Chapter 351 - Likeness
Leon couldn’t quite place it, but there was something about the air here. A presence that felt dense and watchful. The more he tried to focus on it, the more it seemed to deepen, like the lingering tension of a held breath stretched too long.
The architecture and markings carved into the stone walls were undeniably Zuverian. That much he recognised. Which meant he was likely inside Beld Thylelion. But where, exactly, was the question.
And how he’d gotten here.
When he was first assigned to the contingent deployed to Beld Thylelion, he’d known little beyond the mage towers’ insistence that the ruins could prove vital to the empire’s safety. But when the ancient site emerged from Lake Rellaria, revealing the massive platform—followed closely by the ominous appearance of the Undead Council’s floating citadel—Leon had grasped the true gravity of the situation. The attacks that began soon after only reinforced it.
Still, he couldn’t say he understood the full scope of what was happening, or what specifically was at stake. Some had mentioned a relic known as the Tribute of Dominion. Others whispered about ancient Zuverian techniques and long-lost artifacts that could tip the balance of power in the empire’s favour against the Rising Isle. Leon wasn’t sure how much stock to place in the latter. Even if there were such secrets, the empire wouldn’t be the only ones seeking them, considering the Isle itself was involved.
Ultimately, though, speculations like those weren’t his concern. As a knight sworn to His Majesty and as vice-captain of the Imperial Solar Knights, Leon’s duties were clear. He was to follow orders and protect the empire from harm. And if those more versed in Beld Thylelion warned that something inside could become catastrophic in the wrong hands, then his mission was just as clear — make sure it didn’t.
He had prepared for the expedition. Consulted with the accompanying wizards, reviewed formations, ensured his knights were sharp. Half the Solar Knights marched under his command, and they were working with high-ranked Shielders, three arch wizards and their mages, and even a Quorum deacon with priests and acolytes in tow. A formidable force, by any measure.
So what had gone wrong?
He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to sort through the frayed threads of memory. The last few days had blurred into a single mesh of chaos. One of his final clear recollections was being called to counter another of the Council’s feints. An attack that turned out to be largely irrelevant in hindsight.
And after that…
Something had happened. He remembered a…tremor, maybe? Had Beld Thylelion reacted? He seemed to recall the Undead Council’s citadel acting in response to something.
His thoughts broke off as a faint glimmer caught his eye. Delicate, almost ephemeral threads of golden light flickered in the air, weaving in and out of view before he could track them. They weren’t part of his aura or the steady illumination of the Mantle of the Egis that cloaked him. And they had no discernible source. Strangely, they seemed to bend the light around them, warping it.