CHAPTER XVI
"Shadows of Loyalty and the Hidden Conversation"
My journey had begun.
And yet… I still didn't know who I was truly searching for.
But one thing—I was certain of.
Whoever becomes the cause of my death…
I must destroy them before they destroy me.
---
Somewhere in Crimson Cove…
"Flash," I said in a low, commanding voice, "make sure that when I speak to Olivia, neither Celeste nor Aurelia is around. I need them away from her, understand?"
Flash perked up, instantly alert. "Understood, Princess. You can count on me."
But then he paused, hesitating for a breath.
"There's something I must say," he continued. "If you were truly a prince… I would have asked you to marry Cel."
My head snapped toward him, caught off guard by the absurdity—no, the audacity—of his words.
"What?" I asked, my tone sharp, barely hiding the anger curling at the edge of my control.
Flash didn't back down. "She's good for you. She might be the only one who could destroy the darkness inside you. Who could teach you what light truly means."
A bitter laugh escaped me—dry and cold.
"Flash," I said with a dangerous calm, "if you weren't my childhood friend… I would have sentenced you to death right now just for saying that."
His ears folded back in submission, but his eyes—those loyal, brave eyes—never flinched.
"You're my Princess… my Your Highness," he said softly. "Whatever punishment you decide, I'll accept it. But it is still my duty… to speak for your well-being."
His honesty struck something deep within me—something I wasn't ready to face yet.
So I turned away.
"Fine," I said coldly, brushing past him. "Just do as I asked. No more speeches. No more opinions."
Flash bowed respectfully. "As you wish, Princess."
And with that, he turned and took off, his focus now set on guiding Cel away—just as I had asked.
He wouldn't fail.
He never did.
But as I watched him disappear around the corridor, a shadow of guilt crept into my chest. Flash… always loyal. Always brave.
Too brave, maybe—for someone like me.
And yet, deep down… I knew his words came not from disrespect—
—but from love.
The kind of love that doesn't beg for attention.
But protects from the shadows.
Even when it hurts.
Even when it risks everything.
And as the wind shifted through the Crimson towers above me, I whispered to myself the one truth I feared most:
If Celeste ever finds out the real reason I need to speak to Olivia alone…
She'll never forgive me.
And I'm not sure I'll forgive myself either.
"Hidden Keys and Ancient Truths"
I summoned Olivia in secret, away from the others—away from curious ears and lingering eyes. There was no room for guesses anymore. We needed certainty.
She arrived quickly, her expression already laced with concern. Perhaps she sensed the urgency in my tone when I'd called for her. She always did.
As soon as she stepped into the moonlit corridor, I turned to her and asked directly, "Olivia… what do you think? The two of them—Celeste and Aurelia—do you have any idea what form their keys might have taken?"
She took a moment to think, her gaze dropping as she folded her arms thoughtfully. "Cael… it's not easy to say. These keys… they don't always appear as keys. They could be anything—an object, a memory, a word. Magic like this… it's ancient. It hides in plain sight."
I frowned. "So we have no way of knowing which form the key took for each of them?"
She looked up at me, eyes full of quiet wisdom. "Not until something reveals it. And until then, I think you'll have to use ancient magic."
I blinked. "Ancient magic?"
She nodded. "The kind that predates even the Mother Fairy's court. You remember it, don't you? That magic doesn't work on pure souls. It simply passes over them, like water over glass."
Realization began to dawn.
"If I cast the spell," I murmured slowly, "we'll know immediately which one of them carries the purest soul… and therefore, which one the prophecy warns me about."
Olivia met my gaze with a rare steadiness. "Exactly. Once you know which Princess holds the pure soul, everything else will fall into place. The rest… well, you already know what needs to be done."
I nodded, the weight of her words sinking into my bones like iron.
"Yes," I whispered. "I know."
And in truth, I did.
I knew that discovering which Princess carried the pure soul wouldn't just tell me who held the key to the first house—it would tell me who might become the very thing I feared most…
…the one who brings about my end.
Olivia turned to leave, her voice soft. "Be careful, Cael. You're not the only one searching for answers."
I watched her go, heart thudding with a thousand thoughts.
Soon, I would cast the spell.
Soon, I would know the truth.
And once I did… nothing would ever be the same again.
"The Price of Power, the Weight of Destiny"
(Caelum's Inner Thoughts)
My magic no longer works on Cel.
No matter how many spells I cast… how many incantations I whisper… something in her resists me. And now, I know what it is.
Her soul — it's too pure.
So pure that it bends the very laws of magic… bends me.
Somewhere, in some hidden corner of this broken realm, her soul is pulling me — trying to change me. Trying to reshape what I am. And maybe, a part of me… the part I keep buried… wants to let it. But I can't. I won't.
To let myself be changed by someone else — to fall under their influence — is to abandon everything I've fought for.
Everything I've bled for.
This isn't a love story.
This is war.
And in war, you eliminate threats — no matter what form they take.
Even if that threat has golden eyes and a voice that stirs something warm inside you. Even if that threat makes you feel more alive than all your stolen powers combined.
Cel must die.
Because the deeper I fall under her light… the more I lose sight of my darkness. And my darkness is my mission. My promise. My revenge.
She must die…
So that I don't forget who I am.
And when I end her life, I will do it in front of the God Devil himself.
Yes — I will offer her soul at the feet of the one being who can grant me what even the Mother Fairy cannot: limitless power.
That is the only place fitting for this sacrifice — under his crimson eyes, beneath his altar of ruin.
If I slay Cel before him, I will inherit something no one in Fairyland has ever possessed — not the queens, not the witches, not even the ancient lords of sky and shadow.
I will gain the power to burn this entire realm to ash.
Mother Fairy. Her sacred throne. Her delusions of balance and peace.
Fairyland will be no more.
And when this world is nothing but ruins beneath my boots… I will cross into the human realm.
There, I will spread the truth — or rather, the terror — of what lies beyond their simple lives. The truth of the war that sings beneath their skies. The truth of me.
I will be a storm no world can contain.
Not fairy.
Not mortal.
Not divine.
Just Caelum —
The one who tore down heaven and replaced it with flame.
And when it's over…
When I hold every realm in the palm of my hand…
They will remember her —
Cel, the girl with the pure soul…
…only as the last light
that tried to stop me.
And failed.
To be continue....