Ashes and Thrones

The sun was nothing more than a thin smear behind the mist.
Cold light dripped into the Hall of Eclipse, pooling in broken glass and crumbling stone, and somewhere beyond the iron gates, a bell tolled — sharp and merciless.

Training day.

Shu Kurenai stood at the edge of the training yard, arms folded tight across his chest, the weight of sleepless hours dragging behind his eyes.
The air was bitter, stinging with the bite of coming frost, and every step he took across the cracked stones felt wrong —
as if something old and angry slept beneath the earth.

He ignored it.
He had been ignoring it for years.

"You look like a ghost," Valt said casually, appearing at Shu's side with the easy energy of someone who had definitely slept last night.

Shu grunted. "Thanks."

Valt grinned, unfazed. "No, seriously. You sure you're not going to pass out before we even start?"

Shu turned his head slowly, giving Valt the flattest stare he could muster.

"I'll aim for after breakfast," Shu said.

Valt laughed — bright, reckless, the sound cutting through the fog like a knife.
Somehow, it made the world feel a little less heavy.

⸻

They stood together, watching the other princes filter into the yard:
Zac was twirling a strand of golden energy between his fingers, showing off to a bored-looking Ken.
Xander stretched with slow, steady movements, like a mountain preparing to shift.
Daigo muttered to himself, adjusting the dark armor woven into his clothes.
Free stood alone, hands behind his back, watching everything with those sharp, unreadable gold eyes.

Shu felt the weight of their presences pressing down on him.

Some part of him — the part that still remembered how to hope — wanted to fit among them.

Another part — older, colder — knew he never would.

The ground buzzed faintly under his boots.

Shu shifted his weight, trying to shake the feeling.

It's nothing, he told himself.

Just nerves.

But the mist curled tighter around the stones, and for a moment — just a moment — he thought he heard something whispering from beneath the earth.

His name.

⸻

The clanging of armored boots pulled Shu from his thoughts.

The knight overseeing their training — a scarred man with a voice like splintered stone — strode into the yard.

"In your kingdoms, you rule by blood and birthright," the knight said, voice carrying over the yard.
"Here, you earn your place with discipline. Magic will not save you if your mind and body are weak."

He stopped, letting his gaze sweep over them.

"You will train in groups," he continued. "Four princes each. Reflex. Strength. Endurance. No killing blows. No wild spells. No excuses."

Valt leaned in, whispering behind his hand.
"Think he means you?"

Shu didn't smile.

He couldn't.

Not today.

⸻

The knight began calling names, pairing the groups.