No Lock, No Wall, No Door Will Stop Me.

Echoes Beyond the Veil

In the twilight ruins of the ancient Keep of Dawn's Rest, shadows stirred beneath a crescent moon. A princess, cloaked in humble threads, unaware of the royal blood pulsing through her veins, stood defiantly at the crumbling threshold. Beside her, the prince—his heart pledged silently long ago—awaited the command.

 

She turned to him, eyes blazing like embers, oblivious to the lineage whispering in the rustle of her dark hair, unaware that her quiet courage was birthed from crowns unseen. "If you would truly prove your valor," she said, steadying her trembling voice, "then face them, the horde that rises from the darkness below—but face them blindfolded, so that courage alone guides your sword."

 

He smiled softly, the prince whose every heartbeat had long become an oath whispered to the void. Had she asked, he would have stood sentinel at the gates of eternity, letting every other soul pass until oblivion claimed him, knowing she was safe beyond the threshold.

 

Without hesitation, he tore a strip from his cloak, binding his eyes. In the blindfolded dark, the world became silent echoes and whispered warnings. Drawing his sword, forged from starlight and hope, he stepped forward, guided solely by faith in the voice behind him.

 

They rose then, skeletal fingers scraping stone, ghastly visages howling with centuries of torment. Yet, as he danced through their midst, each step and swing attuned to her voice and his unwavering resolve, it was as though fate itself bowed to the hidden truth between them—a princess unaware of her crown, commanding a prince who would brave eternity, blindfolded, if only to hear her voice once more.

 

And in the ruins, beneath the crescent moon, legend whispered its birth—a story of hidden crowns, unspoken love, and courage bound not by sight, but by trust in a voice he knew he would follow into eternity.