The weight of the king's confession didn't lift. It thickened. Draping the room in a suffocating silence. No one moved. Even the flames in the sconces seemed to burn more quietly, shadows clutching the walls.
Lady Kiara's grip on the armrest tightened, the wood creaking faintly beneath her hand. Her mouth was a hard line. There was nothing left to say. She had lived that memory too.
Elois shifted slightly, her arms hugging her sides, as if trying to fold inward and vanish. She didn't look up. Didn't want to meet the eyes of the king or anyone else. Not now.
The king remained still, fingers clenched around the map's edges. The flicker of candlelight caught the fine tremble in his hands. He didn't try to hide it.
"Years ago, before I even earned the title of 'king,' I was arrogant." His voice was flat, hollow. "Back then, I was invincible, or so I thought. Lady Kiara and I fought side by side. And with us was Lily…"
Her name landed like a blade.
"A priest… and my heart."
Lady Kiara's eyes flicked to the window. Her jaw locked.
"I was full of myself," the king continued. "Young and dumb. I thought I could conquer anything. That arrogance led me to take on the subjugation quest for the Cave of Reflections."
He gripped the table tighter.
"Lady Kiara warned us," he said, his voice rough now. "Begged me not to continue. But I didn't listen. I thought I could handle it. And Lily… she followed me. Because she believed in me."
His next words came slower. Quieter.
"That dungeon… it wasn't like any other. The air felt like water, every breath like drowning. Then we saw it, a figure. Child-sized. Unmoving. But when it turned to face us…" He swallowed. "It twisted and twisted… became me. A perfect, tortuous version."
"Stronger. Faster. Smiling like a goddamn monster."
The silence in the room shifted. Sharpened.
"I wasn't ready," the king said. "None of us were. I thought I was prepared for anything, but this?" He tilted his head ever slightly, lips curled downward.
Lady Kiara's face remained expressionless, but her nails dug into the chair's arm. Silent confirmation of the truth.
"Then," he said, voice cracking, "it got worse."
The words barely came out.
"A second creature appeared. Too many limbs. Movements like they didn't belong in this world."
"It didn't attack. It just watched."
"And then it spoke to me."
He looked up, his face pale. "It said I was 'worthy.' That I had potential. And it… It offered me a bargain."
Whispers rippled through the council, barely audible. No one dared interrupt.
"I wanted to refuse," the king muttered. "But the pressure, the weight of its presence… I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move."
"I was paralyzed."
His jaw clenched.
"One of its limbs wrapped around me. Lifted me like I weighed nothing. I saw Lily then, already caught in its grasp. Her tails hung limp. Her body… motionless."
The silence that followed was unbearable.
"I tried to break free. I tried… But I was useless. The limb holding me reeled back and flung me from the cave like I was nothing."
He exhaled, ragged and sharp. Trembling. "I never returned."
No one moved. No one spoke. The truth hung too heavy.
The King's gaze swept across the room, his voice barely a whisper. "This young man, Leo… he's not like me. He's stronger. But that same path, the one I walked. It nearly destroyed me."
He looked down. "I fear he's stepping onto it now. And we can't let him face that alone."
The tension thickened. Dense, airless.
Then, without warning, the Monkey King's ears twitched.
He rose in one fluid motion, tail flicking with restless energy. His golden eyes glinted, catching something the others couldn't.
A grin pulled at the corner of his mouth.
"My hatemeter's twitching again," he said, stretching with casual grace. His voice cut through the gloom like a sudden breeze.
He stepped onto the window ledge, one foot balanced on stone, the other poised above open air. Then, without a backward glance, he leapt into the sky.
A cloud swept beneath him, catching him mid-air like a summoned entity.
"I'll let you know when I find this Leo guy, if he doesn't find me first."
His voice echoed once, then vanished into the night.
The silence he left behind was uneasy.
Then a shuffle.
A figure. Hooded in white, appeared behind the king, silent as smoke. No one saw him enter. No one knew he was there.
He leaned in close. Whispering something too soft for anyone else to hear.
The king tensed. Barely.
Then, noise. Sharp. Rushed.
Boots clattered in the corridor.
Metal against stone.
The guards moved fast. Swords not drawn, but hands close. Their stances tight, eyes narrowing.
The king raised a hand. No panic. Control.
The guards froze in place, disciplined.
But the tension was climbing again.
And then the doors.
Crashed open.
Wind tore through the chamber. Candles snapped and flickered, shadows leaping across stone and tapestry like fleeing spirits.
A heartbeat passed.
Then another.
Dust rolled inward like a mist. Every figure inside the room turned, eyes locked forward.
And from the dark hallway beyond, a colossal silhouette appeared.
One figure.
Still.
Watching.
Waiting.
The room held its breath.
And the silence was shattered.