!" made Nikos laugh, forgetting his pain.
Pikos (frustrated):
"These coins are cursed! Nirar, you programmed them to land on the 'losing' side every time — admit it!"
Nirar (winking at Ortenos):
"It's science, Pikos. Science does not favor the hungry."
By the end of the night, everyone slept except Ortenos and Romilius. Miron had slipped into a brief unconsciousness from exhaustion.
Ortenos (whispering):
"Romilius… will we leave here alive?"
Romilius (placing a hand on his student's shoulder):
"Leaving the cellar is easy, my son. The hard part is escaping the darkness the sword leaves in the soul. Look at them… Pikos dreams of food, Darius guards his father, and Nirar wrestles with memories of his friend. These are your true kingdom now. Protect them, and they will lead you to Asheil, even if the sky collapses upon the earth."
Silence returned — not the silence of fear, but of readiness. Outside, dawn was approaching, carrying the smell of ash and the sound of war drums beginning to echo through the streets of Krystalis.