“W-What… What kind of force is this?” one guard rasped, terror whitening his knuckles around his spear. Even Marcus’ practiced poise was shattered. His eyes went wide, pupils shrinking to pinpoints of disbelief.
All his rigorous drills and all the coin spent forging an elite retinue were undone by a single breath from the stranger who now owned the room.
Jared advanced. Each step was a hammer blow. The marble beneath shivered, fine cracks blooming in his wake. Marcus staggered backward, palms flying up as though to hold his approach at bay.
“D-Don’t come any closer!” stammered, voice quaking. “The Celestial Palace protects me. Harm me and they will hunt you to the ends of the sky!”
Jared’s answering smile was thin and grim. “The Celestial Palace? Good… I intend to settle accounts with them soon enough. You and that Sixth Hall have spilled more innocent blood than I care to count. Today, your ledger closes.”
Marcus’ throat worked. “W-Who… Who are you?”
Never, never in all of level seven had anyone spoken so openly against the Celestial Palace. The question echoed inside his skull, what sort of man dared?
“Names are scraps of wind,” Jared said, voice low. “The only thing that matters is whether you intend to guide us to the Sixth Hall.”
Trembling. Marcus hesitated-then whispered, “I… I know nothing of their sanctuary. l merely obeyed the orders they sent.”
Jared’s eyes glinted with a blade-thin chill. “You don’t know?”
The words dripped like acid, each syllable a quiet promise of violence. A beat later, his voice dropped even lower, almost tender in its menace. “Then you’ve chosen the hard way…”
He started forward, boots echoing against the marble floor of the council chamber, every step deliberate, like a judge crossing the courtroom to pass sentence.
“W-Wait, wait! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” Marcus blurted, panic cracking his composure before it could fully form.
The plea broke across the chamber, brittle and desperate. He knew, down to marrow and spirit, that another heartbeat of silence would invite death.
Jared halted, the temperature of the room seeming to plunge the instant turned his stare on the trembling man.
Marcus sucked in a ragged breath. “Sixth Hall lies somewhere deep in the badlands, buried inside a solitary mountain peak. I swear, I only know the direction, not the exact location!”
“Only a direction?” Jared repeated, the phrase rolling off his tongue like grinding stone. Ice flashed behind his eyes. “Think carefully before you speak again, or suffer the consequences.”
Words tumbled out of Marcus’ mouth in a rush. “Northwest across the wastes. A giant peak, impossible to miss. Sixth Hall lies in its heart. That’s all I know, by the heavens, that’s all!”
Jared gave a single nod, small as a knife tip. “For now, I’ll accept that.”
He pivoted toward the massive doors. The dim torches lining the walls threw restless shadows over his shoulders.
Luna blinked, momentarily stunned that Jared had spared the traitor. Still, matched his stride. With current strength, could not attempt the execution herself.
Just as they reached the door, a spear of silver light shot from behind, swift, vicious, hissing through the air like a desert viper.
“Jared, behind you!” Luna cried, voice cracking the hush. Jared didn’t even turn. One casual sweep of his hand shredded the attack into harmless motes that fizzled out before touching his cloak.
He exhaled a thin, frost-cold breath. “You still dare to strike at me?”
Slowly, faced Marcus and began walking back, each footfall now a tolling bell.
Color drained from Marcus’ face, knees buckling. He collapsed, palms slapping the floor as lowered his head to the polished stone. “M-Mercy! Please, show mercy!”
Jared stopped one pace away. “You bartered your own people’s blood to the Celestial Palace. Parasites like you have forfeited the right to breathe.”
His palm descended, swift and final. Marcus’ body crumpled without a sound. Life fled before his corpse struck the floor.
Luna’s brows knitted. Her father’s soul was still adrift, had hoped this man might hold a shred of useful knowledge. We may have lost our last chance…
She feared, bitterness prickling behind eyes. Sensing worry, Jared spoke softly. “Only Sixth Hall will know whether your father’s soul can be reclaimed. This puppet knew nothing but the strings that moved him.”
Luna nodded once, resolve replacing doubt. “Wherever you go next, I’m coming with you, Sixth Hall included!”
“We’ll head there soon,” Jared said. “But first, we stay in Eastshire District for two days. Food, rest, and basic human needs. After that, we move.”
Flaxseed lurched forward, words tumbling out of before anyone could draw a proper breath.
