The Sovereign's Curse

Lucian stood with a menacing calmness, the revolver unwavering against Elaine's temple. His presence filled the room like a cold shadow, suffocating any hope of escape.

"Ten seconds," he said, each word precise and glacial. "Tell me where The Key is, or she dies."

Xander locked eyes with Elaine, fighting to keep his voice steady despite the terror clawing at his throat. "Elaine, it's going to be okay. Do you understand?"

She nodded weakly, tears cutting silent paths down her cheeks.

"One." Lucian's count fell like a hammer stroke.

"Listen to me," Xander's voice cracked with desperation. "You've got this all wrong. This is just a misunderstanding!"

"Two." Each number seemed to drop the temperature in the room.

"We can talk! We can work this out like gentlemen!" Xander's plea echoed against the walls.

"Three." Lucian's voice remained emotionless, mechanical.

Blood trickled down Xander's wrists as he fought against the restraints. "Alright, alright... Just put the gun down. I can't—I can't talk to you like this!"

Lucian's expression remained carved from ice. "That's your choice. Four."

"Aeternis is at the Tower." The words tumbled from Xander's mouth. "You want to know where exactly? Let her go, because you will not—"

"It's not at the Tower." Lucian cut through his lie like a blade. "Five."

Sweat beaded on Xander's temple, his breath coming in short gasps. "I can get it for you, but if you kill her—if you do this—you're not gonna—"

"Six." The word sliced through his desperate bargaining.

Xander's voice rose to a roar, raw with desperation. "Are you listening to me? The only way for you to get what you want is for you to—"

Bang!

The gunshot cracked through the air like thunder.

Elaine's scream pierced through her gag as crimson blossomed across her leg. The chair rattled beneath her as she convulsed, her muffled cries filling the room.

Something snapped in Lucian. His mask of calm shattered, revealing a storm of unbridled rage beneath. "DO YOU THINK I'M PLAYING?" Spittle flew from his lips as he roared. "YOU THINK THIS IS A GAME? YOU DON'T THINK I'LL DO IT? WHERE IS IT? WHERE THE HELL IS IT?"

Xander's eyes widened in shock and horror. Hos breathing erratic, his heart shattered as he saw Elaine trembling, her whimpers of pain filling the room.

"Elaine, look at me!" Xander shouted, ignoring Lucian's fury.

The revolver's cylinder clicked ominously as Lucian reloaded. "SEVEN! SEVEN!"

"You son of a- I'm going to kill you." Xander's voice dropped to a deadly whisper, trembling with fury and anguish. "I swear, I will kill you!"

"Eight!"

"Please," Xander's voice cracked, stripped raw with desperation. "Please don't do this. Just let her go. I promise you, I'll get it for you."

"Nine." Lucian's voice had gone quiet now, somehow more terrifying than his rage.

Xander's breath caught in his throat. "I want to help you get what you want, but you have to do what's right. You don't have to do this!"

Lucian stared at him, unblinking and silent.

Xander's chest tightened as realization struck him like a dagger. He saw it in Lucian's eyes-- the unrelenting intent, the lack of hesitation.

"No," Xander choked, shaking his head violently. "No, no... Don't do this,"

Lucian stared at Xander, like a predator that had cornered its prey and about to go in for the kill.

His finger tightened on the trigger as he coldly said,

"Ten."

The sound of the trigger being pulled echoed through the room like thunder.

Bang!

Except...the sound never echoed.

The world stopped.

Everything around Xander froze—the flicker of light from the overhead lamp, Elaine's tear-stricken face, and even Lucian, frozen mid-pull of the trigger, his expression twisted in a cruel snarl. The smoke from the gun hung suspended in the air like a dark omen.

Xander blinked, stunned to find himself unaffected. His breaths came rapid and shallow as he struggled to comprehend what had just happened.

"Time is fragile, young one," a calm, authoritative voice spoke from the shadows.

Xander turned sharply, his chair still bound, to see a tall figure step into the room. The man was cloaked in a flowing robe of deep indigo, trimmed with intricate silver patterns that shimmered like constellations. His face bore an ageless quality, his piercing eyes glowing faintly with otherworldly light. He carried a staff with a radiant crystal embedded at its tip, and an aura of power seemed to ripple around him.

"Who...who are you?" Xander stammered.

The man waved his staff, and the ropes binding Xander disintegrated into particles of light. "I am Ardyn, a Seer of Elarion," he said, his voice calm yet commanding. "And you, Xander Hawthorne, are destined for something far greater than this moment of despair."

Xander stumbled to his feet, rubbing his wrists. "What are you talking about? Why is time frozen? What is going on?"

Ardyn gestured to the room around them. "Lucian, your sister, this entire world—they are caught in a single heartbeat of time. For now, it will hold. But you cannot stay here. Your destiny lies beyond this place."

Xander's mind reeled. "You mean I just...leave Elaine? Leave this chaos? Are you insane?"

"Elaine will be safe," Ardyn assured him, stepping closer. "But if you remain, you will fail her, and yourself. The Mantle of the Sovereign has chosen you, Xander. You have a responsibility to wield its power, to confront the trials awaiting you in another realm. If you stay, this world will fall to ruin."

Xander clenched his fists, rage and fear swirling within him. "The Mantle of the Sovereign? I think you have the wrong person, I'm no hero, no chosen one. I'm just trying to survive!"

"You are far more than you know," Ardyn said, his tone softening.

Xander's gaze flicked to the frozen Elaine, pain etched into his features. "Wait... just wait, a few days all I had to worry about was not showing up to work. I regret ever going into that basement."

"One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it," Ardyn said solemnly. "Whether you went somewhere or didn't, Fate set it in motion. Eventually it catches up to you."

"Now listen, you have a responsibility, one you cannot carry out in this world and if you succeed...you will have the strength to save not only her but countless others across the multiverse. The choice is yours, Xander."

Ardyn raised his staff, and a swirling portal of golden light materialized behind him.

"This is the path to your trials," Ardyn said. "Step through, and begin your journey. Prove yourself worthy of the Mantle, and reclaim your legacy. Or remain here, and watch everything you care about crumble."

Xander stared at the portal, his heart pounding.