Saeldir stood frozen. Suddenly his breath turned shallow, his pulse drumming at the base of his throat.
For a long mont, he didn’t speak. He just couldn’t. The king’s words felt too heavy and too unexpected to accept so quickly.
His mind tried to shape the aning behind them, but all that ford was a tremor of disbelief.
He slowly lowered his gaze, unable to hold King Gulben’s eyes anymore.
A cold, unfamiliar weight spread from his chest to his stomach. This was the sa kind of weight that ca when responsibility shifted into destiny. No matter how many tis it happened, Saeldir couldn’t get used to it.
He whispered to himself, "That book that is ant only for kings..."
The thought alone made his throat tighten.
He wasn’t royal. He wasn’t chosen by blood. He wasn’t ant to inherit sacred knowledge passed down through countless eras.
He was just an Archmage. A servant of the palace and a protector.
Not a king.
He felt unworthy. There was a reason a king was chosen by blood.
"Your Majesty..." Saeldir finally spoke, his voice low and strained. "I... I don’t think I deserve this. The book was never intended for soone like ."
King Gulben watched him calmly, saying nothing for a few seconds as if waiting for the storm inside Saeldir to settle.
When he finally spoke, it was filled with a quiet gravity.
"You misunderstand, Saeldir. The book doesn’t contain just royal history or kingly duties. It contains knowledge that stretches far beyond what any single ruler can hold alone. There are secrets, records, incidents, and powers there. Those things are older than my mory and our kingdom itself. A king cant shoulder those alone. They always need soone."
Saeldir looked up, eyes wide.
King Gulben continued, "I myself haven’t read even half of it." He let out a weak breath, shoulders sinking. "There is simply too much. Too many warnings and truths that I could not bear to confront alone. A lifeti isn’t enough to study it all."
Silence settled in again. Only the soft hum of the dical devices filled the space.
Then, with slow painful effort, King Gulben turned his head toward the tall window beside his bed.
The barrier lights filtered through the glass, outlining his frail form in pale shimr.
His eyes softened with sothing wistful, a mory of better tis and simpler days before kingdoms carried such heavy secrets on their backs.
Saeldir watched him, motionless.
His mind churned with disbelief. He truly couldn’t fathom it.
A book only ant for kings. That stored the weight of ages and no one except the crowned king was supposed to touch.
And now... he was being asked to read it.
His thoughts snapped when he suddenly realized sothing.
He straightened slightly.
"What about Aurdis and Aerchon?" he asked quietly. "Shouldn’t they... shouldn’t they be the ones to inherit this knowledge?"
King Gulben’s eyes remained on the moonlit window as he answered.
"They will," he said softly. "When the ti cos and their roles require it. When their hearts and minds are ready to carry such burdens."
He finally glanced back at Saeldir. "But for now, you must read it first with ."
Saeldir swallowed his saliva.
"You possess sothing they don’t have yet," King Gulben said. "Wisdom, experience, and clarity. You have spent centuries facing threats, studying Magic, and observing every crack in our world. You are the best suited to sift through its contents, determine what is relevant, and understand what is dangerous."
Saeldir lowered his gaze once more. His thoughts tangled, heavy with doubt and responsibility.
He still didn’t believe he deserved it. The idea felt too large.
But at the sa ti... He thought of the necrotic presence. The impossible disappearance and the enemy that pulled back its power.
His own lack of answers and understanding.
In a situation where knowledge could be the difference between life and death he needed it.
He exhaled slowly.
"If this is what it takes to protect our world... then I will read it." His voice ca out faint, almost trembling.
King Gulben gave him a gentle smile.
"Co with ," the king said.
Slowly, King Gulben pushed himself up from the reclining chair.
Saeldir imdiately moved to support him, but King Gulben raised a hand.
"I can manage," he murmured.
Saeldir stepped back but remained close, his eyes following every careful movent as the king walked across the room.
They approached the far corner of the throne chamber. It was just an unremarkable stretch of smooth silver-white stone just like the other palace walls.
Nothing seed special about it.
Saeldir frowned slightly, unsure what he was expected to witness.
King Gulben stopped before the wall and extended his hand.
"This chamber has stood for thousands of years," he said quietly. "Kings ca and went without ever showing this place to anyone beyond their successor."
The king drew in a slow breath. He lifted his hand and without hesitation, bit the tip of his thumb. A droplet of blood welled up and slid down his finger.
King Gulben pressed his thumb against the wall.
The touch was gentle but the reaction was violent.
The stone rippled.
A sound like tearing silk echoed through the chamber as the wall split open down the center.
The rift pulsed, widening until it revealed a dark inner space filled with swirling red mist.
Saeldir’s heart hamred violently.
Then sothing erged.
A thick book bound in ancient black leather erged.
Darkened chains wrapped across its cover, etched with markings Saeldir didn’t recognize. And surrounding the book was an aura of crimson that drifted and twisting, like floating blood suspended in water.
The to hovered between them.
King Gulben exhaled shakily.
"This," he said, voice reverent and tinged with dread, "is the Codex of Blood."
Saeldir stared at it, speechless. Every inch of him trembled. From the sheer pressure the object exuded.
King Gulben continued, "This book holds the records of our earliest ancestors. The histories of forgotten gods, Magic that no one longer practiced, and warnings from ages where the world was still young." His hand hovered slightly, as if afraid to touch it himself. "And truths that were buried because they were too dangerous."
Saeldir wet his dry lips, unable to look away from the drifting crimson aura.
"We will start to read so of it now," King Gulben said.
—
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