Back in the room, Soral stood tall, her presence growing slightly heavier as she looked down at the bed. "You're going to tell me everything," she said, her tone calm but demanding as her eyes narrowed slightly.
"From the very beginning."
The air grew intensely tense once more, but this time, it wasn't due to the lingering fear of the curse. It was sparked by something far greater the sheer weight of Soral's authority.
"So… you found a fragment that belongs to an ancient demon, hm?" Soral mused, a faint smile surfacing as her eyes remained focused on the trembling girl. She nodded slowly to herself. "…I see now."
'Stand down, love,' Dranexx's voice suddenly echoed through the psychic link, his tone carrying a rare touch of seriousness. 'Looks like we've dragged you into this too much. You're a Grandmaster a god-level being capable of destroying universes. And now here we are, making you do something like healing a princess… just leave it.'
Soral's mental retort cut him off instantly.'And where did I complain, hm, Drane?'
Dranexx paused for a moment in the silence of her mind. 'Um…'
'Exactly. I didn't complain,' Soral replied firmly, her gaze sharpening slightly as she maintained the link. 'So neither should you. And one more thing… I want that demon who cursed her.'
Breaking the telepathic silence, Soral spoke out loud to the princess in a calm voice.
"So… what kind of fragment did you see…?" She paused, her eyes narrowing as a specific realization hit her. "Wait… is the demon's name Koyai?"
"Yes, yes! That's the name of the demon!" the Princess answered quickly, a sudden wave of panic washing over her face.
Dranexx glanced over at Soral, his expression calm. "So… you know this demon?"
"Oh yes… I do," Soral said, her lips curving into a faint, almost nostalgic smile. "Koyai… He's a powerful demon who became a Demon Lord over four thousand years ago. He was never killed… nor was he ever defeated by anyone."
Her tone deepened slightly, carrying the weight of ancient history. "After conquering the mortal world, he returned to the Demon Realm… all to build an empire so he could cross back over again."
She folded her arms over her chest, continuing smoothly. "But the gateway connecting the mortal world and the Demon Realm… it was sealed by a powerful hero who had been blessed by the Grandmaster of Celestial."
Soral paused, her eyes sweeping over the room as the others listened intently. "Koyai was overwhelming. Not even the strongest heroes of that era could take him down. It was only when that specific hero stepped in… that the passage was sealed, stopping him from crossing freely."
Dranexx leaned forward slightly, his curiosity thoroughly piqued by the tale. "Wait… so this hero, do you have any real knowledge about him? I mean… what happened to him?"
"I don't know, actually," Soral admitted, shaking her head slightly. "He brought peace to this world… then he vanished entirely before Raiga came in."
"Then Raiga was defeated by Shieyen… the man blessed by the Grandmaster of Judgment, hm," Dranexx added calmly, connecting the historical dots in his mind.
Akube suddenly burst into a loud laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. "Wow… so many heroes who couldn't even finish their job properly! They just keep leaving their dirty work for someone else to clean up!"
"Huh?!" everyone exclaimed in surprise, turning their heads toward him at once.
Dranexx nodded slightly, keeping his composure. "He's right, though." He stepped forward a single pace, analyzing the situation aloud. "Look at it carefully.
After the hero blessed by the Grandmaster of Celestial sealed Koyai… he brought peace… then vanished before Raiga appeared."
His eyes narrowed in thought. "There's no way he wouldn't know Raiga was coming…" He waved his hand slightly, dismissing the point for now. "But leave that aside. Raiga dominated… then got defeated by another hero blessed by the Grandmaster of Judgment."
He exhales slowly, a look of genuine respect crossing his face. "Kudos to Shieyen… He maintained peace and balance for two thousand years up till now." His tone sharpens slightly as he continues. "So yeah… he's the only hero I respect."
He paused, letting out a faint scoff. "But the other one…? Nope. He just left everything behind for someone else to clean up his mess."
The room fell completely quiet as the weight of history settled over them.
"Regardless of the past… Koyai has made a move again," Soral stated, her calm voice cutting through the silence as her eyes grew sharper. She turned her attention back to the bed. "And this fragment you found… where exactly did you see it?"
The tension in the room rose once more as Soral waited, her eyes locked firmly on the princess. "Where exactly did you see it?"
"I… I found it deep within the ruins beneath the eastern valley…" the Princess hesitated, her fingers tightly gripping the bedsheets as her voice trembled. "It wasn't just an inanimate object…" She swallowed hard, struggling to find the words. "It was… beating."
A brief silence blanketed the room."Beating?" Akube asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"Yes… like a heart…" the Princess nodded weakly, her breathing becoming entirely uneven. "Dark… pulsating… it felt alive…And the moment I touched it—" Her body shivered violently at the memory, fear flooding her eyes. "—I heard a voice."
"What did it say?" Soral asked, her voice remaining calm but turning noticeably sharper.
"Return what is mine… and I shall return," the Princess whispered.
A heavy, suffocating silence filled the room after her revelation.
"Tch. So that's what this is," Dranexx muttered, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Not just a fragment…" Soral added in a low voice, her gaze hardening completely. "It's a core shard."
"Core… shard?" Akube repeated, looking visibly confused.
"When beings like Koyai cannot be destroyed… they split their existence," Soral explained, her tone steady as she kept her arms folded. "Not just their power… their very essence."
Her eyes darkened slightly as she looked at the others. "Fragments like the one you found… are pieces of his true existence. Hidden… scattered… waiting."
"So basically… a resurrection mechanism," Dranexx smirked faintly.
"Exactly," Soral nodded slightly, before looking back down at the princess. "The 'heart' you saw… wasn't just alive. It is him."
"N-no… that can't be…" the Princess shook her head, her voice trembling in denial.
"Every fragment recovered… every piece reunited… brings him closer to a full resurrection," Soral stated firmly, the air growing heavy around her.
"So… that curse—" Akube began, his expression turning serious."—Is a mark," Soral cut in instantly, her response sharp and immediate. "A tracking seal. A tether."
"Meaning… he didn't just curse her,"Dranexx said calmly, his faint smirk returning as he watched the scene unfold."He marked her as a key."
"A… key…?" the Princess asked, completely terrified.
"Yes," Soral nodded. "You came into contact with a core shard… which means… you're now linked to it."
"So he can use her… to locate it again?" Akube asked in a low voice.
"Not just that," Soral countered, her eyes sharpening instantly. "Through her… he can begin to manifest."
A sudden chill ran straight through the room at her words.
'So this isn't just a random curse…' Lisa sent through the telepathic link, her mental voice incredibly serious. 'This is the beginning of something much bigger.'
'Kufufufu… now this is getting interesting,' Dranexx amused himself mentally.
'This is not a game,' Soral shot back coldly, stepping forward a single pace.
She focused her attention entirely on the girl in the bed, speaking out loud. "How many fragments did you see?"
"Just one… I think…" the Princess answered, quickly shaking her head before hesitating. Her voice lowered to a whisper. "But… I felt… more."
"Of course you did…" Soral murmured quietly.
"Meaning they're already scattered around," Dranexx smirked wider.
"And someone or something is collecting them…" Akube added, crossing his arms.
A brief silence took over the room before Soral spoke with absolute, firm decision.
"Then we don't have time," Soral declared, her aura subtly intensifying as the temperature in the room seemed to drop. "If even one more fragment is activated… Koyai won't just return… He'll awaken."
Far away, deep within an absolute darkness where light could never hope to reach, a faint pulse echoed through the void.
*Thump.*
*Thump.*
A cracked, incomplete silhouette began to stir in the shadows.
"Soon…" a faint, distorted whisper floated through the dark.
Back in the royal chamber, Dranexx grinned slightly, breaking the tension. "So… we're going demon hunting now, hm?"
"No," Soral corrected calmly, her tone remaining absolute as she turned her body slightly. "We're stopping a resurrection."
The tension in the room spiked instantly.
"Heh… now this is something worth getting involved in," Akube said, a faint smile creeping onto his face as the air grew heavier.
Dranexx remained quiet for a moment, his eyes slightly narrowed as his thoughts raced. "Hmmm…"
"What's wrong, Drane…? Something bothering you?" Soral asked, glancing over at him as she noticed his expression.
"Yeah…" Dranexx exhaled slowly, his face turning thoroughly serious. "All this story… it feels off to me. Something about it doesn't add up."
"Yeah… even I'm confused," Akube agreed calmly, nodding his head.
"You feel me, right?!" Dranexx turned quickly to him, gesturing slightly with his hand. "Look, you said that hero sealed the gateway connected to this world, right?"
"Yes," Soral confirmed.
"Then how did Koyai die…?" Dranexx asked, thinking aloud as he pieced the details together. "I was wondering before… but now I get it." His eyes sharpened significantly as he took a step forward. "Before the passage was sealed… Koyai must have split his core into many. Then something happened in the Demon Realm after that…"
He raised a single finger to emphasize his point. "My second theory—he used some kind of ancient, forbidden magic to scatter his fragments across different dimensions, spreading his soul pieces everywhere…" He smirked faintly, shrugging his shoulders. "A form of reincarnation. Look… this is a world where crazy things happen."
"You might be right," Soral reasoned, nodding her head slowly as she considered his words.
'Hey, Soral… when that hero sealed the passage… did you manage to observe the Demon Realm at that time?' Dranexx shifted the conversation back to the psychic link, his mental voice highly focused.
'No, I didn't,' Soral replied indifferently through the link. 'I don't find the Demon Realm interesting… so I ignored it.'
'I see…' Dranexx mused telepathically, digging deeper into his thoughts. 'Then something definitely happened… something you didn't notice. It might have slipped past your observation without you realizing.'
Soral's mental tone sharpened, a hint of annoyance flaring up. 'What? Don't act like I'm that ignorant. I just didn't find it interesting. Whatever happened back then wasn't my problem anymore. Like I said… the Grandmasters treat all this like a game just something to quench their boredom.'
'Yeah… okay,' Dranexx replied casually, letting the matter drop.
'Even at that… if this Koyai guy is really that powerful… we need to stop whoever he sent to gather those fragments,' Akube cut into the link, his tone turning entirely serious.
Dranexx's eyes narrowed as his smirk returned. 'Heh… "whoever," you say… What makes you think… it's just one?'
A brief psychic silence fell over the group.
'You mean… multiple agents?' Lisa asked sharply.
'Exactly,' Dranexx confirmed, folding his arms across his chest. 'Think about it. A being like Koyai wouldn't rely on just one pawn. He would spread his influence… plant seeds… create multiple paths to ensure his return.'
'Which means…' Soral sent, her mental voice turning thoroughly serious now.
'We're already late to the game' Dranexx finished.
The atmosphere among them tightened instantly.
'Tch… then we don't have time to waste,' Akube thought, his hand clenching into a tight fist.
"No… we don't," Soral said out loud, her voice firm as her presence began to rise once more. She looked straight ahead, her eyes sharpening to a dangerous point. "We find the fragments… we destroy them… and we crush anything standing behind this resurrection."
To be continued.....