Chapter 1 — The Banquet of Betrayal
The royal palace of the Dragon Kingdom had never looked more beautiful than it did on the night of the Moon Festival. Hundreds of lanterns hung from the carved wooden beams, their golden light reflecting across polished floors. Musicians played beneath a painted dragon screen while nobles filled the great hall with laughter and conversation.
At the center of the celebration stood Lin Cheng Yu, the eldest prince.
He had been trained from childhood to carry the weight of the kingdom. His posture was straight, his expression calm, and his words measured. Yet behind that calmness was a young man who had spent most of his life trying to protect the people around him.
Across the hall, Lin Hanze watched him.
Hanze was Cheng Yu's younger brother. He smiled whenever someone spoke to him, but tonight his smile felt forced even to himself.
The king raised his cup.
“To the future king,” he announced.
The nobles applauded.
Hanze's fingers tightened around his cup.
Cheng Yu bowed. “I will do everything I can to serve the kingdom.”
Hanze looked down.
Everything.
That word had followed Cheng Yu everywhere. The better son. The stronger prince. The one with the stronger Dragon Christo. The one everyone believed should inherit the throne.
Hanze had spent years pretending that it did not hurt.
Tonight, he decided he was finished pretending.
A servant approached Cheng Yu and offered him wine.
“Prince Cheng Yu,” the servant said, bowing.
Cheng Yu accepted the cup without suspicion.
At the other side of the hall, Hanze looked away.
Cheng Yu drank.
For several moments, nothing happened.
Then his breathing changed.
He placed a hand over his chest.
His Dragon Christo had always felt like a steady warmth inside his heart, a deep spiritual presence connected to his dragon blood. Now that warmth twisted violently.
Cheng Yu frowned.
“Brother?” Hanze asked.
Cheng Yu tried to answer.
His voice failed.
The music seemed to fade. The lanterns blurred. A pulse of uncontrolled power moved through his body.
“My Christo…”
Elder One rose immediately.
“What happened?”
Cheng Yu stumbled backward.
“I don't know.”
Another surge struck.
The floor beneath him cracked.
People screamed and moved away.
“Everyone out!” Elder Three shouted.
Cheng Yu fell to one knee.
He could feel his Dragon Christo fighting something inside him. The poison had entered his system and was disturbing the balance of his spiritual heart.
He clenched his teeth.
“I can control it.”
“You cannot,” Elder One said.
“I can!”
Cheng Yu forced himself upright. His eyes flashed with dragon power.
A guard rushed forward, but Cheng Yu instinctively pushed him away with a burst of energy.
The guard survived, but the room erupted into panic.
Cheng Yu stared at his own hands.
“No…”
He had never wanted this.
He looked at Hanze.
His brother stood motionless.
For one brief moment, Cheng Yu saw something in Hanze's eyes.
Fear.
And guilt.
“Han…ze?”
Hanze could not answer.
The elders surrounded Cheng Yu.
“Forgive us,” Elder One said.
Cheng Yu looked around at the people he had sworn to protect.
“Please,” he whispered. “Don't let me hurt anyone.”
The elders activated the ancient formation.
One by one, they gave their life force to the seal.
The Magical Tower responded.
Chains of spiritual energy formed around Cheng Yu—not physical chains, but a force that pressed against his inner Christo and weakened his connection to the outside world.
Cheng Yu fought at first.
Then he realized what they were doing.
They were sacrificing themselves.
“No! Stop!”
Elder Seven smiled sadly.
“Live long enough to forgive yourself.”
The final seal closed.
Cheng Yu disappeared into the Magical Tower.
The elders collapsed.
Silence filled the hall.
Hanze remained standing.
The king turned toward him.
“You are now the only remaining heir.”
Hanze stared at the closed doors.
He had wanted this moment.
But now that it had arrived, the crown felt heavier than any weapon.
He whispered to himself, “What have I done?”
