The air in the Royal Library is usually thick with the scent of aged parchment and now carries a faint metallic tang. 
Queen Lyra is with her usually vibrant emerald gown seeming dull in the dim light and traced a finger over a forgotten tome. 
"He grows weaker 
with each day especially every passing moon." she murmured her voice barely rustled the usual commanding tone that echoed through the castle halls.
"King Cassian suddenly got sick." 
"The way I observed his illness is not an ordinary one." 
The Queen added.
Across the polished mahogany table, Queen Anya absently ran her hand through her silver hair the silk cool against her skin. 
"The reports from the outer villages are grim. Harvests failing, the rivers running sluggish and murky… it mirrors the very essence of the King himself." She exhaled slowly, leaving a faint mist air a testament to the unusual cold that had begun to creep into even the warmest rooms.
Queen Sereena ever the pragmatist, leaned forward with her sapphire eyes narrowed. 
"We speak in hushed tones, but what are we to do? His Majesty's health is not improving. If we don't act, the consequences will be faced for us all." 
The rhythmic tapping of her jeweled finger on the table was the only sound for a moment.
In the secluded training grounds, the rhythmic clang of steel against steel was punctuated by the grunts of exertion. Alric sweat beading on his brow parried a swift blow from Orion. 
"The whispers are becoming shouts," Alric grunted, his muscles aching with an unfamiliar fatigue. 
"The King's ill health affects us all. Even my blade feels heavier."
Orion, his usually sharp senses dulled, stumbled slightly. 
"Indeed. The very ground feels less stable beneath my feet. There's a hollowness to the magic that once permeated these lands." He could almost taste the decay in the air a bitterness on his tongue.
Meanwhile in the Royal Gardens Celestia knelt by wilting its once vibrant petals now a sickly brown. 
"The life force of the kingdom." 
She whispered her fingers trembling as she touched its dry and brittle texture. 
"She was us to fall apart in the four kingdoms. Without its Pillar the whole Aethel will be her land and she will rule as it's her greatest desires." Queen Lyra said.
"I sense it in the very soil beneath my hands into my bones."
Aurora, her face pale, shivered despite the thick cloak wrapped around her. 
"Did Arthill know about this? 
We should ask for help from the deities. To solve this crisis that's the only way.Without Thea in our side, 
I don't know if we can win against The Darkness Queen." Aurora added.
"The darkness Queen… Her influence spreads like a blight. I feel a constant chill and the aroma of the blooming jasmines is strangely muted as if the vibrancy has been leached from everything."
Zaria her usually keen eyes now strained her head. 
"The headaches are relentless of the drumming behind my eyes. And the silence… it's not a peaceful silence but a heavy oppressive quiet where even the birds seem to fear to sing. I can barely hear the gentle rustle of leaves anymore only this pervasive stillness."
Cygnus scanned the horizon. "The stars themselves seem dimmer. The guiding light of the constellations feels weaker as if their very essence is being consumed." He squinted trying to discern the familiar patterns but they appeared blurry, distant.
"Get the Kingdom Messengers! 
I need them to deliver a speech. If we can't win we need all allies we can get.
We need the people to help us fight this battle." The Queen Lyra 
said determined.
"Your majesty. You're looking for us." The Head Messenger with his team is standing in front of the South Pillar Kingdom Queen.
"Deliver this message.
Everyone will train to prepare for a possible battle. We will fight for our land and we will fight for our freedom. Go to each Kingdom and deliver this message to all the town people especially The Queens." 
Queen Lyra uttered as she took a deep breath after that.
"We will not fall to the enemies hands.We will not bow for no one." 
The Queen declared and all of the people inside of the room nodded with their serious face.
Back in the Royal Library Sebastian the King's most trusted scholar paced anxiously a scroll clutched in his hand. 
"My Queens, I have been poring over ancient texts seeking answers. 
The King's affliction… it is unlike any illness I have documented. His vitality his very essence seems to be draining away leaving him… hollow." 
He paused his voice thick with concern.
"His once booming voice is now a mere whisper; I can barely make out his commands when I stand close to him." The Royal Physician nodded grimly.
"His pulse is thready, his skin clammy and cold to the touch and his eyes once alight with wisdom, are now cloudy devoid of focus. He barely recognizes me anymore. The stench of decay, faint but unmistakable, clings to him, a foul odor despite our efforts to keep him clean." Queen Lyra felt a knot tighten in her stomach. 
"You speak of a drain hollowing.
Is there a source for this… affliction?"
Sebastian unfurled the scroll revealing intricate diagrams and ancient runes. 
"The texts speak of a rare and potent form of dark magic, one that latches onto the very core of a ruler's power siphoning it away. It thrives on fear and discord."
Queen Anya gasped.
"The Darkness Queen!"
Creed nodded slowly. 
"Indeed. And the King's weakness is his deepest fear is loss of control of his kingdom crumbling around him. This vulnerability, this deep-seated anxiety, is the very crack in his armor that the darkness has exploited."
"For days, I've seen it. The subtle tremor in his hand, the way his gaze would drift, unfocused. The palace itself seemed to dim with his fading light. I consulted every ancient text, every forgotten legend. The answer lay hidden in plain sight, a truth too terrible to contemplate. The King's greatest strength—his unwavering control—was also his greatest weakness. The Darkness Queen, a malevolent force, had found her entry point. She doesn't attack the body directly, but the spirit, the very will to rule. She feeds on his fear, his paranoia, growing stronger as he grows weaker. And as she feasts, the kingdom withers, mirroring the decay within its heart." Sebastian stated.
The following days saw the symptoms worsen across the kingdom. The usually bustling marketplaces were eerily quiet, the vibrant hues of fresh produce replaced by dull, listless colors. A palpable sense of dread hung in the air, a heavy blanket that muffled sounds and made every breath feel labored. Alric found himself constantly fatigued his muscles aching with a deep persistent ache. The taste of even his favorite spiced wine was flat, devoid of its usual warmth.
Orion struggled to focus during training, his vision blurring at the edges, and the smell of the damp earth, usually a comfort, now seemed to carry a hint of something sour, something putrid.
Celestia felt a profound coldness seeping into her very bones, a chill that no fire could dispel. The usually melodic chirping of the crickets at night was replaced by an unsettling silence, broken only by the mournful howl of a distant, unseen creature.
Aurora's skin felt hypersensitive, every touch a jarring sensation, and the world seemed to dim around her, as if a perpetual twilight had descended. Even the sun’s warmth felt insipid, unable to penetrate the pervasive gloom.
Zaria's headaches intensified, a relentless throbbing behind her eyes, and the vibrant colors of the tapestries in the castle halls seemed to bleed into one another, losing their distinctness. The sweet scent of the gardenias that usually filled her chambers was now faint, almost imperceptible.
Cygnus observed the night sky with a growing alarm. The stars, once brilliant beacons, now flickered weakly, as if struggling to stay alive, and the comforting hum of cosmic energy he usually felt was replaced by a disquieting stillness, a void that seemed to swallow all sound.
In the Royal Throne Room on the same day  the usually grand space felt small, oppressive, as if the walls were closing in. Queen Lyra addressed the assembled court, her voice trembling but resolute. 
"We stand at a precipice. The King's health, and by extension, the health of our kingdom, is failing. The Darkness Queen, through her insidious magic, has found his weakness and is exploiting it."
Queen Anya, her eyes filled with sorrow, added, 
"His deepest fear, his inability to relinquish control, has become the very weapon wielded against him. He believes by holding tighter, he secures his reign, but in truth, he is only weakening himself further."
Queen Sereena stepped forward, her voice ringing with a newfound urgency. 
"We must find a way to sever this connection, to protect the King's spirit from further decay. His fear is a tangible force, a conduit for her power. We must break it."
The assembly murmured a collective sigh of despair. The gravity of the situation hung heavy in the air, a suffocating weight. What hope could they possibly have against a force that preyed on the very essence of their ruler?
"In what way we can defeat the darkness queen? In what way we can win this fight when everything is pointless! Zaria remarked.
"We can win this fight... 
We will win this fight,
The Darkness Queen might 
have Thea as her beloved pet but we can win this fight without her by our side. We are born to fight and we trained enough for this kind of situation. We can do this and without fear we will not let them take Aethel on their hands. 
Our fate is written in our own actions.
We will win this battle!" Alric said with full of determination and authority in his voice.
Alric indeed a Crown Prince's Next Ruler. A New Leader and the Aethel deserved them all