Outside the city gates.
"Alert! Imperial forces are attacking from behind!"
The Lumerious troops fell into chaos.
Camesis hissed through clenched teeth: "Damn it! Edgar… he intends to wipe us out!"
From above, the empire's aerial units shouted taunts filled with hostility.
"Lumerious! You have insulted the Empire of Kumeroa. Prepare yourselves to receive our punishment!"
The envoy froze in shock: "Impossible… I sent a letter to his aide!"
"We've been deceived!" Camesis roared: "It was a trap!"
The city gates were sealed shut. The two vanguard squads escorting the envoy were cut off. The Empire of Kumeroa tightened its encirclement.
Kyran grit his teeth, his eyes flashing. He couldn't let everyone be slaughtered like this.
But just as he was about to charge forward, a veil of mist spread across the battlefield. From within it, a man stepped out, the very aide of Emperor Edgar.
He smiled, his voice slick and venomous.
"Why leave in such a hurry? What a pity, you fled the city without even seeking an audience with His Majesty."
The envoy snapped angrily, "You're lying! I formally sent a letter requesting permission Camesis can testify!"
"And so what?"
The aide chuckled, licking his lips, his gaze twisted and deranged.
"Whether you sent it or not… His Majesty would never have agreed."
The sky suddenly darkened. Everyone stared at him in silence, the only sound the wind shrieking through gaps in their armor.
"A clever envoy such as yourself…" he continued mockingly, "…surely you understand what I'm implying, don't you?"
Camesis and the envoy remained silent. The truth was painfully clear, they had fallen into a carefully prepared trap from the very beginning.
"Ever since the envoy refused to hand over the scales of the Flame-Sealing Dragon to Edgar…" Sharian said grimly, "…he's been seeking revenge."
Aria trembled. "Revenge… like this?"
"He might even intend to flay us alive and offer our skins to the dark god he worships."
The air felt ready to explode. Kyran clenched his fists.
"Then we kill them all. I'm not afraid!"
Soren replied firmly: "That's right. We have Lord Lucien's protection, there's nothing to fear from demon-worshipping scum!"
In that moment of chaos, Kyran subtly pressed a hand to his chest, where an important object was hidden, the confidential document that Advisor Lucien had ordered him to retrieve from Kumeroa at all costs.
Soren glanced at him: "You still have it, don't you?"
Kyran nodded slightly, saying nothing.
His thoughts drifted back, three hours earlier, to the moment when everything had begun.
At that time, Kyran, Soren, and Aria had been sneaking through the dark corridors of the imperial palace.
Following the map Lucien had given them, they stopped before a magnificent painting, the Saint Maiden of Illusions, Mirathiel.
"Is this the place?" Aria whispered.
Kyran scanned the hallway. No one else was around. He ran his hand along the frame, searching carefully.
"Here."
He pressed down on a small symbol beneath the silver plaque.
Instantly, the ground beneath them split open. The three fell straight into a pitch-black abyss.
Cold, damp air rushed past them. From deep underground came the sound of wind like the wailing of countless imprisoned souls mixed with the thick, metallic stench of dried blood.
"That smell… it's disgusting!"
"And where exactly… are we?"
They found themselves in a strange, mysterious cavern moldy, slick with moss, crawling with grotesque parasitic growths, and reeking of rot so foul it made their stomachs churn.
Though shaken, Aria, Soren, and Kyran pressed onward, determined to retrieve the secret documents Lucien had entrusted to Kyran.
"From now on, we search for Kumeroa's confidential scroll." Kyran whispered.
"Stay calm, stay silent, no noise from here on out."
Aria and Soren nodded.
Neither of them liked this place, but to help Kyran finish the mission quickly, they had risked their lives to follow him, despite Kyran's earlier insistence that they stay behind.
"Stay here."
"No. We're coming with you."
And that decision had led them to this terrible outcome trapped together in this filthy, nightmarish place.
"But… this place feels strange." Aria murmured, frowning as she looked around. Her voice dropped in the oppressive silence.
"We've been walking for a long time, but there's nothing. Are you sure we're going the right way, Kyran?"
"Yeah…" Soren agreed: "I'm worried this might just be a dead end."
Kyran remained calm, eyes fixed on the tattered, ancient map in his hands.
"This map only leads to Kumeroa's hidden cavern. There's nothing beyond that. The only option now is to feel our way forward, we can't go back."
"Then…" Kyran clenched his fist, his voice resolute.
"We'll have to gamble!"
The three continued through the thick darkness. Time passed, endlessly bleak, until a piercing screech echoed from above.
From the pitch-black void, a swarm of blood-red-eyed bats burst forth, forcing all three into immediate combat stances.
Kyran flung his arm forward, unleashing a blinding bolt of lightning that tore through the darkness.
Soren summoned hundreds of blazing fireballs, illuminating the tunnel in searing light.
Aria, her icy hands raised, conjured a storm of razor-sharp ice spikes that pierced the grotesque creatures.
In moments, the swarm was reduced to ash.
"These disgusting things…" Soren muttered: "Why did they appear all of a sudden?"
"So creepy…" Aria frowned.
Soren shuddered.
Kyran remained silent, eyes heavy with thought. A strange intuition compelled him forward without a word. Aria and Soren hurried after him in alarm.
Half an hour later, a colossal stone gate suddenly appeared before them, three times taller than a normal person. Pale blue light traced ancient patterns across its surface, casting an eerie glow on their faces.
"This is…"
Kyran stepped closer, staring at the strange symbols carved deep into the stone.
"What are these bizarre markings?"
Aria placed a hand on the gate, murmuring softly.
"These… aren't they Kilas script? A language from six thousand years ago."
Kyran was stunned: "You recognize it?"
Aria shook her head: "Not really. I've only seen it in ancient books."
The three exchanged glances, falling silent.
"Then does that mean…" Kyran spoke slowly, "…this cavern has existed for thousands of years?"
"But the Kumeroa Empire is only ten years old," Soren objected. "How could that be?"
Kyran replied calmly, "This place might be a parallel space, separated from the outside world. If that's the case, whoever created it must have made a deal with someone from the Kumeroa royal family."
Soren froze. "You mean… Emperor Edgar I made a pact with the master of this cavern… a demon?"
"Very possible." Kyran lowered his voice, signaling for silence.
Aria touched the gate, a reckless idea forming.
"What if… we try opening it by calling out?"
She took a deep breath and shouted, "Gate! Open!"
… Silence.
The stone gate stood unmoving, as if mocking them.
"It won't be that simple!" Kyran said, narrowing his eyes: "Let's try attacking it."
The three unleashed their power at once lightning, fire, and ice crashed against the gate. The air trembled but nothing else happened.
The gate remained immovable, as though not even the collapse of the world could shake it.
"It's useless…" Soren sighed, lowering his arms.
"Maybe it needs a password?" Aria guessed.
Soren snorted. "You read too many fairy tales. What, gonna say 'Open sesame'?"
"Shut up, idiot!" Aria snapped.
"Well, Mira wasn't wrong Princess, you've gotten pretty sharp-tongued lately." Soren teased with a sly grin.
"Don't tell me you learned that from Lyra?"
"What did you say?! Shut up, you brat!"
"Who are you calling a brat?!"
The two immediately broke into a noisy argument, while Kyran pinched the bridge of his nose, his head about to split. Time was running out, they had to return before nightfall.
Soren continued provoking her: "Princess, with that temper, no man would dare get close. Men like gentle girls, you know."
Aria replied coldly, "Sorry, I don't need men. Love? Let the dogs chew on it!"
The moment those words left her mouth…
The stone gate suddenly swung open.
A completely different world revealed itself beyond the threshold.
All three stood frozen, staring into the unknown.
"…What is this?"