"I watched everything," Isolde said, and this time her voice hardened. "Every decree. Every punishment. Every decision made in my name."
The frost beneath her feet thinned, melting slightly under the subtle heat of her returning vitality.
"I felt the fear in my people. I felt their hatred. And I could do nothing."
Silence stretched between them, heavy and honest. Then her eyes sharpened.
"But because of that, I learned."
Duke tilted his head slightly, interest flickering beneath his calm exterior.
"I learned how she thought," Isolde continued. "How Invaders think. They do not rush destruction. They infiltrate. They destabilize. They redirect authority."
"And what do they want?" Duke asked quietly.
Isolde did not hesitate.
"The world core."
The words echoed faintly within the ice dome.
"Not to destroy it," she clarified. "To claim it. To anchor themselves permanently. To overwrite this world's laws from the inside."
Her gaze shifted to Bruce.
