RISE OF THE SWARM

The emperor's command was no question. It seemed as if the world itself was speaking, a weight much heavier than that which he had felt fighting the heretics gripped his lungs in a tight vice grip. He had been forced on his knees by the fierce pressure coming from the imperial family, the gongs chimes still ringing in his mind. Never had he felt so small and insignificant before.

He was but a speck of dust before him.

He began looking around, all his instincts screaming for him to escape, but he was barred. He couldn't even remove his limbs from the ground. Around him and the rest, multiple guards stood, their golden armor glinting in the bright sun, etched with patterns of phoenixes. Their golden spears were pointed at him, ready to attack if he so much as flinched.

Emperor Vaelerius didn't need to shout. His voice, that of a low rumble of absolute authority. His crimson and gold robes seemed to burn with a fire of their own, behind him a golden cape flowing down onto the ground. Images of golden phoenixes are embroidered on the surface. It was said, that the Aurelion Empire had descended from the line of the Royal emperor phoenix, and right now Liam could atest to that. Looking into the emperors eyes, within their dull grey they held the power of empires that could burn the world if needed be.

At his side, Empress Juliana was his perfect counter. Where he was fire she was ice and deep still water. While Vaelerius seemed to force the world under it's controlled, she seemed to supress it till it obeyed her command. Her severe beauty itself was weapon. She didn't move nor did she speak, but she didn't need to, her violet eyes captured everything perfectly, the terror Liam was currently under, the power inside him. Her red lips perked up a bit in amusement. Liam felt his back drenched in sweat. He had come to a conclusion, the empress was much more terrifying than the emperor.

"Easy there, Val, you're scaring the hero of the world." Merlin chuckled, stroking his long white beard.

"Hero? You mean..."

"Yes, the prophecy is actually true." Merlin chuckled once again.

The emperor turned to Liam once again, mentally reevaluating him. The empress's brows slightly rose in surprise, also reevaluating Liam. Prince Cassian looked towards Liam, his grey eyes locking with Liam, he was unsure what prophecy they were talking about, but he was smart enough to read the room, it seems this commoner was someone special.

"Hmmmmm." Cassian said turning to the portal that had just appeared transporting the group into the palace grounds.

"Fascinating. "The resonance is shattered. Not drained, not broken… unwoven. The foundational matrix itself recoiled. I've never seen a feedback loop of that magnitude. It shouldn't be possible."

"Well, i'd say it's due to the boy's exceptional power." Merlin smirked.

Grand prince Cassian turned to Liam once again. He scanned him from head to toe, but no matter what he did, he couldn't find any trace of mana in the boy. A null body, he thought. But there's something different about him, he dosen't just not have mana his directly repelling it. Cassian went deeper, inside the boy, he saw a black core of unrecognizable energy.

"Hey what exactl-"

"That's enough Cassian." The empress finally spoke. Her voice melodic like the cry of a phoenix itself.

She raised her hand pointing at Liam chest, where the bandages had been stained red, it seemed that warping had reopened the wounds and in fact even made them worse.

"All of you, stop pressuring the boy; he's clearly gravely injured. Give him a break before you all start pelting him with your stupid questions." She said.

"And Darling, release your pressure, poor boy can't even breathe." She said placing a hand on her husbands shoulder.

It was then the emperor realized that his pressure was being projected; he had instinctively released it when they trio had appeared. Even though he was impressed for a mortal to withstand his pressure for that long without his head exploding was accuatly impressive...even if it wasn't even 10 percent of its full power.

The pressure around Liam disappeared, LIam immediately began coughing piles of blood, even he didn't know how much his body had been pushed beyond its limit. He lost strength in his arms but before he could fall to the ground the empress disappeared, appearing right before Liam catching him in her arms.

She gently laid him down. Placing her hands on his chest, circulates her own mana into Liam attempting to heal the wound. But the energy in the core reacted instantly, destroying the foreign energy. It tried lashing out at the empress but before it could even reach her hand. Another energy clashed with it freezing it solid.

"What an interesting type of magic..." She said.

Liam felt a cool sensation fill his being, as he felt his body began to heal, the wounds closing up instantly and the bleeding stopping. Liam slowly sat up in suprise, his body was healed infact, it felt better than it had ever felt before.

"How are you feeling now?" She asked.

"Beau--good, I feel good." He said quickly recollecting himself.

"That's good to hear, lets enter the palace, it seems you haven't eaten in a while you must be starving." She said helping Liam up and began escorting him into the palace leaving the other there star-struck

"I have temporarily placed a seal on that power of yours, but it seems that its going to break out of it soon." She noted

The grand, marbled hallway stretched before them, so vast it seemed to swallow sound. Empress Juliana's arm was a light, steadying presence on Liam's, guiding him forward. Her touch was cool, a stark contrast to the frantic heat still coursing through his veins.

Behind them, the Emperor's voice, low and thunderus, halted Evelyn in her tracks. "Not so fast, young lady."

Evelyn froze, her sholders tensing. She turned slowly to face her father, a defient glint in her blue eyes that quickly softened to guilt.

Valerius crossed his arms, his crimson robes shifting like a pool of blood and fire. "Let's just… skip over the part where you desided to disapear for three moons, galavanting across the borderlands without your gaurd, without a word? Your mother was out of her mind with worry."

"I left a note," Evelyn mutterd, looking at the floor.

"A note!" the Emperor boomed,

"'Going to find the saviour. Don't wait up.' That's not a note, that's a headache!"

"The borderlands, Evelyn," Valerius continued, his voice dropping to a more serious, gravelly tone. "With Krazian 'ghosts' in the wind. You are the heir to this empire. Your safety is not your own to risk." He reached out and cupped her chin, forcing her to look up at him. The anger was gone from his stormy eyes, replaced by a deep, weary affection. "You are to smart for such foolishness. You scared us. That is not acceptable."

Evelyn's defiance crumpled. "I know, Father. It's just the vision i saw..."

"And what did you see?" he asked, his thumb brushing her cheek.

"I can't say father, if i do i'm afraid i'll speak it into reality." Evelyn said, her head hung low.

Valerius sighed, a heavy sound that seemed to carry the weight of the entire palace. "Indeed. And now, this." He released her. "Go. Find your mother. Apologize properly. And for the love of the Phoenix, take a bath. You smell of leather and despair."

Cassian snickered. "And stableboy. Dont forget the distinct eau de stableboy."

Evelyn elbowed him hard in the ribs as she passed, but a small smile finally touched her lips. "Jerk."

"Ow! Worth it!" Cassian called after her, rubbing his side but still grinning.

Once the siblings were gone, the levity vanisht from the Emperor's face. The hall felt suddenly colder, the silence deeper. He turned to Merlin, who had been observing the exchange with his now-ancient, unreadable eyes.

"Merlin about the boy." The emperor turned to ask in a hushed tone.

"His power is exactly as the prophecy foretold, a power that can unravel the fabric of existence itself." He said grimly.

The emperor sighed shaking his head.

"Train him, if the prophecy is true then we need to prepare for a war unlike never before." He sighed.

"And here i thought, the times of war was behind us old friend." He said with a faint smile turning to Merlin.

Merlin reappropriated with a smile of his own, walking placing a handon Valerius's shoulder.

"We've been through many wars old friend and just like those times we will win this one as well." He said confidently.

The emperor looked up, nodding. Merlin had been his friend ever since he had been crowned as emperor and with them he was sure that whatever enemy they faced, they could defeat it.

The two began heading inside reminiscing on their past battles with laughter.