The Lineage of Heroes

I stood frozen in the garden, my heart pounding in my chest. The sight of King Valen and Queen Isolde standing before me, as clear and real as the day they had both taken me in, sent a whirlwind of emotions surging through me. The garden of Eryndor, the Village of Heroes—the place where my life had started, before everything had changed—surrounded me, as vivid as my own memories. This wasn't a dream. I could feel the soft breeze on my skin, hear the rustling of the leaves in the trees, and the scent of the flowers filled the air. But what shook me to my core was the sight of the two figures I had just buried, now standing before me as though no time had passed at all.

King Valen spoke first, his voice rich and full of the warmth I remembered from my childhood. "Darius," he said softly, and the sound of my real name on his lips stirred something deep within me. "We've always trusted you."

I blinked, my throat tight. "You... you knew?"