Chapter 491: Reunion of his friends

Angelina rose slowly from her chair, her aged frame moving with deliberate grace.

She approached her grandson, and though she was significantly shorter than him now that he had reached his full height, her presence seemed to expand to fill the space between them.

"You are the last piece of his puzzle. With you, he will reach his goal to awaken the chaos entity."

"I have the power to protect myself," Jaegar argued.

"I have the power to face whatever might be waiting at that cabin."

"You have power, yes," Eradarin agreed, stepping forward as well.

"But power is not wisdom. Power is not experience. Power, in the wrong circumstances, can be turned against you or used to make you a weapon in someone else’s war.

Angus knows this.

He knows that if he can get you alone, isolated at that mountain cabin, he can influence you in ways that we cannot protect against from a distance."

Bruna stood now as well, and Ironshade moved to the doorway, as if physically barring any attempt Jaegar might make to leave the hall.

"We have spent years keeping you safe," Diana said quietly.

"To live free of this sort of conflict, but fate has brought us here, Jaegar, you must not go there. I know my sister is alive, and she might be there, but I can’t stand the thought of losing you."

"You have to stop becoming a tool of the very forces that took your mother from us," Angelina said.

"From becoming a pawn in a game of power and control that has cost our family more than you can possibly understand. From sacrificing the person you are to become something controlled by someone else’s agenda."

The heat outside continued its relentless assault on the meadow.

Inside the hall, the air had grown even more oppressive, thick with the magic.

"If I don’t go," Jaegar said slowly, each word seeming to cost him something, "if I refuse this invitation, won’t that prove to Angus that I’m exactly the kind of controlled, manipulated weapon he’s trying to make me into? Won’t it prove that I can’t think for myself?"

"No," Diana said, and her voice carried a truth that Jaegar couldn’t deny.

"It will prove that you can think for yourself, that you can recognize danger, and that you have the strength to choose responsibility over desire. That is the greatest act of independence—knowing when to say no, especially when every part of your heart is screaming yes."

The silence that followed was different from the previous one.

It was no longer the silence of unspoken thoughts but the silence of a decision being reached, of paths being chosen even though other paths still glowed with tantalizing possibility. Jaegar’s shoulders sagged slightly, and the ethereal purple sparks in his eyes dimmed until they disappeared entirely.

The heated discussion had reached its crescendo when the hall doors suddenly swung open. Mirabel stepped through, her face flushed from running, her dark robes swirling around her legs. She was one of Angelina’s most trusted servants—a witch of considerable skill.

Her presence at this moment, breathless and urgent, immediately silenced the tension that had filled the room.

"Madam Angelina," Mirabel gasped, pressing a hand to her chest.

"There’s been an incident. In Scroartint Central."

The shift in the room was immediate and palpable.

Angelina’s expression changed, confused. So were the rest of them.

"What kind of incident?" Angelina asked.

Before Mirabel could answer, there was commotion outside.

The sound of voices talking loudly as they seem to enter the yard of the farmhouse.

Meredith, the housemaid, appeared at the doorway leading to the servants’ quarters, her apron dusted with flour from her earlier work in the kitchens.

"Young master," she called to Jaegar, her voice steady despite the tension in the room. She seemed to be only bothered about the kitchen work.

"There are people outside asking for you. Several of them."

Jaegar exchanged a quick glance with Diana, confusion crossing his face. He stood and walked toward the entrance, pushing through the heavy oak doors into the bright afternoon sunlight.

The heat struck him immediately, that same harsh brightness that had dominated the day, reflecting off the pale earth of the farmyard.

Standing near the fence were four figures, and beside them, a fifth. And he had a startled expression on his face.

Pierre was immediately recognizable by his broad shoulders and merchant robes, which had become his uniform now.

Jennifer stood beside him, her hair catching the sunlight like flame, her usual composed expression replaced by something more urgent.

Arthur, lean and dark-haired, was already moving toward Jaegar with relief washing across his features. Imogen stood slightly apart, her quiet presence carrying its own weight.

But it was Veronica who stepped forward first.

She had been the most recent to see Jaegar, only a few weeks prior, and her eyes were sharp with worry.

"Jaegar," she said simply, though the name carried layers of meaning.

"What’s happened?" Jaegar asked, moving to meet them.

"Why are you all here?"

"You are one ungrateful bastard, you know that," Pierre said as he moved to him and punched him on the shoulder.

"We haven’t met in a long time, and that’s the question you ask us," Jennifer said, adding to her husband.

"Guys, this is not the time for reunions. We have a serious threat on our hands," Veronica said.

Jaegar looked at her and asked, "What’s the matter?"

"Ha, we came to warn you," Pierre said, his voice low and serious.

"There’s been something strange happening. The ministry sent out emergency notices to all the academy graduates. We’re required to report any unusual magical activity."

"And there’s been plenty," Jennifer added.

"A mysterious giant structure appeared on the Mari’am hills this morning. Just... appeared. Like it rose from the ground itself."

Inside the hall, Mirabel was already explaining the same thing to Angelina and the others. Her words tumbled over each other in her urgency to convey the information.

"It’s massive," she said.

"Massive walls, entirely constructed from bronze. The whole thing seems to be made of metal or some kind of alloy, polished and gleaming in the sunlight. It’s not a natural formation—it’s definitely a constructed structure.

And the strange part is that men dressed in black attire, the Black Hound Legion, have surrounded it completely. They’re keeping watch, letting no one pass."