Nana slowly knelt back down to slide the journal back into the dark shadow beneath the desk, intending to leave it exactly where Ban had dropped it. But as her fingers brushed the weathered leather of the back cover, her hand froze.
There was something else. Embedded into the very lining of the back binding was a hidden detail. Nana lifted the book just an inch closer to the dim light, her eyes focusing on it.
Suddenly, the breath caught completely in her throat. Her eyes widened in pure, unadulterated shock, her grip tightening on the leather.
LOCATION:NAI CONTINENT
Thousands of miles away, on the grand continent of Nai, the atmosphere inside the royal council hall was thick enough to choke. The air was heavy with the political ambitions and hidden agendas of the rulers gathered within.
Standing before the long rows of seated kings was Sho. He didn't wear the rigid, tense posture of the guards, nor did he care for the suffocating formalities of the court. He stood entirely at ease, looking over the rulers of the continent as if they were nothing more than passing scenery.
"Well," Sho said, breaking the silence with a casual wave of his hand. "It is time for me to go."
The kings shifted, murmurs breaking out across the hall, but Sho didn't give them a chance to protest. He took a few slow steps toward the massive, sunlit exit, stopping just on the threshold. He glanced back over his shoulder, a sharp, knowing smirk playing on his lips.
Suddenly, his blue irises brightened with a brilliant, piercing intensity. The stark sunlight fell perfectly across his face, illuminating the lethal certainty in his gaze.
"You are free to do what you like," Sho murmured, his voice cutting through the murmurs like a blade. "But mind you... The chance of you coming back home is only ten percent. If i am folowed.And I will make sure of it."
Before a single king could rise or demand an explanation, the space around Sho violently rippled. With a sharp snap, he vanished into thin air, leaving the royal hall in stunned, terrified silence.
An instant later, the air fractured high above the clouds.
Sho materialized out of nothingness, floating effortlessly in the sky directly in front of Elya's massive, drifting floating castle. He didn't waste a second. Looking at the grand structure, Sho lazily raised his right hand, his fingers curling slightly.
The fabric of reality groaned. A visible tremor ran through the atmosphere as the space surrounding the entire fortress began to fold and invert. Within a heartbeat, Sho placed the entire castle safely between space itself—isolating it completely from the coordinates of the outside world, locking it away in its own private hyperspace.
With the defense secure, Sho walked forward, passing through the solid stone outer walls as if they were made of mist.
In the quiet bedroom, Elya sat on the edge of the mattress. His chest had finally stopped heaving, but the heavy, psychological toll of his consciousness-dream still lingered in his eyes. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to force his mind back into its usual, logical rhythm.
The space in the center of the room twisted, and Sho casually stepped out of the rift.
Elya didn't jump. He just looked up, his expression shifting into the calm, familiar gaze one reserved for an old friend. To anyone else, Sho was a terrifying force of nature; to Elya, he was just Sho.
Sho took one look at Elya's pale complexion and the cold sweat still glistening on his forehead. His casual demeanor tightened just a fraction.
"What happened to you?" Sho asked directly, crossing his arms.
Before Elya could even open his mouth to analyze the nightmare, the heavy oak bedroom door flew open with a loud bang.
"Elya! Look what I got!"
Mira came bursting into the room without even a thought of knocking, her face bright with an innocent smile. Right on her heels was Puma. The massive animal trotted into the bedroom with an almost prideful air, carefully balancing a large, steaming tray of freshly prepared food perfectly across his broad back.
Elya immediately adjusted his posture, smoothing his features into his usual calm, unbothered expression. He didn't want a single trace of his nightmare or his exhaustion showing on his face.
"Mira," Elya said, his voice level and analytical, trying to sound completely normal. "You should know better than to rush into a room without knocking."
But Mira didn't care about his logic. She was far too perceptive. The moment she got close to the bed, her sharp eyes caught the slight paleness of his skin and the faint, cold sweat still lingering near his hairline. Without a word, she dropped her energetic bounce, reached for the thick blanket at the foot of his bed, and carefully wrapped it around his shoulders, tucking him in tightly.
"You look cold," she stated matter-of-factly, climbing onto the edge of the mattress.
Before he could protest, she reached over to the tray on Puma's back, picked up a spoon, and scooped up a generous portion of the steaming food.
"You missed all the drama," Mira bubbled, her face lighting up as she held the spoon right in front of his face, waiting for him to take a bite. "I decided to cook alone with Puma today. It was an absolute disaster! Puma tried to help by fetching the vegetables, but he ended up knocking over an entire sack of flour. He looked like a giant, fluffy ghost! And then, when I wasn't looking, he tried to eat the raw meat straight off the cutting board!"
Elya stared at the spoon in front of him. He was a feared male witch, a master of complex phenomenon-based abilities, and an individual capable of restructuring reality—yet he was completely powerless against a little girl holding a spoon. Defeated, he leaned forward and took the bite.
Mira beamed, instantly scooping up another spoonful while continuing her chaotic kitchen tale.
But as Elya chewed, looking at her bright, innocent eyes and her carefree laughter, a sudden, cold echo rippled through his mind.
> "Because of your crusade... that little girl knows no true stillness. She lives in the shadow of your violence... Mira does not have peace."
The White Figure's words struck him like a physical blade to the chest. He looked at her small hands, her fragile frame, and a heavy, suffocating guilt tightened in his throat. Was he really the monster dragging her into an absolute abyss? Was her peace just an illusion he was destined to destroy? He swallowed the food, forcing the painful thoughts down into the darkest corners of his mind, choosing instead to just focus on the warmth of the blanket around him.
Over in the corner of the bedroom, Sho slid down the wall, sitting comfortably on the floor with his legs crossed.
Puma, realizing his duty as a waiter was over, trotted across the room and flopped his massive, heavy body down right next to Sho. Sho didn't mind at all. A soft, genuine smile crossed his face as he reached out, his fingers buried deep in the animal's thick fur, lazily scratching behind Puma's ears. The giant beast let out a low, content rumble.
A soft creak broke the quiet rhythm of the room.
The bedroom door pushed open a bit further, and Alexia, Ban, and Lin stepped into the threshold, originally coming to check on Elya after his sudden collapse.
They all stopped in their tracks.
The sight before them was entirely absurd, yet profoundly beautiful. There sat the cold, calculated Lord of the castle, wrapped in a blanket like a child, being dutifully fed by a little girl, while the terrifyingly powerful Sho was on the floor giving scratches to a massive animal.
None of them said a word. They didn't want to break the magic of the moment. Alexia crossed her arms, leaning against the doorframe, while Ban and Lin stood beside her. As they watched Mira talk Elya's ear off, a warm, genuine smile spread across every single one of their faces.