In the royal capital of Leyndell, the Erdtree's radiance seemed more dazzling than ever, yet it also left certain shadows nowhere to hide.
Deep within the palace of Marika, the Eternal Queen, the atmosphere was delicate.
News of the queen's latest pregnancy had spread throughout Leyndell. It should have been joyous news worthy of celebration across the nation.
Yet the Crucible Knights attending her keenly noticed the fleeting gravity in the queen's expression.
After an audience, Ordovis, chief of the Crucible Knights, walked silently through the palace corridors with Devonia.
"Our god... seems troubled," Ordovis broke the silence, his voice low.
They were warriors who had followed Godfrey from the very beginning, elevated by bathing in the power of the Aspects of the Crucible. Their loyalty to their king and god was etched into their bones, and their perceptions far surpassed those of ordinary people.
"So is our king," Devonia added, recalling her recent sparring session with King Godfrey.
The king remained as bold as ever, his fighting spirit high and his strength as immense as before.
Yet beneath those sweeping, forceful attacks, Devonia had faintly sensed an unfamiliar heaviness and hidden concern.
"My king, why are you so troubled?" Ordovis murmured toward the depths of the Royal Palace, as though questioning an unseen presence.
"Tell us. We shall always be your fiercest blades."
But neither king nor god offered any words.
Not long afterward, a "prophecy" that shook Leyndell, and might even shake the entire Lands Between, quietly slipped from a Prophet's lips. It was swiftly suppressed, but its contents could no longer be concealed:
"Kindling shall soon accompany ruin and ignite a great fire."
The Prophet was immediately condemned for the ominous prophecy.
Burning the Erdtree? It was simply unthinkable!
...Burning the Erdtree was the most primordial of