Chapter 13: Crown and Coil
Two months passed in quiet anticipation.
The kingdom had changed since that day in the Royal Court. Scholars scrambled to study the new arts, generals rewrote training doctrines, and mage groups debated whether they'd been surpassed by a group of toddlers.
And yet, amidst the flurry of reforms, another decree had shaken the capital.
"Two months from this day, we shall crown Azren von Solmere as Crown Prince of the Realm."
The announcement echoed across every province, sparking both celebration and curiosity.
Today was that day.
---
The Grand Plaza of Solmere, a crescent amphitheater carved into white stone, was draped in silver banners bearing the royal crest: a sword encircled by seven stars.
Nobles, foreign dignitaries, and emissaries from every great house filled the stands. Even envoys from distant lands had arrived, each bearing gifts to curry favor with the boy soon to be prince.
I stood in front of the golden dais, wearing ceremonial robes stitched with stardust thread. The other eleven stood behind me in matching attire, each bearing subtle signs of their family heritage.
Trumpets blared.
King Lucien rose from his throne beneath the open sky, dressed in white and obsidian robes, a blade-shaped scepter in his hand.
He spoke with clear, resonant strength.
> "On this day, we crown the one who shall walk the future path of Solmere—my son, Azren von Solmere.
He carries the will of Twelve. He carries the wisdom of a new age.
And today, the Crown chooses him."
Applause thundered across the plaza.
One by one, guests approached with tributes.
From the Dawnmere envoy came a ring carved from sky-iron that enhanced spiritual sensitivity.
From Arashi, a crystal prism that stored elemental essences.
From Valeblume, a music box that harmonized with the user's aura.
From Caerwyn, a bottle of sacred moon sap that bloomed under starlight.
And then came the most curious gift of all.
A hooded figure stepped forward, escorted by two palace guards. He held a box wrapped in ancient red silk.
"This," he said in a raspy voice, "is a gift from the Ruined Temple of Surnath. Recovered from beneath the roots of a forgotten tree."
He opened the box.
Inside was a single aged scroll, bound in shadow-worn leather.
I took it carefully. The material pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat.
As I unrolled it just slightly, I saw the silhouette of a human figure—sitting in a meditative pose—with kundalini coils rising along the spine, each chakra glowing with unfamiliar runes. Shadowy tendrils laced through the body like veins. Runes neither arcane nor elemental… but something else entirely.
I furrowed my brows. I don't recognize this structure… Is it cultivation? Is it… divine magic?
> [SYSTEM]: Unknown technique. No analysis available.
Suggestion: Retain for further study.
"Thank you," I said, giving the scroll a final glance before placing it in my inventory. This might be more important than it looks…
The ceremony continued.
Finally, King Lucien stepped forward and placed the Starbound Circlet—a silver diadem shaped like a crescent sun—onto my forehead.
> "From this day forth," he declared, "let the world recognize him.
The Prince of Stars.
Azren von Solmere, Crown Prince of Solmere empire. "
The crowd erupted.
Cheers. Drums. Magical fireworks.
But I remained still, my thoughts briefly elsewhere—not on the throne, not on the applause.
But on that scroll. That figure.
The shadow of something ancient, coiled, and waiting.
---
Later that night, as the echoes of celebration faded and moonlight spilled across the palace balcony, I sat alone in my chamber.
The ancient scroll lay on the table before me, still bound in its leather wrapping. I had unsealed it twice since the ceremony, only to be met with more confusion each time.
The figure inside pulsed with mystery—kundalini coils, unfamiliar runes, and shadows etched into flesh. It wasn't just a cultivation technique. It was a language of power I hadn't learned yet.
> [SYSTEM]: Rune complexity exceeds current comprehension. Core resonance insufficient.
I stared at the script for a long moment, then finally sighed.
"Not yet," I muttered, sealing it with a flick of my hand and placing it deep into my inventory. "I'll come back to you when I'm strong enough."
---
The next morning, I turned my attention elsewhere—kingdom management.
Rulership wasn't just about battle or declarations. It was about building something that would last.
And for that… I needed help.
I sent a private message through the system's group chat.
> [Azren]: Thalor. I need you.
Within the hour, Thalor Caerwyn arrived, calm and composed as ever. His antler-crown braid gleamed under the palace sun.
"I heard you ascended," he said with a smile. "Ready to be buried in paperwork now?"
"Ready enough," I chuckled. "You were an accountant and enterprise manager in your previous life, right?"
"Yes. Numbers, ledgers, logistics. I managed more funds than our treasury could imagine."
"Then I want you to establish the foundation for our kingdom's information systems—tax records, population registries, resource inventory. And teach others how to do it too."
He nodded thoughtfully. "I'll draft a blueprint by tomorrow."
---
Soon, others began stepping up as well.
Selene Valeblume, composed and sharp-eyed, gathered curious nobles and squires in the training courtyard.
"Before you can take a life," Selene said, holding up a parchment sketch of the human nervous system, "you must first understand where to strike—and more importantly, where not to.
And for healers, knowing how to diagnose and treat the source of injury is just as vital. On the battlefield, conserving energy and applying it precisely can mean the difference between saving one life—or losing many."
As a former Western doctor, she began teaching human anatomy—medical training, pressure points, surgical recovery.
Alongside her stood Liang Meilin, warm yet precise, who brought her knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine into the mix.
"Meridians, qi flow, and herbs are not mysticism—they're ancient science," she said, placing acupuncture diagrams next to western surgical schematics. "Together, they form a complete picture."
Between the two of them, the palace soon had its first cross-discipline medical school.
---
Elira Dawnmere, gentle and cheerful, spent most of her days near the royal stables and beast pens.
A veterinarian in her past life, she brought from system new insights into healing magical beasts for the people.
"No, don't use fire root on scaled species," she corrected a confused healer. "It causes skin blistering on anything cold-blooded. Use frostleaf instead—it eases inflammation."
Her work laid the foundation for a tamed beast-healing division, a first in the kingdom's history.
---
Brannor Pyraethos, hammer slung over one shoulder, grumbled as he sketched yet another blueprint.
"Back in my world, I built damn skyscrapers," he muttered. "Don't ask me to make just walls."
Still, his efforts were invaluable. He helped redesign the city's fortifications, streamlined housing districts, and even drew up plans for cultivation-focused architecture, like meditation chambers and energy-flow temples.
His passion was loud—and his walls even louder.
---
In the alchemy wing, Neris Mireveil and Meilin whenever she was free collaborated in a scent-filled lab.
Neris worked with a quiet determination, mixing powders and liquids with delicate care. "This should reduce internal spiritual backlash by at least 30%," she murmured.
Meilin added a pinch of powdered lotus. "And this will improve taste."
The two formed a natural team, merging alchemy and herbalism, creating potent elixirs that advanced both recovery and cultivation.
---
Meanwhile… chaos reigned elsewhere.
Ryoto Arashi, Kael Thornefell, Lysandra Valeblume, and Vireya Meriatus found themselves surrounded daily by soldiers, scholars, even nobles, begging for help with arts and magic.
"Sir Ryoto, can you demonstrate again how you twisted wind to shatter stone—"
"Kael, I beg you, just one glance at your technique scroll—"
"Lysandra-sama, teach me that illusion step where you vanished!"
"Vireya, PLEASE just let me touch the book—"
Each of them dealt with the storm in their own way.
Kael just growled and threatened to throw people off the training grounds.
Ryoto laughed and gave mini-lectures.
Lysandra? She reveled in it—offering cryptic advice that left people even more confused.
And Vireya? She buried herself in her magic lab and put a "DO NOT ENTER UNLESS YOU'RE DYING" sign on the door.
After teasing them for a while they stepped in to help to clear their doubts.
---
By the week's end, the kingdom was no longer the same.
A new infrastructure was forming—education, healing, construction, arts, alchemy, and magic—built not by sages, but by twelve infants with memories of another world.
This was how we prepared.
Not just by training our blades—
But by sharpening the minds and hands of a kingdom.