The air in the Sun Elf council chamber was so thick with tension it felt like a physical weight. On one side stood Haruto and his allies, their postures rigid with mistrust. On the other stood Vorlak, the demon strategist, his crimson skin and slitted eyes a stark contrast to the earthy and luminous tones of the forest dwellers.
Between them hung the specter of the Abyssal Core, a threat so vast it made old hatreds feel petty, yet no less potent. "Balance?" Chieftain Lorian's voice was a low growl, his hand resting on the hilt of his sun-forged blade. "You speak of balance while your kind has razed villages under the King's banner. This is a trick. You seek to lure our greatest assets into a trap to eliminate them in one stroke." Vorlak did not flinch.
"If I sought your destruction, Regent Valerius would be a far more effective ally. He offers my people a continued, controlled existence. I am offering you a chance at freedom for us all, which is a far more dangerous path." His gaze, intelligent and weary, swept over them.
"The Core is not a thing to be controlled. It is a hunger. Valerius believes he can master it, but it will master him. And when it does, it will not just consume Esteria; it will bleed into the ley lines of the world, into the Feywilds, into the very depths of the Abyss from which it first seeped. There will be no more kingdoms, no more forests, no more demons or elves.
Only a silent, screaming void." Lyra stepped forward, her voice calm but firm. "He speaks the truth. I can feel it in the flow of magic around him. There is no deception in his words about the Core's nature." She looked at Haruto, her eyes pleading for reason. "We cannot do this alone." Haruto's shadow, cast by the chamber's glowing crystals, seemed to pulse.
He could feel the truth in Vorlak's words, a cold, cosmic dread that resonated with the abyssal nature of his own power. His magic was a tiny, controlled fragment of the chaos that was the Core. "And Kaito?" Haruto asked, his voice cutting through the argument.
"You said this requires his light. He is Valerius's prisoner in all but name, convinced I am the enemy. How do you propose we secure his cooperation?" A grim smile touched Vorlak's lips. "The boy is proud and believes in strength. He was swayed by Valerius's power and rhetoric. We must show him a greater strength.
We must show him the truth of the abyss. Not through words, but through experience." The plan that formed was audacious and incredibly dangerous. Vorlak would use his knowledge of the hidden pathways beneath the capital—ancient tunnels used by his spies—to lead a small strike team, consisting only of Haruto and Lyra, directly to the chamber where Kaito was being held. There, they would not try to convince him. They would show him.
Using a combination of Haruto's shadow magic and a sliver of abyssal energy Vorlak could safely manifest, they would project a vision of the Core and Valerius's true plans directly into Kaito's mind. "It is a risk," Vorlak admitted. "His mind may break. Or his 'purification' magic may lash out instinctively and destroy you all." "But it is the only way," Haruto concluded, his resolve hardening.
He looked at Lyra, then at the doubtful faces of his allies. "I will go. This is a burden my magic is suited for. The rest of you must prepare. If we succeed, we will have our third piece. If we fail..." He left the sentence hanging, the unspoken consequence more powerful than any words. The chapter ended with Haruto, Lyra, and Vorlak, the most unlikely trinity, descending into the dark, damp earth, their fates and the fate of the world bound together by a desperate pact.