Veritas:

The bunker, a relic from the Great War, was dimly lit by flickering torches set into the stone walls. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and old, rusted metal. Once a hub of strategic meetings and wartime planning, the space now felt hauntingly silent, its grandeur faded. Dust-covered maps and faded banners adorned the walls, and scattered crates and broken furniture hinted at hasty evacuations. In the center, a long, wooden table stood strewn with personal belongings and remnants of past conversations.

“Pack up quicker,” Veritas told Katherine, his voice cutting through the heavy silence.

Katherine looked up, her brow furrowed in concern, but she seemed preoccupied with something else.

“Veritas, I’ll be leaving for Pinewick,” she said, her tone resolute.

Veritas raised an eyebrow, his expression neutral but showing a flicker of surprise. “Then everyone will go their separate ways. Are you okay with that?”

She nodded, and Veritas stepped back, an eyebrow raise creasing his face.

“What, is it because I’m self-sufficient? You know, I was the best fighter and the most beautiful damsel in my hometown.”

“Really?” he responded, a hint of skepticism in his voice.

“Your voice doesn’t exactly inspire confidence,” she teased.

“Well, I believe you wholeheartedly,” Veritas said emotionlessly.

“I know. You always do.”

Suddenly, the entire world turned black, the familiar surroundings vanishing into a void. Only arcane spirals of swirling light remained, burning with an intense, otherworldly glow. The spirals pulsed with a hypnotic rhythm, casting eerie shadows that danced around them. Veritas stood frozen, the sight overwhelming his senses.

Moments later, the spirals vanished, and the familiar bunker reappeared, but with an unsettling stillness. A sharp, intense headache began to form, but Veritas pushed through the discomfort, focusing on the door as it creaked open. Alaric stepped inside, his green eyes gleaming with an unsettling sharpness that seemed to pierce through the darkness.

"It seems that the Rebellion doesn't want me anymore."

"I see," Veritas said. "Alec...can you step to the main room for a moment? I...think I left something there."

Alaric:

He almost scoffed, but caught himself. He didn’t have business listening in anyway. Infiltrating the Kingdom and seeing the damage for himself was on the top of his priority list. Alaric nodded curtly and made it to the main room, his mind already on the journey ahead.

Suddenly, he turned around and saw Silva. His brow furrowed in confusion. “How did you get here?”

Silva didn’t respond. Instead, she sat down on the couch, her expression amused as she rested. Alaric’s confusion deepened. “Why are you here?”

She looked up at him, her eyes steady. “We’re working together now.”

Alaric almost snarled, his frustration boiling over. “You’ve been acting mysterious this whole time, and now you just roll back in?”

She chuckled softly, a sound that grated on his nerves. After a second, she spoke again, her voice calm and measured. “Responding to your previous question, my true wish is to meet your friend, Katherine.”

Alaric stared at her, the revelation spinning in his mind. “You’re here for Katherine?” he echoed, incredulous. “That annoying girl? Do you want me to introduce you to her or something?”

Silva’s eyes softened. “No need.”

Alaric sighed, resigning himself to his fate. “Do you want a fruit blend? I was planning to make one anyway.”

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

“Sure.”

“Any preferences?”

“No.”

The old prince nodded, gathering the necessary items. He picked up a blue fruit and a small, fiery-looking pepper herb from the counter. “I’m going to mix sweet and spicy,” he said, showing her a Perwa fruit and a Wal herb. Silva nodded, her expression unreadable.

After a long while of silence, punctuated only by the sounds of chopping and blending, Alaric handed her the drink. She watched it for a moment, swirling the liquid in the glass but not drinking it.

“Have you ever seen magical things happen to objects, but not people?” Silva asked suddenly, her eyes meeting his. “Why is that? Why can you make a potion that forces a person to tell the truth?”

Alaric stiffened. That’s exactly what he had done, trying to disguise it by using fruits with the same composition as the materials in them.

She continued, her tone even. “And maybe even an ambrosia that can cure minor wounds with a touch, or even herbs that induce sleep after being ingested? Prince of Lutra, why are these things so powerful? As a master of the nine arts, the sixth including the truth poison you just flawlessly made, do you think if a person could do those things by themself, would they be feared or relied on?”

Alaric paused. "I...they would be relied on, of course. Such power would become the normal. But, Magic is just from people dreaming to harness the power that these things have."

"Wrong." She leaned in, her purple eyes boring into him. "They would be feared. They would be thrown away. They would be hanged."

"I...don't agree."

"You of all people shouldn't fall for naivety."

He snarled. "I'm not naive. Not anymore. This conversation is moronic."

"Well, when you change your mind, don't come running back to me." Silva stopped swirling the orange mixture, and downed it in one gulp.

"Ignoring the poisoning attempt, this is actually pretty good."

Alaric sighed, absolutely resigned. "Thanks, I guess."

The silver haired woman stood up, her black robe punctuating the ambient light in the room.

"If I told you that I know where you can find the minions of the Raven Cult, would you chase them till the ends of this world?"

"Of course. Till I die."

She clapped. “Well, then. This is a perfect opportunity. My lady beckons you to follow Katherine, and if you don’t find a Raven Cult member on the way there, you can annul our agreement.”

His rage shot to the stars, bloodlust rising within him like a storm about to break. Silva instinctively jumped back, her eyes wide with a flicker of fear, but Alaric didn’t notice. He was already heading back to the main room, his mind a whirlwind of vengeance and purpose.

Silva composed herself and nodded at a shadow lurking in the corner. From the darkness, another silver-haired girl emerged, her presence commanding and enigmatic. Her eyes glowed with a fierce intensity, the orange-yellow hues shimmering like molten gold.

“Vera, send a message to the Lady. The prince is determined. The war can start.”

Vera's gaze sharpened, and she gave a curt nod. Reaching into her robe, she pulled out the white stone that seemed to pulse with its own light. She tapped it, and the stone responded, opening a portal that swirled with an ethereal energy, its edges crackling with vibrant hues of blue and violet.

She gave Silva one last look, her eyes glistening with unspoken resolve. Then, with a graceful step, she entered the portal, her form dissolving into the luminous vortex. The portal closed behind her with a soft, echoing hum, leaving behind no trace.

Meanwhile, Alaric was oblivious, set on persuading Katherine to let him join her wherever she went.

He burst into the room, practically begging her on the floor to let him come with.

Katherine jumped back, quickly grabbing and forcing him to get to his feet. Veritas was just staring at him like an owl, silently judging him.

Katherine cleared her throat, a pink tint applying itself to her pale cheeks. "Ahem...If you insist."

A strange sound filled the room, like the croaking of a parched crow. Alaric turned, realizing with shock that it was Veritas, laughing and banging the table.

“Are you okay?” Alaric asked, absolutely astonished that the man had an inch of emotion.

Veritas wiped tears from his eyes, his laughter subsiding into chuckles. “That was hilarious,” he said, his voice still trembling with mirth. “Seeing you two stumble over each other like that.”

The three stared at each other in silence for a second, the air thick with surprise. Then Katherine started to crack up, a soft giggle that grew louder. Alaric couldn’t help but join in, not needing to fake it like normal, the tension melting away.

Veritas, now composed, just had a soft smile, a rare sight that left a lingering warmth in the room.

"Right..." He whispered. "You two go together, alright?"

Katherine grabbed him, asking what he would do, and the boy-looking man just looked around the room, taking it all in.

"It's a secret. But whatever you two do, after you both get back, find me, okay?"

Even if Alaric would usually not care about such trivial things, something in his voice convinced him otherwise. And it seemed like Katherine felt the same way.

Another long journey was ahead of all of them.