The day of the Prince Trials had finally arrived.

At dawn, the amphitheatre—an enormous coliseum of pale stone, encircled by soaring banners bearing the royal crest—was already alive with movement. The leaders of the Guard Divisions were personally present, inspecting every corridor, archway, passage, and entrance with sharp, seasoned eyes. Alongside them, robed Mages from the Mage’s Tower walked in calm, measured steps, tracing ancient glyphs in the air to activate layered detection wards across the arena grounds.

The mana-detection devices embedded throughout the coliseum hummed softly, pulsing with faint cerulean light. They were finely crafted to sense any trace of forbidden magic—dark spells, curses, or dead mana. The moment such energy surfaced, the devices would flare and alert the guards stationed with strategic precision across the amphitheatre tiers. No intruder, no hidden spell, no sabotage would slip past today.

By mid-morning, around the tenth bell, crowds had begun to pour into the arena in steady streams. The seats filled quickly—merchants, farmers, travelers, soldiers, and scholars—all gathered for this unprecedented spectacle.

This was more than a competition.

This was history in the making.

For generations, kings had been chosen behind closed doors—selected by lineage, council votes, or the silent endorsement of nobles who moved power like pieces on a board. But this time, things were different. This time, the Princes themselves would prove before the people that they deserved the throne. Their strength, their intellect, their command of mana, their discipline, and their hearts—all would be revealed under open sky.

The common folk buzzed with anticipation, thrilled at the idea of witnessing the true caliber of those who might rule them. Their cheers were loud, hopeful, and curious.

The nobles, however, sat stiffly in their private balconies. Their faces remained composed, but tension shadowed their narrowed eyes. Without political maneuvering, bribery, or carefully crafted influence to sway fate, the outcome was now beyond their control. Their previous schemes would hold no weight here.

The arena felt alive—like the very stone and air knew something monumental was about to unfold.

The Prince Trials were about to begin.

While excitement crackled through the kingdom like an eager storm, Ocean was... elsewhere.

He moved, spoke, breathed—but it was as though his spirit lagged half a step behind his body. The ones close to him noticed it immediately.

Lyall and Enora noticed first while helping him dress. Their hands worked in practiced rhythm—layered silks, the outer coat, the crest pin at the collar—but Ocean’s movements were slow, absent, his gaze unfocused. He nearly walked out without his mask. Lyall had to call him twice before Ocean even turned. Enora’s fingers paused mid-tie, her eyes quietly searching his profile. He didn’t look back.

Remi noticed next. Instead of reaching for his morning tea, Ocean lifted a glass of plain water and took a slow sip.

"...Refreshing," he murmured.

Remi’s hand froze. The soft clink of porcelain and silver filled the silence where Ocean’s easy remarks would have been.

Kai noticed when Ocean walked toward him across the courtyard and—just for a heartbeat—his step faltered. Almost stumbled. Kai instinctively reached forward, but Ocean steadied himself before contact could be made. His expression didn’t break. But something in Kai’s chest tightened as he realized:

Ocean had not tripped.

He had forgotten where his feet were.

And Roan and Eric watched now as Ocean stood before the two Princes, silent and unmoving. The briefing scripts were in his hand. His lips did not part. Not for a greeting, not for instruction. His gaze rested on the documents like he was reading words that no longer held meaning.

Both Roan and Eric had seen Ocean calm in storms, composed in chaos, amused in war.

But this silence—

This silence was hollow.

Like Ocean had placed his emotions inside a locked box and forgotten the combination.

Roan stepped forward, speaking gently, careful not to startle him.

"...Master?"

Ocean blinked once. Slowly.

As if returning from somewhere far.

He raised his head, expression perfectly smooth—eerily so.

"Yes," he said. "Let us begin."

The words were right.

But his voice lacked him.

And for those who knew him—really knew him—

That was terrifying.

Eric wondered just what it was that was bugging Ocean so much, he knew that Ocean had some other thing going on behind the scenes that he hadn’t disclosed to Eric but Eric had respected his decision and didn’t pry. But watching Ocean like this was worrisome, it almost made him feel like he was losing morale.

Ocean himself noticed as how he was playing braindead when he was supposed to act like the emcee of the day. These Trials depended on him and if he acted all lost then it was as good as saying that he was ready to let it go all up in flames.

He cleared his throat and handed the papers to Roan.

"Your Highnesses, it’s finally the day when you will prove yourself not only before your supporters but also before the whole kingdom. I am sure you must have gone through the first two disclosed Trials that are going to happen today and the day after the tomorrow."

Eric and Carlos nodded and Ocean continued, "Your safety will be assured throughout the Trials and after the Trials you will be safely escorted back to Ryujin mansion. You are not allowed to indulge in any unfair means and if caught you will be instantly disqualified from further taking up the Trials."

Ocean paused for a moment letting what he said settle, "That means that you will lose the chance to fight for the throne."

Carlos gulped while Eric now looked more confident.

Ocean hadn’t leaked any insider information to help Eric for these Trials as everything was decided to choose a rightful King and the Trials were simply to see if the Princes possessed the certain qualities that were necessary to rule the kingdom.

Now while, Ocean and his team had made all the preparations it was all going to be put forth on display to not only the masses and nobles but also the royal family who was going to be present for the Trials but they were strictly going to be audience. King Roger had given his word about it and since the King himself was a spectator so it took away the courage of the nobles who thought they could manipulate the public view in any way.

After the instructions were given, Ocean gestured for the Princes to go with him. He was responsible to escort them safely to the arena that was built not in Oasis town but in Count Nash’s territory near the Froish city.

The people waited in their seats with bated breaths as the first day of the Trial was about to begin. Suspended high above the arena floor were several large, black-framed structures, hovering weightlessly in the air. Gasps rippled up through the crowd as they craned their necks to stare.

No ropes. No magic circles. Nothing visible supported them.

"What are those...?"

"They’re floating—just floating!"

Curiosity spread like wildfire.

Even the royal family had arrived. Katherine herself was present—dragged there, quite literally, by her daughter and Roger. It would have been entirely uncharacteristic for her to avoid the Trials, especially when her own son was among the contenders. Since Miri was also the Queen so her seating arrangement was made along with them. The Grand Duke’s family was placed close by but a little below the royal box, Grand Duke Alarice, Grand Duchess Dahlia and their only son Davian were already gathered.

The royal family and the highest-ranking noble houses were seated in individual royal boxes, positioned at prime vantage points. Some of the lesser noble families shared adjoining terraced balconies, grouped according to status. Below them, the vast expanse of tiered seating was filled with commoners. Under Ocean’s orders, attendants carried trays of refreshments through the stands; commoners were served just as generously as the nobles. It was a celebration, a spectacle—a festival of the kingdom itself. Businesses had closed, people had gathered in droves, and Ocean, as host, ensured no one went unfed or forgotten.

Soon, Ocean entered the arena, dressed impeccably for the event, his signature black mask covering the upper half of his face. A wave of cheers rose from the stands—especially from the nobles aligned under his banner, who could not contain their pride.

He began to walk the perimeter of the arena floor, acknowledging the gathered crowd. First, he bowed toward the royal box, then toward the people—his people. In his hand, he held a large resonance stone, clear and polished enough to catch the sunlight.

Once he reached the center of the arena, he lifted the stone to his mouth and the entire amphitheatre fell silent.

"I am Ocean Ryujin, as most of you may know." He spoke and his voice rang throughout the place as if amplified fifty times making the crowd to fall in stunned silence for a moment.

Ocean smiled, "Oh, are you just surprised with this? There’s still a lot to come."

The crowd relaxed a little and Ocean continued keeping his tone light and entertaining but his hair remained elegant.

"Today marks the change in the history of our kingdom, our two beloved Princes, First Prince Eric- also known as the The Prince of Flames by his admirers and Second Prince Carlos- also known as The Prince of Roses."

Ocean had only give the namesake title to Carlos as his admirers from the noble factions had insisted on calling him that.

The crowd cheered as along with the announcement the two Princes entered the arena and four golden floating balls with metallic wings and a shiny mana stone embedded into them. Suddenly the two Princes and Ocean now appeared on the floating screens making everyone present shocked.

Ocean laughed softly while Eric and Carlos smiled at the balls. They were told what these were, the balls were the magic drones which would keep an eye on the contenders and everyone else to make sure no one created any unnecessary trouble.

Ocean had been planning for this thoroughly and that meant that he had made use of his modern knowledge and brought into existence the drones, the large screens for better view and also a lot more things that would soon be put on display.