Chapter 369: _We've Got Another Problem

Kyren’s POV

*****

The moment Elian told him the new goal, the Lord of the Dark Lands separated from his soldiers. He needed to keep the illusion that they were still trying to capture cities, so he left them with one command.

Advance toward the other cities in their plans and keep communication active with Princess Aurora and Lady Seraphyne’s group.

As for him… he rose into the night sky after doing a ground scan.

Once there, he confirmed something that made his instincts flare.

His mother’s mass spell wasn’t going to channel the continent’s mana into the Obsidian Tower or anywhere else in Arcadia as he’d first thought.

No—it was all heading to the Dark Lands.

To the Divine Crystal.

Kyren arrived in his capital with a teleportation spell, immediately placing a palm over his eyes. The desert winds were far harsher than usual.

Mounds of sand were carried alongside it, making seeing beyond a few feet nigh impossible.

He snapped his fingers.

The wind ceased and so did the sandstorm itself, bringing an eerie calm to Noctreth.

‘Onika?’ He reached out to the only Duke he’d left in charge of leading his guards back here. ‘Are you there?’

His pulse stuttered.

A pillar of silver light shot into the crimson clouds—coming from the Divine Crystal’s excavation zone. And that wasn’t all.

The bodies of his soldiers littered the ground around the zone. About a dozen of them. No signs of struggle at all.

Space warped.

He appeared at the excavation spot, squinting when faced directly with the brilliance of the silver pillar. An image of what happened was already being painted in his head.

The Divine Crystal had somehow awakened alongside Amara’s spell, the burst of divine energy wiping out the guards he had stationed around it.

Kyren’s crimson eyes narrowed.

As expected, the Divine Crystal was right there, floating a few meters above the desert. It was the source of the silver pillar, occasionally releasing pulses of energy as well.

“L-Lord Kyren?”

He snapped his neck toward the weakened voice.

Crawling past the bodies was none other than Duke Onika. Her once black hair was now streaked with unnatural strands of silver-grey.

When she lifted her face, it was almost unrecognisable, covered in wrinkles.

The Rogue King rushed to her side, helping her to sit up. “Did the crystal do this to you?” His senses swept through the place, half expecting Amara or some sick clone to jump out of the shadows.

Suddenly the image of her clone holding Farrell’s bloody body flashed in his mind.

That sick hag.

She has meticulously planned everything—the attack on Arcadia triggered the spell, making them wage war against a decoy while her real plan unfolded back here.

Onika gave a weak nod, each movement looking as though it cost her years off what remained of her life.

“It… wasn’t really Amara,” she rasped, leaning heavily against Kyren’s arm. “Not… physically.”

His brows furrowed.

“She never came here in person. It was… like watching someone’s consciousness.” Her breathing hitched. “One moment there was nothing. The next… she simply appeared inside the excavation zone. No body. No scent. No heartbeat. Just… her.”

Kyren’s expression darkened. “A projection?”

“I don’t know what to call it.” Onika swallowed painfully. “She walked straight toward the Divine Crystal… and it reacted.”

Her trembling gaze lifted toward the silver pillar splitting the heavens.

“The crystal rose from beneath the earth before she even touched it. Then… then her consciousness entered it.” She shut her eyes. “And everything exploded.”

Kyren slowly looked back toward the floating crystal.

The pulse of divine energy washing over the excavation site wasn’t violent anymore. It had become rhythmic, almost like the heartbeat of something impossibly ancient that had finally opened its eyes.

He gently lowered Onika back onto the sand before placing two fingers against her forehead.

A crimson teleportation formation unfolded beneath her body, simultaneously restoring her vitality in a few seconds.

“You’ve done enough,” he said quietly. “Return to the capital and evacuate everyone. Leave Noctreth if you have to.”

“My lord—”

“That’s an order.”

The formation flashed once.

Onika vanished, silence reclaiming the excavation site.

Kyren stood alone before the Divine Crystal.

Its silver surface reflected his image back at him, yet something about that reflection felt… wrong. His instincts screamed that another presence was staring back through it.

‘Amara…’ His crimson mana erupted around him.

Without another thought, he thrust out his palm.

A beam of condensed destruction blasted across the desert, smashing directly into the Divine Crystal.

BOOOOOOM!

The shockwave flattened dunes for hundreds of metres.

When the dust settled… The crystal hadn’t moved.

Not even an inch.

Instead, the crimson beam bent unnaturally across its surface before disappearing into its depths as though eagerly devoured.

Kyren’s jaw tightened. “So you absorb mana now.”

He attacked again.

Then again.

Every spell met the same fate.

His fingers curled into a fist.

For one reckless second, he almost reached toward the crystal himself.

Then he paused.

No.

That was exactly what Amara would want.

He stopped mere inches away.

Only then did he notice it.

Thin streams of coloured mana.

They were faint enough to miss unless someone knew exactly what they were looking for. Blue. Green. Gold. Crimson. Countless rivers of energy stretched across the horizon before converging into the Divine Crystal itself.

His eyes widened.

“The spell…”

It had already begun feeding.

Not with the full might of Evaros yet.

Right now it was merely drawing in scattered currents while the continental formation continued synchronising.

Once that synchronisation reached completion… Every last drop of mana on the continent would surge into the Divine Crystal at once.

Kyren immediately reached through the mate bond.

‘Little flame.’

The connection opened almost instantly.

‘Kyren?’ Elian answered. ‘I’ve reached the Central Runic Core.’

‘Good.’ Kyren never took his eyes off the Divine Crystal. ‘Because we’ve got another problem.’

A pulse of silver light erupted from the crystal once more, illuminating the entire desert.

‘Mother isn’t trying to channel the continent’s mana into Arcadia.’ His voice became frighteningly calm. ‘She’s feeding it directly into the Divine Crystal… and I don’t think she’s outside it anymore.’

Silence answered him.

Then Elian’s voice became just as grave.

‘Stay there. Keep me updated if anything else happens.’

The Divine Crystal pulsed again.

This time… Kyren could’ve sworn someone smiled back at him from within it.