"You can't do this to me!" Neva screamed, voice cracking across the grand throne hall.
He thrashed in the iron grip of the palace guards, their gauntlets biting into his arms. Chandeliers rattled overhead, stirred by the echo of his desperation.
He stared with bloodshot eyes at his rival.
"Neva, you lost," Ceder said coolly, a faint smile dancing on his lips.
He took a measured step closer, hands clasped behind his back in perfect posture.
"You might be the crown prince, but I'm true royalty as well. Your attempt to rig the Royal Battle, to silence me, is a crime under the Domain's laws — one I intend to see punished."
"Uncle George saw through your filthy scheme, Neva. He dragged me out of the gutter where you left me to rot. And now that I stand grown, I'll let Father judge you — as you tried to judge me." Ceder said. Crossing his arms as he turned to the King.
The King sat atop a marble throne etched with ancient scales of justice, his heavy crown casting a deep shadow over hard-set eyes. The lines on his weathered face tightened with each passing moment, a storm of grief and duty warring behind them.
He didn't want to punish his first son. Unfortunately, he had no choice.
As the domain lord of the Law Domain, he also had to follow the rules. He couldn't add, modify, or remove any regulations without the court's approval.
So, he had to punish his first son to the fullest extent of the law. Failure to do so could cause the Domain that had been held steady for generations to collapse.
Causing not only millions of deaths under the fog but his and his family's deaths as well.
It was a nonstarter.
With a slam of his fist, the King straightened his back.
"Neva," the King thundered, voice echoing like a hammer through the hall, "as crown prince, you have failed your sacred duty. Plotting the death of your sibling and manipulating the royal battle breaks the very laws you swore to protect. The law is clear, and it finds you guilty."
He let the words hang in the cold air, as heavy as a death sentence.
"As required to the extent of your crimes, you are hereby expelled from the Domain!"
"Guards, gather a backpack of supplies for Neva and strip him of his royal attire."
Neva's face turned pale. His knees turned as weak as jelly.
"Father, please! You can't send me out there — the fog will kill me!" Neva's voice cracked as his eyes darted desperately around the room.
The King remained silent.
"Father—! Please! I did it for the kingdom! For Us!" Neva tried to plead, but the guards dragged him away before he could choke out another word.
All he could do was glare at Ceder. Thinking to himself that he was only doing what was best for the kingdom.
Ceder was too weak in his eyes. And worst of all, he was a pacifist. How was he going to protect the kingdom if he ever won the royal battle and inherited the domain?
Even letting him have a chance was too much of a risk.
Before Neva could struggle, the guards tore away the layers of velvet and gold that had proclaimed him royalty since childhood. In their place, they shoved coarse, scratchy cloth over his shoulders — commoners' rags, still smelling of rough dye. Each tug of fabric felt like a blow to his pride.
A bag was thrown into his chest.
He was forcefully thrown into a carriage and carried away towards the edge of the city.
Back into the palace.
The King sat in silence. His twelve remaining children also sat there. Each one of them had a nervous expression on their faces.
Some glanced at Ceder and quickly looked away whenever he looked in their direction. Their guilt was evident.
Neva wasn't the only one who tried to suppress Ceder.
Suppose things came to a head. Evidence of their crimes could surface, and they would also be expelled.
After sitting in intense silence for half an hour, an old man walked in. Carrying with him Neva's old royal clothes.
"Is it done?" The King grumbled to his royal advisor.
"Yes, your highness. We have removed the crown prince's crown."
"His Domain immediately sprang up as soon as he stepped into the fog." The royal advisor said, to the shock of the crowd.
"Domain!? Father, how can Neva have a Domain? What does this mean?" The first princess asked.
The King grabbed Neva's crown. With a deep expression, he explained.
"You all heard correctly. Neva is indeed a domain lord. He became one before many of you were even born."
"His potential was unbelievable, awakening his Domain as a mere child. Losing him is our kingdom's greatest loss." The King said with sadness.
He looked up and shattered the crown, covered in unique grooves.
"His crown sealed away his Domain's power to keep the kingdom stable. But now that he is no longer heir, there is no reason to hide the truth." The King said.
"No wonder. No wonder Neva was the undisturbed number one candidate to become King," the second prince muttered.
"Remember this well," the King warned, gaze cold as iron. "Within my Domain, no one stands above the law. Not you. Not I. No one."
"Without the grand protection of the fog from the Domain, none of you could survive a second. Even as a domain lord, Neva's chances of surviving aren't very high, especially with his mental… condition."
"But all of you must prepare for the possibility that another Domain Lord will arrive one day and attack us. Remember, within the fog, the impossible is common."
"Everyone is dismissed!" The King waved his hand.
No one challenged him and quickly ran out. The King leaned back and closed his eyes.
His fist clenched as he realized that he could no longer sense his first son, which meant that Neva was no longer in the Domain.
Unaware that his son was panicking just a step outside the Domain.
Neva stared at the colossal blue wall, its swirling letters of golden light dancing across a shifting surface, listing every law of the Domain in endless, merciless detail. Each rule glowed like a divine commandment, forbidding him entry.
He wanted to run back in, but he knew that was impossible. If he attacked the Domain, he would be turned to ash before he even blinked.
Yet when he turned around, he could only see the endless depths of white fog.
It was ominous.
Anything could appear in the fog. And most of the time, it wasn't good.
"No, no, no! Damnit!" Neva screamed and slammed his fist on the ground.
The hard gravel making up the ground sent a wave of pain into Neva, making him nearly cry.
"I'm going to die. This can't be happening. I was supposed to rule, supposed to bring a new golden age. Supposed to…to leave a legend. I would have been…a great lord…" Tears fell from Neva.
His shoulders trembled as his vision blurred. His life was over. His dream was now impossible.
He was even going to die. No ordinary people could survive wandering in the fog for long.
"Are you still crying? That isn't the prince I remember."
The voice came from the fog, so close it brushed against Neva's ear. Soft, almost kind — but with an undertone that made his skin crawl.
There was no one in the fog, so who was talking to him?