"Father, what is happening?" Mariana questioned with a trembling voice. Sapphire eyes gazing up at her father's sudden pale face. "Father?" with a soft yank of her father's material, Ophir eyes glanced down at his daughters nervous expression. Thin silver eyebrows came down and her lips parted from each other with such a worried glance that gazed up at him.

Ophir placed a hand on the side of Mariana's cheek, caressing it gently with his thumb. "Everything is alright. There is probably a confusion on the situation" his tone was kind and gentle, but Mariana could sense the nervous glint in his sapphire eyes. It was the anxious feeling growing deep in her heart that made her feel uneasy.

Even if Ophir did not show on his face the nervousness he was feeling, Mariana knew her father well enough to see right through him.

The emperor immediately rose up from his icy throne, the colour on his face beginning to drain as the sudden terror began to grow in his eyes. "Impossible," Adrastos mumbled with an icy breath. The ball room became instantly a freezing co ld that none had ever experienced before, it was the terrified cold aura of the king that had frozen the air of the giant ball room.

The nobles began to whisper among themselves, each one theorising their beliefs behind each one's ears or fans.

"What is this servant spouting?"

"Tch, this servant has already ruined our night"

"The mirror never glows on its own before."

"What preposterous nonsense"

"Our glorious night ruined because of this servant."

"Ruining great emperors night with his nonsense. I swear these servants never learn to be humble for one night"

The humble servant continued to keep his head low and firm on the ground, not even to glance up to get a look at the man whose temper is far beyond the line. His sweat could been seen glimmering as it dripped down his pale and shaken face and on to the crystal floor. His whole body trembled in a disturbing pattern that made the Grand duke pity the poor servant who was only doing his job.

Ophir was going to assure the servant well when he was startled by the emperor from behind.

With a deep and booming voice, Adrastos spoke "Show me!" the tone came out like an angry howl of a wolf that sparked fear in the servant's heart.

"Y-yes your highness" finally the servant rose his head by a hunch and when his eyes locked with the death glare the emperor gazed, the trembling servant flinched as a chilling wave came up his spine. Quickly looking down and to stagger up with a shaken body, he bowed his head.

"I-I w-will humbly escort you, your royal majesty" the servant said with a gesture and another bow. Without any hesitation Adrastos marched his way down the few crystal stairs, heels clicking loudly as it bounced from wall to wall. The trail of his long white elegant robe followed behind him like a tail.

Without a panic Ophir stepped forward to follow Adrastos but a sudden gentle pull from his arm made him stop. Sapphire blue eyes glance back to see Mariana in a sudden worried distress. He could so his reflection those glittering blue eyes that begged him to stay with her and not go as if he was following death.

As he examined her delicate face, he smiled. How much his daughter had grown to resemble his deceased beloved wife, Meryn. With a final caress of her warm cheek that fluttered a light pink, Ophir leaned forward and with warm thin lips, he pecked the brow of her daughter. "I'll be alright. Stay here for me, ok".

Mariana was quite hesitant to let him go. It was like a few years ago when she held his arm begging him to not leave to battle the Lupacies. Giant wolf demons that birth from the darkness of ice, praying on the flesh of humankind. Her father was assigned to lead the knights into battle to take them down and bring peace back to the villages and towns that were terrorised by the Lupacies.

She remembers watching her father's back get smaller and smaller before he disappeared in the icy weather. Watching him fade away from her sight as she stood there with teary eyes and praying to the gods, to return him to her safely.

Mariana was only a child who bid her father farewell as she waited for him to return nevertheless, he returned months later, safe and sound furthermore a hero in the eyes of the citizens.

As if Ophir could read her daughters mind, he smiled. "You worry to much, Mariana child. I am not going to battle but going to see a glowing mirror".

Mariana eyes drooped down, and her fingers released the hold of the light blue material. "But father, what if there is a possibility it will explode a-and- and it-"

Ophir bent down on one knew, hands grasping a hold of the girls elbows as he stared up at her daughters worried eyes that twinkled like glittering gems. What a worrisome child she was, Ophir thought to himself while a warm fatherly smile formed on his face. "I promise you, Mariana. There is for you to get so worried about. I'm not fighting demons like before but following our emperor to a mirror that only binds us with truth." With a hand he moved a few strands of hair away from the teenage girls face. "Fret not, I will return to your side once we settle things down".

Mariana's body only relaxed by a little from her father's comforting words however deep down, something weary lurked inside of her. It was like a warning that screamed for her to not listen to him, grab a hold of her father and not let him go, however she could not voice out what went through her guts and released her father from her grasp.

Ophir rose up, resting his forehead on hers and placing the palm of his hand on top of her head as he closed his eyes, he whispered softly to Mariana "I'll be right back."

Once again, Mariana stood by and watched Ophir leave her sight like he did when she was only child. She felt her hand stretch out towards her father; palm wide open as if it was going to grab a hold of him before he disappeared through the giant crystal doors. With a trembling mumble she whispered ,"Don't go."

Ophir stepped into an icy space, instantly sensing a dangerous air that lingered around him.

Giant yet dark crystalised walls corned the room with ancient symbolic patterns engraved downwards as it glowed a disturbing blue hue. Not a single natural light was shone to lighten their pathway and the only light that enhanced the room was a cauldron like fountain that lay in the middle of the room on a crystal platform.

Adrastos was seen beside the cauldron like fountain that was made entirely out of white marble. Eyes wide in horror as it stared down at the blue glowing water that reside inside the hollow circle.

It was a shocking sight to see the mirror of all truth act on its own accord, especially on a night like this. It was never written in history of the water glowing blue on its own without the seeker seeking truth.

It brought discomfort to the blue haired duke as he made his way up the few stairs silently so he wouldn't disturb the horrified emperor.

"What do you see?" a whisper that sounded like hush ghost came from the emperor, subconsciously. Shaken eyes still gazing upon the water crystal waters of the fountain with all his attention on it.

Ophir's sapphire eyes glanced slowly down below him; he could hear his own heartbeat echoing in his ears. The grand duke did not understand why he was feeling so scared to look down at the waters that only told the truth. The water was a vibrant blue not like the crystal-clear colour like it's supposed to be.

The water span in a spiral, white crystal beginning to shape itself as it swirled like a whirlpool. Both the royal's reflection were sucked away in the whirl as it spiralled to create something in the water.

Ophir dark pupils dilutes in a shaken terror as he watched in shock at the scene in the water.

Standing in the centre of a bloody winter wasteland was a woman dressed in an unusual black attire. Frails of her black skirt and laces swayed violently against the cold blizzard in which she stood unfazed. The woman stood as if she had one against her foes but had cost her so much in the end. She stood in utter grief and anger, surrounded by the corpses of her enemy of white and blue, hand clenched in a blood grip of her curved, single-edged blade bathed in a dripping red liquid that coated the white blanket of snow.

Her face could not be seen as it was taken away by the familiar silver white hair that flowed past her once white skin that was stained with human blood.

Ophir felt something tight rob his breath as the heart clenching realisation dawn upon him. Even if the hair had drenched itself with blood, he would always recognise the beautiful hair of his daughter, Mariana.

He felt his knee beginning to betray him and the hands that was once so firm, tremble.

'No. No it can't be her' he began to refuse what he was seeing. Mariana was delicate child with the heart of gold. She had always refused to wield or even touch a weapon that took the lives of anything that it came upon. No! his eyes were playing trick on him; it was not Mariana. It will never be Mariana. His daughter will never tainted with the bloody war.

However, the grand duke could not see the intense horror that the emperor was facing. Bloodshot eyes staring at the blue water that portrayed the women whom he came to believe as Mariana, the only daughter of the grand Duke, Ophir Lancaster IV.

Bitter darkness began to grow around him as he watched his knights lay dead at the hands of the daughter of the duke of his kingdom, it was an uncontrollable hate and doubts that began to soar in his sickening mind.

His thoughts became darker as he continued to watch what began to happen.

A Dark and mystic fog began to circle around her, it controlled the icy blizzard as it attached itself to the woman and changing everything she owned into a scaly armour. Dangerous black dragon horns had sprouted from the darkness of the fog on her head. As she exhaled a fog of icy air, the canine teeth had sharpened like a dragons row of white deaths, down from her mouth.

Her unusual blade was encircled with the black fog before it dispersed, revealing a new formed blade of dragons spike sprouting from the handle and enchanted with a red glow that faded to a thick black towards the handle, engraved with ancient Draconis symbols that thought have been forgotten for thousands of years. It had become a blade of mass destruction to the eyes of any who lay upon it.

This had brought panic in the emperor's eyes as he witness something he had thought to be a myth, something that has been lost and had believed to be nothing but a story of old.

The immortal dragon's power of the Great King.

The cold sweat began to drip down Adrastos forehead while the thin hair on the back of his neck rise and the fear clogged his mind leaving him in a trembling mess.

The emperor was beginning to whisper and mumble words uncontrollably as if he was seeing a nightmare unfold in front of his eye. "No, this can't be!"

"Impossible" the dread was audible in Adrastos voice.

As if the woman had heard the emperor, she swiftly turned her head towards them. Glowing blood red eyes shaped like a dragon's piercing reptile eyes that would spark fear in anything that lays eyes on, had turned to glare at them with a threatening expression that reeked of bitter hatred.

It was in instant when the face of black dragon sparked in the water, taking over the woman and the bloody scenery of a winter wasteland. It's dangerous red eyes glared upon, it's thunderous and piercing roar was like an earthquake, it rumbled the very water of the cauldron. It terrorised the emperor and the duke making them stumble back in fear in time as the beastly dragon's head had burst through the water like an angry volcano. It's hundreds of sharp scales that covered it's head like iron armour were black as the darkness of corners of Alphyria with it's reptile shaped mouth sprouting out dozens and dozens of rows of razor-sharp teeth that could grind down anything that gets his teeth in. His spiral horns were like spears plastered on the ferocious black dragons head.

Adrastos looked at the fierce black dragon of legend in utter horror, his face was as pale then before. Mouth wide open and his body trembling then stumble and fall backwards. goosebumps had rose from every corner of his skin and the beat of his heart was like loud drums banging in his ears.

He was lost for breath, unable to inhale anything as his dull icy eyes locked itself with the deathly red eyes of the giant reptile. It wasn't a second when the pupil of the black dragon moved to look straight into the terrorised eyes of the emperor. It's black diamond shaped pupil dilated when it locked eyes with Adrastos as if he seen an enemy.

With fear blinding the emperor, he let out a shrieking scream of terror and ice had erupted through his shout. Shards of ice burst through the ground in seconds, racing up from the ground and towards the cauldron like fountain.

A giant ice shard had blasted through the ground from where the cauldron was. It pierced through like a sword piercing through flesh, destroying the cauldron like fountain in two. The dragon had exploded into droplets of water, splattering the pool of water that drizzled the crystal floor.

Ophir sheltered himself with an ice shield from falling pieces of marble that fell down like raining rocks.

The cauldron like fountain was in now broken in two while marble pieces scattered the floor.

The emperor was left huffing for breath as he watched in horror silence at the destruction he had caused.

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