The departure took place well before sunrise while the Lycanis Estate remained quiet beneath the fading darkness. Most residents were still asleep, leaving only the guards, servants, and military personnel assigned to the mission to move through the launch platform. Floodlights illuminated the massive transport vessel waiting nearby, casting long shadows across the durasteel deck.
Unlike Kael's primary flagship, this specific ship was designed for speed rather than spectacle. Its black hull reflected the pale morning light, while mana engines hummed softly beneath layers of reinforced armor. Every single detail emphasized practicality and purpose, making it the perfect vessel for a mission that required absolute secrecy.
Seraphina stood near the boarding ramp, pulling her thick travel cloak tighter to conceal the silver leaf mark hidden beneath her glove. The cool morning air carried the crisp scent of dew and metal, making everything feel strangely normal for a fleeting moment. Then reality returned, reminding her of ancient seals, hidden organizations, and dark prophecies that were anything but normal.
"You actually came," a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.
Commander Elara Voss descended the boarding ramp, looking exactly as Seraphina remembered from the imperial military reports. She possessed sharp eyes, a rigid military posture, and the undeniable confidence of someone entirely accustomed to command.
Elara crossed her arms and studied her closely. "I fully expected you to reconsider."
Seraphina raised an eyebrow at the challenge. "I considered it."
The commander snorted softly at the response. "And yet here you are."
"Unfortunately," Seraphina replied dryly.
A faint smile appeared on Elara's face, indicating that she appreciated the dry sarcasm. It was a small comfort, as it meant there was at least one person on this frozen journey who shared her dark sense of humor.
Several more officers soon joined them on the platform. Kael had selected only a handful of individuals for this operation, ensuring that each one represented the elite of the empire. They were seasoned veterans and specialized trackers who were entirely capable of surviving impossible situations.
The fact that the Alpha considered such dangerous measures necessary did little to reassure Seraphina. The final arrival came moments later as Kael himself walked onto the deck, causing the atmosphere to shift instantly. Conversations stopped immediately, soldiers straightened their posture, and even the experienced officers became noticeably more alert.
Authority seemed to naturally follow the Alpha wherever he went. Kael's golden eyes swept across the assembled team, looking entirely satisfied with their efficiency and focus.
"Board," he commanded simply.
The short order required no repetition. Within minutes, the vessel launched smoothly into the atmosphere, causing the sprawling estate to disappear beneath them. The thick clouds soon parted, the sky darkened into ink, and the endless expanse of space unfolded before their eyes.
Seraphina had traveled aboard advanced spacecraft before, yet the breathtaking sight still captivated her. Stars stretched endlessly in every direction while distant planets glowed softly against the dark void.
Massive trade vessels crossed designated galactic routes, serving as a reminder that entire civilizations, histories, and futures existed among those distant lights. And somewhere out there in that vast darkness, the Black Crescent waited for them.
The journey to the northern frontier required two separate hyperspace jumps, providing plenty of time for preparation and unwanted questions. Unfortunately, those questions found her sooner than she preferred. The ship entered its first jump several hours later, turning the view outside the observation deck into a familiar blue tunnel.
The shifting light made reality seem to stretch around the vessel in a way that was simultaneously beautiful and mesmerizing. Seraphina stood entirely alone near one of the large windows, enjoying the quiet.
"You are worried," Kael's deep voice suddenly sounded from behind her.
She glanced over her shoulder to find the Alpha standing nearby with his hands resting behind his back. The man moved incredibly quietly for someone capable of wrestling heavily armed spaceships.
"Should I not be?" Seraphina asked, turning back to the window.
Kael considered her question for a moment before offering a firm nod. "Fair enough."
An unusual silence returned to the observation deck, but it felt comfortable rather than awkward. Eventually, Kael broke the quiet once more. "Aiden cried."
The blunt statement caught her completely off guard. "What?"
The Alpha continued watching the swirling hyperspace tunnel without shifting his gaze. "He waited until after you left, then he cried."
Seraphina froze as the heartbreaking image immediately formed in her mind. She pictured the young heir standing alone, trying his best to be brave and hide his worry before finally breaking down. The painful thought hurt much more than she expected.
Kael seemed to notice her distress, his golden gaze finally shifting toward her. "You matter to him."
The words landed with a heavy, dangerous weight. Part of her still vividly remembered the tragic future from her dreams, including the execution platform, the bitter hatred, and the terrible destiny she was supposedly meant to face. Yet every single day, that dark future seemed increasingly impossible and fragile.
The Alpha remained silent for several moments, allowing his words to settle between them. Then, he unexpectedly added, "You matter to the estate too."
The profound admission surprised her even more, but before she could formulate a proper response, a loud alarm suddenly blared through the ship. The quiet observation deck immediately became a hive of activity as flashing red lights illuminated the walls and crew members rushed toward their primary stations.
Kael's expression sharpened instantly as he stepped toward the center of the room. "What happened?"
A panicked communications officer appeared at the terminal. "We are detecting an unidentified energy signature."
The entire room grew deathly quiet as the officer quickly activated a secondary display. Several complex readings appeared on the screen, and while most looked entirely meaningless to Seraphina, one detail was unmistakable. The energy levels were increasing with terrifying speed.
The officer's face paled significantly as he checked the monitors. "It is approaching us."
The massive vessel trembled violently, then shook again as the entire atmosphere on the bridge shifted. Every military officer present became intensely serious, causing all casual conversation to vanish as pure training and survival instinct took over.
Kael stepped forward, his voice commanding absolute authority. "Report."
The officer swallowed hard, staring at the telemetry. "We are detecting a massive anomaly directly outside our hyperspace corridor."
A heavy silence blanketed the room, as the phrase itself sounded deeply concerning. Another officer joined them at the terminal, her expression looking grim. "That should be scientifically impossible."
Apparently it was not impossible, because the ship's advanced sensors completely disagreed with her assessment. The vessel shook again, far more violently this time, causing the lights to flicker as the anomaly readings spiked dangerously.
Then, a sharp, burning pain erupted directly through Seraphina's hand. The silver leaf mark struck without warning, delivering an intense sensation that forced her to grab her wrist immediately.
The sudden reaction did not escape Kael's sharp notice, and his golden eyes narrowed. "What is it?"
Before she could answer his question, a vivid vision flashed violently through her mind. She saw absolute darkness, frozen mountain peaks, and a massive, primordial creature buried beneath endless layers of ice. Then, a pair of enormous eyes opened in the dark.
The terrifying vision vanished instantly, leaving Seraphina to inhale sharply as the physical pain disappeared. She was left with a lingering certainty that this anomaly was neither random nor natural. It was intimately connected to the Frostveil Mountains, the third seal, and whatever ancient entity slept beneath the temple.
The chilling realization sent a shiver down her spine just as the sensor officer suddenly shouted, "Contact!"
Every viewscreen on the bridge illuminated simultaneously, revealing a massive shape drifting directly beyond the vessel. It was not an enemy ship or space debris, but an unrecognizable entity that distorted continuously. It looked as though reality itself struggled to accurately display its physical form.
The crew stared at the monitors in absolute silence, completely frozen by the impossibility of the sight. The strange shape drifted alongside their hyperspace corridor for several agonizing seconds, as if carefully observing them, before it vanished entirely.
The loud alarms continued to blare, yet the anomaly readings dropped back to zero immediately. A confused, uneasy silence spread throughout the entire bridge.
Kael studied the captured sensor data, his expression remaining completely unreadable. "What was that?"
No one answered him because no one truly knew, not even the specialized scientists or seasoned military experts. The vessel eventually stabilized and the immediate danger appeared to be gone, at least temporarily.
Still, the tense atmosphere on the ship never fully recovered because everyone had felt the profound wrongness of that entity. It left them with the haunting sense that something ancient and vast had been watching their every move.
Several hours later, the Frostveil Mountains finally appeared on the primary viewscreen. The transport ship emerged from hyperspace directly above a frozen world where jagged white peaks stretched across the horizon.
Brutal snowstorms raged endlessly below, while gigantic glaciers covered entire valleys in a display that was beautifully hostile. It was a frozen kingdom entirely untouched by time.
The exact moment Seraphina saw the mountains, the silver leaf mark pulsed against her skin with a warm, gentle rhythm that felt exactly like a heartbeat.
She recognized the landscape instantly from her vision, knowing without a doubt that the temple and the seal were hidden beneath that ice. And somewhere down in that freezing white wasteland, the Black Crescent was already waiting for their arrival.
As the imperial transport vessel began its slow descent through the heavy clouds, none of them noticed the massive shadow moving silently beneath the deep ice. The ancient creature was merely sleeping for now.
Deep below the Frostveil Mountains, within a forgotten temple buried by thousands of years of snow, a black-robed figure slowly opened his eyes.
"The Guardian has arrived," he whispered.
The masked followers kneeling around the altar lowered their heads in deep reverence. The leader smiled thinly, turning his gaze toward a sealed stone gate that was completely covered in glowing silver roots, and gave the final order. "Begin the ritual."
The countdown toward the breach of the Third Seal had officially begun.