I pressed on, my shock and anxiety propelling me forward. The chambers were a gruesome testament to the carnage that had unfolded. Blood trails, broken glass, and lifeless bodies littered the floors. Servants, soldiers, and masters alike had fallen victim to the brutality.

As I entered each room, I called out for Keiya, but my pleas were met with silence. Anxiety wrapped around me like a venomous cloak, its bitter sting intensifying with each passing moment.

Suddenly, a faint cry pierced the air, followed by a louder scream. I stood frozen in the hallway, unsure which room the cry had come from. But the victim's desperate pleas for help propelled me forward.

I stumbled into the room, slamming my weight against the door. A man turned to face me, his dark aura palpable. Behind him, Keiya lay terrified and on the brink of fainting. The man's gaze locked onto mine, and I recognized the ugly scar on his left cheek. It was Dakor, my arch-nemesis, the man who had brought chaos and destruction to my beloved's doorstep.

I lunged at Dakor with a fierce cry, my rage and desperation pushing me. Our blades clashed in a flurry of steel and sparks, the piercing clang echoing through the room. I was well acquainted with Dakor's fighting flare, and I knew I had to be cautious.

But my exhaustion from the battle at Goor and the insane charge back to the palace was taking its toll. My efforts were not feeble, but my rage was making me reckless. Dakor, on the other hand, was ready, instinctive, well calculated and ready to pounce on any mistake I made.

I knew my recklessness would cost me my life now, had not in a blink, Keiya changed the whole narrative. She staggered to her feet, seized a silver vase, leaped next to the rival, and with all her might brought it down on Dakor's head, stunning him. Blood patch on the vase told how forceful the blow was, as he collapsed to the ground.

As I watched Dakor sink down, fresh hope surged in. Keiya rushed to my side, embracing me intimately. "Dorack!" she breathed, her voice trembling with fear.

She was to explain what had happened while I was away, telling me how Dakor had come to take her with him. "Dorack and your father and brothers would rot away in the Valley of Goor," Dakor had told her. "They would never win against our forces. Follow me, Keiya, and I'll make you a wealthy woman and a wife of the greatest king that would ever emerge from our Realm."

But Keiya had resisted Dakor's torment. I knew I had to act quickly to ensure our safety. "This castle is unsafe," I told Keiya. "I need to make sure no threat comes along." I sprang to my feet and moved first for the door to be sure danger wasn't lurking.

In the same moment I had left her side and paced for the entrance, the supposedly unconscious Dakor rose in a flash. Like a ghost he was up and active. He was a thing of terror. Few large strides and he was next to the bewildered Keiya.

"I would never leave her for you," Dakor growled, clasping Keiya tightly to himself. "She will never be yours."

I charged forward, my blade at the ready. "You shall!" I roared.

Dakor threw Keiya behind him and picked up his fallen sword, his eyes flashing with defiance. "You shan't!" he growled, inviting me to the fight.

He leaped at me like an arrow leaving the bow with a fierce bolt speed, his blade flashing in the light. I raised my sword to meet his attack, but Dakor's strikes were more methodical and savage than before. He cringed his blade at me, and with expertise as the veteran he was, flicked his wrist, and sent my sword flying across the room.

Without restraint, he slammed the pommel of his blade into my rib, then my nose, and his back kick was the last blow that sent me flying across the room. "Come with me, Keiya!" he barked, gripping her arm. "Come with me now. Time is going."

Keiya cried out in defiance, struggling against Dakor's grip. She broke free, but fell to the ground with a wince. From across the room, I struggled to regain my coordination, but I could feel Dakor's frustration growing. The sound of marching soldiers echoed through the chambers, growing louder with each passing moment.

One couldn't tell if they were Dakor's soldiers or mine, but Dakor wouldn't dare risk finding out. His grip on Keiya tightened, and he dragged her towards the door, determined to escape.

"Come with me, Keiya, please," Dakor cried, his desperation growing. "What's holding you back?" He weighed his odds, knowing that if he didn't leave now, he would be a dead man.

Dakor's gaze locked onto Keiya's protruding belly, his eyes burning with a fierce intensity. What did he need to do to break the bond between Keiya and the savage man who was her husband? My weakness prevailed as I struggled to my feet, battered ribs screaming in protest.

"Get away from her!" I barked, my aggression an irony to my current state. Dakor ignored my warning, his gaze never leaving Keiya's belly. His eyes seemed to bore into her very soul, and I knew I had to act fast to protect her.

"That?" Dakor's voice rang through the room, his finger pointing accusingly at Keiya's abdomen. A bitter cold swept over me as I met his gesture. His gaze was fixed on Keiya's belly, his eyes burning with a malicious intent.

A detestable frown crept onto his face, his irritation as sour as vinegar. His eyes seemed to bore into Keiya's very soul, and I knew I had to act fast to protect her.

With a fierce battle cry, I charged at Dakor, my sword flashing in the dim light. Dakor, fed up with my relentless attacks, swung his own sword with deadly precision. Keiya, seeing me in danger, reacted instinctively. She threw herself between us, her eyes wide with fear.

Dakor's sword sliced through the air, aimed straight at my heart. Keiya's body came in. Intercepting the blow just in time. The sword bite deep into her flesh. My cry of horror echoed through the room as her body slumped to the ground.

Dakor's face twisted in a mixture of shock and guilt, his eyes fixed on Keiya. He sank down to hold her, but I barked at him, "Get away from her!"

He obeyed, pulling back with a devastated expression that mirrored my own. "I didn't mean for this," he whispered, his voice laced with regret.

As the sound of approaching danger grew louder, Dakor knew he had to escape. He backed away, his eyes fixed on Keiya's body, before turning to make a hasty retreat through an open window.

"Dakor!" I screamed, but he was already gone, vanished into the night. My attention was drawn back to the crumpled form on the floor. Keiya. My heart shattered into a million pieces as I rushed to her side

I turned to Keiya, but the sight before me was unbearable. She was losing blood at an alarming rate, her life slipping away due to Dakor's brutal attack. Her eyes, once bright and full of life, had paled, and her breath came in heavy, struggling gasps.

As she tried to speak, her words were barely audible, and her gasps for air filled me with desperation. Beautiful Keiya, even in death, she was radiant. I knelt beside her, unable to comprehend the cruel fate that had torn us apart.

"Keiya!" I called out, my voice shaking with grief. Her eyes, glazed and unfocused, locked onto mine. What thoughts were racing through her mind in those final moments?

"Keiya, can you hear me?" I pleaded, making vain promises to avenge her death. But she was beyond responding. Her lips were pale, her breath labored, and with one final effort, she whispered my name.

"Dor...k..." The sound hung in the air as her life slipped away, with my uncompleted name on her lips.

My mind went dark, consumed by an unbearable grief. I remained seated, frozen in denial, before the lifeless body of my beloved Keiya. My fate was a cruel one: I had lost my unborn child and my wife to the most heinous form of death, inflicted by the greatest monster I had ever encountered.

Keiya, my soulmate, was gone, lost to the eternity that lay beyond the Seven Seas of Dom. I imagined her spirit soaring with the wind, accompanied by the gentle whispers of departed souls. The chariots of fire would usher her through the realms of the afterlife, leaving me behind in this cruel world.

What was the purpose of this life now? My weakness and foolishness had cost me my family, and I had handed them over to the ruthless Dakor with such devastating ease. The weight of my regret and guilt threatened to crush me, leaving me shattered and forever changed.