CHAPTER XX
"Whispers of Ice and Shadows of Truth"
Rira was running faster than the wind itself.
Her speed, unmatched — even the air around her struggled to keep up.
With her leading the way and all of us moving like shadows chasing time, we reached Ice Land in what felt like the blink of an eye.
The icy winds bit at our skin, but we didn't stop. We couldn't.
This wasn't just another step in our journey — this was where Cael would be.
This was where the First House was hidden — and once its doors opened, they would stay open for only a few sacred seconds.
A second too late… and we'd lose our chance to reach him.
The palace loomed before us — a towering structure carved from ancient frost and secrets.
It shimmered under the pale-blue sky like a frozen memory.
But there was no time to admire its beauty. We broke in — no questions, no permission — driven by the urgency in our veins.
Inside, the cold seemed to press against our hearts.
We split up quickly, searching for the First House — its door, its glow, anything.
And then… I saw him.
Cael.
Standing in the heart of the palace.
But what I witnessed next turned the blood in my veins to ice.
He was facing a small creature — a pixie, trembling and afraid.
The pixie pleaded with its eyes, but Cael… didn't hesitate.
He pointed his finger at it, and in an instant —
Silence.
The pixie's body stiffened — and then crumbled into ash and frost, like a leaf turned to dust.
Gone. Just like that.
I couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe.
The Cael I thought I knew… he was slipping further and further into something I couldn't understand.
Flash grabbed my arm tightly, pulling me back into the shadows before I could step forward.
"We can't let him see us," he whispered, voice heavy with urgency.
"Rira, use your invisible magic. Hide the princess."
Rira, without hesitation, obeyed. She whispered an incantation, and like a ripple in water, she shimmered out of sight — gone, just like that, taking Caeli with her into the veil of unseen magic.
But we weren't done with surprises.
Chiko — who, until this very moment, had been nothing more than a mischievous monkey — took a step forward…
And changed.
Right before my eyes.
His form twisted, shifted, and reshaped itself into something more… human.
Not quite human, though. His tail still flicked behind him, and his face held the hint of his monkey nature — mischievous eyes, and a smirk that looked too wild for a boy.
I barely had time to react.
There was no room for questions.
No time for gasps or confusion.
I simply nodded at Rira, signaling her to follow Cael and not let him out of her sight. She vanished again, moving like a shadow tethered to her purpose.
And then… Flash and Chiko stepped closer.
And in a heartbeat — they shimmered.
Gone.
Just like Rira.
Invisible.
That's when I realized the truth — they hadn't just been protecting me with strength and instinct.
They had magic too.
They'd been hiding it — maybe out of fear, maybe out of caution — but now, with everything falling apart, there was no more time for secrets.
They were warriors.
They were watchers.
And now… they were shadows, chasing a boy who had once been our hope.
I stood there — the only one left visible — heart pounding, breath shallow, and soul trembling.
What was Cael doing?
Why was he killing pixies?
What had he become?
Or maybe the better question was…
What had he always been?
I didn't know the answer.
But I knew one thing.
We were running out of time.
And the boy we were trying to save… might be the very one we'd need saving from.
"The Seven Doors and the Price of a Mistake"
We didn't wait.
The moment Cael disappeared through the gate of the First House, we followed him — quietly, swiftly, shadows chasing a storm.
The world inside was colder… older.
Not in age — but in presence.
The kind of silence that holds ancient power, where even a whisper feels like blasphemy.
Ahead of us, we could see him.
Cael — determined, unflinching — walking deeper into the palace of forgotten truths.
Before him now stood a sight that stopped even our breath.
Seven doors.
Seven massive, towering gateways carved from stone, light, wind, ice, fire, shadow… and something we couldn't name.
Each one pulsed faintly, as if alive.
Each one beckoned, yet warned.
Suddenly, a voice thundered from the center — not human, not fairy, but something darker.
A Rakshasa — a beast formed of curses and cursed souls — appeared in the middle of the chamber, his glowing red eyes locked on Cael.
"You were not supposed to come alone," the Rakshasa growled, his voice like stone grinding against bone. "Seven princesses were meant to arrive… and one would reveal which house is true."
Cael stood his ground, gaze unreadable.
"But since you are here," the Rakshasa continued, "you must choose. Tell me… which house is the right one?"
Cael's eyes scanned each door — their details, their sigils, their aura.
He didn't answer right away.
Instead, he asked, "And if I choose the wrong door… what then?"
The Rakshasa smiled — a cruel, twisted grin that stretched far too wide.
"You may only choose wrong three times," he warned. "Beyond that… I will devour you."
A flicker of emotion passed Cael's face — not fear, but something colder.
"You'll devour me?" he repeated, almost casually.
"Yes," the Rakshasa hissed, stepping closer, "I will tear the fate from your bones."
For a long, tense second, Cael didn't move.
And then… he did something no one expected.
He looked the Rakshasa directly in the eye.
Unblinking. Unafraid.
And whispered…
"Then let's see whose fate ends first."
In that very moment, the Rakshasa froze — his monstrous snarl turning to confusion, then pain.
Cracks began to form across his skin — not blood, but soil, crumbling from his limbs like dry earth.
His roar of fury was swallowed by the silence as, before our eyes…
He turned to dust.
Gone.
As if he had only ever been a test — a guardian bound by rules he never truly controlled.
Cael exhaled once and turned to the seven doors.
"I'll open them all," he muttered. "One by one, I'll find the right one."
And without waiting, without hesitation — he placed his hand on the first door.
The moment it creaked open — a sharp metallic sound pierced the chamber.
A pin.
Tiny, near invisible.
But deadly.
It flew from the top of the door, striking Cael squarely in the shoulder.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then…
Boom.
A blast — like magic tearing the air apart — echoed through the chamber.
Light flared, wind howled, and a shockwave surged outward, throwing frost and fire in every direction.
Cael's body was thrown backward, crashing to the ground — not broken… but burnt. His cloak torn, his breath ragged.
We gasped, frozen behind the shadows, unable to rush to him, unable to reveal ourselves.
He gritted his teeth, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
But his eyes…
His eyes burned brighter than ever.
Not with pain.
But with fury.
He slowly sat up, wiped the blood from his lips, and glared at the other doors.
"That was one," he growled.
And then, with a slow, terrifying determination…
He stood back up.
Ready to face the second.
Because Cael wasn't just a boy with a mission anymore.
He was a flame walking into a storm — and no beast, no trick, no explosion could stop him.
Not until he found the door that fate owed him.
And not until he proved that even destiny…
can bleed.
To be continued…