Elisia immediately ran down the corridor toward Kael, her steps quick and uneven, Mira struggling to keep up behind her. The doors to the study room swung open just as Elisia reached them, and she froze.
Inside, Kael stood beside a long desk covered in open scrolls, while Miyako faced him, mid-lesson. The air was quiet, scholarly, undisturbed, until Elisia's sudden entrance broke it.
Miyako turned first. The moment her eyes fell on Elisia, recognition flashed across her face. She straightened immediately and inclined her head in a formal bow. "Your Highness," she greeted respectfully.
Elisia, still catching her breath, returned the gesture out of instinct despite the panic tightening her chest. "Hi " she replied, her voice steady even as her hands trembled slightly at her sides.
Kael, however, was already watching her closely. He stepped forward, his expression sharpening as he noticed the fear in her eyes. "Elisia," he said quietly, "what's wrong?"
She didn't waste time. "The Book of Guidance," she said, her voice low but urgent. "There's something wrong with it. I found things that shouldn't be there."
Miyako stiffened instantly. "The Book of Guidance?" she repeated, shock clear in her tone. Her gaze snapped to Elisia. "How did you come into possession of the first recorded version, the one created for the goddess Eirene?"
Before Elisia could answer, hurried footsteps echoed from the hall. Mira stumbled into the room behind her, bent over slightly, breathing hard. "She—she ran too fast," Mira panted, straightening slowly. "Elisia isn't meant to have the book."
All eyes turned to her.
Mira drew a steady breath. "I was a recorder," she said. "That book was never meant to stay with anyone."
Kael frowned. "Recorder?"
"Yes," Mira replied. "Before I arrived, there was no Book of Guidance at all. Only oral prayers, healer traditions, village rituals, and quiet blessings—passed down by word of mouth."
She continued, her voice firm. "Eirene refused permanence. Her core belief was simple: Mercy must be lived , not obeyed. She didn't forbid recording—but she forbade authority."
Miyako said nothing, listening intently.
"I was chosen to observe, to witness, to write," Mira went on. "What I recorded was never meant to become doctrine. It wasn't a book." She paused. "It was a temporal divine log."
Kael's brows drew together. "So it was a divine journal," he said slowly, "meant to be returned… sealed… or erased later?"
Mira nodded. "Yes."
Miyako's eyes widened the moment she saw the aged leather cover, the faintly glowing sigils tracing along its spine. Without a word, she stepped forward, taking the book gently from Elisia's hands. Her fingers trembled slightly as she opened it, her eyes scanning the delicate text, scrolling through each page with a careful, almost reverent precision. The room felt colder somehow, shadows stretching longer across the study, and the faint scent of old parchment seemed to thicken the air with tension.
Kael's gaze flicked between Elisia and Miyako. His brow furrowed.
"Elisia… what exactly is wrong? Why did you bring this here?" he asked, his voice low and measured, though a hint of urgency threaded through it.
Elisia's hands gripped the edge of the desk, her knuckles white. She swallowed, her eyes darting briefly toward Miyako, who was still absorbed in the pages.
"It's… the book," she began quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's been edited. The words feel incomplete. Look at the margins, they aren't clean. There are faint traces of text that have been erased. Something—or someone—has altered it."
Kael's chest tightened.
"Altered?" he echoed. "How… why?"
Elisia nodded, her expression taut.
"It's because of the massacre," she said. "The tiny village. Houses burned. People killed." Her grip on the desk tightened. "The records are showing it now, but it wasn't meant to be seen yet."
Kael stiffened. His eyes widened slightly.
"Wait," he said slowly. "What massacre?" His voice carried clear disbelief. "I didn't hear about any of this."
Elisia exhaled, steadying herself before continuing.
"A small village in Dawnvake. In Crystalspure, the capital of Lyria," she said. "It happened recently. The people… the homes… all gone." Her gaze hardened. "The book is reaching that event now. Showing things it shouldn't yet. Whoever altered the entries didn't want it fully known."
She paused, then added carefully,
"And because Mira is still with the book, the system controlling the recordings, under the guise of the goddess Seraphina, hasn't noticed it yet."
Kael's jaw tightened.
"And if they do?" he asked quietly.
"They'll come for us," Elisia said without hesitation. "Because our existence alone makes us anomalies. Living ones."
Kael felt his jaw clench, a cold dread pooling in his stomach.
"For… us?" His voice was barely audible. "Why… why would they come after us?" His eyes flicked to the book Miyako held, the glow of the sigils reflecting faintly on her face.
Elisia's gaze hardened.
"Because… our very existence. All of us here… we are anomalies. Living anomalies. That alone makes us a threat."
Kael's fingers clenched, mind racing to process everything. The weight of the revelation pressed on him, the room seeming smaller, the shadows stretching longer. He didn't fully understand it yet, but one thing was crystal clear: danger was already coming for them, and their lives were no longer just about completing the system.
And then his thoughts snapped to Lyra. A sudden, sharp panic surged through him. The realization hit him: if the system, or whoever manipulated these records, knew what they now knew, Lyra was in far greater danger than he had ever imagined. Every second they delayed in reaching her could cost her life. The urgency clawed at him, cold and insistent. He had to find her. He had to protect her. There was no more time to hesitate.
Miyako continued scrolling through the book, her eyes narrowing slightly, tension coiling in her posture. The quiet click of the pages, the faint rustle of paper, was the only sound in the room, yet it roared in Kael's ears. Each line she passed, each word she lingered on, seemed to whisper warnings he couldn't yet fully grasp. The air hummed with something unspoken, a dangerous current of power and knowledge, and the three of them sat in uneasy silence, the weight of the unseen threat pressing down from every corner.
Elisia exhaled sharply, her chest rising and falling with a mixture of fear and resolve.
"Kael… we have to be careful. They… they'll come if they notice what we've uncovered." Her gaze flicked toward Miyako again, who did not look up, eyes glued to the book as if searching for clues hidden between the lines.
Kael's mind worked frantically, trying to calculate, to predict, to understand. He knew this was more than just saving Lyra now, even if it didn't make sense at the moment. But now he understood how grave the danger really was, and how critical it was to act quickly. Whatever this was… whatever this book, this system, this massacre meant… it was bigger than any of them had realized. And Lyra's life was already hanging in the balance.
...........
Rin slowly blinked awake, her vision blurred. She wasn't in her room. Cold stone walls surrounded her, the air thick with the scent of damp metal and something sharp, a faint copper tang lingering. She tried to move, but her body felt like lead. Every muscle ached, her mana completely drained. Panic fluttered in her chest.
Through the transparent glass in front of her, she saw Sayaka speaking to a tall, imposing figure. Rin strained her ears, but the glass blocked all sound. She couldn't make out a single word, only the back of Sayaka's hair moving as she gestured slightly. Her heart thumped painfully. *Where am I? How did I get here?*
A calm, chilling voice broke through the oppressive silence. "You were drugged in your sleep. Every ounce of mana you could have… taken. Weakness is now your reality. You are here so that anything you know, anything about Kael, will be… released."
Rin's breath hitched, her throat dry. "I… I won't…" she croaked, her voice trembling. Her fingers twitched, trying to summon even a flicker of magic, but nothing came. Her eyes darted around the room, taking in the cold instruments and strange devices. *How did I end up here?*
The priest appeared out of nowhere, his hands clasped behind his back, circling her slowly. Each step echoed like a drumbeat, sending chills down her spine. "You look unwell," he said softly, almost mockingly, "but worry not. You will be treated… for the purpose of extraction." His voice carried a strange, measured calm.
Rin's eyes flickered to him, then to the faint glow in the distance where Kael might have been. She wondered silently if they even realized who he was. *Do they know he's a prince? Would they care?* she thought, her heart hammering. She kept her gaze low, careful not to provoke the towering figure.
The door creaked, and Sayaka entered, her presence startling yet strangely composed. She offered a faint, almost professional smile. "If you cooperate… I will be gentle," she said softly but firmly. Her green eyes studied Rin like a hawk sizing up its prey. "I know about Elisia. She was part of your raid. Very important to them. They need her back."
Rin tried to gather her thoughts, confusion clouding her mind. "W-what do you mean? Elisia…?" she stammered weakly, leaning back against the wall for support.
Sayaka's lips curved slightly, unbothered by Rin's weak tone. "Elisia has had her commands overridden by foreign interference," she continued, her voice calm but sharp. "They still hold some control over her, but we want her returned."
Rin's brow furrowed, her head swimming with questions, but before she could speak, the chamber shuddered violently, a sudden breach in the system sending a shockwave through the stone walls. Sayaka cursed under her breath and bolted for the door, priest moving behind her like a shadow.
Rin seized the opportunity. Her legs wobbled, but adrenaline surged through her. "I… I have to get out!" she gasped, pushing herself up. She stumbled into the corridor, clutching her stomach, the echo of her own footsteps a loud drum in her ears.
The hallways were empty, eerily silent. Rin forced herself to move faster, heart pounding. *I can't let them catch me… I can't…* she thought. Finally, she burst into a narrow road outside, the cold air stinging her lungs. She took in the unfamiliar city street, shivering and exhausted but free, for the moment.
Her eyes caught a young lady ahead, startled by Rin's sudden appearance. "Please… I need to reach the Kingdom of Devon. Take me to Devon Castle," Rin gasped, collapsing slightly into her arms.
The young lady's face softened with pity at Rin's frail condition. "You're… barely standing. Don't worry, I'll help you," she said, her voice calm but urgent. Without hesitation, she lifted Rin into a wooden wagon she had just purchased. Rin's lips trembled as she weakly asked, "Please ....could… could you give me a cover cloth?"
The lady quickly nodded, draping it over Rin and adjusting her to lie down more comfortably. Rin clutched it around herself, pulling it over her shoulders, relief washing over her briefly.
Back inside the chambers, Sayaka settled onto a rolling chair, the priest standing behind her like a dark shadow. She turned slightly, voice cool and calculating. "Did they plant the tracking spell on Rin?"
The priest's lips curved into a sinister smile. "Of course." He leaned slightly forward, savoring the plan's perfection.
Sayaka mirrored his smile, eyes glinting with satisfaction. "Everything went smoothly. Just as we intended."
Together, they watched the plans unfold with chilling precision, oblivious to the fact that their prey was already slipping through their fingers.
.......
Lyra sat by the narrow stream, her fingers idly dipping into the water she had just bathed in. The surface rippled gently around her hand, cool and grounding, as if the stream itself was anchoring her to this unfamiliar world. She remained there for a moment longer than necessary, breathing slowly, trying to steady herself.
When she finally moved to stand, her body protested faintly. She lifted her arms and began to clean her hair, water dripping down her shoulders, her movements sluggish but careful.
Then.....
A sharp, blaring sound shattered the quiet.
Lyra froze mid-motion.
Her heart lurched as she immediately looked up, instincts screaming. Behind her, suspended in the air, a translucent screen flickered into existence, lines of light stabilizing, symbols aligning.
Her system.
Her eyes widened in shock. "No way…" she whispered under her breath.
She turned fully toward it, staring as if afraid it might vanish. Her hand rose and tapped the screen.
It responded instantly.
Smooth. Responsive. Fully intact.
Her breath grew shallow as realization set in. Everything was still there. The interface. The layout. The familiar glow. It didn't make sense, none of it did. She was in another world. This place shouldn't have allowed this.
Confusion warred with urgency as her fingers moved quickly across the screen. She didn't think. She didn't hesitate.
She searched for one name.
Kael.
The moment she attempted to connect—
ACCESS DENIED.
REASON: TARGET IS A MORTAL FROM A DIFFERENT WORLD.
Lyra sucked in a sharp breath. "What…?"
Her hand trembled slightly before curling into a fist. Frustration flickered across her face, but she forced herself to calm down. Panicking wouldn't help.
She pulled up her status window instead, eyes scanning every line carefully.
Everything was the same.
Her stats hadn't changed. Her abilities remained exactly as they had been when she was still a spirit. Her power hadn't diminished.
Then her gaze stopped.
A new line pulsed faintly at the bottom of the screen, glowing with quiet significance.
CONDITION UNLOCK:
Reach Level 50 Mhae to gain permission for communication with the outside world.
Lyra stared at it in silence.
Slowly, understanding settled in. "So that's it…" she murmured.
Her grip tightened with resolve.
Without wasting another second, she activated her system magic.
Power surged through her instantly.
A deep crimson aura bloomed around her, spilling outward before flowing back into her body, threading through her veins like something reclaimed rather than borrowed. The sensation was familiar—warm, potent, alive.
She inhaled sharply, grounding herself, then turned toward a wooden branch lying nearby.
Raising her hand, she focused.
Mana gathered.
The branch snapped cleanly in half.
Lyra blinked, staring at the broken wood as the system chimed softly.
ZEAL INCREASED.
A faint, breathless smile touched her lips.
She wasn't as weak as she had been before.
Not anymore.
Her expression hardened as determination settled deep in her chest. Whatever this world was, whatever rules it imposed, she would learn them, or break them.
She needed to get stronger.
She needed to leave this place.
And more than anything....
She needed to find Kael.