Queen Lucy's breath hitched the moment she saw Liam—his body limp, eyes closed, skin pale. Her heart clenched in her chest, but she didn't move immediately. She couldn't. For a moment, she simply stared, her royal mask barely holding together.
Mystica stepped forward, the glow around her beginning to fade. "He's alive," she said calmly, sensing Lucy's inner turmoil. "Unconscious, but stable. I was able repaired the worst of the damage... but he'll need a few days to fully recover."
Lucy moved swiftly to Liam's side, her composure cracking slightly as she knelt beside him. "What happened down there?" she asked without looking up.
Dove rose from her seat and walked closer as well, her usual casual demeanor gone.
Mystica extended a hand and gently lowered Liam onto a plush nearby couch with a wave of her magic. "It wasn't Gordon who nearly killed him," she said. "It was himself. Well, something inside him."
Lucy's eyes narrowed. "Something inside him?"
"Liam might have an ancient being within him. Something very old." Mystica clarified. "It took control briefly. Its power, aura... everything was immense—far beyond anything natural. Liam's body couldn't hold it for long, and the backlash nearly destroyed him."
Mystica's tone darkened. "And what terrifies me most… is that I don't think it even used one percent of its full strength."
The room fell silent for a moment before Dove slid her hands into the pockes of her lab coat, eyes flicking over Liam's unconscious form. "And Gordon?"
"Restrained," Mystica answered. "He'll wake up in a few hours. I've concealed and restricted him under multiple wards—he won't be going anywhere without our say-so."
Lucy rose slowly, smoothing the folds of her gown, gaze steady. "So this thing inside Liam… what is it?"
Mystica hesitated for a moment before replying. "Honestly, I have no idea. But I intend to find out. What I do know is that it's doesn't seem to be a curse on Liam. It… recognized me. Spoke in ways that made it clear it's been watching. For a long time."
A long silence followed.
Then Lucy looked at Liam again, the faintest trace of warmth softening her features. "And yet, he still fought. Still forced it back."
"He did," Mystica confirmed. "And that's why he's alive."
There was a brief pause before Lucy asked, "There was a presence I felt… something crushing. Heavy. It reached all the way up here. Was it this?"
Mystica looked at her, almost in disbelief. "Definitely. And if you could feel it from all the way up here... that means it broke through the suppressive wards placed over the dungeon."
Lucy turned slowly toward the window, her voice calm but firm. "Then whatever's inside Liam… it's not just any ancient being."
"No," Mystica said quietly. "The only other presence I've felt that was remotely similar… was Galen's."
A smirk curved Lucy's lips, faint but unmistakable. "Indeed."
Dove let out a breath, turning away as she ran a hand through her hair. "So… what now? With Liam. And Gordon."
Lucy didn't answer right away. Her eyes lingered on the horizon, where the last light of dusk melted into the encroaching night.
"With Liam," she began softly, "we keep him here at the palace. One of the underground guest rooms should suffice. He needs to be protected… and cared for. The last thing we want is for him to wake up confused, alone, and potentially unstable."
"I'll handle it," Mystica offered, already moving toward a couch and sinking into it with a quiet sigh. "I don't have anything pressing right now anyway."
'And it's the least I can do,' she thought, guilt gnawing at her, though her expression remained unreadable.
"Thank you, Mystica," Lucy said sincerely. "You've always been reliable."
Mystica waved it off. "Don't mention it."
"With that settled," Lucy continued, turning to Dove, "you can begin your analysis of Gordon. Use him to move forward on the hybrid detection crystal."
"No problem," Dove said with a grin that was far too eager. "Since my primary subject is unconscious, I may as well put the raw materials to use." Her eyes glinted with morbid curiosity as she clearly imagined dissecting Gordon.
Noticing the manic energy building in her, Lucy quickly added, "Don't kill him."
Dove shrugged, her voice casual. "I wasn't planning to."
"You better not," Lucy muttered with a small sigh.
"As for Sylvathar and this entire Gaia crisis," she went on, regaining her composure, "I'll arrange another summit with the other two kingdoms. We need to share what we've discovered and pool our intelligence."
"By 'share,' I assume you mean… the information they need to know?" Mystica asked knowingly.
Lucy smirked. "Naturally. You think I'd lay all our cards on the table?"
Mystica chuckled. "Didn't think so. And I assume you want all the task force members present?"
"Yes. All of them. Including Galen."
Mystica groaned faintly. "Now that's going to be a problem, and you know it."
"I know," Lucy said. "But you have a way to reach him. He can't just keep vanishing whenever he feels like it."
Mystica arched a brow. "You did grant him that privilege."
"Correction," Lucy said, crossing her arms. "He granted himself that privilege."
Before the conversation could spiral into a back-and-forth on Galen's behavior, Dove raised her hand and waved dismissively. "Alright, I'll leave you two to your back-and-forth about the 'vanishing knight.' I've got work to do."
She opened a glowing portal to the dungeon but paused at the threshold. "Oh, and I think I can whip up a temporary, though less efficient, version of the hybrid detection crystal."
"Already?" Mystica asked, surprised.
"Yep. I mean, I still need to take a proper look at Gordon to be sure, but there's a 79.81% chance I can pull it off," Dove replied, tapping her chin thoughtfully.
Lucy blinked. "Well… that's a good—and oddly specific—chance."
Dove snorted. "Specific? Yes. Good? No. That's actually pretty low. But hey, when have I not made magic happen?" With a cocky grin, she stepped into the portal.
"He is under a restriction spell, right?" she called back as she walked.
"Completely bound and warded," Mystica confirmed.
"Perfect," Dove said as the portal closed behind her.
As Dove stepped through the portal and vanished, the room fell into a momentary silence. Then Mystica spoke, her tone thoughtful.
"By the way… Sheila may be safe with Magnus protecting her for now, but with Gordon out of play, don't you think that might raise alarms? Ember might shift her behavior—and worse, Sylvathar could change his approach entirely."
Lucy's gaze remained fixed on the fading horizon. "You raise a fair concern," she said, her voice even, calm with the poise of a ruler. "But in war, especially against enemies who thrive on manipulation, it isn't always wise to act the moment you know something. When the enemy becomes aware you've seen through their plan, restraint can be more powerful than retaliation."
She turned her eyes to Mystica, her tone growing sharper with insight. "By doing nothing, two things tend to happen. Either they panic and rush to build a new plan—clumsily, leaving gaps and loopholes in their haste. Or… they remain arrogant, committed to the same course. They dare us to stop them. That's the message: 'You can't stop what's coming.'"
She paused, her voice lowering with gravity. "Demons are known for arrogance. But Sylvathar… he's different. Records describe him as the wisest among the Demon Lords. Calculated. Patient. He may see through even our silence."
Mystica nodded slowly. "You're right, but even the strategies you described rely on us having some clear lead. And right now, what we have is… barely a thread."
Lucy gave a small nod of agreement. "Vague, yes. But not useless. If Ember is still stationed at the academy after all this, I'll have Wyjin tail her—quietly. We have to make use of every opportunity, no matter how small."
"Very well," Mystica said as she rose. With a motion of her hand, Liam's unconscious form lifted gently into the air, cradled by her telekinetic magic. She opened a portal with a flick of her fingers. "I'll take him to the guest chamber."
"Thank you," Lucy said, her voice carrying the weight of unspoken trust. "Try to reach Magnus for an update on Sheila. And Galen, too, if you can."
"I'll try my best," Mystica replied as she stepped through the portal. Her voice faded just as it sealed behind her.
Now alone in the quiet of her chamber, Queen Lucy allowed herself to finally exhale. Her posture loosened as she sank into one of the couches, the flickering candlelight casting shadows across the walls.
"It's been a long day," she whispered to herself.
Her eyes softened, drifting toward the ceiling as if speaking to a presence beyond. "I almost wish you were here, Father. You'd know what to do. You always did."
Her words trailed off into silence as her eyelids slowly began to close, weariness finally claiming her.