Ch-3: The Cursed Lake

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Ch-3: The Cursed Lake 🌑💦

The next night came with heavy clouds and restless wind. The air around the palace felt uneasy — as if even the stars refused to shine upon what was about to happen.

Prince Elion had no clue of his brothers’ dark plan. He smiled as usual, soft and innocent, his voice gentle like music. Riven and Cael watched him, pretending warmth, hiding the poison in their hearts.

> “Brother,” Cael said sweetly, “Let’s go for a walk tonight. The moonlight near the lake is beautiful.”

Elion smiled. “You two finally want to spend time with me? That’s rare.”

They laughed together, but the laughter was hollow — filled with lies.

The three brothers walked toward the Cursed Lake, a forbidden place near the edge of Elaron forest. The legend said the lake once held a fallen spirit — a soul that devoured memories and twisted minds. But that night, Riven and Cael didn’t believe in legends. They only believed in jealousy.

The water shimmered faintly, dark and silver under the moon. Frogs croaked. The wind whispered secrets.

Elion turned to his brothers, his eyes shining like the stars that had returned to look at him one last time.

> “It’s peaceful here,” he said softly.

Cael’s voice was cold.

> “Yes. Peaceful… and quiet.”

Before Elion could react, they pushed him.

A sudden scream.

A splash.

The lake swallowed him whole.

The water burned cold like knives. Elion’s arms flailed, his breath escaped. The curse awakened — a black mist curling beneath the waves, wrapping around his body. His memories flashed before his eyes — the palace, the king, his brothers — and then shattered into nothing.

When the water stilled, silence returned.

Riven fell to his knees, trembling. “What have we done…”

But Cael grabbed his arm. “No one must know. We’ll tell the king he was attacked… eaten by beasts. Do you understand?”

Riven nodded weakly, tears mixing with the night rain.

Back at the palace, they lied.

> “Father,” Cael said, voice cracking with false sorrow, “Elion is gone. We found his robe torn near the woods… blood everywhere. An animal must have taken him.”

The king’s cry echoed through the hall. Servants wept. The bells rang in mourning.

But deep within the cursed lake — Elion was not dead.

He rose slowly from the black water at dawn, his body weak, his eyes wide and empty. The world around him felt strange — like a dream he couldn’t remember.

He looked at his reflection — a beautiful face he didn’t recognize.

> “Who… am I?” he whispered.

His voice trembled like that of a lost child. His mind — blank, pure, confused. The curse had stolen everything: his memories, his grace, his past.

He wandered barefoot through the forest, smiling at butterflies, laughing at the sound of water, his behavior like that of a child reborn.

The once-perfect prince of Elaron was now a lost soul — forgotten, broken, and innocent again.

And far away, in the palace of lies, his brothers celebrated their victory, never knowing that the lake had only taken his memory, not his life.

The curse had just begun.

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