The Forbidden Element

The clash of blades lit the ancient temple in violent bursts of gold and silver.

Surya's muscles screamed in protest. Every swing of his sword sent pain lancing through his body—but he didn't stop.
He couldn't stop.

Veer Raj, the great king of the past, pressed forward like an unstoppable force. His strikes were methodical, relentless, designed to grind Surya down inch by inch.

"You carry the weight now," Veer Raj said, parrying Surya's desperate slash with ease. "But can you rise above it?"

Surya staggered back, chest heaving, his aura flickering under the immense strain. His knees nearly buckled—yet a single thought rooted him firmly in place:

I will not fall. I cannot.

In the shadows beyond the arena, faint images shimmered.
His friends—Kiran, Rudra, Saria—watching with solemn eyes, though he knew they weren't really there.
They represented his will, the bonds that tied him to this path.

He thought of his fallen kingdom. His people's broken homes. Their stolen futures.

"I won't let their hopes die with me!" Surya shouted, his voice echoing through the chamber.

Veer Raj's expression shifted ever so slightly—approval hidden behind his stern gaze.

"Then rise," the king said, "as the true heir."

Their swords met again.

CRASH!

This time, Surya didn't just defend—
He pushed back.

His golden aura surged with a brilliance so intense it cast long shadows across the stone floor.

The entire temple seemed to tremble.

Veer Raj smiled—a rare, genuine smile—as Surya's sword struck his own and forced him a step backward.

A first.

"You are ready," Veer Raj said, voice low and proud.

But Surya wasn't finished.

BOOM!

He unleashed a flurry of strikes, faster and heavier than before. His moves weren't desperate—they were deliberate, sharpened by will and experience.

Veer Raj parried and dodged, but Surya was forcing him onto the defensive.

"You said kings can't hesitate," Surya said through gritted teeth, "but they must also protect!"

Another strike.

"Not just command—"

Another strike.

"But carry!"

Their blades locked once more, face to face.

Veer Raj's eyes gleamed with pride. "Then carry it, my son. Carry it until the stars themselves bow before you."

A sudden burst of energy flared from Veer Raj's form.

Surya braced himself—
But instead of an attack, the figure of his father began to fade, the ancient trial ending.

Golden motes of light rose around them, illuminating Surya in a soft, ethereal glow.

Left behind where Veer Raj had stood—

—was a crown.
Forged of ancient metals and inscribed with the sigils of the Seven Kingdoms.

Surya approached it, heart pounding.
He knelt before it—not as a boy seeking approval, but as a man accepting his destiny.

He placed his hand upon the crown.

A surge of power raced through him.

Memories—wisdom—strength—everything passed down from generations of kings flooded his soul.

And yet, one truth echoed above all:

The future would be his to shape. Not theirs.

Slowly, Surya rose to his feet.

The crown didn't rest on his head. He didn't need it to.
Its weight was already embedded deep within his spirit.

He turned toward the darkness, toward the entrance he had first walked through.

A new journey awaited him.
Not just as a warrior.
Not just as a survivor.

But as a King.

TO BE CONTINUED...