[Silthara Palace — Malika’s Private Residency — Continuation]
CRACK...
The tiny sound echoed once more through the silent corridor; no one moved, and no one even dared to breathe. Levin remained frozen where he sat, both arms carefully cradling the enormous silver and golden eggs against his chest.
Another thin fracture slowly spread across the silver shell like moonlight crawling over polished crystal.
". . . "
Silence.
Lyresaph immediately climbed onto Levin’s shoulder, his long silver body curling carefully around him. His deep blue eyes widened as he stared at the silver egg.
Suddenly, his tail began swaying back and forth.
"...Hrrr..."
A low, excited rumble escaped his throat as his little claws gently tapped Levin’s shoulder, repeatedly pointing his snout toward the egg. Asha immediately stood, her ears rising as she cautiously approached the blankets.
Even Iru, who had remained expressionless through battles and bloodshed...found himself staring at the egg without blinking. Duke Aren slowly lowered himself onto one knee beside Levin, his weathered eyes softened.
"...It has begun."
Levin never answered; his entire attention remained fixed upon the tiny silver crack. His heartbeat...had become louder than the silence surrounding him.
Then—
Tap...
Something struck the shell from inside. Levin’s breathing stopped again.
Tap...
Tap...
The little sound echoed through the corridor like the smallest heartbeat in the world.
Lyresaph let out another soft rumble.
"Rrrr..."
He leaned forward until his nose was almost touching the shell, his blue eyes fixed upon the tiny crack spreading across its surface. Levin instinctively tightened his hold on the blankets before immediately loosening it again, afraid that even the slightest pressure might harm the hatchling.
"...Should..." He looked toward Duke Aren. "...Should I do something?"
For perhaps the first time since becoming Malika...his voice carried uncertainty, the uncertainty...of a father.
Duke Aren smiled faintly as he gently shook his head.
"No, they have already decided. The first battle every child must fight..." His gaze rested upon the silver shell. "...is the battle to enter the world."
Levin slowly nodded; his blue eyes never left the egg. Another crack appeared, then another. Tiny silver fragments loosened around the top of the shell.
The corridor remained completely silent; even the attendants standing far away had unknowingly gathered closer, their eyes filled with wonder. No one wished to interrupt this moment.
Not after everything the Empire had endured, not after months of war and not after blood had stained these halls.
Tonight...life had returned.
Tap...
CRACK...
A larger piece of shell shifted outward before settling back into place. Lyresaph suddenly sprang into the air, landing back on Levin’s shoulder almost immediately. His silver tail whipped excitedly behind him as another happy rumble escaped his throat.
"Hrrr..."
Asha’s tail swayed excitedly. Levin smiled, a genuine smile. One untouched by politics...war... Or responsibility.
Only by hope, and then...without warning...the golden egg trembled, and everyone froze. Duke Aren slowly looked toward it.
"...The other one..."
A tiny vibration spread through the warm blankets. Then...
CRACK...
A second shell answered the first. Levin blinked, his eyes hurrying between the silver egg...and the golden one.
"...Both?" His whisper barely escaped.
Duke Aren chuckled softly. "It appears...neither sibling wishes to arrive alone."
For several heartbeats...nothing else happened. Only the soft sounds of tiny movements from within the shells.
Tiny lives...preparing to greet the world. Levin slowly lifted his head, almost unconsciously...his gaze drifted toward the enormous ancient doors behind him.
Still closed and still silent.
"...Zer..." His voice became little more than a whisper; a gentle smile appeared upon his lips. "Our children...they’re waiting for you too."
Beyond those ancient doors...no answer came, only silence. And yet...Levin remained certain. Somewhere beyond the stone...beyond the First Instinct...beyond the beast that now slept within the Prime Alpha...
A father would somehow know that his children...had finally begun knocking upon the door of the world.
CRAAAAACK...
The silver egg finally broke; a larger fragment slid from the shell and landed softly upon the blankets.
Silence...an absolute silence. No one breathed. No one moved. Levin’s fingers tightened unconsciously around the warm blankets, his heartbeat thundered, and another crack followed.
Then another.
Then another.
CRACK...
CRACK...
CRACK...
The shell slowly collapsed inward and then...a tiny silver claw emerged. Levin’s eyes widened; the claw was unlike anything he had ever seen.
Silver, not ordinary silver. It shimmered like moonlight resting upon fresh snow, divine, ancient, and beautiful. The tiny claw pushed again.
CRAAAAACK!!
Half the shell broke apart; a tiny head finally emerged from the silver egg.
Silence.
Duke Aren froze. Iru froze; even Asha stopped moving because none of them had expected this. The hatchling was beautiful.
Small and fragile and yet impossibly majestic. Silver scales covered its body; not a single scale appeared imperfect. They reflected light like polished mirrors beneath the moon. Two tiny wings rested against its back, soft and delicate.
Still folded from birth, and then...the hatchling slowly opened its eyes.
Golden, brilliant golden eyes. The exact same eyes as its father, the exact same gaze, and the exact same golden fire.
Levin’s breath caught inside his throat.
"...Zer..."
His whisper escaped without permission. The hatchling blinked once, then slowly looked upward, toward Levin.
Toward its father.
Silence, and then the little dragon-serpent immediately crawled forward. Straight toward Levin, as though recognizing him. As though it already knew him. Levin’s hands trembled, and his eyes slowly widened because there was something else.
Something impossible. Something divine. Upon the center of the hatchling’s forehead...a tiny silver mark glowed faintly. It resembled a crescent. Wrapped around a single star.
The sacred symbol of the Prime Alpha lineage, the ancient mark carried only by those blessed directly by Lord Urzan.
Silence filled the corridor.
Iru slowly exhaled as his voice became hoarse. "A Divine Crest...the children inherited the Divine Crest, Malika."
Then—
CRAAAAACK!!
The golden egg suddenly shattered, and everyone jumped. A burst of warm golden light escaped through the fractures; the shell trembled violently and then exploded apart. Golden fragments were scattered across the blankets, and another hatchling emerged.
Smaller...yet somehow brighter. Golden scales covered its body; every scale glowed softly beneath the moonlight like sunlight captured inside living gold. Tiny golden wings unfolded weakly against its back.
And then...the second hatchling opened its eyes. Blue...deep blue like endless skies, like calm oceans and like Levin’s own eyes.
The corridor fell silent once more; the golden hatchling tilted its tiny head and then immediately began searching.
Searching.
Searching.
Searching.
Until its eyes found Levin. The tiny hatchling froze. Its little body trembled, and then it crawled forward as quickly as its newborn body allowed, straight toward him and straight into his arms.
Levin’s breath broke; his vision blurred, and for the first time since the war ended...tears gathered inside his eyes, not tears of grief, not tears of pain but tears born from relief from love and from a happiness he had nearly forgotten existed.
The silver hatchling reached him first; the golden hatchling followed immediately after. The two tiny dragon-serpents climbed awkwardly into his lap. One pressed against his left side and the other pressed against his right.
Seeking warmth, seeking comfort, and seeking home. Levin lowered his head. The tiny hatchlings immediately responded, softly nudging him. Tiny sounds escaping their throats and trusting him completely without question and without fear.
Because to them...the first face they had ever seen...was him. A long silence followed. Then Duke Aren quietly turned away, giving his son privacy.
Even the attendants lowered their heads; no one wished to interrupt this moment because every person present understood something.
The war had ended, the darkness had fallen, the kingdom had survived, and now...for the first time in months, the future of Zahryssar rested peacefully within the arms of its Malika.
Levin slowly looked toward the ancient doors, still closed and still silent as his smile trembled and his voice broke slightly.
"...You stubborn serpent...you should be here."
The two hatchlings immediately followed his gaze, toward the closed doors and toward the place where their father remained hidden beyond the First Instinct.
The silver hatchling let out a tiny chirp, the golden one followed, and for a brief moment...a strange golden pulse traveled across the Divine Crests upon their foreheads.
The tiny pulse vanished almost immediately. No one noticed. No one understood. No one even realized that something extraordinary had just happened.
The attendants remained smiling. Duke Aren quietly watched his grandchildren. Asha rested beside Levin. Lyresaph curled protectively around the hatchlings, his silver body forming a warm circle around the two newborns.
Everything felt peaceful, gentle, and safe, yet somewhere...beyond those ancient doors...beyond the silence...and beyond the darkness where the Prime Alpha had imprisoned himself...
Golden eyes suddenly opened.
Silence.
The enormous silver serpent remained motionless. Yet something had changed. Something deep within the First Instinct. Something ancient. Something older than reason.
For the first time since entering isolation...the beast had felt it, a heartbeat. No...two heartbeats, small, fragile, and familiar. The Prime Alpha remained still, yet his golden eyes slowly narrowed.
As though listening, searching, and remembering. Then...the darkness swallowed him once more.
Outside...the newborn hatchlings had already fallen asleep. The silver one remained curled against Levin’s left arm. The golden one slept against his chest.
Tiny wings twitched occasionally during sleep. Small tails curled comfortably around the warmth they had chosen.
Around home.
Levin carefully adjusted the blanket covering them; his movements became impossibly gentle. Almost afraid he might wake them.
The corridor remained quiet with peace. Only a future that had finally been allowed to exist. Then...Iru quietly lowered his gaze toward the sleeping hatchlings.
For a moment...he simply watched them. The tiny silver scales. The tiny golden scales, the divine crests, are upon their foreheads.
The children who had been born after blood, sacrifice, war, and loss—the future of Zahryssar—and then he quietly spoke.
"I hope Lord Urzan blesses this family, and I hope He blesses our empire."
The corridor became silent once more. As Iru’s gaze never left the sleeping hatchlings, a faint smile appeared upon his face.
"The lights have finally arrived...I pray that nothing ever darkens their path."
Silence followed...a beautiful silence. The kind born only after storms and the kind born only after surviving the impossible, beyond the palace windows...the moon shone over Zahryssar.
For the first time in years...no darkness answered it, only peace, and beneath that peaceful moon...the children of the Prime Alpha slept safely in their father’s arms.
Unaware that kingdoms would one day know their names. Unaware that history had already begun changing around them. Unaware...that an entire empire was smiling because they existed, and thus...the first night of the Golden Blood began.