The grand corridors of the Celestial Palace hummed with a tense, watchful silence. Sunlight filtered through towering arched windows, casting long golden beams across floors of polished star-veined marble. Yet even in this place of light and celestial beauty, shadows seemed to cling more stubbornly than before.

Lumina walked slowly through the east wing, her steps measured and graceful. The black silk blindfold remained firmly in place over her silver eyes, a deliberate choice.

To the servants, guards, and nobles who bowed as she passed, she still appeared as the blind princess they had always known, fragile, dependent, perhaps even pitiable. Only she knew the truth.

The blindfold was now a weapon. A mask. It allowed her to observe everything while others underestimated her.

Her long black-and-crimson gown whispered against the marble with every step, the fabric echoing the fierce Drakonis colors she had claimed during her coronation. The crown of Celestial rested lightly on her brow, its moonstone pulsing faintly in rhythm with her heartbeat.

A soft footfall approached from behind.

"Your Highness," Stella’s voice called out respectfully as she hurried forward, a sealed scroll in her hands. "A message arrived through the shadow channels

Lumina stopped near a balcony overlooking the inner gardens. She extended her hand without turning. Stella placed the scroll in her palm and stepped back discreetly.

Lumina unfurled it with deliberate care. Though her eyes were covered, her enhanced senses and regained power allowed her to "read" the words woven into the parchment. The message was short, written in a bold, familiar hand.

"Someone is here pretending to be you, relax I will handle it hope your ascension went well?"

A slow, dangerous smile curved Lumina’s lips beneath the blindfold.

"Interesting," she murmured. She rolled the scroll tightly and slipped it into the hidden pocket of her gown.

"Thank you, Stella. You may go."

As she bowed and retreated, Lumina stood for a long moment, fingers tracing the edge of the blindfold. The game had grown far more delicious. She can’t help but wonder who has the mind to decide to play games with him that way.

She turned and made her way toward the lower levels of the palace, descending spiraling stairs that grew colder and darker with every step. Torches flickered in iron sconces, casting wavering light on damp stone walls. The air grew thick with the scent of mildew, old blood, and despair.

It was a royal dungeon.

Two elite guards bowed deeply as she approached the reinforced obsidian door of the deepest cell. With a flick of her fingers, the heavy locks disengaged on their own. The door swung open with a low groan.

Inside, chained to the far wall with celestial manacles that suppressed most, sat Queen Mirey.

The woman looked nothing like the elegant, venomous queen who once ruled the palace alongside Ryker.

Her once-lustrous dark hair hung in greasy strands around a gaunt face. Her fine robes were torn and soiled. Yet her eyes still burned with furious hatred as she looked up at her visitor.

Mireya’s lips curled into a sneer. "Well, well. If it isn’t the precious blind princess. Come to gloat?"

Lumina stepped inside, the door sealing shut behind her with a heavy thud. She tilted her head slightly, studying her stepmother through the blindfold.

"You seem... uncomfortable," Lumina said calmly.

"Uncomfortable?" Mireya laughed bitterly, rattling her chains. "I should have been killed! If only your father had listened to me instead of keeping that ridiculous soft spot for you. I told him again and again you were a threat. An abomination that needed to be erased completely. I should have finished the job myself years ago!"

Her voice rose, echoing off the stone walls. Spittle flew from her lips as rage consumed her.

"I would have been furious if I were him. You should be dead! Instead, here you are, parading around as Crown Princess. How dare you.."

Mireya suddenly smiled, a cruel, vicious smile that twisted her features.

"But don’t worry, little princess. I still have ways. When I get out of here, I will shoot something straight at that pathetic husband of yours. A little gift of he will never see coming. Just like I planned before—"

"Save your breath, Mireya," Lumina interrupted, her voice cold and cutting.

She took another step closer, the hem of her dark gown brushing the filthy floor. Even blindfolded, her presence filled the cell with overwhelming power. Silver energy crackled faintly at the edges of the blindfold.

"Your daughter will soon come and see you," Lumina continued, almost conversationally. "She will look into your eyes and understand exactly what kind of woman raised her. What kind of monster you truly are."

Mireya froze for a second, then let out a harsh, mocking laugh.

"My daughter? What have you done to my daughter!" she yelled out in frustration.

Lumina raised one hand. The laughter choked off instantly as invisible threads of will wrapped around Mireya’s throat not enough to kill, but enough to silence and squeeze.

The stepmother’s eyes bulged. She clawed uselessly at her neck.

"You talk too much," Lumina said softly. "Always have. Plotting behind my mother’s back. Poisoning my father’s mind against me. Whispering lies in the dark. You helped kill my real mother.."

She leaned closer, lowering her voice to a deadly whisper.

"But I am no longer that helpless girl."The pressure around Mireya’s throat eased just enough for her to gasp for air.

Lumina straightened, regal and terrifying in her black-and-red gown. "My father is already under my control. The Celestial Realm bends to my will now. And you... you will rot here until I decide your fate. Perhaps I will let your daughter watch when the time comes. Ops... I just can’t promise if it will be her or her lifeless body." she teased.

"You runt! Don’t you dare hurt my daughter! I will make you pay if you touch a hair on her."

Mireya glared up at her with pure loathing, but there was a new flicker of fear in her eyes.

"Hmmm... let’s see then."

"You think you have won?" she rasped. "The old powers will never allow an enchantress to sit on the throne. The Three Sages... they will come for you." Lumina smiled beneath the blindfold.

"Let them come."

She turned gracefully toward the door. As it opened, she paused one last time.

"Enjoy the darkness, Stepmother. It suits you."

The heavy door slammed shut, cutting off Mireya’s furious screams.