4. The Emperor's End:

"In flames, the empire will sink, due to the greed of its own race."

Vidento Centa – Cleric of the capital

The prince, also known as the ‘Son of God,’ was a rather eccentric man, even for a prince, but he was no ordinary prince. From the moment he was born, the church found a great resemblance between the emperor's firstborn and portraits from eons ago of the King of the Gods, and as he grew, their suspicions grew larger. A tall man with an upright and imposing posture, disheveled hair, long and black as the night, a complexion neither white nor brown, and eyes as blue as the fire of hell and yet as bright as the moon.

“You are Prince David,” Lodtrack said tensely; something about him put him on edge and heightened all his instincts. He then remembered the first time he saw the princess and how astonished he was. ‘How can these two cause my senses to react with their mere presence?' Lodtrack thought. “It's a pleasure to meet you.”

“The feeling is mutual,” the prince said. “It's not every day you meet someone so skilled, enough to embarrass an imperial guard,” he glared at the guard who lost to Lodtrack; he paled from a distance.

“So, now I will fight you?” Lodtrack asked nervously.

“That's right,” the prince replied. “We should start right away.” He removed his cloak and took out his sword.

“Hey, wait,” the princess said. “We should wait for the referee to authorize it.”

“It won't be necessary,” said an elderly voice from the distance; it was the emperor.

“Your Majesty!” Leonor said, bowing.

“Good evening, Leonor... As I was saying, I want to see the end as soon as possible,” he exchanged a glance with his son, who saw him pleased.

“Yes, let's begin.” Before people realized what was happening, both were already in position. But Lodtrack didn't feel right; his body felt numb, as if he were carrying the weight of the sky.

They climbed into the ring and took their combat stances, unsheathing their weapons. The prince fought with a Vulskank gold sword, wearing excessively ornate armor. People swirled around the ring, confused.

The emperor gave permission to start. David attacked with his golden sword, launching multiple thrusts. Lodtrack couldn't dodge them correctly; one of the thrusts managed to hit him, slashing his shoulder. Lodtrack began to despair; he received the attacks and couldn't return any. His body wasn't responding as it should; people were confused; it didn't seem like the combat level shown before.

“What's going on?” Lodtrack was visibly angry; he managed to launch a cut that almost hit the prince. David became alert at Lodtrack's reaction; he seemed surprised that Lodtrack could respond to his attacks.

“Why isn't Lodtrack reacting? He's moving very slowly,” Leonor said worriedly, as he had bet again on Lodtrack winning.

“We could say it's a skill of my brother,” the princess replied. As the fight progressed, Lodtrack began to counterattack, and the prince reacted clumsier. Lodtrack finally realized what was happening, and that made him furious, causing his attacks to become more violent. The prince couldn't react to the speed of the attacks, causing Lodtrack to pierce his leg with a thrust. “Brother!”

Lodtrack approached the prince and snatched his sword. He observed the sword's hilt for a moment and said:

“A suppression stone... the tactic of a coward,” he was quite irritated. Stones are magical tools that allow mortals to use specific types of magic, “that's why I couldn't move.”

“How? No opponent could surpass my spell,” David replied.

“I had noticed something strange from the beginning... besides, you should know that this sphere doesn't work for extended periods,” the prince was surprised; he wasn't aware of this fact.

“Probably the fear generated by his nickname 'Son of God' scared most as soon as they felt the pressure, but Lodtrack and I were always skeptical about this rumor,” Leonor explained to the princess, who kept her head down, feeling ashamed of her brother's behavior.

 Lodtrack glared at the prince, “You call yourself by that arrogant nickname, but you're nothing more than a damn coward.” Lodtrack turned his gaze to the emperor, “I've won; end the tournament and give me my reward or whatever.”

“Alright, I'll also talk to my son. Although it's not cheating, it's a cowardly tactic,” Lodtrack seemed to calm down, although he still trembled due to the effects of the stone. They handed Lodtrack 100 gold coins, and...

“The prize for defeating the prince is a dance with the princess,” Lodtrack was stunned for a moment and looked at the princess, who was with Leonor. A band that had been playing all day changed the rhythm to a slow tune, the church elf approached them, and, murmuring a spell, made the music sound throughout the area. Lodtrack approached the princess and offered his hand.

“Would you grant me this dance?” Lodtrack felt quite silly saying this; it sounded better in his head. The princess let out a little laugh.

“You don't have that way of speaking,” Lodtrack laughed. The princess took his hand, and they began to dance to the rhythm of the music; the rest of the people in the place followed suit. Although Lodtrack had taken a few dance lessons with Miss Muffin, it didn't prevent him from stepping on the princess a couple of times.

“You're so tense,” the princess tried to calm him. Another misstep. “Hey!”

“Sorry, I'm not good at dancing,” Lodtrack said.

“I noticed,” the princess sighed. “Look, just follow the melody's rhythm... relax and follow me.” Lodtrack obeyed; the princess's advice worked. He no longer stepped on her, and they definitely didn't look like fools anymore. “Not bad, you learn fast.”