Shadows of the Past
The night air was heavy with the scent of scorched earth and lingering magic. Though the Sun Kingdom stood untouched, the weight of their discoveries pressed down on all of them.
Tranquility sat on the steps of the royal courtyard, the Sun Peridot pulsing faintly in his chest. The revelation from the council still echoed in his mind. A seal was breaking. Something ancient and dangerous was stirring.
Footsteps approached, and he didn’t have to look up to know it was Endymion. The prince of Earth sat beside him, his Golden Crystal resting in his palm. “You’re thinking too much.”
Tranquility huffed a quiet laugh. “And you’re not thinking enough.”
Endymion smirked but didn’t deny it. Instead, he held up his crystal, watching how it caught the moonlight. “These artifacts… they were meant to protect our kingdoms. But the way they keep appearing makes me wonder… What exactly are we protecting them from?”
Tranquility sighed. “That’s what we need to find out.”
Before Endymion could respond, the doors to the courtyard swung open. Syaoran and Reiko strode in, their expressions grim. Behind them, Clow and Kunzite followed, both looking unusually tense.
“We found something,” Reiko announced.
Tranquility stood immediately. “What is it?”
Clow held up an ancient scroll. “Records of the last time the Sun Peridot manifested.”
Tranquility’s breath caught. “And?”
Kunzite’s voice was unreadable. “It wasn’t just to stop an enemy. It was to contain something. A being of pure destruction, one that nearly burned the Sun Kingdom to the ground.”
Silence stretched between them.
Endymion frowned. “What happened to it?”
Syaoran’s expression darkened. “It was sealed away. But… according to this, the seal wasn’t supposed to last forever.”
Reiko nodded. “The Sun Peridot’s awakening means that time is up.”
Tranquility’s hand instinctively went to his chest, feeling the steady warmth of the gem. It wasn’t just his kingdom at risk. If this being was as powerful as the records claimed, it could threaten everything.
“We need to find the seal,” he said, voice steady despite the turmoil inside him. “And we need to make sure whatever’s inside… stays there.”
Clow’s gaze was unreadable. “If that’s even possible.”
The weight of his words settled over them.
The past was no longer just history.
It was waking up.