Nyx lunged after Honest, his voice strained with desperation. "Honest, wait!"
Honest didn't spare him a glance. Each step he took was faster, more purposeful than the last, his silhouette cutting a sharp figure against the dim hallway.
"Paradox!" Nyx roared.
The name acted like a physical barrier. Honest froze midway up the staircase. Nyx stood at the base, looking up at his grandson, who finally turned to meet his gaze. The warmth that once resided in Honest's eyes had vanished, replaced by a chilling clarity.
"Grandfather was right," Honest said, his voice eerily calm. "My affection has become a boomerang, and it has finally swung back to strike me."
Nyx felt his breath catch. Those were his own words—the warning he had whispered before their pilgrimage to the graves—now sharpened and hurled back at him like a blade. Without another word, Honest resumed his climb.
"This cannot happen," Nyx whispered to the empty air. He scrambled up the stairs, reaching out to grab Honest's hand, but the younger man wrenched his arm away with a violent jerk.
"Honest, listen to your grandfather!" Nyx pleaded, trailing behind.
Honest remained deaf to his cries. He reached Serenity's door and threw it open without a knock. Inside, Serenity gasped, her entire body locking up at the sight of her brother's intrusion.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound of Honest's slow, rhythmic applause echoed hollowly in the room.
"My dear sister," Honest said. His voice wasn't just cold; it was the sound of ice splintering. "I warned you countless times—with kindness and with rage—but my words were nothing more than a breeze to you, weren't they?"
Serenity's eyes widened, her hands beginning to tremble visibly. Nyx rushed in, grabbing Honest's arm with all his strength. "Calm yourself! Think of what you're doing!"
Honest glanced at the hand on his arm as if it were a minor inconvenience, then turned his piercing gaze back to Serenity. She tried to steady herself, forced a bitter, trembling smile onto her face, and met his fury head-on.
"Serenity! Apologize to him! Now!" Nyx cried out, his voice cracking with panic.
But Serenity simply turned her face away, choosing a deafening silence.
Honest's expression shifted. He smiled, but it was a jagged, terrifying thing that made the hair on Nyx's neck stand up.
"I, Honest Peacecraft, the Law of Contradiction—"
Serenity's fingers curled once—then went still. Her smile softened into one of tragic acceptance as she slowly closed her eyes. Honest's pupils dilated for a fraction of a second, but his hand did not shake.
"Stop it!" Nyx screamed.
Honest did not falter. "For the time that once flowed with you. For the space that was taken from you. Let meaning be erased."
The air in the room seemed to vanish. Serenity staggered, her knees buckling as her consciousness slipped away. Nyx dived forward, catching her just before she hit the floor.
"Honest! You've lost your mind!" Nyx roared, his face flushed with fury. "You've crossed the line!" And realized, too late, that the line had been drawn by him long ago.
"To punish her without the Council's judgment... this is madness..."
"And what of the girl you are holding?" Honest replied, his voice devoid of any emotion. "Has she not already stepped across every line that matters?"
Nyx's mouth hung open, the retort dying in his throat. Honest turned on his heel and walked out. Left in the silence, Nyx began to shake, his tears dripping onto Serenity's pale cheeks.
"Why is this bloodline cursed with such tragedy?" he whispered, clutching her small frame to his chest. "Why did you choose to break yourself like this, Serenity?"
***
Honest marched toward the guest quarters where Ashil and Vashil were stationed. Ashil was standing guard outside the room; the moment he caught sight of Honest, his posture stiffened and he bowed his head in a frantic rush. His skin turned ashen, and a bead of cold sweat traced a path down his temple.
"Call Vashil," Honest commanded, his voice clipped and flat.
"Y-yes, Young Master," Ashil stammered.
He vanished inside and reappeared seconds later with Vashil in tow. They stood side-by-side before Honest, who had turned his back to them to stare out the window at the darkening horizon.
"How may we serve you, Young Master?" they asked, their voices overlapped—not from habit, but reflex.
"Find Rhea."
Ashil and Vashil traded a quick, bewildered glance.
"P-pardon us, Young Master... but what do you mean?" Vashil asked, his voice trembling as he stepped onto dangerous ground.
Honest didn't turn around. "Are your ears merely for decoration, Vashil?"
The temperature in the room seemed to drop. "I—I beg your forgiveness!" Vashil dropped into a deep bow.
"Please, forgive him, Young Master," Ashil added, bowing just as low. "Your order is clear. We are to find Rhea."
Honest remained silent for a long, suffocating moment before finally speaking. "Stand straight."
The two men snapped to attention like soldiers.
"Ashil Eosvile. Vashil Eosvile. I order you to capture Rhea. Use this Orb to track her location."
Honest pressed a sphere into Ashil's hand. Ashil looked down at it; it was a haunting thing—clear, colorless, and feeling unnervingly hollow.
"Understood!" they barked.
"Go to Master Haze immediately. He will recognize the Orb's purpose the moment he sees it."
"Ashil Eosvile! Order received!"
"Vashil Eosvile! Order acknowledged!"
Without another word or a backward glance, Honest swept out of the room. Only after his footsteps faded did Ashil and Vashil allow themselves to breathe.
"Vashil... what did Rhea do?" Ashil whispered, his voice shaky. "To warrant this?"
"Why ask me? You had the chance to ask the Young Master yourself," Vashil snapped, though his own hands were still trembling.
"Do you want me dead? You saw the look in his eyes."
Vashil let out a long, ragged exhale. "Fine. Are we moving?"
"Yes. I don't want to be anywhere near this estate while the Young Master is in this state," Ashil muttered. They gathered their gear and vanished into the night, heading toward Master Haze's domain.
***
Back in Serenity's room, Nyx had finished laying her gently upon the silken sheets. He didn't hear the door open—Honest simply walked in, bypassing all etiquette.
"That is rude!" Nyx snapped, his grief turning into sharp irritation.
"Better than pretending innocence," Honest replied.
The words hit Nyx with the force of a physical blow. His chest tightened, making every breath a struggle. As Honest approached the bed, Nyx stepped forward, shielding Serenity.
"Don't touch her! You have no right after what you've done!"
"I am her brother," Honest said, his voice immovable.
"And I am her grandfather!"
Honest offered a faint, ghostly smile. "Do you truly want Father to come here and claim her himself?"
The mention of Avalon acted like a gag. Nyx fell silent, his shoulders sagging as he reluctantly stepped aside. Honest reached down and lifted Serenity's limp form with surprising grace, carrying her as one might carry a porcelain doll.
"Please open a portal to Peaceraft Manor, Grandfather."
With a heavy heart and trembling hands, Nyx tore a rift in space. "Thank you, Grandfather," Honest said softly.
Nyx could only clench his fists, watching in helpless silence as his grandchildren slipped further into a darkness he could no longer reach.
***
At the Peaceraft Manor, Avalon stood waiting in the grand hall. He watched Honest approach with Serenity in his arms, his eyes scanning his son with a predatory calm.
"So," Avalon said, his voice smooth as silk. "You've finally stopped playing the role of the doting older brother?"
Honest walked past him, treating his father's presence as if it were mere shadow.
"Do you think you're clever, boy? A good child for doing this?" Avalon taunted.
Honest paused for a heartbeat, cast a cold, sideways glance at Avalon, and then continued toward the private wing without uttering a single word. Avalon watched him go, a slow, satisfied smile spreading across his face.
"Exactly as calculated," Avalon mused. He looked out at the dusk sky—now a bruised purple—and returned to his office, the pieces of his game finally falling into place.
***
Meanwhile, miles away in the Syntax—amidst the jagged crater of Vellion City—Lian gasped as a searing heat erupted in his palm.
"What is this? The symbol?"
The octagonal mark on his skin pulsed with a violent, bluish-white radiance that suddenly flared, flooding the crater and forcing Ron and Nox to shield their eyes.
"Lian! What's happening?!" Nox yelled over the hum of energy.
"Serenity?" Lian blurted, the name clinging to his tongue like an instinct.
"Serenity? The World Observer?" Ron asked, squinting against the glare.
"Yes," Lian managed, his voice strained.
The light vanished, taking the certainty of Serenity's presence with it, only to implode and reveal a woman standing before them as they opened their eyes.
Rhea stood before Lian, her expression a fragile mask of composure over a deep, lingering sadness. She looked at Lian and bowed with effortless grace.
"Allow me to introduce myself," she said, her voice like a calm spring. "I am Rhea Edelweiss, The Connection—loyal attendant to Lady Serenity and Master Leuliang."
Her beauty was startling; her eyes, clear and vibrant as polished peridots, seemed to catch the remaining light. The three men stood paralyzed, as if struck by lightning in the middle of a wasteland.
"Huh?" Lian breathed.
"Master?" Ron gaped.
Nox stood frozen, his mouth hanging open, while beside him, Outer let out a low, wary growl.
Rhea let out a soft, melodic laugh. "Please, be at ease. I have been sent by Miss Serenity to serve Master Leuliang."
To be continued…