“Where is my sister?”

  The man stood in the doorway like a shadow that had learned how to breathe. Dust clung to his cloak, travel scars etched into leather and skin alike. His voice was calm—but it was the kind of calm that came after something had already broken.

  The parents froze.

  His mother was the first to speak, hands trembling.

  “She’s… she’s dead now.”

  Silence.

  Then—

  “But how are you here?” his father asked, disbelief cracking his voice. “We heard you died. Everyone said you were dead.”

  The man exhaled slowly.

  “I was assigned a special quest,” he said. “Directly under Queen Rose. The risk was… acceptable.”

  His eyes hardened.

  “So they marked me dead.”

  A pause.

  “Where is her grave?”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  The room shifted.

  His mother avoided his gaze. “You should… change first. You’ve been away too long. Eat something. Rest.”

  The air snapped.

  “Where is she?” he screamed.

  “I SAID WHERE IS SHE.”

  His father flinched.

  “What were we supposed to do?” his mother cried. “That body—alive but dead—we couldn’t keep her. We didn’t know what she was anymore.”

  The man stepped forward.

  “What did you do.”

  “We left her,” his father whispered. “Somewhere beyond the outer paths. We don’t know where she is now.”

  The words landed like a blade.

  The man laughed once—short, hollow.

  “Fuck you.”

  Both parents froze.

  “I didn’t come back to you,” he said coldly. “My parents are already dead.”

  His mother collapsed to her knees. “Son, please. Didn’t we do everything for you?”

  He turned away.

  “Not the one thing that mattered.”

  The door closed behind him.

  This time—

  he did not look back.

  Scene Shift — Beneath Six Crowns

  The chamber was sealed.

  Six rulers sat around a circular table etched with sigils older than their Kingdoms. The air was tense—not with hostility, but with urgency.

  “Monsters are bypassing borders,” one King said. “Not forcing entry. Slipping through.”

  “They’re learning,” another replied grimly. “Routes. Blind spots. Patrol rhythms.”

  “They’re hiding,” a Queen added. “That alone is unprecedented.”

  Silence followed.

  Then a name was spoken.

  “Night Fangs.”

  A quiet organization. Officially nonexistent. Unofficially everywhere.

  “They operate beneath us,” Yun Shi said calmly. “Tracking illegal movement. Black markets. Abductions. Rogue magic.”

  “They’ve reported increased activity,” another ruler said. “Human trafficking. Experimental Viora. Missing children.”

  Eyes shifted.

  Empress Rose leaned back, expression unreadable.

  “We allow them to continue,” she said. “Unrestricted.”

  Yun Shi nodded once. “Agreed.”

  Rose turned toward him sharply, voice cool. “This is not Aethelgard’s decision alone.”

  “Nor is it yours,” Yun Shi replied evenly.

  Their gazes locked.

  For a heartbeat too long.

  Rose looked away first, annoyance sharpening her tone. “Do not test my patience, Yun Shi.”

  Inside—

  her cheeks burned.

  She hated that he could unsettle her with nothing more than calm.

  The meeting continued.

  Borders would tighten.

  Guild intelligence would expand.

  Night Fangs would move deeper into the dark.

  And somewhere beyond the reach of crowns and councils—

  a brother walked alone, hunting a sister the world had abandoned.

  The world did not yet realize

  what it had just allowed to awaken.