Solis V

"Protect the Royal Family!"

The scholars scrambled as the entrance blew inwards, shrapnel flying in all directions.

Solis thought quickly, flipping over the table he was taking the test on, ducking behind it. His hearing practically short-circuited as the sounds of screams became too much combined with the loud explosions.

He cursed. Why would Rafael decide to attack now despite his previous warning? Was East Clarity so arrogant that they believed they could eliminate three Royals with nothing but fodder soldiers and Rafael?

He knew the strength of the three of them could only grow within the last decade. Back then, just one of them was enough to rival the strength of the current Rafael, let alone all three together.

There was a reason why West Clarity possessed the strongest children and Imperial Family. Such strength could only be passed down through bloodline, with no hope for the other countries to catch up.

The gap between Rafael and Aurora, the weakest of the three, was too one-sided. So why-

Solis widened his eyes as he realized why they decided to attack anyway. The Royals would definitely fight half-heartedly if they could not unleash their monstrous powers in a small area due to the lives of the scholars at risk.

But who advised Eastern Clarity this way?!

Solis pulled a running scholar over the table, practically ripping off the scholar's arm with his strength. Just after the scholar's legs flipped over the hardwood, did a projectile strike right where his head would've been.

"T-thank you."

Solis didn't even register the thanks as he observed the actions of the Prince and Princesses.

Aurora was commanding her small squad of knights, while Terra was waving to signal for safety.

Tempus stood at the front, his eyes glowing.

"Sacred Artifact."

The Royal Power of Sacred Artifacts. The power to perform miracles that can only be used by those in the Royal Family, passed down from generation to generation.

"To attempt to attack a member of the Royal Family Li. This will go down as a rebellion and attempted usurpation." His eyes seemed to turn black as he pointed his hand at the attackers. "It is only right that you are all executed where you stand."

Each one of his siblings wielded a Sacred Artifact, with Crown Prince Tempus Ruptor wielding the one with perhaps the highest potential. It was only right that his Artifact would be the strongest, fit for his rule.

A spear formed within his hands, glowing wickedly in the bright light.

"Release."

It was as if it were a fight between a trained martial artist and toddlers.

With a single swing, the enemies got swept off their feet, a shower of blood staining the colored floor red.

Even Solis could not hide his fascination for Tempus's power. With one motion, he already incapacitated a fourth of those disturbing the peace without harming the innocents. It was as if his Sacred Artifact was able to recognize those that were enemies and allies.

Such tremendous power made Solis shudder. Could he really fight against Tempus if he would be able to release this power so casually?

"Who would dare to challenge the power of the Imperial Family?!" Tempus roared as he spun the spear in a casual, yet threatening way. "You all will be immediately sentenced to death!"

"Attack!" The battle cry of the soldiers echoed as they charged at the lone Prince.

"Defend His Highness!" Aurora commanded.

"Defend me?" Tempus laughed at Aurora's order. "I'll be the one to defend you!"

The first line of enemies was instantly thrown back by Tempus's power. "Come!"

"C-captain?! Can we really beat him?" The attention from the four present members of the Royal Family was drawn to a small cluster that was just inside of the temple.

Solis clenched his fist. It was not Rafael that was in charge, Solis would have recognized his armor and looks. Instead, it was an unidentifiable unnamed captain of the Eastern Clarity armor.

"There you are." Tempus turned his attention to focus on the leader.

"I will handle this. You defend everyone." Terra stepped forward.

"What?!" Tempus could only look in shock as Terra started to steal the spotlight.

"Captain! The Second Princess is coming!"

They raised their swords to defend against the incoming attack.

"Sacred Artifact, Release."

"The ground! It's moving!"

Li Terra Finxit, the Second Princess. Despite not being seen as one of the stronger Royal Children due to her kind nature, Solis knew she possessed the third strongest Sacred Artifact.

Of course, those from East Clarity would not know of the abilities of the Royal Family. Such information would never be revealed to anyone besides the Emperor himself, and his children. Solis doubted that even the mothers of the children knew of their abilities.

"The ability to shake the ground?!" The captain of the failed attack cried out. "We were never notified they were so strong!"

Solis took notice that Aurora stood ready with her sword still sheathed.

Did she possess a Sacred Artifact as well?

"So someone did send you." Terra clutched the neck of the captain, already penetrating through his defenses. "Who was it?"

He choked a response, his windpipe getting crushed under the normally reserved Princess's fingers.

"You won't answer me?" She leaned closer, her eyes glowing a bright brown.

Only one person noticed the bow and arrow being aimed at Terra from the higher levels.

"Your Highness!"

Everyone flinched as Solis practically appeared at Terra's side, his arm raised up to block her face.

"W-what-" The sound of the arrow striking Solis's arm cut through everyone's thoughts. Blood splattered over Terra, the tip of the arrow ending just inches away from her face.

Solis let out a scream of pain as it felt as if his entire arm was ripped away from his body.

'𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤.' Solis widened his eyes. A normal arrow would not hurt as much as the one that pierced his arm.

"Protect them!"

The Star Knights climbed the pillars of the temple as if they were stairs. Within seconds, they had gotten the archer onto the ground, his hands tied behind his back.

Terra's grip loosened on the captured captain as she continued to stare at the arrowhead just centimeters from her face.

"Your Highness!" Solis shouted.

Terra snapped back to reality, twisting the soldier's arm behind his back as she locked him into the ground facedown.

"Treat his injury Aurora!"

Solis felt himself get dragged away by one of the Star Knights by Terra's command.

"I commend you for your bravery, but that was incredibly foolish by you." Aurora scolded, her hands working quickly to wrap bandages around the wound.

"Is it-" Solis let out a grunt of pain as Aurora pulled the arrow out. She pressed on the wound as she wrapped bandages around the affected area. "-so wrong to risk a limb for a Royal member?"

"I suppose that is one way to look at it, but I could have protected her." Her brown eyes shined with disappointment. "Regardless, I thank you for your help. Because of you, Terra was left uninjured."

"Could you have helped Her Highness? You were too far-"

"If you had not just sacrificed your body for the Second Princess, then your tongue would've been cut off. Do not doubt a member of the Royal Family."

He bowed his head. "I apologize."

Aurora finished tying the bandages around his arm. "Do not do anything with that arm. Remain here until we have finished."

Aurora stood, her coat flowing behind her as she marched back into the fray. Her eyes narrowed as she observed the state of battle.

"The blatant arrogance of these instigators. They really do desire death if they thought they could do anything with these soldiers. Their attempt at rebellion is truly laughable."

Even Solis could not hide his amazement. Within just a couple of minutes, the two Royals dismantled the entire attack with their Sacred Artifacts. Not a single chance was given for a counterattack besides a single arrow that Aurora would have deflected.

Truly, they were monsters.

His eyes closed as the pain in his arm continued to throb.

-----

"𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?"

"𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘚𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘯."

"𝘚𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳?"

"𝘠𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘵𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵."

"𝘠𝘦𝘴 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥."

"𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘺."

-----

Solis gasped as his body convulsed upon waking up. His breathing was erratic, his head pounding.

"I see you have finally awakened."

He turned his face to look at the speaker.

"Where am I?"

"You have been moved to the hospital controlled by Her Highness, Second Princess. I am the doctor that has been sent to take care of you due to your bravery. Your arm will be able to make a full recovery despite the arrow completely shattering the bone. Our medical knowledge will make sure of it."

"I see, thank you."

The doctor nodded in response.

"It certainly is admirable. The stories are already spreading throughout the capital of a no-name scholar risking his life to save Second Princess."

"It is my duty as a subject. The lives of the Royal Family are the most important thing, my life is insignificant compared to even a hair on their heads."

The doctor gave a small smile. "Your life is also very important to your family."

Solis gave a downcast smile that the doctor did not notice. "Indeed, my life is valuable to them."

The door practically flew open as Terra stepped through.

"Oh, you are already awake."

"Your Highness." Solis and the unnamed doctor bowed in respect, which Terra quickly waved off.

"I would like to thank you formally. Your name?"

"Sol. My name is Sol. I was just doing my duty as a citizen of West Clarity, being of use to the Royal Family."

"You are already healed enough to walk. Father, His Majesty the Emperor, wishes to speak with you."

Solis was stunned. "What does His Majesty-" He stopped himself at Terra's warning glare. "I shall obey."

Tempus strode into the room, his eyes settling onto Solis. "The audience will begin soon sister. His Majesty expects us all there to be on time."

The Crown Prince kept his eyes on Solis even after he finished speaking as if he were analyzing him. Tempus's brows were furrowed deeply as if he were confused about something.

Terra stood and looked pointedly at the doctor. "I expect Sir Sol to be outside within the hour."

He bowed his head. "As you command."

The doctor continued to bow until both Tempus and Terra left the room side by side.

He turned to Solis, whose gaze lingered where the two Royal members left. "I'll have to change your bandages, Sir Sol."

"Yes...thank you." Solis kept his eyes in the doorway, his eyes shining with emotion. He shuddered as his mind went over what Terra had said.

He was to meet His Majesty the Emperor, his father, for the first time in a decade.

-----

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕰𝖓𝖉