Thorn's slow, mocking claps echoed through the throne room like knives on stone.
"Well done," he said, voice like poisoned silk. "You've impressed me. Why don't you join me?"
Sylvia stepped forward, eyes sharp. "We're not interested in cages-no matter how pretty you paint them."
Thorn tilted his head, almost amused. "I expected as much from you, Nature Princess. But I was speaking to him."
He turned his gaze to Arson.
"With order, Prince of Flames, you can gain more territory than you ever dreamed of. No more mindless burning-calculated expansion. Obedience brings power."
Arson's brow twitched. The idea of conquering more territory? That lit something inside him. But...
He hated how Thorn said it. Like he knew what was best for Arson. Like he was the one shaping the path.
Arson's pride flared like an erupting volcano.
"I don't need your lectures," he growled. "I decide everything. I conquer. And I never follow orders."
Thorn smirked as if that answer had been written in stone.
"Exactly what I expected," he said, turning away with a scoff. "It's why I considered Glacius a better candidate. Cold. Calculated. Disciplined. Not some blazing brat screaming at the world."
Sylvia's eyes narrowed.
"But unfortunately," Thorn continued, "our dear Fairy Princess Peggy ruined that alliance. Her naivety got in the way. As always."
He turned back to Arson, eyes glinting darkly. "You Magma Tribe are universally hated - selfish pride, unchecked ambition, always burning without building. No one wants to ally with you. You're not feared - just tolerated... for now."
He smiled coldly. "And when the time comes... when you die, no one will mourn. The world will exhale."
Arson's rage exploded. That was too much.
"You bastard!" he roared, erupting with violent flames as he hurled himself at Thorn with unrelenting fury.
But Thorn didn't even blink.
With an elegant motion of his black, shadowy wings, he soared upward, evading with unnatural grace-and then slammed Arson into the stone wall with a wing strike so powerful it sent cracks splintering through the castle's foundation.
Sylvia gasped as Arson tumbled across the floor, coughing smoke.
Still burning with fury, Arson launched again-his flames now a blinding inferno-but Thorn twisted mid-air, narrowly dodging the wild onslaught, and tapped Arson's chest with two fingers as he passed.
In that moment, black energy surged through Arson's body.
A cursed symbol burned into his skin, glowing dark with corruption.
Arson stumbled, breath stolen, a searing pain radiating from the mark. His flames flickered, then burst out wildly in all directions-out of control.
Sylvia cried out, running toward him.
Thorn hovered midair, wings spread wide, eyes cold and gleaming.
"I gave you a gift," he whispered. "The Curse of Obedience. Let's see how long your pride survives that."
Arson dropped to one knee, the curse mark burning like molten iron on his chest. Black energy pulsed from it, spreading through his veins like poison.
He clenched his teeth, trembling.
"Obey," a voice whispered in his mind - Thorn's voice, echoing like a commandment from a higher plane.
The more he tried to fight it, the stronger it got. His body twitched. His flames stuttered. Inside his mind, the illusion grew more vivid: every other tribe uniting, ganging up against him. Nature, Aqua, Sand, Fairy, even Ice - all of them mocking him. He saw himself burned, broken, abandoned.
"They all hate you."
"You're alone."
"They never respected you - they only feared your fire until it cooled."
Arson's vision blurred as he saw versions of his past-moments he had dismissed. Now they mocked him. The whispers of tribal leaders. .
And then... silence.
His body finally froze, standing still as his resistance collapsed under the curse's weight.
"Arson!!" Sylvia cried out, rushing toward him.
But it was too late.
Thorn descended with a slow, graceful flap of his shadowy black wings, curling them around Arson like a cocoon of darkness. Arson vanished inside them.
Sylvia shouted, hurling her vines and thorns toward the wings - but Thorn raised a single hand, and a powerful barrier of fairy magic deflected her strikes.
Thorn's voice echoed through the throne room, low and hypnotic.
"Under me, your fire will never be quenched. With order, you will rise beyond this world. I will help you decimate every tribe... wipe out all enemies... until none remain. You will never be alone again, Arson. You will rule."
The darkness from Thorn's wings crept in like ink in water, consuming the fire prince's mind.
Sylvia watched helplessly, fists clenched, heart pounding.
Then - the wings unfolded.
Arson stepped out.
But something was wrong.
His eyes... were dark. Emotionless. Cold. His stance was rigid, like a puppet held by invisible strings. The curse mark still glowed - now embedded like a royal seal of corruption.
Thorn smiled, triumphant. "To bring about our reign of terror," he said, "your first target... is her."
Sylvia's eyes widened. "What?"
Arson took a step forward. His hand flared with corrupted flame.
For a moment - just a moment - he hesitated. His fingers twitched.
But Thorn's dominant magic surged through him again, erasing doubt.
Arson's gaze sharpened.
He charged at Sylvia.
Fire blazed.
The battle between destruction and balance had become tragically real.