Chapter 67: Finding Hero
Just before Azeal met Isabel.
In another place. It was prison of Elaris City.
The prison was dark and cold.
The walls were built from black stone, and iron-bracketed lamps lined the corridors, throwing just enough dim light to see by. On either side of the narrow pathway, thick black bars stood silent and still. The air smelled of damp stone and something older than that.
Click.
Click.
Footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Duchess Aeliana walked at an even pace, her expression composed and unreadable as always. Beside her walked Leon, one of the senior knights of House Ignivar. A man in his late twenties, broad-shouldered and disciplined, who had learned long ago to match her pace exactly and speak only when spoken to.
They stopped in front of one particular cell.
Inside, slumped against the far wall, was the old man. His body was battered. His right leg ended just below the knee, the wound cleanly sealed but not kindly. He stared at the floor with hollow eyes and said nothing.
A guard stationed outside the cell straightened immediately and bowed his head as Aeliana approached.
She gave a brief nod.
"Has he said anything?" she asked. "About his organization. Their plans in this city. Their next move."
The guard shook his head. "I apologize, Lady Aeliana. Despite everything we’ve put him through, he won’t speak. Not a word about them. He doesn’t seem afraid of pain or death."
Aeliana was quiet for a moment.
"They never are," she said. "It doesn’t matter what method you use. None of them talk."
She looked at the old man through the bars. He didn’t look back.
"What should we do with him?" Leon asked from beside her.
She exhaled slowly through her nose.
"Keep him here for now. If he gives us nothing in the next few weeks, then there’s no reason to keep feeding him." Her voice carried no particular cruelty. Just practicality. "No use wasting resources."
"Understood."
The guard hesitated for just a moment before speaking again. "Lady Aeliana... forgive me, but I had heard that members of this organization carry a self-destruction spell inscribed on their bodies. That they detonate before allowing capture." He paused. "How did you manage to take him alive?"
Aeliana turned and began walking back toward the exit.
"Because I knew about it," she said flatly. "That’s precisely why we’ve never been able to capture anyone from their bases before. They all died before we could reach them. The spell activates the moment someone attempts to restrain them." She didn’t slow her pace. "I suppressed it before it could trigger. Don’t mistake that for something surprising."
Leon fell into step beside her.
"Of course," he said quickly. "My apologies if the question sounded doubtful."
"It didn’t. Don’t worry about it." She moved through the corridor toward the light at the far end. "How is Azael? Did he come to the training hall today?"
"He did," Leon said. "He trained with Lady Arista this morning. And it appears he has broken through to the Red Core."
Aeliana’s steps slowed.
Only for a moment.
Then she continued walking.
"That’s good news," she said quietly. Something in her voice was difficult to place. Not quite warm, but close to it. "I should go see him. Congratulate him properly."
"Also," Leon added carefully, "a letter arrived for you. From Her Highness the Empress."
A short silence.
Then Aeliana sighed.
It was a very specific kind of sigh. The kind that had been refined through years of practice into something that communicated a full paragraph in a single breath.
"I’m aware of it," she said. "You don’t need to remind me. She’s my sister. She can wait." She moved through the corridor without looking at him. "She has a perfectly functional communication device and she refuses to use it. Instead she sends letters, as if that makes whatever she wants to say feel more important." She paused. "It never is. It’s always rambling."
Leon wisely said nothing.
"Anyway. Let’s go." She stepped into the light. "I want to see Azael."
’And I do need to read that letter eventually,’ she thought to herself, privately. ’What does she want this time.’
---
Somewhere far beyond the borders of Elaris City, in a place with no name on any common map, a hall waited in silence.
It was a large room held up by thick stone pillars that stretched toward a vaulted ceiling lost in shadow. In the center stood a round table, wide enough that the people seated at it could not have easily reached across it. Around it sat a ring of figures, each wearing a dark hood that fell low over their faces, hiding their features completely.
All except one.
At the head of the table sat a man whose face was visible.
He was old. His hair had gone entirely white, not from choice but from years. His eyes were a cold and steady gray that moved slowly around the table as he spoke, landing on each hooded figure in turn.
"A minor incident occurred in Elaris City," he said. His voice was unhurried. Even. "Four survivors from our organization’s small base in that city, they were who cause this. From accounts gathered by our people in the surrounding area, it appears a masked individual, dressed in black, was involved." He paused. "Three of our members were killed."
No one spoke.
"In itself this is not significant," he continued. "Small numbers of our people are lost. It happens." He rested his hands on the table. "What interested me was the nature of the fire used by this masked individual. Purple flames. A single attack was enough to eliminate each of them."
He let that sit for a moment.
"I have never come across flames of that color in any record I have studied. Nor have I heard about them.Has anyone here encountered anything similar?"
Silence moved around the table.
One by one, the hooded figures answered. None of them knew. None of them had heard of it either.
"No, I have never heard about it."
"It’s my first time hearing."
"To think such flames exist. Marvelous."
The old man nodded slowly.
"Then look into it when you are able quietly." He moved on without dwelling on it. "Now. To the matter that concerns us most."
He straightened slightly in his seat.
"As you are all aware, the time is approaching. The prophecy of this era is about to move forward. Somewhere, a hero is going to be chosen. We do not know who they are or where they currently are. But we will find them." His gray eyes swept the table. "Continue your searches. Cast wide nets."
He paused.
"Eternum Academy opens its doors in two months. A new intake of students from across the continent. It is entirely possible our target will be among them. Have people positioned there."
Another brief silence.
"Regarding the Saintess. She was chosen years ago, as you know. But she remains inside the Holy Kingdom under heavy protection. Any attempt to reach her there would be costly and likely unsuccessful. Leave her for now."
He leaned back.
"The hero, however, is our priority." He looked around the table one final time. His voice did not rise. It didn’t need to.
"We cannot allow the hero to live." He remained silent and the spoke further.
"So we will search for him. Before holy kingdom would find him."
"""Yess!!"""
Everyone said in unison.
"Good."
The man leaned back agaisnt his chair with cold expression.