When Karel was on his way to his daughter's office, he thought about how to escape from those who would pursue her, for he knew he was doomed to be considered a traitor, because, according to humanity and all the races of the Mira continent, what he had done—annoying one of the dragons and entering its territory—was considered treason, even if he held a noble identity, and his end would be painful. He also remembered that he had left his own mercenaries on the island.
But after some thought, he didn't care. The gem he had used could transport at most five people, but he was not going to do that. Even if he could take them with him, he was confident they would betray him before he even tried to escape out of fear of the dragon. Therefore, he didn't think much about it and focused on how to escape and hide from the pursuit that would come after him.
When he reached his daughter's office, he entered it quickly. Inside the office, his daughter was focused, working on a few important papers. But when she heard the door open, she lost her concentration and became angry at the way someone had entered without permission. However, when she saw him, she fell silent, astonished, and said:
"Father? Is that you? Aren't you supposed to be on one of the fallen islands with the mercenaries?"
Karel didn't listen to her words; he said firmly:
"Quickly, bring your daughter to us and get ready; we are going north immediately."
His daughter was surprised by his words, but she understood from his tone that something important and dangerous had happened. She said:
"Yes, Father, I will bring her to us and get ready carefully."
She quickly left the office, without asking what the dangerous matter was that required fleeing north, for she understood from her father's tone that they did not have enough time to discuss it.
When Karel saw his daughter quickly follow his orders without knowing anything, he nodded slightly and went himself to his room quickly.
When he entered his room, he went near the bed and moved a stone in the wall of his room, and a secret door leading to a hidden room inside his room opened.
He entered it, bypassing all the traps he had made himself, and finally reached a place inside the room that contained nothing but an old-looking chest.
When Karel saw the chest, he smiled broadly and took out the vial he had, containing the last element for the Dark Heart, and opened the chest. When he saw what was inside, his smile widened even more; inside was a heart beating weakly. It was the Dark Heart he had created after years of research. When he saw it, he was astonished that it was still beating even after all these years, even though it was not yet complete.
Thinking of that, he quickly opened the vial and carefully poured the last component onto the heart. When the blood of the living dragon poured onto the heart, the heart absorbed every drop of the spilled blood. When the last drop from the vial poured and was absorbed by the heart, the heart turned a deep black and its beat became strong. When Karel felt and saw the changes taking place, he was extremely happy and smiled, saying to himself: All those years and the risks endured were worth it.
But after that, he came back to reality and remembered the impending disaster. He closed the chest and carried it with him out of the secret room, cautious and thinking about where he would hide. He already knew a hiding place; he had made it in case what he did with Zeus was discovered and it was revealed that he was the one carrying out the orders. But he had not imagined that after all these years he would need to use it. In fact, he had almost forgotten that he had built that place, but he thought of it as hope for himself and his family to escape the pursuit that would chase them.
He hurried out of the palace and saw his son with his granddaughter, Elina. When he saw her, he smiled at her, for she was a reminder of his late wife; every time he saw her, he remembered his beloved wife. When Elina saw her grandfather coming and smiling at her, she was extremely happy, for she had thought she would not see him for several months. She said to him:
"Grandpa, will you take me and Dad on the trip?"
When she said that, Karel came out of his focus, was surprised, and looked at his daughter to explain, and when he saw his son's expression, he knew he had lied to Elina so she would come with them quickly.
He smiled at her and knelt, rubbing her hair, and said:
"Yes, my little one, we will go on a long trip, you, your father, and I, but no servants or guards will come with us; this trip is a family trip."
Elina was very happy when she heard her grandfather's words and spoke quickly:
"Are we going on a family trip together, Grandpa?"
Her grandfather nodded, smiling, and said:
"Yes, we will go to a far place in the north; there we will live for some time, my little one."
Elina spoke happily and excitedly:
"Will you live with us there, Grandpa?"
Karel said to her:
"Yes, my little one, I will live with you there."
As soon as she heard that, she grabbed her grandfather's arm and said:
"Then let's go, come on, Grandpa, let's go there."
Karel laughed when he saw her so excited to go there, but his expression quickly became serious. He stood up and said to his son:
"Go to the place we built a few years ago, my son; I will catch up with you soon."
When he said that, he approached him and said to his daughter:
"In my absence, take care of Elina, trust no one, and do not go anywhere except where I told you."
When he said that, he turned to his granddaughter and said to her:
"Elina, go now with your father; I will catch up with you soon, agreed?"
Elina was sad that her grandfather would not go with them and said:
"Can't you come with us, Grandpa?"
Karel smiled at her and said:
"Don't worry, my little one, I will catch up with you as quickly as possible. The important thing is to listen to your father, okay?"
Elina said:
"Okay, Grandpa, I will be a good girl."
Karel laughed and rubbed her hair before leaving, but he paused for a moment, turned to his daughter, and gave him a chest, saying:
"Take this chest, keep it safe; it is our hope to survive the storm that will face us."
When his son saw the chest and sensed what was inside, he looked at his father in terror and said:
"Did you find the last component, Father?"
Karel looked at him briefly and turned to leave, but left one sentence:
"This is our last hope to ascend, my son."
Karel left. After he said his sentence, his son stood there, stunned, until his daughter said:
"Dad, are you okay? Shall we go to the place Grandpa said?"
When he heard her say that, he came out of his thoughts, looked at her for a moment, held her, and tried to smile, saying:
"Yes, my daughter, let's go on our journey."
Elina smiled when she heard him, unaware that the coming few months would be the worst months of her life, and she did not know that her entire life would change during those months.