They entered the city at dawn, cloaked and hooded.
Despite the pulse of energy the night before, Etheria's streets were unchanged—too unchanged. Merchants smiled, nobles passed in gilded carriages, and banners of the royal crest waved proudly in the wind.
Kaela glanced around. "No panic. No whispers. It's like no one even noticed."
"They didn't," Haruto muttered. "Whatever that was, it was meant for us."
Lucien's gaze swept the rooftops. "Or the man on the tower."
Haruto nodded. "He was a Seer. Or... something worse."
They made their way through the lower district, avoiding attention. Kaela led them to a hidden stairwell beneath an abandoned chapel.
"The safehouse is through here," she said, pushing open a rusted gate.
Inside, dust and silence greeted them. Lucien lit a torch, revealing old maps nailed to the walls—routes through the palace, underground cisterns, hidden exits. This was once a rebel post.
Haruto studied a faded blueprint of the throne room. "We need to reach her. Ask her what she knows."
Kaela pulled off her gloves. "And if she lies?"
Haruto didn't look up. "Then we expose her truth to all of Etheria."
Just as he said that, the torch flickered.
Lucien stepped back. "That wasn't wind."
A voice echoed from the stairwell. Calm. Familiar.
"Still playing the hero, Haruto?"
The trio turned—blades drawn.
There, standing in the doorway, was a man in silver armor, his black hair tied back, a golden emblem gleaming on his chest.
Haruto's eyes widened. "General Rhys?"
The former commander of Etheria's army. Haruto's mentor. The man who'd been executed two years ago.
Rhys smiled faintly. "They never told you what really happened in the war… did they?
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Author's Note
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Every 10 power stone = 5 chapter