Celestia's POV
'What in the Goddess's name is going on down here?' I thought as I cleaved through another grotesque, half-melted creature. Its body hit the ground with a wet slap, dissolving into foul-smelling muck.
There were too many of them. Dozens, perhaps hundreds—mutated things. Just beneath the capital.
Why had no one in Fern noticed?
Why hadn't the Royal Knights, or the magisters, or the church?
The idea of these things crawling up through the streets, dragging children and families from their homes…
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
If no one had found this place—if he hadn't—this would've been a massacre waiting to happen.
My gaze shifted forward to the man leading us.
Lucien Ashborne.
He walked ahead as though he belonged here. His steps were measured, precise—never once hesitating when the tunnel split.
He didn't guess. He knew which path to take.
Every time the passage branched, he chose one without looking back.
It was as if he already knew the layout.
