Pov Anna
I knew something suspicious was happening the moment I heard laughter from the courtyard.
Not normal laughter.
The kind that meant Yuvan was definitely involved.
Shou walked beside me, hands tucked calmly behind his back, looking far too dignified for someone who was about to witness chaos. "Prepare yourself," he murmured.
"I'm always prepared," I whispered back.
That was a lie.
The moment we stepped into the open pavilion, I stopped.
Yuvan was sitting cross-legged in the center like a proud emperor — except instead of a throne, he had a baby in his arms. The baby was asleep. Peacefully. Miraculously.
Mong sat beside him, staring with the expression of someone watching a wild animal attempting delicate pottery. And Kiyoshi… Kiyoshi was trying very hard not to laugh.
Yuvan looked up at us with exaggerated seriousness. "Do not breathe loudly."
I blinked. "Why?"
"Because," he said dramatically, adjusting the baby with the carefulness of someone defusing a bomb, "I have achieved something none of you could."
Mong leaned closer to me and whispered, "He means the baby fell asleep by accident."
"It was not an accident," Yuvan hissed. "It was skill."
The baby made the tiniest sound, and all four of us froze.
Even Shou.
Yuvan glared at us as if we had personally betrayed him. "See? Your negative energy."
"My negative energy?" I whispered, offended. "You were singing five minutes ago."
"That was a lullaby."
"That was a war anthem," Kiyoshi said calmly.
I covered my mouth to stop from laughing.
Yuvan narrowed his eyes. "You all doubt me. But look." He tilted his chin proudly. "Sleeping. Because of me."
The baby's head slowly tipped sideways.
Mong gently reached over and fixed it before it flopped completely.
Yuvan gasped. "Do not touch my achievement."
"Your achievement has no neck control," Mong replied.
Shou finally stepped forward, his expression composed but his eyes clearly amused. "May I?" he asked softly.
Yuvan hesitated like a suspicious older brother. "You will not wake the child?"
"I will not."
With surprising gentleness, Shou took the baby into his arms. The movement was smooth, effortless — and the baby didn't stir at all.
Yuvan stared at him.
Mong coughed to hide a grin.
Kiyoshi failed to hide his.
I crossed my arms. "It appears," I said thoughtfully, "that the emperor has been dethroned."
"Traitors," Yuvan muttered.
Shou looked down at the baby, who had now settled even deeper into his chest, perfectly content. "Perhaps," he said calmly, "less war anthem next time."
I couldn't hold it anymore. I laughed — the kind that makes your stomach hurt. The courtyard felt lighter, warmer. For once, no tension. No danger. Just us.
Yuvan pointed at me accusingly. "You laugh now, but when this child grows up and chooses me as favorite—"
"Impossible," Mong interrupted.
Kiyoshi added, "Statistically unlikely."
I stepped closer to Shou, watching the baby's tiny hand curl around his sleeve. Something in my chest softened.
Yuvan sighed dramatically and leaned back. "Fine. I will accept defeat today."
"Today?" I raised an eyebrow.
He smirked. "Tomorrow, I reclaim my throne."
And just like that, laughter filled the air again — loud, unguarded, alive.
For a moment, the world felt peaceful.
---
The laughter from earlier had faded.
Now the air felt different.
Heavier.
We stood beneath the dim lantern light, the silence stretching between us like something fragile and dangerous. The baby had been taken inside. Mong stayed behind. And the four of us remained.
The real conversation was finally here.
"The book is with the Red Witch," Yuvan said first, his usual playfulness gone. His voice carried something sharp now. "And William."
Even saying their names made the night colder.
I crossed my arms, though it did nothing to stop the chill creeping up my spine. "Are we certain?"
Kiyoshi nodded once. "I saw the mark. The red seal. It was hers." His jaw tightened. "And William wouldn't be far. He never moves without purpose."
Shou stood slightly ahead of us, his back straight, gaze fixed on the dark horizon as if he could already see the battlefield waiting. "They want us to come," he said quietly.
A pause.
Yuvan frowned. "You think it's bait?"
"I don't think," Shou replied calmly. "I know."
The wind moved through the trees, sharp and restless.
My heart began to pound. "If it's bait," I said slowly, "then they're expecting all of us."
"Yes," Kiyoshi answered. "And they believe we will hesitate."
Silence.
We all understood what that meant.
The book wasn't just ink and paper. It was the key. The only way back to the world we truly belonged to — the world that had been torn from us.
If we failed…
We would remain here forever.
Yuvan ran a hand through his hair. "The Red Witch won't hand it over easily. She feeds on chaos. And William…" His voice hardened. "He knows our weaknesses."
My stomach twisted.
William knew mine.
Shou turned to face us then. His eyes were steady, but something fierce burned beneath the calm. "We don't split up."
"That's risky," Kiyoshi countered. "If she traps us together—"
"She won't," Shou interrupted. "Because she underestimates unity."
The word echoed.
Unity.
Yuvan let out a slow breath. "We go together. We fight together. And if one falls—"
"No one falls," I said, my voice sharper than I intended.
They all looked at me.
I swallowed, forcing the fear down. "We didn't survive everything just to lose now. That book is ours. That world is ours."
The wind picked up again, almost as if listening.
Kiyoshi stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Anna… if it comes to a choice. The book… or one of us—"
"Don't," I whispered.
The tension snapped tight.
Shou moved then, standing beside me. Not touching. But close enough that I could feel his presence — grounding, steady.
"We all return," he said firmly. "Or none of us do."
Yuvan's lips curved slightly. Not humor. Determination. "That's reckless."
"That's loyalty," Shou replied.
For a moment, no one spoke.
In the distance, thunder rolled across the sky.
The Red Witch.
William.
The book.
Our way home.
Kiyoshi finally exhaled. "We move before dawn. Surprise is our only advantage."
Yuvan nodded. "She'll be waiting in the ruins."
"Let her wait," Shou said softly.
A shiver ran down my spine.
This wasn't just a rescue.
It was a crossing.
And once we stepped into that darkness… there would be no turning back.
The wind howled through the courtyard.
Shou's eyes darkened, steady and unreadable.
"They prepared a trap," he said quietly.
His gaze lifted toward the horizon.
"I prepared a reckoning."
---
Far from the palace, in a place carved from black stone, a circle of red light flickered to life.
Within it, the courtyard appeared.
Anna. Shou. Kiyoshi. Yuvan.
Every word. Every plan.
Watched.
The Red Witch stood before the portal, her fingers lightly grazing the surface of the magic. The image rippled at her touch, distorting Shou's determined face.
"They're coming before dawn," she murmured, amused.
Beside her, William remained still, his eyes fixed on Anna's reflection. "Just as we intended."
A slow smile curved across the Witch's lips. "They think they are choosing this battle."
"They are," William replied quietly. "They just don't know what it costs."
The portal shifted.
Behind them, on a stone altar, the book lay open — crimson threads of magic slowly weaving through its pages, altering something unseen.
The Red Witch's smile deepened.
"Let them come."
The red light flickered out.
And in the sudden darkness, the book pulsed once —
As if it had heard her.
To be continued...