Chapter 66 - Diana

  The ghosts had e. Their mothers.

  Every person who had lost a mother, abandoned or fotten—now saw them, twisted and hateful, whispering their deepest fears. You were never wanted. You were never loved. You are alone.

  The little girl stood in the ter of it all, her eyes gleaming with something a and terrible. Her eyes glimmering in the dim light, and her lips curled into the smallest of smiles.

  The Joker staggered back, watg in awe and terror. "Ohhh," he breathed, his painted grin wavering. "Now that...that is beautiful."

  The circus fell into chaos. Screams, sobs, the rustle of fabric as people tried to flee only to find themselves trapped iorment of their own minds. The air crackled with raw power, thid suffog.

  The little girl tilted her head, watg the se unfold like a child marveling at fireflies in the dark. Her mother had taught her pain. Now, she would teach the world.

  And Omeen—Omeen belongs to her, just as her father had always wanted.

  But first...first, she would py. And the world would scream.

  The legacy of the Whisperer, the broken realm of Omeen, and the tortured soul of a little girl verged in this moment of chaos and terror.

  The Circus Joker, his painted grin now a mask of both awe and terror, staggered back from the chaos unfolding before him. The little girl stood at the ter of it all, her haunting blue eyes gleaming with an otherworldly light as she unleashed her power upoerrified crowd.

  As screams and sobs filled the air, the Joker's mind raced. He had sought to trol this child, to break her and mold her into his perfect act. But now, faced with the raw, a power emanating from her small frame, he realized he had unleashed something far beyond his prehension.

  In that moment of realization, a name bubbled up from the depths of his twisted psyche. It was a hat seemed to embody both the ethereal beauty and the terrifying darkness of this otherworldly child.

  "Diana," he whispered, his voice barely audible above the chaos. Then, louder, with a hint of his showman's bravado returning, he called out, "Ladies alemen, behold Diana, the Daughter of the Whisperer!"

  The name hung in the air, a christening amidst the mayhem. Diana, named for the goddess of the moon, whose phases hovered above the girl's head like a ic . Diana, a hat spoke of both light and shadow, of hunting and prote.

  The little girl - Diana - turned her gaze to the Joker, her lips curling into the smallest of smiles as she accepted this new identity. In that moment, it seemed as though the very fabric of reality shifted, aowledging the power of names and the birth of something both wondrous and terrible.

  The Joker, his earlier bravado now tinged with a newfound resped fear, watched as Diana embraced her new name and the chaos she had wrought. He khen that he had not just found an act for his circus - he had bee wito the awakening of a force that would reshape the world.

  -In the Shrine of the Hidden Springs Temple, Domino-

  The inner sanctum of the temple was bathed in flickering dlelight, casting long shadows across the faces of the assembled elders. The High Priest, his weathered face etched with lines of worry, stood at the ter of the gathering.

  "My brethren," he began, his voice eg in the cavernous chamber, "the threat from the Monis Household bsp;no longer be igheir influence spreads like a poison through our nds, corrupting all it touches. We must aow, or risk losing everything we hold sacred."

  A murmur of agreement rippled through the assembled clergy. An elder with a shock of white hair stepped forward, his eyes bzing with righteous fury. "What do you propose, High Priest? We ot sit idly by while these heathens threaten our very existence."

  The High Priest's gaze swept across the room, meeting eabsp;pair of eyes in turn. "We must decre war," he said, his words falling like hammer blows in the hushed chamber. "It is a drastic step, but one we must take to preserve our faith and our people."

  A younger priest, his face pale with apprehension, spoke up. "But how we hope to stand against the might of the Romanian Empire? Their resources far outstrip our own."

  "We have faith on our side," decred another elder, her voice ringing with vi. "And we have allies. We must rally the faithful, call upon every resource at our disposal. This will be a holy war, a crusade to se our nds of the Monis taint."

  The High Priest nodded gravely. "Indeed. We must move swiftly and decisively. Send word to our allies in neighb kingdoms. Mobilize our temprs and holy warriors. We will strike at the heart of the Monis influen Romania, crippling their operations before they bsp;fully prepare."

  As the elders tio discuss strategy, the air in the sanctum grew heavy with the weight of their decision. The ing flict would test their faith, their resolve, and the very foundations of their beliefs. But they were determio meet the challenge head-on, whatever the cost.

  -In Cesare's Throne Room, Romania-

  The vast chamber was shrouded in shadows, the only light ing from a few strategically pced braziers that cast an eerie, flickering glow. Emperor Cesare lounged on his obsidian throne, his eyes glinting with malevolent i as a cloaked figure prostrated itself before him.

  "Speak," Cesare anded, his voice a low, menag purr that seemed to reverberate through the very stones of the pace.

  The spy's words tumbled out in a rush, detailing the pns of the Shrine of the Hidden Springs Temple. As the report cluded, a slow, cruel smile spread across Cesare's face, transf his handsome features into something truly terrifying.

  He turo his sister, Rudbeckia, who stood beside the throne like a statue carved from midnight. Her celestial gown seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy, steltions swirling across its surfa hypnotic patterns.

  "Did you hear that, dear sister?" Cesare's voice dripped with dark amusement. "These fools think they challenge us. They dare to decre war on the Monis Household."

  Rudbeckia's lips curled into a matg smirk, her eyes gleaming with a cold light that rivaled the stars themselves. "How delightfully naive of them," she purred. "They have no cept of the forces they're dealing with."

  Cesare rose from his throne, his movements liquid and predatory. He began to pace, the shadows seeming to g to him like a living cloak. "We'll let them think they have the advantage, for now. Let them gather their pitiful forces, rally their so-called allies. And when they're at their most fident, their most vulnerable..."

  He paused, turning to face Rudbeckia, his eyes bzing with an infernal light. "We'll crush them. Not just their armies, not just their temple. We'll obliterate their very faith, leave them broken and hopeless, begging for the mercy of the gods they once served."

  Rudbeckia glided forward, her gown leaving trails of stardust in her wake. She pced a hand on her brother's arm, her touch as cold as the void between worlds. "And what of their artifacts? The power they cim to wield?"

  Cesare's grin widened, revealih that seemed unnaturally sharp in the dim light. "We'll take it all. Every relic, every scrap of so-called holy power. We'll bend it to our will, use it to fuel our own assion. When we're dohe name Monis will be spoken with reverend terror throughout all the known world."

  The siblings shared a look of malicious anticipation, their minds already rag with schemes to outmaneuver aroy their unsuspeg foes. In the shadows of the throne room, a powers stirred, awakened by the dark ambitions of the Monis Household. The ing flict would reshape the very fabric of reality, and woe to those who stood in their way.

  -Night; Roxana's Room in Fortress of Ossa-

  The st of dried herbs and part hung in the air of Roxana's chamber, a stark trast to the cold, metallic feel of the fortress. A low fire crackled in the hearth, casting dang shadows on the walls lined with aomes and maps.

  Roxana, her bright e hair pulled babsp;in a practical braid, rose slowly from her crouched position. Her zir blue eyes had been focused on the depths of a cluttered drawer, s through fotten tris and faded letters. As she straightened, a sharp intake of breath escaped her lips.

  Leaning against the window, arms crossed and face a thunderous mask of displeasure, was Helios. His pale blond hair seemed almost silver in the dim light, and his ruby red eyes burned with an iy that sent a shiver down Roxana's spi was a face she hadn't seen in nearly twenty years, yet every feature was etched into her memory like a scar.

  Roxana's heart hammered against her ribs. She hadn't sensed his presence, hadn't heard him enter. It was unlike him to be so… silent, so menag. A wave of apprehension washed over her, mixed with a deep-seated longing she thought she'd long buried.

  Helios pushed himself upright, his movements slow and deliberate, each step radiating tained fury. The distaween them seemed to shrink with every stride, the room suddenly custrophobibsp;Roxana took a hesitant step back, her hand instinctively flying to her throat.

  He tio advance, his gaze never leaving hers, those ruby red eyes b into her soul. Roxana's breath hitched ihroat. She khat look. It was the look he reserved for traitors, for enemies of the realm. She began to take small, shuffling steps backward, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and disbelief.

  "Helios," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

  He didn't answer, didn't break his stride. His silence was more terrifying than any shout, more damning than any accusation.

  Roxana took aep back, her heel bumping against the heavy oak door.

  He stopped just a few feet away, his t frame casting her in shadow. The firelight flickered across his face, highlighting the harsh lines of his jaw, the tight set of his lips. His ruby red eyes were pools of molten anger, refleg the turmoil within.

  "You're a real piece of shit, Roxana," Helios spat, his voice low and venomous. "I may have lost my memories, but yours were all intact. You remember every detail of how you screwed me over, don't you? You're a master maniputor, alying the victim. But I'm not buying it this time."

  Roxana's eyes fshed with defiance. "You go to hell, Helios. I don't owe you anything."

  Helios's face twisted in anger. "You owe me everything, Roxana. You owe me the truth about our daughter, about what you've been doing behind my back."

  Roxana turhe door haepping out into the corridor. "I don't have to listen to this," she said, her voice dripping with disdain.

  Helios followed her into the corridor, his footsteps eg off the stone walls. "Yoing to listen, Roxana. Yoing to hear every word I have to say. You're a coward, always running away from the truth."

  Roxana spun around, her eyes bzing with fury. "You're oo talk, Helios. You're the one who abandoned us, who left us to rot. Don't e baow, pretending to be the hero."

  Helios's face darkened. "I didn't abandon you, Roxana. You pushed me away. And now, you're paying the price."

  Roxana ughed, a cold, mirthless sound. "You think you're the price I'm paying? You're nothing but a relic of the past, Helios. A reminder of all the mistakes I've made."

  Helios's eyes narrowed. "We'll see about that. You're not as free as you think you are, Roxana. You're still tied to me, whether you like it or not."

  Roxana's smile was a razor's edge. "I'll never be tied to you again, Helios. You rot in hell for all I care."

  As Roxana and Helios tiheir heated exge in the corridor, their raised voices echoed off the stone walls, drawing the attention of nearby Azones.

  "You think you just waltz ba here and start making demands?" Roxana hissed, her zir eyes fshing dangerously. "You've got some nerve, Helios."

  Helios stepped closer, his voice a low growl. "I've got hat's riing from you, Roxana. You're the one pying games with our daughter's life."

  An audible gasp rippled through the gathering crowd of Azones.

  Roxana's ugh was bitter and sharp. "Oh, now you care about our daughter? Where was that when you disappeared for fifteen years?"

  "I lost my memories, you heartless witch," Helios snarled. "But what's your excuse for the choices you've made?"

  "My choices?" Roxana's voice rose, eg off the stone walls. "My choices kept this kingdom standing while you were off pying amnesiac!"

  Helios's ruby eyes bzed with fury. "And now you're willing to sacrifice everything we built, everything we fought for, for what? Some misguided attempt at prote?"

  The Azones exged uneasy gorween their duty to intervene and their fasation with the unfolding drama. Whispers began to circute among them.

  "Isn't that the niece of our leader?" one guard murmured.

  Another nodded, "Yes, and that man... he looks just like the King of Domino."

  "No, you fool," a third hissed. "That's his twin brother, Princess Roxana's husband."

  "You have no idea what I've been through to protect our daughter," Roxana spat, her zir eyes fshing with anger.

  Helios stepped closer, his voice a low growl. "Protect her? By selling her out to our enemies? You're pathetic, Roxana."

  "At least I was here!" Roxana shouted, her fists ched at her sides. "Where were you when we needed you most?"

  Their bitter exge was suddenly interrupted by a anding voice that cut through the tension like a knife.

  "Enough!"

  The crowd of Azones parted to reveal a stern-faced woman, her uniform adorned with the insignia of leadership. Roxana's aunt, the Leader of the Azones, strode forward, her eyes narrowed as she assessed the situation.

  "What is the meaning of this disturbance?" she demanded, her gaze shiftiween Roxana and Helios.

  Before either could respond, the Leader turuards. "Seize him," she ordered, pointing at Helios.

  As the Azones moved to apprehend Helios, his ruby eyes began to glow with an otherworldly light. A dark aura surrounded him, pulsing with malevolent energy.

  Suddenly, tendrils of bck magic erupted from his body, shing out at the approag guards. The Azones were thrown back, their bodies crumpling to the ground as the dark energy overwhelmed them.

  Roxana and her aunt watched in horror as Helios's prew, engulfing the corridor in shadows. With a final burst of energy, he knocked out the remaining Azones, leaving only Roxana and her aunt standing amidst the unscious bodies of the guards.

  Helios turned his gaze to Roxana, his eyes now burning with an infernal light. "This isn't over," he growled, before disappearing in a swirl of dark mist, leaving behind a se of chaos aru.

  To be tinued...