Chapter 285: The Day Silence Entered Silthara
[The Desert Road of Zahryssar — Continuation]
Silence.
No one finished the sentence; no one dared to. The battlefield...which moments before had roared with steel and blood...had become utterly heartbreaking.
Silent.
Only Prince Zaryan’s cries echoed across the desert.
"WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH—!!"
Levin’s entire body trembled, not because of the wounds covering him, not because every movement sent unbearable pain through his broken leg but because...Asha...still had not moved.
"Move..." His voice was barely a whisper. "Asha...Please...you have to move..."
Nothing.
Levin forced himself upward; blood soaked his robes as he struggled to stand. Zeramet immediately caught him.
"Consort, you shouldn’t..."
Levin pushed his hand away; his blue eyes never left Asha, and his voice broke.
"Move...please...don’t sleep there, come here..."
Still...nothing. Duke Aren slowly climbed into the shattered carriage; his breathing had become heavy, careful, and almost afraid. He placed one hand upon Asha’s neck, searching and waiting.
The entire battlefield watched.
One heartbeat, two, and three. Duke Aren’s fingers slowly curled, his shoulders dropped, and silence fell.
Then he quietly withdrew his hand.
"Father...?" Levin whispered.
Duke Aren couldn’t look at him; he lowered his head, and his voice broke as he said, "She...she’s gone."
Everything...stopped.
Levin stared; he simply stared, and his breathing became uneven as he limped toward the carriage. Ignoring the pain and ignoring the blood flowing down his leg.
Until he finally reached her. Asha still covered the twins, even in death...she had never moved; her body remained stretched protectively above them. As though...her final instinct had been only one thought.
Protect them.
Levin slowly knelt; his trembling fingers brushed against her blood-soaked fur, still warm, but...there was no heartbeat, no breathing, and no gentle nudge against his hand.
Nothing.
His lips trembled as tears fell. "Asha...wake up..."
Silence.
"You always wake up..." His forehead slowly rested against hers. "Please..."
Nothing.
Prince Zaryan had stopped crying; the little prince simply stared at the great tiger. Princess Nyzara quietly reached one tiny hand toward Asha’s ear; her little fingers gently touched the bloodstained fur.
She flinched, completely unaware...that the guardian she had reached for would never open her eyes again.
Levin closed his own; fresh tears slipped silently down his face as his voice shattered. "I told you to protect them...not to die. You would grow old beside Lyresaph. You would watch them grow..."
His hand slowly stroked her head one last time.
"Why...didn’t you protect yourself too...?"
Nearby, a deep broken sound echoed across the battlefield.
Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
Lyresaph slowly approached; gone was the fierce guardian, and gone was the dragon who had stood against an army. He lowered his enormous head beside Asha, and very gently...he nudged her shoulder.
Once...no response.
Again, still nothing. A third time, harder. As though refusing to believe it.
"...Rrrrr..."
His cry became weaker; he pushed her again, waiting...for her to stand, for her to growl, and for her to scold him like always.
Nothing. The dragon froze. Then...he slowly lowered his head over hers; a long...heartbreaking cry escaped him.
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR—!!"
The roar shook the desert. It wasn’t filled with rage. It wasn’t filled with fury. It was grief, raw...unbearable...grief.
Every serpent lowered its head. Varesh silently removed his helmet. Lady Arinaya covered her mouth. Prince Sarash looked away. Lady Nyra burst into tears. Iru cried openly while holding the twins.
No one...had expected the first blood spilled after the naming ceremony to belong to one of their own family.
Silence, an unbearable...soul-crushing silence.
Then one Black serpent looked toward Asha’s lifeless body, and he laughed, a low, cruel, and heartless laugh.
"So..."
He smirked.
"The mighty guardian died like a beast; it should have been the children."
Several more Black Serpents smiled beneath their masks. "The next time...we won’t miss."
Silence.
Then...Lyresaph slowly raised his head; his blue eyes had changed. The bright sapphire within them...had vanished.
Only an ancient, blinding silver remained. The entire battlefield suddenly became cold: no wind and no sound. Even the drifting sand...stopped.
The dragon slowly turned, his gaze settled upon the Black Serpents; no roar came, no growl, nothing, and that silence...was far more terrifying.
The Black Serpents instinctively stepped backward. "W-What...hat’s wrong with it?"
Another tightened his sword. "It’s only a dragon."
Then—
A pulse.
BOOOOOOOOM.
The earth trembled, not from beneath Lyresaph. Ancient silver markings slowly ignited across his enormous body. One after another, like rivers of moonlight flowing beneath his scales, the ground surrounding him began cracking.
CRAAAAAAACK...
The desert itself was sinking. Arkhazunn’s eyes widened. "He’s awakening his mate power. The power he got from Malik and Malika."
Even Zeramet narrowed his golden eyes; for the very first time...the Prime Alpha looked surprised. He should be happy seeing Lyresaph using his mate law power...but it looks more like grief.
The air became impossibly heavy. Royal Knights dropped to one knee, several Black Serpents collapsed outright, unable to breathe and unable to move.
Lyresaph finally took one step forward.
THUD.
The desert sank beneath his weight, and he took another step.
THUD.
A shockwave exploded outward.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Black serpents were thrown through the air like dried leaves. The dragon stopped, his gaze never leaving them.
Then...he roared.
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR—!!!"
The heavens shook; dozens of Black Serpents screamed as blood burst from their ears. Several collapsed immediately.
Arkhazunn staggered backward. "This...this isn’t merely rage...it’s grief..."
The silver markings across Lyresaph’s body burned brighter, his muscles tightened, and then...he vanished.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
No one saw him move. One heartbeat...he stood beside Asha; the next—
CRAAAAAAAAAAASH!!
A black serpent flew hundreds of feet across the battlefield; his body struck a sandstone cliff, and the entire cliff collapsed. Another assassin turned, too late.
Lyresaph’s tail swept through him.
BOOOOOOOM!!
Armor, bones, and weapons. Everything shattered in the desert; another twenty charged together.
"Kill the dragon! NOW!!"
They never reached him. Lyresaph plunged forward like a silver avalanche; his claws tore through black armor as though it were cloth, and his tail smashed through ranks of assassins.
Each strike created another crater; each roar shook the battlefield: no mercy, no hesitation, only grief, only fury, and only vengeance.
A Black Serpent attempted to flee. Lyresaph’s head slowly turned, blue-silver eyes locked onto him.
The assassin froze.
BOOOOOOOM!!
The dragon struck; nothing remained. Captain Varesh watched in stunned silence. "He’s...not fighting..."
Arkhazunn slowly finished the sentence, "He’s executing them."
One after another...every Black Serpent fell. Some tried hiding beneath the dunes. Lyresaph found them; some climbed the cliffs. Lyresaph reached them.
Some begged, some screamed, but none escaped. The battlefield became terrifyingly quiet; the last surviving Black Serpent stumbled backward, his sword slipping from trembling fingers.
"N-No...monster..."
Lyresaph slowly approached; his breathing remained heavy, and his eyes...never blinked. The assassin collapsed onto his knees. The dragon remembered... Asha.
He remembered her lying over the twins; he remembered her blood, her warmth, and her silence. Then...he moved.
CRAAAAAAASH!!
Silence.
Nothing remained; not a single Black serpent...still breathed. The battlefield became utterly still, blood stained the golden desert, and broken weapons lay scattered everywhere. At the center of it all...Lyresaph slowly turned.
He did not look toward the fallen enemies; he did not celebrate; he simply walked back...toward Asha, toward the only battle...he had truly lost.
He lowered himself beside her once more, resting his enormous head gently against hers; a deep...broken rumble escaped him. Soft, almost pleading, as though...even after destroying an army...he still hoped...she would wake up.
Silence settled over the battlefield once more.
Prince Zaryan had stopped crying. Princess Nyzara quietly blinked at the tiger lying before them; neither child understood...why everyone had become so quiet.
Neither understood...that the guardian who had watched over them since the day they were born would never greet them again.
Zeramet slowly looked around; his golden eyes fell upon Levin, his consort, who sat silently beside Asha. His eyes had long since emptied of tears.
Sometimes...pain reached a place where tears no longer could. Then he looked toward Lyresaph. The dragon had not moved; he continued staring at Asha...as though waiting...for one final heartbeat.
Then Zeramet looked toward the twins; they had become unusually quiet. Even they...could feel the grief surrounding them; he closed his eyes briefly.
Then his voice finally broke the silence.
"Let’s go; we are taking her home. She deserves...a farewell worthy of a guardian."
Zeramet carefully lifted Levin into his arms; he could feel Levin trembling not from pain but from grief.
The next moment silver scales erupted across Zeramet’s body; his enormous serpent form appeared once again, and he gently lowered himself.
Allowing Levin to settle comfortably upon his back, then...he carefully placed Prince Zaryan and Princess Nyzara into Levin’s arms; their tiny hands instinctively reached toward their father.
Zeramet looked back. "Hold them carefully, my Moonflower."
Levin quietly pulled both children close.
Captain Varesh stepped forward in his serpent form; he lowered himself respectfully before Duke Aren. "Duke, please allow me to ride upon my back."
Duke Aren silently nodded.
One after another...the Imperial escorts returned to their serpent forms. Sarash held Lady Nyra. Lady Arinaya, Raevahn. Lord Sharukh, everyone turned into their serpent form, each prepared for the journey home.
Then everyone looked toward Lyresaph; the silver dragon remained beside Asha. He slowly lowered his head. Then with unimaginable tenderness...he lifted her lifeless body onto his broad back.
Not once did he allow her to drag across the earth, not once...did he let her dignity fade. She had walked beside him in life. She would return home beside him in death.
Without another word...the procession began moving once more, not with celebration, only silence.
The war...had ended, but something far deeper had broken, not merely Levin’s heart, not merely Lyresaph’s, but the heart...of the family itself.
***
[Silthara Palace — Malika’s Private Residency — Night]
Silence.
The entire residency remained wrapped in mourning; the servants spoke only in whispers. Even the palace lanterns seemed dimmer than usual.
The laughter that had filled these halls only that morning...had vanished. Inside the Imperial Chamber... Prince Zaryan quietly slept against Levin’s shoulder. Princess Nyzara rested peacefully beside him.
For the first time since their birth, neither child babbled nor smiled; they simply slept. As though even innocent hearts...could feel grief.
Zeramet quietly looked at them, then toward Iru. "There is no longer anyone guarding the nursery; bring them to our chamber. They shall remain beside us."
Iru bowed immediately. "Yes, Malik."
And then quietly disappeared deeper into the residence. Zeramet remained standing for several moments...he simply watched them leave.
Then he turned. Outside...the private courtyard had become eerily still. Moonlight poured across the white stone.
There beneath the ancient tree...Lyresaph still sat in his true form; he had not moved, not since returning. His blue eyes remained fixed upon one place.
The Hall of Eternal Rest. Where Asha now lay, waiting for tomorrow’s farewell. Zeramet slowly approached, with no words and no commands. He simply rested one hand against the dragon’s neck; the silver scales felt unusually cold.
Lyresaph glanced toward him. Then slowly looked back toward the hall.
"She fought well," Zeramet finally spoke. "She was never born with divine blood; she possessed no ancient blessing, no overwhelming magic, and no royal title, and yet...she stood before every one of us. Including me."
Silence.
"She fulfilled her duty until her final breath; do not mourn her because she was weak." His hand slowly stroked the dragon’s neck. "Be proud...because she died as a guardian, as family."
Lyresaph remained motionless; only his breathing grew heavier. Zeramet’s own golden eyes softened.
"I swear before Lord Urzan...her name will never be forgotten."
Silence.
Then he looked toward the nursery windows; a warm light still glowed within. "Those two little ones lost one guardian today; do not allow them to lose another. Take your time. Grieve, cry, and remember her."
His voice became gentler.
"But come back to them; they still need you."
Lyresaph closed his eyes; a single, low, heartbroken rumble escaped him.
Rrrrrrrrr...
Zeramet understood; that was answer enough. Then he quietly turned away. Just then footsteps echoed across the courtyard.
As Captain Varesh approached, he immediately lowered himself into a respectful bow. "My Malik, you summoned me."
Zeramet nodded; his expression returned to that of a ruler.
"Asha..." He looked once toward the Hall of Eternal Rest. "Shall receive a royal funeral."
Varesh looked up slightly, surprised. "A Royal Funeral...?"
"Yes," Zeramet answered without hesitation. "She gave her life protecting the future of Zahryssar; there is no greater honor. She shall rest...within the Royal Mausoleum."
Varesh slowly lowered his head once more. "It shall be done."
Silence followed and then... Zeramet’s eyes slowly darkened. "Captain."
Varesh immediately straightened. "Yes, Malik."
"Find me the truth, every piece of it. I refuse to believe that hundreds of Black Serpents crossed our borders unnoticed." His voice had become dangerously quiet.
"This attack was planned, every step, every trap, and every assassin. Someone...opened the gates for them."
Moonlight reflected within Zeramet’s golden eyes. "And my instincts continue leading me...toward one name."
Varesh remained silent.
"High Ensi Rakhane."
The courtyard grew colder.
"Find out where he has been, every meeting, every letter, every movement, and everything he did...during Slyvarakh’s reign. Everything after my supposed funeral and everything until today."
His voice became absolute.
"Leave nothing hidden."
Varesh placed one fist over his heart. "As you command, my Malik."
As the captain disappeared into the darkness... Zeramet looked once more toward the Hall of Eternal Rest, somewhere inside...a guardian slept her final sleep.
And somewhere else, a traitor was still breathing.
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