The study smelled of burning wood and ink, Mr. Asoluka sat alone in the dim glow of a desk lamp, a thick file open before him, His fingers tapped impatiently on the mahogany surface, The investigator he had paid handsomely had finally delivered a background check on Kael. He had expected to find proof that Kael was a fraud, a runaway, perhaps a petty criminal, but what he found instead unsettled him deeply.. How could this be ? He asked no-one in particular.
He opened the big file before and read: Kael Eron, Son of Eldric Eron. Former heir to the Eron Conglomerate, born in Westbridge, attended St. Avalon's University, until his family collapsed under what the report called "internal crisis." A bland phrase that concealed scandal, the file mentioned a high-profile divorce, assets frozen, and a quick disappearance from public life. And then there was something more... a red-stamped section, half-blurred, bearing a strange symbol: a crown with three eyes.
Mr. Asoluka frowned, he had seen many seals in his lifetime, corporate, political, even military. But this? This was ancient. The note beneath it simply read: "Declassified by Royal Order. Level Red Access Only."
Royal? Houston had no royalty of that kind...
He leaned back in his chair, the leather creaking beneath him. Kael wasn't just a disgraced rich boy. There was something deeper, something... hidden, something deep..
Just then, a soft knock tapped at the window.
Startled, he turned, the breeze moved the curtains slightly, though the windows were shut tight, when he pulled them aside, there was no one, but on the window ledge lay a rolled piece of parchment, tied with crimson ribbon.
He hesitated, heart thumping, then picked it up.
The ribbon fell away like dust.
Unrolling the parchment revealed a sigil at the top: The Crimson Chamber.
His breath hitched, he had heard whispers of them, A secret society older than most governments, said to protect ancient bloodlines. Keepers of hidden knowledge. Gatekeepers of dangerous inheritance.
The letter read:
*"The boy in your household carries not just blood, but burden. The inheritance is awakening. He is watched, not by men, but by memory, If he remains, you must choose to conceal him, or join the pact. There is no third option."
"One drop of royal flame will either ignite a crown or burn a house down.""
At the bottom was the same seal from the report.
The Three-Eyed Crown.
Meanwhile, in the servant's quarters, Kael lay restless in bed, the pendant pulsed lightly under his pillow, warmth radiating from it in steady waves, he turned, eyes blinking into the dark, a sound rang faintly in his ears, like a hum layered with a whisper.
He sat up, glancing toward the desk. Nothing.
Then a flicker.
The mirror caught it, for just a second, the reflection showed not his room, but a different space a hallway of stone, torches lining the walls, and a shadow moving in the distance. Kael blinked, and it was gone.
He exhaled, rubbed his face. "What is happening to me?"
He had told no one about the dreams. About the boy named Alvin. About the visions.
And yet...
Elsewhere, in a smoky courtyard near the edge of the city, Madam Elsie stood beneath a twisted tree, speaking with a pale man in a trench coat. Her eyes gleamed with calculation.
"The boy has been quiet," the man said. "Too quiet. That means he's remembering."
"Not fully," Elsie replied, adjusting her gloves. "But the closer he gets to his truth, the harder it will be to erase him."
The man offered a scroll. "The bloodmark on the mother is weakening. But if he finds her and triggers it"
"Then I lose everything I worked for," she spat. "That won't happen. Keep watching him. Do not loose sight of him, If he finds the vault, inform me."
"What of the Crimson Chamber?" the man asked.
She stiffened. "They won't interfere. Not if they believe he is still asleep."
Back at the mansion, Mr. Asoluka stood by the fire, holding the letter from the Crimson Chamber. He lit a match and held it to the corner. The parchment burned slowly, not with yellow flame, but with a shimmer of silver, then blue, then red
As the ashes rose, they formed the image of the Three-Eyed Crown.
Then vanished.
He whispered, "Who are you, Kael?"