My Taboo Harem System

Denzel ran his fingers along the shelves.

Wood.

Stone.

Dust.

Nothing.

He moved to the next one and shoved it aside.

It barely moved.

The Knight tried the shelf beside it.

Nothing.

"Maybe there really isn’t another exit," she said.

"There is."

"You’re very confident for someone currently trapped in a room."

Denzel ignored her.

His eyes moved across the chamber.

The books.

The sealed boxes.

The metal instruments.

The circular platform.

The walls.

The floor.

Everything had been built with a purpose.

Which meant the room had been designed to do something.

And rooms designed for something usually had a way in and a way out.

Unless the person who built it had been an idiot.

Denzel didn’t think whoever created this place had been an idiot.

He stepped toward the stone platform.

The old woman watched him.

"What are you doing?"

"Thinking."

"You should do that quickly."

Denzel looked toward the door.

The silence outside remained absolute.

That bothered him more than the pounding had.

"They stopped trying to break the door."

The Knight nodded.

"They might have left."

"No."

The woman shook her head.

"They don’t leave."

Denzel looked at her.

"You seem very certain."

"I’ve seen them before."

"Who are they?"

Her expression hardened.

"The people who destroyed Eldoria."

Denzel’s eyes narrowed.

"That’s not a group."

"It is when you know who they are."

"Then tell me."

She opened her mouth.

A faint scraping sound came from behind the door.

All three went still.

Scratch.

Scratch.

Scratch.

Something dragged across the stone outside.

The Knight raised her sword.

Denzel stepped away from the shelves.

The woman whispered.

"They’re testing the door."

"Good."

She stared at him.

"Good?"

Denzel drew his sword fully.

"Means they’re still outside."

The Knight gave him a sideways glance.

"That’s your definition of good?"

"Right now?"

"Yes."

"Absolutely."

Another scrape.

Then silence.

Denzel looked back at the shelves.

He noticed the dust.

Most of it had settled evenly.

Except one section.

A narrow line ran across the floor beneath the third shelf from the left.

Someone had moved it recently.

He walked over.

The woman followed.

"That’s it?"

"Maybe."

Denzel placed both hands against the shelf.

"Help me."

The Knight joined him.

Together, they pushed.

The shelf groaned.

Stone scraped against stone.

An inch.

Then another.

A dark gap appeared behind it.

The woman inhaled sharply.

"There."

Denzel looked at her.

"You knew about this?"

"No."

She stared into the opening.

"I knew there had to be something."

"That isn’t the same thing."

"No."

Her face had gone pale.

"But I didn’t know it was still here."

Denzel pulled the shelf farther aside.

A narrow passage appeared behind it.

Unlike the main corridor, this one had no torches.

The air coming from it was colder.

Much colder.

The Knight peered inside.

"Where does it lead?"

The woman shook her head.

"I don’t know."

Denzel looked at her.

"You said Sophia got out."

"She did."

"Through here?"

"I don’t know."

Denzel stared at the darkness.

That answer wasn’t useful.

But it was honest.

He preferred honest.

A heavy impact struck the door.

Boom.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

The woman flinched.

"That’s our cue."

Denzel stepped into the passage.

The Knight followed immediately.

The woman grabbed the torch and hurried after them.

The shelf remained partially open behind them.

Denzel stopped.

The woman nearly walked into him.

"What?"

He looked back.

"We need to close it."

She frowned.

"Why?"

"Because if they get inside, they’ll see the passage."

The Knight nodded.

"Good point."

The three of them pushed the shelf back.

It slid into place with a deep scrape.

The moment it settled, another impact shook the chamber.

Then came a crack.

The door was beginning to give.

Denzel turned.

"Run."

They moved.

The passage was barely wide enough for two people.

Denzel kept one hand against the wall as he advanced.

Unlike the staircase, these walls weren’t smooth.

They were covered in carvings.

Symbols.

Names.

Dates.

Some had been scratched out.

Others had been deliberately broken.

Denzel’s torchlight moved across them.

Then he stopped.

The Knight nearly collided with him.

"What now?"

Denzel pointed.

A name had been carved into the wall.

Sophia.

The letters were deep.

Fresh.

The woman came closer.

Her face changed.

"She came through here."

Denzel touched the carving.

The stone around it was still pale where the dust had been disturbed.

"Recently."

"Yes."

"How far ahead?"

"I don’t know."

Denzel looked down.

There were footprints.

One set.

Small.

Heading deeper into the passage.

He followed them.

The woman hurried after him.

"Wait."

Denzel didn’t.

"Why?"

"Because this passage wasn’t meant to be used."

He stopped.

"Explain."

"It connects to the old royal archives."

The Knight looked at her.

"You said Eldoria was destroyed twenty years ago."

"It was."

"Then why are the archives still here?"

The woman swallowed.

"Because nobody knew this part existed."

Denzel glanced at the walls.

"Except Sophia."

"Apparently."

They continued.

The passage began to slope downward.

Again.

Denzel sighed.

"Does everything in this place go underground?"

The Knight almost smiled.

"Apparently Eldoria had a healthy relationship with basements."

The woman looked confused.

Denzel kept walking.

"Don’t worry about it."

A distant sound reached them.

Footsteps.

Denzel stopped.

The others froze.

The sound came from ahead.

Not behind.

Ahead.

The woman lifted the torch higher.

"There shouldn’t be anyone here."

Denzel drew his sword.

"That’s becoming another common theme."

The footsteps stopped.

Denzel waited.

One second.

Two.

Three.

Then a voice echoed through the passage.

"Denzel."

The sound of his name made his stomach tighten.

The Knight looked at him.

"You know them?"

"No."

The voice came again.

"Denzel."

Closer.

The woman whispered.

"They know your name."

Denzel stared into the darkness.

"How?"

She shook her head.

"I don’t know."

The Knight raised her sword.

"Could be a trick."

"It is."

Denzel’s answer came immediately.

The voice wasn’t coming from ahead.

It was coming through the walls.

A faint vibration ran beneath his palm.

The passage itself was carrying the sound.

He looked at the carvings.

Three lines through a circle.

Again.

He pressed his hand against the symbol.

Blue light appeared.

The voice disappeared.

The woman stared.

"You can activate them."

"Apparently."

The Knight looked at him.

"You’ve been doing that since the staircase."

"I noticed."

"You didn’t think that was worth mentioning?"

"I was busy."

"Of course you were."

Denzel removed his hand.

The blue light faded.

He looked farther down the passage.

There was another symbol.

Then another.

A trail.

Not unlike the one they’d followed earlier.

But this time, the symbols weren’t activating by pressure.

They were responding to him.

Denzel’s expression tightened.

’Sophia knew.’

Not just that he would follow.

She knew he could activate these things.

Which meant—

He stopped.

The woman looked back.

"What?"

Denzel’s eyes narrowed.

"Sophia didn’t leave those markings for us."

"Then for who?"

He looked at the blue symbol.

"For me."

Silence.

The Knight’s expression became serious.

"Why would she do that?"

"I don’t know."

Denzel continued walking.

But the thought stayed with him.

Sophia had known too much.

The pendant.

The staircase.

The symbol.

The hidden room.

Now this.

It was becoming difficult to believe their meeting had been accidental.

And yet—

She had been terrified.

Whatever game was being played, Sophia hadn’t looked like someone controlling it.

She’d looked like someone running from it.

The passage suddenly widened.

Denzel stepped into a circular chamber.

He stopped.

The Knight walked beside him.

The woman came last.

At the center of the room stood a massive stone door.

Unlike the others, this one wasn’t locked.

It was open.

Barely.

A thin strip of light escaped through the gap.

Not torchlight.

Daylight.

Denzel stared.

The Knight whispered.

"An exit."

The woman moved forward.

"No."

Denzel looked at her.

"What?"

She shook her head.

"That’s impossible."

"Why?"

"Because this room is sealed."

Denzel pushed the door.

It moved.

Slowly.

Stone groaned against stone.

Light spilled across the floor.

They stepped through.

Denzel blinked.

They were outside.

Not in the city.

Not beneath the bell tower.

They stood on a rocky hillside overlooking a vast valley.

The sky had darkened toward evening.

Far in the distance, mountains cut across the horizon.

The Knight stepped out beside him.

She stared.

"How far did we travel?"

Denzel looked back at the doorway.

The passage behind them had disappeared.

There was only a stone wall.

No door.

No opening.

Nothing.

The woman walked past them.

"This was one of the royal escape routes."

Denzel turned.

"Escape from what?"

She didn’t answer.

She walked toward the edge of the hill.

Denzel followed.

Below them, scattered among the valley, were ruins.

Stone walls.

Collapsed towers.

Roads swallowed by grass.

And at the center—

A city.

Or what remained of one.

Denzel stared.

The woman spoke quietly.

"Eldoria."

The Knight’s expression changed.

"That can’t be."

"It is."

Denzel looked down at the ruins.

He had expected something grand.

Something mythical.

Instead, it looked dead.

Not abandoned.

Dead.

There was a difference.

Abandoned places still felt like people might return.

This place didn’t.

It felt like everyone had been removed from it.

At once.

Denzel looked at the woman.

"You said it disappeared."

"Yes."

"You didn’t say it was destroyed like this."

"You didn’t ask."

"That seems like an important detail."

She lowered her eyes.

"It happened twenty years ago."

Denzel studied the valley.

"How?"

The woman remained silent.

The Knight stepped closer.

"You know."

The woman nodded.

"I know."

"Then tell us."

She took a breath.

"The night Eldoria fell, the entire royal family was inside the capital."

Denzel looked toward the ruined city.

"Everyone?"

"Almost."

"Who survived?"

The woman looked at him.

"Sophia."

Denzel’s eyes narrowed.

"Only her?"

"No."

The woman paused.

"There was one other."

"Who?"

She looked away.

"Myself."

Denzel stared at her.

The Knight’s sword lowered slightly.

"You’re from Eldoria?"

"I was."

"What were you?"

The woman hesitated.

"A servant."

Denzel raised an eyebrow.

"You don’t move like a servant."

"I wasn’t an ordinary servant."

"Then what?"

She didn’t answer.

Denzel didn’t press.

Not yet.

He looked back toward the city.

A faint orange light flickered among the ruins.

He froze.

"There’s someone down there."

The Knight followed his gaze.

"Where?"

Denzel pointed.

Near the remains of a large stone building.

A light moved between the ruins.

One.

Then another.

Then several.

The woman went pale.

"No."

Denzel looked at her.

"What?"

"They followed us."

The Knight turned.

"To the valley?"

The woman shook her head.

"No."

Her eyes were fixed on the ruins.

"They were already here."

Denzel’s grip tightened around his sword.

"How?"

"I don’t know."

"That’s not good enough."

The woman took a step backward.

"They’ve been searching Eldoria for years."

"For Sophia?"

"No."

She looked at Denzel.

"For what was buried beneath it."

A distant bell rang.

Once.

Denzel looked toward the ruined city.

The sound echoed through the valley.

There shouldn’t have been a bell.

There was no tower left standing.

Yet another note sounded.

Then another.

Three.

The woman whispered something under her breath.

Denzel caught only one word.

"Awakened."

The Knight looked at her.

"What does that mean?"

The woman didn’t respond.

Instead, she grabbed Denzel’s arm.

"We need to leave."

He pulled free.

"Not until you explain."

"If we stay here, they’ll find us."

"They already found us."

"No."

Her voice cracked.

"They haven’t found us."

She pointed toward the ruins.

"They’re waiting for us to come to them."

Denzel looked at the city again.

The moving lights had disappeared.

The valley was silent.

Too silent.

Then something enormous shifted behind the ruins.

Stone collapsed.

A plume of dust rose into the air.

The Knight drew her sword fully.

"What was that?"

The woman shook her head.

"You don’t want to know."

Denzel stared at the dust.

"I disagree."

The woman looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because every time someone tells me that, I end up finding out anyway."

The Knight glanced at him.

"That’s unfortunately true."

Denzel started down the hillside.

The woman grabbed him again.

"Where are you going?"

"To find Sophia."

"You can’t."

"Why?"

"She went into the city."

Denzel stopped.

The woman swallowed.

"She went to the royal palace."

The Knight’s eyes widened.

"The palace is still standing?"

"Part of it."

Denzel looked toward the distant ruins.

"Why would she go there?"

The woman stared at the pendant around his neck.

"Because that’s where the truth is."

Denzel touched the pendant.

"What truth?"

"The reason Eldoria was destroyed."

He looked at her.

"And the people chasing her?"

"They know she found it."

Denzel’s expression hardened.

"What did she find?"

The woman looked toward the ruined city.

"The king’s final record."

"What does it say?"

She hesitated.

Then—

A sharp whistle cut through the valley.

The woman immediately dropped to one knee.

The Knight did the same.

Denzel remained standing for half a second before instinct took over.

Something flew through the air.

He moved.

A blade struck the stone beside his head.

Denzel looked at it.

Black metal.

Thin.

Still vibrating.

The woman whispered.

"They’re here."

Figures appeared along the ridge behind them.

Five.

Then ten.

Then more.

All wearing dark armor.

All carrying the same black blades.

Denzel slowly drew his sword.

The Knight rose beside him.

"How many?"

Denzel counted.

"Twenty."

The woman stared at him.

"That’s not all."

Denzel looked farther up the ridge.

More silhouettes emerged.

Thirty.

Forty.

Maybe fifty.

The Knight exhaled.

"That’s more than I was hoping for."

Denzel tightened his grip.

"Good."

She looked at him.

"Good?"

He glanced toward the ruined city.

"Saves us the trouble of finding them."

The woman stared.

"You don’t understand."

Denzel looked at the army.

"No."

His eyes moved to the distant palace.

"But I understand one thing."

The first armored figure stepped forward.

A red symbol burned across his chest.

The same three lines through a circle.

Denzel’s expression changed.

The man raised his hand.

Every soldier behind him stopped.

Then he spoke.

"Bearer of the royal seal."

Denzel looked down at the pendant.

The man continued.

"Return what belongs to Eldoria."

Denzel looked toward the ruined city.

Then back at the soldiers.

"I don’t have anything that belongs to you."

The man smiled.

"You will."

Denzel’s eyes narrowed.

The soldier lowered his hand.

Every weapon came up.

The woman stepped beside Denzel.

"They aren’t talking about the pendant."

Denzel glanced at her.

"Then what are they talking about?"

She looked at him.

For the first time since they’d met, she looked genuinely afraid.

"You."

Denzel stared at her.

"What?"

"You’re the reason Sophia led them here."

A cold feeling settled in his chest.

The pendant around his neck suddenly grew warm.

Then—

Blue light erupted from the royal seal.

The soldiers recoiled.

The ruined city answered.

One by one, ancient symbols ignited across the valley.

On broken towers.

Inside collapsed streets.

Across the walls of the palace.

Hundreds of blue lights awakened beneath the ruins.

The woman stared.

"No..."

The Knight lowered her sword slightly.

"What is happening?"

Denzel didn’t answer.

He couldn’t.

Because beneath the city, something had started moving.

A deep vibration rolled through the ground.

Once.

Twice.

Then a third time.

And from somewhere beneath the ruins of Eldoria, a voice echoed across the valley.

Old.

Distorted.

But unmistakably human.

"Welcome home."

Denzel’s blood ran cold.

The soldiers dropped to one knee.

Every single one.

The woman fell silent.

The Knight looked at Denzel.

And Denzel finally understood why Sophia had been so desperate to keep him away.

She hadn’t been trying to hide the truth from him.

She had been trying to keep him from becoming part of it.

The voice came again.

"Royal blood has returned."

Denzel looked at the pendant.

The blue light grew brighter.

Then the ground beneath the ruined city split open.

Something enormous began to rise.

And somewhere inside the darkness below—

Sophia screamed his name.