The king's heavy footsteps echoed against the marble floor — as if he carried the weight of the entire world on his shoulders.
Behind him, the voices of guards and ministers still filled the grand hall… tangled, anxious voices speaking of the storm… of ruin… of an approaching end.
But the king barely heard them. Their voices were fading — slipping further away until only his own whisper lingered in his ears… a whisper laced with deadly worry.
"What can I possibly do…? How do you stop something like this…?" he muttered under his breath, his eyes staring blankly ahead.
His face was grim; his eyes drowning in a sea of dark thoughts. His steps grew slower… burdened by a thousand thoughts weighing him down.
A storm like this… I've never seen anything like it… not even in the wars of old… he thought bitterly, clenching his fist.
He approached the tall window overlooking the city. One glance was enough — the sky had turned completely black, clouds twisting like serpents, and lightning ripping through the heavens like a ravenous beast.
He sighed slowly — his voice hoarse and exhausted.
"This… this isn't just a storm… it's something else. Something that came to devour this city. Something watching us from the shadows."
He resumed his steps, speaking to himself — as if trying to pull his heart out from the grip of fear.
"I must find a way… I cannot stand idle. My people look to me as their last refuge… if I fall, everything will fall."
His steps halted for a moment before the door of his chamber. He stood there, whispering to the silence.
"But how…? How do you fight a force you cannot see… nor understand?"
His heart pounded violently. His mind burned with questions… yet not a single answer among them.
In those moments thick with tension, the king walked down the royal corridor — his steps heavy with the weight of fear and duty. A faint glimmer of sorrow shone in his eyes… barely visible behind the mask of courage people had grown used to seeing.
Deep within…
As he moved slowly through the long halls:
"What is truly happening to this world…? Everything feels like it's crumbling around us… like fate is carving our destiny with hands of iron. Will my heart continue to beat amidst this chaos… or will I become just another forgotten shadow of the past?"
When he pushed the door open with his weary shoulder, he saw her — curled up in the corner of the room… like a wounded bird hiding from an unannounced storm.
She had sunk to her knees, overwhelmed by fear and shock — whispering softly to herself, desperate to release the storm in her heart, her eyes fixed on the devastation overtaking the palace.
There sat the queen on the ground… clawing at her nails in silence, while a hot tear slid down her exhausted cheek. Her hands trembled as she tried to catch uneven breaths — as if the very air had turned to knives in her throat.
"What is happening… outside… my love…? How did the world turn into this… chaos…? My heart cannot bear this pain… nor my soul this deep terror," she cried out, clutching her head.
As the queen spoke to herself, the king's footsteps approached her — her voice merging with the sound of her tears as she lifted her eyes to him, filled with love, fear, terror, and worry.
She raised her head slowly — her gaze shattered, clinging to him like a drowning soul grasping for the last straw.
With a trembling voice barely escaping her sobs, she whispered:
"How long… how long must we stay like this… watching everything fall apart before our very eyes…?"
He did not speak. He stood there — silent — watching her… as if his heart was battling a thousand words, refusing to let them escape.
She continued — her voice breaking even further:
"You were always my shield… my strength amid all this chaos… but tell me… even if it's a lie… tell me we'll survive this…"
She covered her face with shaking hands — weeping with a raw, piercing sorrow as if her heart was being torn apart.
"The people out there are afraid… and I am even more afraid than them… I don't want to lose you too… I don't want to wake up one day… and find you gone."
She raised her tear-filled eyes to him again.
"Say something… anything… even if it's just a dream… I need to believe you… I need to hear your voice…"
But he said nothing.
He stood there, silent… his eyes drowning in sorrow… his features stiff — yet his heart burned within him.
His silence was like a scream — as if he carried a thousand wars within him… a thousand weaknesses… but refused to collapse before her.
She cried… and he remained silent — his clenched jaw betraying the battle raging inside him. His veins bulged across his forehead — a sign that his silence was merely a mask… a mask on the verge of breaking.
He was lost in thought — not of surrender, but of a battle only bravery and wisdom could conquer.
And after long, suffocating moments of silence, he finally spoke — his voice layered with resolve, hesitation, and fear:
Turning his face toward the window — avoiding her burning gaze — the king whispered hoarsely, like the sound of autumn leaves rustling in the wind:
"If the answer lay within my hands… I would never let your heart ache like this."
In that moment… the queen no longer cried — her eyes were dry, but her lips trembled… as if she was holding back a scream trapped in her throat for hours.
She collapsed to her knees before him — her eyes red, trembling from fear and shock — and her tears returned, pouring out like a river mourning everything their kingdom had lost.
Without hesitation, the king grabbed his sword — its grip carved deep with the scars of countless battles — a weight heavy, yet familiar… like the hand of an old friend.
He turned toward the great doors that separated the hall from the outside world.
When he stepped into the courtyard, an unbelievable sight greeted him.
The storm still raged — the royal grounds had been turned upside down. Servants were comforting one another — some frozen in shock, unsure whether to run or stay.
As the king strode toward the lines of soldiers — their eyes filled with determination despite the fear — he raised his voice and called out:
With firm defiance:
"We are the guardians of this kingdom! We must defend it — protect it from this unknown invasion we know nothing about!"
Those words sparked a new pulse within the hearts of the soldiers — pulling them together — breathing into them a spirit of resistance and hope despite the darkness swallowing their world.