Ashes and Answers
In a flash, the Black Joker vanished.
The hero collapsed briefly to his knees — the weight of magic rattling his bones — but quickly stood and grabbed the princess’s hand.
“Run. Now!”
They raced down the steps, vanishing into the smoke.
Elsewhere, across the island, the Black Joker reappeared before each cursed clown. One by one. Room by room. They were separated — just as he liked it.
To each one, he said barely a word. “You always talked too much,” he grinned, before ending them in flashes of dark fire.
And with each soul erased, he moved faster… deadlier… until only one clown remained.
“I should’ve ended you centuries ago,” he growled. “Your fake rules. Your false peace. And your laughable betrayal.”
He chuckled darkly. “I had to tolerate your idiocy for ages. That was the real curse.”
And then — silence.
Back at the palace ruins, the hero and princess approached what remained of the royal courtyard.
“Find your father,” he told her gently. “Don’t worry. My friend, the Black Joker, will eliminate every threat left on this island.”
She nodded and ran. He turned and entered the stable part of the castle — searching for something… something important.
The princess found her father’s body beneath collapsed stone. She cried endlessly. Whispered apologies. Laid against him… and wept until she slept.
She awoke not in ash — but in a warm bed. Blankets tucked around her. A quiet house. The scent of bread in the air.
A kind old woman entered the room. “Finally, you're awake, my dear.”
She smiled. “I didn’t want to serve breakfast until you woke up. Now go wash your face — join me for breakfast before my son returns and eats everything!”
The princess sat up, stunned. “Where… where am I?”
The woman chuckled. “You’re safe. My son brought you here last night.”
The door opened — and the hero stepped in. “My princess… finally.”
She ran to him and embraced him tightly. “You’re all I have left in this world.”
Later, over breakfast, he told her everything — how the Black Joker had destroyed the clowns, how peace might finally return.
But then, he added, “It’s time to return to your palace.”
She agreed. And together, they left.
At the castle gate, the Black Joker awaited them. Cold. Calm. Changed.
“The throne now belongs to me,” he declared. “The strongest deserves to rule.”
The hero blinked. “You promised to save the island — not to seize it.”
The Joker smirked. “Promises are for the weak. And she… is the king’s daughter. I should kill her. But for you — I’ll let her live.”
“On one condition: You disappear. Both of you. I never see you again.”
Defeated, they turned away. The hero took her hand and walked in silence.
“We’re just… running again?” she whispered. “Why didn’t you say anything? That throne should be ours.”
He said nothing. Just walked. Until —
BOOM!
The remaining palace exploded. Smoke rose. And from the sky — the Joker’s lifeless body fell at their feet.
She gasped. “What… happened? Did you…?”
He looked at her. “That’s why I said nothing.”
He explained: While she searched for her father, and the Joker hunted his enemies, he had entered the castle. Planted explosives. Timed them. And held the trigger in his hand, hidden all along.
“After all I’ve been through,” he said, “I learned to trust no one — and prepare for everything.”
“Every friend… could be an enemy. And every enemy… could be an opportunity.”
Later, word spread: The rappers were arrested — their link to Ameni’s death finally exposed. The princess had connected the dots. The motive. The cover-up. The lies.
But the hero? He didn’t care anymore.
He sat at the dinner table — his mother on one side, his wife on the other. Smiling. Eating. Laughing.
And for the first time in a long time… he was home.