BALCONY — AFTER THE FALL
King Kevin stood on the balcony like a broken statue.
His hands gripped the cold stone railing so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. They were shaking. Not slightly. Not quietly. They shook the way hands shake when the body no longer knows how to hold itself together.
Tears ran down his face without resistance.
He did not wipe them away.
Below him, the city burned.
What remained of Mars glowed in pain—rivers of fire cutting through broken districts, towers collapsed into glowing ruins, smoke rising like dark prayers that no god seemed willing to hear.
The wind carried the smell of ash and melted stone.
The world felt… wrong.
Kevin inhaled sharply, then exhaled in a broken breath.
"Something is wrong," he said.
His voice cracked halfway through the sentence.
"This isn't just destruction," he continued, staring into the flames. "I can feel it. The planet feels… heavy. Like it's sick. Like it hates what's happening inside it."
He swallowed.
"I don't understand it," he whispered. "But it feels… negative. Like something poisonous is spreading."
His shoulders trembled.
Slowly, he turned his head just enough to look behind him.
Mother Telsa stood there.
Still.
Silent.
Her presence felt heavier than the burning city itself.
Kevin's voice dropped to almost nothing.
"Are we going to die?"
The question hung in the air.
Mother Telsa did not answer immediately.
She looked past him, beyond the balcony, beyond the fire, as if listening to something no one else could hear.
Finally, she spoke.
"I don't know."
The honesty hit harder than any lie.
"If this negative force continues," she said quietly, "Mars will not survive. Not the city. Not the kingdom. Not the planet."
Kevin's breath hitched.
She continued, her voice calm but strained.
"The planet itself is suffering. It is reacting. Rejecting something."
She lowered her gaze.
"And it is running out of time."
KINGDOM HALL — FEAR SPREADS
The Grand Kingdom Hall had lost its warmth.
A massive window on one side was shattered completely, leaving the hall open to the burning city beyond. Firelight poured inside, casting twisted shadows across marble floors and ancient pillars.
Priests stood frozen in prayer poses they had forgotten to finish.
Elders clutched their robes with trembling hands.
Nobles whispered behind lowered heads, their voices shaking.
No one shouted.
No one panicked loudly.
The fear was worse than panic.
It was quiet.
"This never should have happened…" someone whispered.
Another voice followed, trembling.
"We celebrated too early…"
A priest swallowed hard.
"The Queen's child is cursed…"
An elder closed his eyes.
"God has abandoned us…"
The words spread without sound, passing from face to face, from breath to breath.
Doom settled over the hall like dust after a collapse.
No one argued.
Everyone felt it.
THE NURSE ARRIVES
The large doors at the far end of the hall opened slowly.
Every head turned.
A nurse stepped inside.
She was pale.
Her hands were shaking so badly she could barely hold what was in her arms.
She walked forward one step at a time, as if the floor might disappear beneath her feet.
In her arms—two small shapes wrapped in cloth.
She reached the center of the hall.
Then she collapsed to her knees.
"My lord…" she said, her voice breaking. "The Queen has given birth."
The hall held its breath.
Her lips trembled.
"Twins."
THE TWINS
King Kevin and Mother Telsa moved forward together.
Kevin's steps were unsteady.
When the nurse lifted the first child, a soft murmur passed through the hall.
The baby was peaceful.
Eyes closed.
Breathing slow and steady.
His tiny chest rose and fell gently, like he was sleeping through the end of the world.
There was warmth around him. A calm presence that soothed even trembling hearts.
Then the nurse revealed the second child.
The air changed.
The baby's skin was blue and black, like night wrapped around frost.
One eye was dark.
The other—unnaturally white.
Near that eye, a faint glowing mark pulsed softly, like something alive beneath the skin.
The child was not crying.
He was awake.
Watching.
The hall fell completely silent.
TELSA'S REALIZATION
Mother Telsa stepped closer.
For the first time in her long life, fear touched her face.
She took the second baby carefully into her arms.
The moment she did, her body stiffened.
Her breath caught.
Invisible resistance pushed back against her.
Pain flashed across her expression.
Her magic reacted violently—sparks of light flickering, then collapsing into darkness around her hands.
She gasped.
This had never happened before.
Her fingers trembled as she pulled back slightly, studying the child's face.
Her eyes widened.
She understood.
"This child…" she whispered.
Her voice shook.
"He carries the negative force."
The words felt like a death sentence.
"The planet cannot tolerate him."
THE DECISION
King Kevin broke.
He fell to his knees, hands pressed to the floor.
"No…" he whispered. "No, please… There must be another way."
He looked up at her, tears streaming.
"He's my son."
Mother Telsa's voice was soft.
Firm.
"There is no other way."
She knelt before him.
"This child is not evil," she said gently. "But his existence will destroy Mars."
The words everyone feared left her lips.
"This child must be taken away."
Kevin screamed silently.
The planet trembled violently.
The decision could no longer wait.
ENDING
King Kevin held both children in his arms.
Tears fell onto their faces.
Mother Telsa looked away.
Firelight reflected in the babies' eyes.
Chanting filled the air.
Destiny had already decided.
A choice between one life… and an entire world.
TO BE CONTINUED