RHEIN'S POINT OF VIEW
"You can. You have the power to return and change it. His power and me. You can use me."
My breath caught.
This was the first time.
It was a woman's voice echoed faintly in me.
"What if you could change it?"
He blinked at me. "What do you mean?"
"What if you could go back in time... and undo everything? Bring your mother and your clan back?"
His brows furrowed. "Rhein, how do you even know that's possible?"
I forced a small smile. "I read it in one of the restricted books in the school library."
That was a lie. The Juelaetornulus Ruihnas... the 'Death Jewel' had spoken to me.
Dylan shook his head firmly. "No. You can revisit the past, but you can never change it. Any disturbance—no matter how small—can rewrite the future."
"But don't you want to see them again?" I asked, my voice soft but insistent. "Don't you want your clan... your mother... to live?"
His gaze dropped. For a moment, I thought he might say yes. But instead, he sighed. "Of course, I do. More than anything. But this is what fate gave me, Rhein. We meithi mnarillazas have a rule: we are forbidden to alter destiny. The cost is too high."
I didn't respond. But what if destiny was never meant to be followed blindly?
We searched the ruins for hours, hoping to find anything that could aid us in the coming war. But all we found were remnants of the past: broken homes swallowed by roots and dust, cracked walls covered in ivy, and shadows of laughter long gone.
The silence of the place was suffocating.
Then, just as I was about to suggest heading back, Dylan stopped. He was staring at a grand old mansion standing beyond a field of white flowers, untouched by decay.
"This..." he whispered. "This was the home of the Oroses clan leaders."
We walked toward it slowly. The gates creaked open, and the air grew heavier, colder. Inside, the halls were dim and lined with portraits. Most of them were torn or defaced. Dust hung in the air like ghosts refusing to rest.
Dylan approached one of the largest paintings at the end of the corridor. It was ripped across the center, the faces of a man and woman barely visible beneath the scratches.
He reached out to touch it, his voice barely above a whisper. "The Rah and Nhar told me they were my parents."
I felt my chest tighten.
He smiled faintly, glancing at me. "Come on. I want to introduce you to them."
He led me outside, to a quiet garden behind the mansion. There, beneath two large trees, stood a pair of gravestones carved with intricate markings.
"The royal family arranged their burial," he said softly. "My mother was first buried in Abracadabra, but before she died, she wished to be laid beside my father one day. So when the time came, they fulfilled her wish."
He knelt before the graves, brushing away a few fallen leaves. "Mother. Father. This is Rhein." He looked up at me and smiled, a shy, boyish smile that made my heart flutter. "My girlfriend."
I laughed quietly despite the lump in my throat. "That's how you introduce me?"
He grinned. "Well, it's true. I'm all grown up now."
For a while, we just stood there, the wind whispering through the trees. There was something sacred in the stillness... like the past itself was watching.
I closed my eyes briefly, sensing a faint hum in the air.
But when I opened my eyes, Dylan was already standing, his expression calm and composed once again.
"Let's go," he said. "There's nothing more we can find here."
We left Oroses empty-handed.
As we teleported back to Mnarr Palace, the air changed instantly. The serene quiet of Oroses was replaced by a loud, chaotic blow.
The moment our feet touched the palace grounds, I knew something was wrong.
Guards were running across the courtyard. The bells of the watchtower were ringing—three sharp tolls that echoed through the halls. The kind of sound that only meant one thing.
An emergency.
I turned to Dylan, my pulse racing. "What's happening?"
He looked toward the direction of the main gate, his expression darkening.
"I don't know. But whatever it is... it's big."
For a moment, something cold stung in my chest. It was as if the jewel inside me was giving me a warning.
RONA'S POINT OF VIEW
'War.' The word itself cracked through the air like thunder, shattering whatever peace remained in the great hall.
"This is bad," I heard Natre whisper.
"Really bad."
Rhein, Dylan, and Justin rushed toward us, their footsteps echoing sharply against the marble floor. The palace trembled faintly, as if the very walls could feel the unrest brewing beyond its borders.
Reports had begun flooding in. We could hear the grim, breathless voices from the guards and scouts. Half of our territories had fallen. Entire villages were conquered and turned into allies of the Deorcanen Clan.
The news hit like ice water down my spine.
How could this happen so fast?
"There's a traitor," I whispered upon the sudden realization.
Everyone turned to me. Dylan's brow furrowed, while Justin's jaw tensed, his aura flickering with restrained anger. I caught a fleeting glance between him and Rhein—one that carried the same dreadful realization.
Someone among us had been feeding the enemy.
And then, a sob broke us all.
It came from behind us. It was Audrey. She stood there trembling. Her eyes red and swollen. Her hands clutching her black cloak as if trying to hold herself together.
The hall fell silent.
"I... I did it," she choked out, tears spilling freely now. "I'm the traitor."
Justin's voice came out low. "What did you say?"
Audrey collapsed to her knees, shaking. "I told them about you," she admitted, turning toward Justin with a look of raw guilt. "About your mission. About your connection with the Deorcanen Clan. The leader... he told me... he told me he could bring my mother back to life if I helped him."
Rhein's eyes widened in disbelief. "Audrey, no..."
"I thought I could save her!" Audrey cried. "I thought there was still a way!"
She lifted her gaze, broken and hollow. "But I went to the restricted section of the royal library last night... and I read everything. Every ancient script, every forbidden spell." Her voice cracked. "There's no mnarill that can bring back the dead. Not even the greatest spell can reverse death once it's been sealed."
Her confession hung in the air like a curse.
No one dared to move. We were all too stunned to even speak.
Then, suddenly, the world stopped.
Literally.
The wind halted mid-breath. The faint ripples of mnarill that lingered in the air became visible, suspended like threads of light.
I held Audrey's hand as we all ran toward a near opened room and stood on its balcony to see what's happening outside.
What she did was indeed inexcusable. But right now, we had no time to weigh things down and how to deal with her.