Chapter 78: Queen Elizabeth Encounter - Part 1
Sleep claimed Eren despite his resistance. The strange energy of the obsidian chamber had seeped into his bones, lulling him into a deep slumber filled with fragmented visions—faces he didn’t recognize, battles he’d never fought, and powers he’d never wielded. In these dreams, he felt the fourteen elements dancing just beyond his reach, echoing the sensations he’d experienced during the TUNA rituals with Elena and Maria.
A ripple disturbed the surface of his consciousness. Unlike normal dreams that floated and shifted, this disturbance had purpose—intention. The sterile whiteness of their prison faded, replaced by a forest clearing bathed in moonlight. Trees with silver bark rose around him, their leaves whispering secrets in a language just beyond his understanding. The air felt different here—alive with possibilities, charged with ancient power that thrummed against his skin.
He moved forward, drawn by something he couldn’t name. The forest floor was soft beneath his feet, moss and fallen leaves cushioning each step. Ahead, a figure stood beside a pool of water so still it mirrored the stars above with perfect clarity.
This sensation wasn’t entirely unfamiliar—he’d experienced something similar once before, when Elena had reached across the veil to touch his dreams. But this felt different somehow, the magic sharper, more insistent.
The figure by the pool turned as he approached, and Eren found himself stopping short. This was not Elena. Where he had expected to see silver hair flowing down a familiar back, there was instead a smooth, bare scalp that caught the moonlight like polished stone. Upon her head sat what appeared to be an intricate miniature garden, complete with tiny trees and what looked bizarrely like actual flowing water.
"You are the Veilwalker," the woman said, her voice carrying an unnatural echo that seemed to ripple across the water’s surface. "At last, we meet."
"Who are you?" Eren asked, maintaining a cautious distance.
"I am Elizabeth, Queen of Vylonia." She turned fully to face him now, and Eren could see her features clearly—sharp, calculating eyes set in a face that might once have been beautiful but now carried the weight of endless vigilance. Her baldness, rather than detracting from her presence, somehow enhanced it, giving her the appearance of a statue come to life.
’Vylonia,’ Eren thought. ’The secretive woodland kingdom from the eastern scrolls. Nature and sound manipulation—and warriors with shaved heads who commune with forest spirits.’ He studied her bald scalp with its elaborate garden headdress with renewed interest.