Chapter 365: _Exactly As Planned

Elian’s POV

*****

“This way, Corvus.” The old mage glanced back to confirm Elian was sticking close behind him. “You need to tell me all about your time in the fields. Especially those Mana stone mines.”

Elian smiled under his helmet even though he didn’t need to.

He and the old mage had gotten to a hallway lit up with blue crystals on the walls. The walls themselves were black like obsidian, surface charged with rune formations.

All connected to the Central Runic Core.

[Running scan on Runes…]

[Scan complete. Most of these runes block spatial manipulation, making teleportation into the Obsidian tower impossible.]

[Others can also be activated to hone in on and trap intruders.]

Elian frowned. ‘Trap? What sort of—’

“Corvus.” The old mage stopped in his tracks just then, almost making Elian walk into him.

He tilted his head over his shoulder, those observant eyes pinning on Elian. “Are you alright back there?”

“Y-Yes.” Elian nodded. “Forgive me. Was… thinking of my soldiers. They worked really hard for this mission.”

The old mage stared a little harder than Elian would consider ‘comfortable’. Eventually, his lips stretched in an understanding smile.

“I can tell.” He patted Elian’s shoulder, slowly pulling him to his side. Once he had him there, he whispered. “I’m just glad you’re back. Perhaps we can… skip the formalities. And you’d tell me what you think of my last proposal.”

His fingers hooked tighter to his shoulder.

Elian’s throat constricted.

‘What the fuck is he doing getting so up close?’

Before now, he hadn’t been able to guess what relationship Corvus and this old hermit could’ve possibly had. Definitely not father and son. Probably master and disciple?

Or—

“My daughter,” The old mage’s fingers rushed to Elian’s chin, cutting his thinking short, “still wants you. I’ve brought her several eligible bachelors from all around the Kingdom. But it appears you’ve won her heart.”

For a beat, Elian found himself releasing a relieved breath.

Okay.

A potential father-in-law.

He should have experience in dealing with those.

“I’m glad to hear that, sir.” Elian kept his tone light. “I can’t wait to fulfil my—”

“You’re glad?” The old mage’s brows furrowed like that was the most bizarre thing he could say. Then he chuckled dryly. “Corvus. Are you still upset about our conversation last time? You’re even calling me ‘sir’…”

His free hand rose to Elian’s waist.

The latter’s breath hitched.

‘Uhm,’ He looked into the man’s eyes as his smirk turned to a grin. ‘What the…’

“… Soren would be okay. Always.” The older man rubbed his thumb from Elian’s chin to the glass visor shielding his eyes. “Take this off. Let me see your face.”

[Oh?]

Elian’s feet inched back a step—before he realised he was trapped under the man’s hold on his waist.

‘This is far worse than I thought.’ He swallowed hard. ‘This Corvus bastard was having an affair with this guy AND his daughter?’

Soren’s fingers traced the lines on his suit’s helmet, as if itching to take it off himself.

‘What should I fucking do?’ His heartbeat picked up. ‘I… I could shape shift to Corvus. But what if Soren notices the magic? Shit, how did I get here?’

A violent pulse suddenly ripped through Elian’s mind.

‘Little flame!’

Kyren.

The urgency in the Rogue King’s voice made every hair on Elian’s body stand on end.

‘Kyren?’ Elian answered through the mate bond without moving his lips. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Listen to me carefully.’ There wasn’t even a trace of Kyren’s usual sarcasm. ‘We’ve taken Heka.’

Relief almost escaped Elian. ‘That’s great—’

‘No.’ The single word froze him. ‘Something’s wrong.’

Elian’s heartbeat began climbing.

‘The city was empty,’ Kyren continued rapidly. ‘Every district, temple, shop and street. Their meals were still warm. Children’s toys left lying around.’

His voice lowered into something Elian had never heard before.

‘They didn’t flee, Elian. They just… left us the city.’

A cold sensation trickled down Elian’s spine. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I searched for traces of a mass teleportation spell.’ Kyren paused. ‘There weren’t any. Instead, I found mana beneath the city.’

His stomach twisted.

‘Not ordinary mana. Runes. Hidden beneath every street.’ Another pause. ‘The entire city is one gigantic runic formation, Elian.’

Elian stopped breathing.

At that exact moment, the system dinged with a notification.

[Cross-referencing newly acquired information…]

[Comparing Arcadian runic signatures…]

[Comparison complete.]

[Match Found: 97.4%]

His eyes darted toward the glowing runes lining the obsidian walls.

The same mana. The same construction. The same rhythm.

[Conclusion: Runes within the Obsidian Tower share identical structural signatures with the runic formation beneath Heka.]

[Probability of both belonging to one larger spell: 96.8%]

A bead of sweat rolled beneath Elian’s helmet.

‘Kyren…’ His mental voice became barely a whisper. ‘There are runic formations within the Obsidian tower. And I don’t think these are separate formations.’

‘Neither do I,’ Kyren answered immediately. ‘Which means we’ve been playing exactly where Amara wanted us to.’

The realization struck Elian like a hammer.

‘Amara…’

She hadn’t been reacting to their invasion.

She had expected it. Perhaps… even counting on it.

“Corvus.” Soren’s calm voice snapped Elian back to reality.

The old mage had withdrawn his fingers from him.

This time there was no warmth in his smile. Only quiet amusement.

“You finally figured it out.”

Elian’s blood ran cold. “…What?”

A soft chuckle escaped the older man. “I was beginning to think Her Eminence had overestimated you.”

Every muscle in Elian’s body locked.

His fingers instinctively twitched toward the blade hidden in his utility belt.

Soren merely watched him, completely unafraid.

“The moment your ship entered the Obsidian Tower,” he said, folding both hands behind his back, “I knew Commander Corvus wasn’t aboard.”

Silence crashed between them.

Then the old mage smiled wider.

“After all…” His eyes gleamed with frightening certainty. “The real Commander Corvus has been dead for three days. The one you killed was merely a clone.”

Elian’s heart nearly stopped.

Before he could even react, every rune lining the hallway burst into brilliant blue-white light.

From the walls, to the ceilings and even the floors.

The entire corridor illuminated like veins beneath living flesh, the overwhelming surge of mana making the Obsidian Tower tremble around them.

[WARNING: Continental-grade runic synchronisation detected.]

[Synchronisation Sequence Initiated.]

[Current Progress: 3%…]