10 Ascended

Everyone inside the tent gasped as they watched the scene before them unfold.

"She's the seer… Beirut's successor," Wizard Lurio blurted out, tears welling in his eyes as he added, "She's the one… She will keep Ebodia safe…"

Blinking at the mystical occurrence in front of him, Ezekiel was still in awe as he stared dumbfounded. 'She would keep their kingdom safe?' he thought. 'But… she could also be the one to bring ruin...' 

"He will escape. The man is wearing Ebodia's armor, but he has a tattoo of a black serpent on his back," Tarah whispered as soon as she opened her eyes. "He's a spy from Helion."

A brief silence echoed throughout the tent after that. After what felt like ages, its occupants finally sprung into action.

"Ezekiel!" Xenia called out to him, snapping Ezekiel back to his senses, almost making him flinch in surprise. 

Having come back to his senses, he blinked and then declared, "Search every man out there! Bring me that spy!"

Seeing the commotion about to unfold, King Darius looked at his men and instructed, "Help with the search." He then looked at Ezme, who simply sighed deeply before looking at her right-hand man. 

"Tell our men to help the Ebodian soldiers with the search," Ezme sighed.

While the rest of the people left the tent, Xenia remained inside, refusing to leave Tarah's side to soothe her. 

"This is good news! The despair in our men will be lifted once the news spreads…" Wizard Lurio declared. "Everyone will be delighted and motivated once they learn that Ebodia has once again received a Seer from the Almighty. It's exactly like how it's been prophecized."

Shaking his head, Ezekiel closed his eyes as he helplessly sat on his chair. 

"My hair," Tarah murmured, her hands gingerly holding onto her stray strands. She seemed to only now notice how her long black hair had changed color.

"It seems you've found your home, milady…" Lurio explained with a nod. Ezekiel remained quiet as he let their wizard talk. "Your hair had turned silver white because… because you've finally ascended. According to our former seer, you will ascend to your power once you embrace your gift to protect the ruler you're about to serve - just like how Beirut ascended in front of our King Stephan."

Hearing the story, Princess Ezme let out a scoff. "I hate to ruin the mood, but there are other rulers present here," she casually pointed out. "I'm a Princess of Valcrez, and there's Darius, a King of Cordon. How could you be so sure that she ascended in Prince Ezekiel's presence?"

Xenia stood up and said, "Tell me, Princess, did you somehow obtain a mark like this?"

Xenia then showed the mark that suddenly appeared on the back of Tarah's left hand. It was a dragon insignia, one that majestically draped around the back of her hand. 

"The mark alone represents our Kingdom, don't you think?" Xenia pointed out. "A dragon…"

Ezme ignored Xenia with a roll of her eyes. Instead, she turned to Darius and curiously asked, "Do you have one? The mark?"

Darius kept his silence, ignoring her words with a simple shrug.

Seeing the king's reactions, Ezme frowned as she then turned to Lurio. With a pout, she asked, "Is there a particular part of the body that we have to check? Or will it just appear in any part of the body?"

Ezekiel's frown deepened. Certain details about seers and mages were supposed to be confidential, only known to the royals and high-ranking officials of the kingdom, as a way to keep some aces up their sleeves. These things shouldn't even be discussed out in the open, especially not with outsiders.

Lurio turned to look at him, asking for approval to let him speak. In response, Ezekiel let out a heavy sigh.

The circumstances around them right now require some information to be disclosed to others. As such, he gave their wizard a nod of approval. For all intents and purposes, the people inside the tent were allies, ones that Ezekiel deemed could be trusted with such secrets.

"You will feel a pricking pain once it happens. It's a burning sensation that flits on your skin as the mark appears," Lurio explained. 

Ezekiel closed his eyes. That was exactly what felt on the back of his right hand. There was no doubt that Tarah was their fated Seer, the one who could bring damnation upon him, seeing how her hair had turned silver white.

"I don't feel a thing in my body," King Darius commented with a frown. "I guess I don't have it?"

Ezme checked on Darius's exposed skin for the mark. "Ah, Darius… what if it's in your butt cheeks?" Ezme playfully teased with a wicked smile. "In fact, would you like to check each other in private? It might be somewhere we can't see on our own."

Tarah shook her head at how mischievously Princess Ezme was teasing King Darius, the man currently engaged to Princess Xenia, who was just beside her. She could feel the tension between the two princesses, but Tarah couldn't care less. Instead, she dragged her gaze back to Ezekiel, knowing how his eyes never strayed away from her direction.

He had the mark. Tarah knew of it because she saw the same mark on the back of his right hand in one of her dreams while he was holding his sword.

"Your Highness, your right hand," Lurio whispered with eyes wide open. 

Hearing the wizard's words, everyone looked at Ezekiel, whose gaze was still locked onto Tarah.

With a click of her tongue, Princess Ezme walked toward Ezekiel and checked out the mark on his hand. She then walked to Tarah and stared at their hand simultaneously before coming to her own conclusions. 

"Wow… The marks are exactly the same. Isn't that great?" Ezme chuckled. "I guess Ebodian royals seem to have their destiny pre-ordained like history says they do. How nice… Your kingdom may be physically weaker, being mostly comprised of humans, but you are all blessed with an abundance of seers and mages."

Ezekiel had a blank expression on his face. This mark was also a sign… a sign that it was his time to ascend and reign as the new King of Ebodia.