Chapter 4 — A Guest or a Prisoner?

"The distance between trust and suspicion is sometimes only a single choice."

The entire path leading from the palace's underground center toward the East Residence was incredibly, strangely silent and cold.

Multi-colored light beams reflecting off the ultra-modern, high-tech jeweled floor flickered and cast a glow onto Arkar Linn Myat's pale face as he moved forward.

Flanking him on both sides, two guards in sturdy royal military uniforms walked closely in lockstep as part of their duty. The guards uttered not a single word, and Arkar himself, his mind tangled in a mess of thoughts, did not initiate any questions either.

Up until this moment, a single, uncertain thought tightly gripped his brain:

'Will I... will I really be able to return to my home in the past world...?'

"We have arrived, sir."

Accompanied by the respectful voice of a guard, the massive, magnificent royal door slowly slid open automatically, triggered by a sensor system as they approached.

With his heart in his throat, Arkar stepped inside one pace at a time, only to abruptly halt in his tracks.

It was completely unlike the damp, dark underground dungeon or the iron-barred cell he had anticipated with dread.

Instead, it was an immensely spacious and beautiful grand chamber fit only for royalty. There were giant glass windows reflecting a myriad of starlights, massive bookshelves that spanned entire walls packed with a vast collection of both ancient and modern books... and outside the balcony, green planetary landmasses and endless streaks of starlight floated weightlessly in the air without gravity.

"...Is... is this..." Arkar stammered in disbelief, his jaw dropping, "...the room where I'll be kept?"

The royal guard nodded. "It is by the direct command of His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince. From this moment on, this entire Royal East Residence chamber is for you to use as you please."

Utterly dumbfounded, Arkar couldn't contain the suspicion in his heart and asked, "But... aren't I a dangerous prisoner who just emerged from the Time Rift...?"

The two guards looked at each other upon hearing Arkar's question, exchanging a meaningful, subtle smile.

"To be honest, we don't fully understand the intentions of those above us either. However... it is an absolute fact that in his entire life, Crown Prince Khit Kaung has never accommodated a stranger who breached the empire with such grand, royal guest-like luxury before."

Swish——

As the words ended, the large door slid shut once more, plunging the entire chamber back into an absolute silence so deep you could hear a pin drop.

Flustered, Arkar slowly walked over to the giant glass window. The view of the outside world visible through the glass nearly stole the breath from his lungs once again.

High-tech landmasses floated weightlessly in the sky, interconnected with one another. Brilliant silver electric hover-trains glided silently through the air without making a sound. And in the distance... skyscrapers stood so dizzyingly high they seemed to almost touch the stars in the upper heavens.

By now, he understood it with absolute clarity.

This... was absolutely not a fantasy or a dream. It was undeniable that he had truly time-traveled, arriving in a future world three hundred years later.

"Mother..." Arkar murmured softly, unconsciously pressing a hand against his chest. "Father..."

His lips and voice trembled as warm tears began to well up in his eyes.

Three hundred years... This massive span of time had ruthlessly swallowed up not just a person's lifespan, but also his beloved parents, his friends, and everything he had ever owned. A single tear slipped from the corner of Arkar's eye and traced slowly down his cheek.

Yet... he refused to collapse and weep in weakness. For he knew all too well that crying now would bring absolutely nothing back.

Meanwhile... inside the private office of the Crown Prince located at the highest peak of the palace.

Thrill Yan Khit Kaung stared quietly at the hovering, glowing crystal data screen above his large black desk with an unreadable expression.

Displayed upon that screen was Arkar's classified information:

Profile FieldDetails

Name : Arkar Linn Myat

Origin : Unknown

Time : Signature300 Years Ago (Temporal Wave)

Status : No Data Available

Standing behind Khit Kaung, the Royal Advisor, Aldric, broke the tense silence once more.

"Your Highness... we absolutely cannot trust that youth who came from the past. He emerged directly out of the highly dangerous Time Rift. We have no way of knowing what kind of organizations or who might be backing him with intentions to destroy the empire."

Khit Kaung did not reply. A pair of sharp, ash-gray eyes remained fixed upon the data screen.

"Have you investigated the era he spoke of?"

"Yes... it has been investigated, Prince. But what's bizarre is... the year '2178' from three hundred years ago that he mentioned, along with the records of the Royal Grand Library... they truly exist precisely in historical records, Your Highness."

The entire hall fell quiet once more.

Letting out a soft sigh, Khit Kaung closed his eyes. Suddenly, at that very moment, another intense, new vision violently flashed into his mind.

It was the sight of a young man sitting amidst ancient historical books, laughing incredibly brightly. That youth looked at Khit Kaung, his lips moving as he spoke.

"Khit Kaung... books never lie to people..."

"But cold-blooded people... they can lie to the point of making the facts in historical books vanish completely..."

"...!"

Due to the violent shaking within his chest, Khit Kaung instantly snapped his eyes open. The heartbeat beneath his chest was pounding wildly, far faster than normal.

This mysterious voice... this warm smile... why did they feel so deeply familiar all the way to the depths of his heart?

"Your Highness?" Aldric anxiously called out, noticing Khit Kaung's quickened breathing.

"I am fine."

Khit Kaung stood up coldly, adjusting his cloak.

"Where is he now?"

"He is in the chamber of the Imperial East Residence, Your Highness."

After pausing to consider for a moment, Khit Kaung spoke decisively.

"Tonight... late at night... I will personally go see him."

The dark, dense gloom of the midnight hour once again blanketed the entire royal palace.

Although Arkar lay upon the large grand bed, he could not fall asleep at all due to the anxieties weighing on his heart. He got out of bed and sat by the giant glass window, longingly reminiscing about the simple beauty of the moon he used to watch with his parents back in the past world.

Knock... Knock... Knock...

Suddenly, a steady, faint knock echoed from the quiet chamber door.

Startled, Arkar moved with light steps and slowly stood up. Who could possibly be coming to his room at this hour of the night?

With his heart thumping wildly, the moment he slowly opened the heavy door—he saw a tall figure standing imposingly under the electric lights outside, dressed majestically in a long black cloak.

Under the faint moonlight streaming from the window... a pair of alluring yet incredibly cold ash-gray eyes quietly stared down at Arkar.

He was none other than the Crown Prince of the Empire, Thrill Yan Khit Kaung.

"You..." Khit Kaung’s low voice drifted quietly through the air. "Are you still not asleep?"

Arkar froze entirely like a stone statue, utterly dumbfounded.

Why on earth had the great Crown Prince—the one feared and revered by the entire empire, the one said to be so cold-blooded—personally come all the way to his chamber door in the middle of the night...?

Chapter 4 End

Next Chapter — Chapter 5: A Midnight Conversation

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