Chapter 401: I Want His Head

King Wilhelm;"Go get some rest, Koda."

The word echoes strangely. Not loudly...But deeply.

The air thickens. The floor beneath us hums faintly. And finally... Koda stands.

Reluctantly.

His body trembles slightly with resistance, but there’s no way he can go against that command.

He looks down at Elián helplessly before turning toward me again.

There is suspicion in his eyes now. Confusion too... But beneath both? Fear.

Not fear of me hurting Elián, but Fear of leaving him.

"I’ll call for you if something happens," I tell him quietly to ease his worry, and Koda hesitates for several painful seconds.

Then, finally, he walks towards the door and leaves.

The moment the doors shut behind him, silence settles heavily through the chamber once more.

I stand there quietly for a while afterwards. Just watching Elián sleep.

Then slowly... I move around the bed.

The closer I get, the clearer I feel it.

The Primordial aura surrounding him is unstable even now. It twists strangely through the room.

Grief soaked into power. And power soaked into grief. It’s messy. Emotional...Young.

My gaze lowers toward Elián’s stomach beneath the blankets.

Toward the child, they all hid from me, and my heart aches with a subtle softness I can not remember the last time I felt.

I lift my hands gently, and the moment my fingers brush against the fabric there, something powerful inside me shifts in response.

Ah...

There she is. Warmth immediately greets my senses. Tiny. fragile. But still impossibly powerful.

A faint smile splits my lips before I can stop it.

"So this is my grandchild," I whisper, and the child responds instantly.

A pulse of mana flickers softly beneath my palm, and I freeze.

Interesting. She’s already so responsive... And deeply attached to Elián emotionally, too.

That... could become dangerous later. But still...

My smile deepens. It has been a very long time since I felt something this small and alive within my bloodline.

Slowly, I close my eyes. Then carefully... I let my mana flow.

Not enough to overwhelm him, but enough to cradle him.

A controlled thread of Primordial strength slips from my palm into Elián’s body, and immediately, the room reacts.

The frost lingering faintly against the windows melts softly away, and Elián’s unstable aura begins calming little by little as it connects to mine.

The child responds first. Almost greedily. Drawing warmth toward itself before settling again.

Then finally... Elián’s breathing changes.

My eyes open slowly to watch him.

His brows twitch faintly as another pulse of power leaves me carefully. And then finally—he inhales sharply.

His entire body jerks weakly against the bed, and his eyes open.

For a moment, confusion fills them. Those red orbs get filled with so much disorientation, exhaustion, and fear that it almost hurts to look at.

His gaze darts around the room frantically before finally landing on me.

He freezes instantly.

Oh.Right.

I suppose waking to find me sitting beside him is not particularly comforting.

His throat moves slightly as he swallows.

"Your Majesty..." He greets with his voice is rough from sleep... And grief.

I relax a bit beside him and tilt my head.

"You’ve been unconscious for three days." I point out, and his eyes widen faintly. Then immediately they lower toward his stomach.

Toward the child. Protective instinct.

Beautiful!

"She’s fine," I tell him quietly, and the relief that washes across his face is immediate enough to ache strangely in my chest.

Goodness! This boy feels everything too deeply.

He exhales shakily before slowly looking back at me again.

And suddenly— I remember another frightened young man staring at me in confusion many years ago.

Only that young man had been me.

Back when this world still felt impossible. Before it swallowed me whole... Before it changed me into what I am today.

The thought lingers bitterly inside my chest for a moment before I speak.

"Do they already have flying cars?" I ask with a small smile as I look up at Elián, and he freezes completely.

Silence crashes through the room instantly, and his expression empties into shock. Then confusion...Then disbelief.

I watch realisation slowly crawl across his face.

"C-cars??" He repeats to be sure, and my smile deepens.

"Hmm.. Back on earth." I point out, and his mouth falls open. "It’s been so long, I guess technology would have grown wilder by now," I reply, and he remains silent with wide eyes.

"No...But... But there are chargeable cars now," he whispers weakly, he replies, and I smile as I nod.

"Hmm... That’s interesting." I reply, but he just blinks at me.

This must be a lot to take in... But I think he needs it. The moment another stranger realises they were never truly alone here.

I look away briefly toward the windows as he gawks at me.

"They didn’t have those when I died," I say quietly, and the silence afterwards is so conk it can almost be felt.

"You..." He begins, and I turn back to him.

"I died there too," I say dryly, and his lips part slightly.

I can practically see his thoughts collapsing over themselves.

Questions, fear, hope, confusion... and loneliness finally cracking open.

"You are not the only stranger this world swallowed," I tell him calmly, and Elián just stares at me.

Breathing unevenly.

Almost childishly lost for a moment.

He truly believed he was alone??

The poor boy.

"This world changes people," I continue quietly as my gaze drifts down to my own hands.

Almost ancient hands now. Hands stained by wars, kingdoms, blood and time.

"There are parts of myself I barely remember anymore," I confess—much softer than intended.

Elián watches me silently. Carefully... Like he is trying to understand what sort of creature sits before him now.

Fair enough.

Sometimes I wonder the same thing.

Finally, I look directly at him again, and he just blinks at me.

"I am a Primordial, too," I inform him, but to my surprise, that doesn’t seem to stun him.

Instead, he asks a quiet question I wasn’t expecting him to ask first.

"You knew?"

"Yes."

"You knew what I am also a—" He begins, and I nod as I cut him off.

"Yes. We’re the only two primordials for now." I reply, and his teeth grit.

"You sound like that matters to you." He points out, and the statement catches me off guard.

So, I simply answer honestly.

"Of course it does. You are carrying my grandchild." I reply—not want to scare him with the burdens of what being a primordial truly means.

But my reply earns the faintest huff of laughter from him.

He’s laughing??

The amusement fades quickly from his face afterwards, and grief settles back over him immediately.

Then I study him quietly for a long moment before speaking again.

"Your heart frightens me."

That surprises him enough to drag his eyes fully back toward mine.

"How?"

"You are too soft... too good," I reply, and his brows crease slightly.

There it is again. Confusion.

He still believes goodness is always a virtue.

Light! Youth is such a tragic thing sometimes.

"Being good all the time is dangerous," I continue calmly. "Especially in a world like this."

His gaze lowers slightly toward the blankets wrapped around him, and watch him. I watch the grief consuming him.

Asa... Calisí. Whatever name he chooses to mourn her by. Losing her broke something in him. I just can’t tell how bad the situation is.

But I hope that this teaches him that being too kind... leaving your heart open... being soft and vulnerable never gets anyone anything good.

It only brings pain and grief. If only he could harden his heart, and for once stand against all those who—

"I want revenge." His voice suddenly breaks into my thoughts, and everything inside me stills.

My gaze snaps fully toward him, and the look in his eyes is one I have never seen on him before.

"An eye for an eye. I know who did this. I want his head." He adds, and for the first time in... a VERY long time... I’m shocked.