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Before Malleus could even realize it, he had appeared in the middle of the forest in front of a small lake, surrounded by lush vegetation yet devoid of the characteristic sounds of its usual residents. Curious, the fae prince tried to look around, finding only more of the same—so much so that it was almost overwhelming.
— "This place has always been beautiful; I used to like it when we came here with my father and Sebek after training."
Without warning, the silence of the forest was buried by the arrival of a new visitor—this time, the human knight whom the Prince knew so well. Turning around, he was able to observe in greater detail the figure of the adolescent he had been forced to look after for so many years, witnessing how he had gone from a mere baby to an almost-adult who was far too kind and naive for his own good.
— "Silver, what is this?"
The initially harmless question turned into a brief interrogation of the human. After his overblot, Malleus knew firsthand how Silver’s unique magic functioned; thus, his first thought was that they were currently experiencing the very same thing: a situation created by his own brain, where Silver had simply ended up due to his magic.
— "...Thanks to my father and to you, Lord Malleus, I have been able to live a splendid life. Despite living in this secluded forest, I never wished for anything beyond this. The mere thought of being beside my loved ones is motivation and reward enough for me to remain in Briar Valley, no matter what."
The young human murmured with a warm smile on his face while keeping his eyes closed, presenting a calm image to the fae, who was already accustomed to his bodyguard's demeanor. However, there was something in that silent atmosphere that warned Malleus not to drift his attention away from the other's words.
— "You have always been a well-mannered child. You have never asked for more than what you are given, and you only raise your voice when a situation affects the most vulnerable... That is something to admire, even for us, the fae."
— "If Lord Malleus says so, then I am glad to have been a good companion to everyone. At least I have managed to make amends for a fraction of the abysmal harm we committed."
— "Harm? What do you mean?" Malleus questioned, genuinely curious to know what kind of harm such an innocent child could have possibly caused.
— "My biological family—my father and my uncle—committed a terrible harm against the night fae. A harm that would ultimately affect my family members..."
— "Silver, you know that was not your fault. You were only... we were only innocent babies who arrived right at the moment of the crossfire. Now they no longer exist, and you..."
— "The heavens do not think the same as you, my lord." This time, Silver’s soft tone began to grow colder, as frigid as the air that invaded the forest on dark winter nights while the furry inhabitants hibernated. "After your overblot, I was able to learn the true purpose of my life—the reason why those three pixies decided to grant me their blessing."
Malleus still could not comprehend any of it. Try as his brain might, Silver’s new tone, coupled with his resolute posture, prevented him from discovering the youth's true intention—something strange for someone who had known him since his diaper days.
— "I am cursed, Lord Malleus." The young man let those words slip out without further ado, letting them fall like a bomb that would soon detonate in delicate territory, praying it would cause no more damage than what had already been done.
— "Impossible. If that were the case, both Lilia and I would have discovered it many years ago," Malleus denied without hesitation, confident in his own magical capabilities as well as those of his former guardian. "Where are you getting all this from? Has someone told you this?" This time, it was the fae prince's turn to show his anger at such a possibility.
— "None other than those who exert their power over all of us. Only they possess a magic so strong that neither you nor my father could detect it." Malleus knew what Silver meant. The Celestial Coven—that was what humans called the spirits of the Great Seven and the Magnificent Seven, who, upon passing, had ascended to the heavens to exert their power over all of Twisted Wonderland, maintaining the balance between nations.
— "N-no, I do not understand. Why would Silver carry a curse?" Malleus murmured, bringing a hand to his head, completely dazed by all the information flooding over him.
— "...The damage caused to the valley by my uncle's initiative, along with all the misfortune that followed it even to this day, was reason enough for them to decide to curse the last descendants of that era. That is why the fae saved me: only a member of the royal family could pay for the sins of the royal family."
Finally, Silver decided to tell his future king everything he had been keeping to himself for the past few months, recounting everything from the investigations he had conducted on his own in secret during all that time, to the dreams where he had somehow managed to witness all that had occurred so many years ago. With every word that came out of Silver's mouth, Malleus wanted to hear less. He knew of all the atrocities that had been committed against his kingdom—among them, the murder and disappearance of the parents he never got to know—but hearing how that small child had to pay for all of it was, to say the least, heartbreaking.
— "What is the punishment you must pay? Whatever it is, we will find a way to free you. Grandmother might know something; there must even be some clue in the castle to help us," Malleus finally said once Silver had finished his explanation, only this time he did not receive an immediate response. "Silver?"
— "Annihilation..." were the words of the youth, which, being uttered so softly, merged with the sudden wind that had swept into the dream, seeming to guide them directly to the ears of the fae — "Only the heir of the royal family may seek forgiveness through his death; then, the heir of the castle surrounded by fierce and wise dragons shall decide his final verdict."
Malleus’s heart seemed to stop for a second, feeling as though everything around him was vanishing without a trace, focusing his gaze solely on the figure before him, who, despite everything, still maintained a serene and calm image—as if none of this concerned the two of them, their future, and their family.
— "Another way... there must be another way, something that..." — Before he could continue, a pair of delicate human arms wrapped around him, catching the fae in an embrace like the ones they used to share just a decade ago. Unable to resist, Malleus returned the gesture, holding the fragile body in his hands, terrified of breaking him more than he already was — "Please, Silver... do not leave us so soon. You cannot..."
As he felt the tears falling onto his back, the human let out a bitter smile, happy that at least in this dreamlike place, his precious friend could express his feelings so openly, even if it was not the joy he wished for.
— "I don’t know what will happen after this, and—and I’m scared, much more than I would like to admit." — Following the dragon's sincerity, his faithful knight decided to follow suit, revealing his true feelings which he had forced himself to hide beneath that facade of responsibility — "I want to go back to father, to play with Sebek in the garden while Lord Malle watches over us... I will return, and then I won't be the prince of a kingdom anymore! I will just be Silver. Only me..."
And with those final words, Lilia's son gave a final squeeze to their embrace before pulling away, smiling one last time at the figure who had been a friend and even an older brother to him for so many years, before heading toward the lake. His bare feet sank into the water past his ankles; just then, he began to take light steps, as if he were that lady confined to the body of a swan, returning on that night to give her last and greatest performance.
— "Farewell, Malleus. We will meet in a dream, once more."
That was the last thing Malleus heard before the dream was shattered, fracturing the view of the forest into thousands of tiny glass shards that cascaded down like drops of water. Using his magic, Malleus stopped them so quickly that he hadn't realized he had now returned to reality, with Night Raven College beneath his feet while he took flight with his dark wings, which hid in the night light.
— "I, Malleus Draconia, crown prince of Briar Valley and sole descendant of my powerful lineage, hereby grant forgiveness to the children of the silver swords! May the coven listen, judge, and enforce my decree!" — the fae sentenced fiercely, causing those fragile shards of glass to transform into a gentle drizzle while a blinding, aurora-colored light spread across the entire area.
— "Farewell... Silver, my most beloved child of man."
— "Lilia? What are you looking at?"
— "...Why do I feel like someone was supposed to be there, sleeping under that tree?"
Two months had passed since Silver’s sacrifice—two months in which Malleus had been secretly grieving night after night without saying a single word to his father figure or his bodyguard. After he forgave the sins of the people of Bladevale, for some reason, everything related to Silver had vanished. No one but him remembered the boy's existence, a situation that brought great loneliness, yet at the same time, a sense of relief from not having to see the others suffer over the loss of that sweet boy.
— "I think you are simply very tired," Malleus mentioned gently, looking in the same direction as Lilia—toward that tree where Silver used to sleep whenever the aftereffects of his unique magic caught up to him — "You had better stop thinking about that and let us go. We have to meet up with Sebek."