NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: A Prince That Should Have Died
The Fall into Darkness
The world was red.
Kaelion's body crashed into the jagged remains of a ruined building, sending dust and splintered stone flying into the air. Pain erupted through his ribs, his shoulder scraping against the broken wood as he tumbled further into the filth-ridden streets of the Lawless Quarter.
A cruel twist of fate had thrown him from the highest tower of the palace into the deepest pit of the empire, where even the emperor's soldiers dared not step.
For a moment, he lay still.
The sky above him was painted in deep crimson, the dying light of the sun casting eerie shadows over the decayed ruins of the forgotten district. His breath came in sharp, ragged gasps, each inhalation sending a lance of pain through his ribs.
No one was coming for him.
No guards. No servants. No father.
The truth settled over him like a suffocating weight: They must have seen him fall. They must have known.
And yet… no one came.
They had simply let him drop into the abyss.. because that was where a cursed prince belonged.
He clenched his trembling fingers into fists. His body screamed in agony, but he forced himself to move, dragging his battered frame out of the debris. Blood dripped from a gash on his forehead, staining the collar of his already-torn robe.
That was when he heard it.
A distant laugh.
Not the laughter of joy, but something hollow, sharp-edged, and filled with something cruel.
Kaelion turned, his vision hazy, his muscles weak.. but his instincts screamed danger.
Figures emerged from the shadows... filthy men with hollow cheeks, eyes filled with hunger that had nothing to do with food. Their clothes were tattered, their hands stained with things he did not want to name.
And in front of them, lying on the ground, was a girl.
She looked no older than ten, her frail body curled inward, arms wrapped around herself. Her long hair, drenched from the rain, clung to her bruised and battered face.
Her dress.. if it could even be called that.. was ripped, torn in a way that sent a deep, gut-wrenching sickness through him.
She was not screaming.
She was not crying.
She was just lying there, her eyes empty, hollow.. like a doll abandoned in the mud.
The men spoke in slurred voices.
"They really threw her out here, huh?" one sneered, kicking a wooden bucket aside.
"Still got that pretty face though. Maybe she should start thanking us properly—"
Kaelion moved before he even understood why.
His feet barely held him, his vision spun from blood loss, but his hands reached for a discarded piece of wood a broken beam from the ruined buildings.
And then he swung.
The crack of impact sent one of the men stumbling back, cursing.
Kaelion did not stop.
He did not hesitate.
For the first time in his life, he fought.. not to prove himself, not to win approval, but because the sight in front of him disgusted him.
Because in that moment, he saw her—truly saw her.
And for the first time, Kaelion felt something other than hatred for his own existence.
He felt rage.
Not for himself.
But for her.
The Words She Spoke That Night
The fight did not last long.
The men were nothing more than rats who thrived on helpless victims, and Kaelion despite his small frame and his injuries was not helpless.
He was a prince trained to wield a sword.
Even without one, even with only a piece of splintered wood, he was faster, sharper, deadlier.
By the time the last of them fled into the shadows, Kaelion was barely standing.
His breath was ragged, his hands trembled from exhaustion.
And yet, the girl on the ground had not moved.
The rain poured around them, the cold wind biting into their skin.
Kaelion did not know what made him kneel beside her.
Perhaps it was the way she remained motionless.
Perhaps it was the way she looked so small, so lifeless.
Or perhaps… it was because, for the first time, he saw someone who looked the way he felt inside.
Slowly, her bruised lips parted.
And in a voice barely above a whisper, she spoke words that Kaelion would never forget.
"You should not have saved me."
Her voice was as empty as her eyes.
"One day… you will regret it."
Thunder rumbled in the distance.
A storm was coming.
And as the first roar of thunder cracked across the blood-red sky, the wind howled like a beast in mourning as if the world itself was grieving for them both.