Published at 17th of September 2024 6:22 pm

Chapter 93 The Queen’s Path: 1 Echoes of a Broken Kingdom

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The wind howled across the barren plains where Rōran once stood, a haunting reminder of the magnificent city that once towered toward the heavens. Now, only ruins and shadows remained, scattered across the desolate wasteland, fading into memory. The land was still, as if mourning the loss of its Queen and the once-great civilization that had been obliterated by time and treachery.

Sāra stood at the edge of the ruins, her heart heavy as she gazed upon the remnants of her city. Though the tower and the Ryuumyaku had been sealed years ago, the scars of the past remained in her heart. She had long since left the crown behind, but the weight of responsibility still clung to her. The city may have fallen, but the people who survived its destruction were still hers to protect.

After the events with Naruto, Sāra had tried to rebuild, not the city, but her people’s lives. They scattered across the desert, forming small communities, yet always looking to her for guidance. Even without the title of Queen, she was their leader, their hope, their symbol of resilience.

She turned away from the ruins, her eyes narrowing as she felt a familiar presence behind her. A figure emerged from the shadow of a crumbled building—a tall man, his face obscured by a dark hood. The man approached slowly, his steps quiet but deliberate. Sāra tensed, her fingers twitching instinctively toward the dagger she carried at her side, a habit she had picked up during her travels.

"You've been watching this place for too long, Sāra." The man’s voice was low, almost a whisper against the wind. "The past is gone. It's time to move forward."

Sāra recognized the voice before she saw his face—Ryū, one of her most trusted guards, now a wanderer like herself. He had been with her since the fall of Rōran, a loyal companion through every hardship, though he had his own demons to battle.

"How can I move forward when the ghosts of my past still haunt me?" Sāra replied, her voice steady but tinged with sorrow. "I still see them, Ryū. The people we couldn't save, the city that crumbled before my eyes. Every step I take away from here feels like a betrayal."

Ryū’s eyes softened as he removed his hood, revealing the deep lines of exhaustion etched across his face. "We can’t change the past, but we can honor it by surviving. You’ve done more than most would have after what happened. You gave these people a future, a chance. That’s all anyone can ask of you."

Sāra sighed, the weight of his words sinking in, but the burden on her shoulders remained. She had spent the past few years traveling the lands surrounding Rōran, searching for something—anything—that might give her peace. But all she found were more questions, more pain. The world outside her kingdom was vast, and it held secrets that Sāra had never imagined.

She looked up at Ryū, her expression hardening. "I had a dream last night. The Ryuumyaku... it called to me again."

Ryū’s eyes widened slightly. "That’s impossible. The Ryuumyaku was sealed. You saw it yourself, Naruto made sure of that."

Sāra nodded, her hand instinctively brushing against the necklace she still wore, the pendant that once controlled the powerful energy of the Ryuumyaku. "I know. But the dream was so vivid, Ryū. I could feel its energy, pulsing beneath the earth, just like before. It was calling out for me, as if something—no, someone—was trying to wake it again."

Ryū was silent for a moment, his brow furrowing in thought. "You think someone is trying to unseal the Ryuumyaku?"

"I don’t know," Sāra admitted. "But it felt real. Too real to ignore."

The two stood in silence for a moment, the wind whipping around them, stirring the dust and debris at their feet. Finally, Ryū spoke, his voice firm but gentle. "If there’s even a chance that someone is trying to tap into the Ryuumyaku again, we can’t ignore it. But we need to be sure. We need to investigate."

Sāra hesitated, her mind racing. She had sworn to herself that she would never go near the Ryuumyaku again, not after what had happened with Mukade. The thought of that cursed power being unleashed again filled her with dread. But if there was even a small chance that the Ryuumyaku was still a danger, she couldn’t sit idly by.

"I’m not asking you to face this alone, Sāra," Ryū added, sensing her hesitation. "We’ll gather the others, those who are still loyal. We’ll find out what’s happening, together."

Sāra clenched her fists, her resolve hardening. "We need to go back to Rōran. If the Ryuumyaku is stirring, we have to find out why."

Ryū nodded. "I’ll gather the others. We leave at dawn."

As Ryū turned to leave, Sāra felt a shiver run down her spine. She looked back at the ruins of Rōran, a city that had been built on the foundation of the Ryuumyaku’s power and ultimately destroyed by it. The thought of that power awakening again filled her with a deep sense of foreboding. But she couldn’t turn away, not now. Not when her people’s future was at stake.

That night, Sāra lay beneath the stars, her mind racing with thoughts of the past and the uncertain future ahead. The dream of the Ryuumyaku played over and over in her mind, its energy pulsing like a heartbeat, calling out to her.

In the distance, she could hear the soft murmur of her people, the survivors of Rōran, gathered around their small fires, oblivious to the storm that might be coming. Sāra closed her eyes, trying to push the fear and doubt from her mind. She had faced darkness before, and she would do so again, no matter the cost.

But as she drifted into sleep, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this time, the darkness might be more than she could handle. And that the price for failure would be far greater than she could ever imagine.

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