The smell hit them first. It wasn't the rot of the slums, but the chemical sharpness of void essence mixed with stagnant water.
"Through here," Elara whispered, pointing to a rusted, circular grate set into the foundation of the city's massive central pillar. "This is where they flush the... failed experiments."
Vorn gripped the iron bars. With a grunt of exertion, muscles bulging beneath his armor, he wrenched the grate free.
Zoran stepped into the darkness first. The air was thick, burning his lungs. He felt a sharp throb behind his eyes—the rebound of his newly awakened senses. The Celestial Instinct he had unlocked in the Goddess's trial was a radar that never turned off, and in a city this full of malice, it was giving him a splitting migraine. He forced himself to dim the sense, relying instead on his eyes and ears.
"Stay close," Zoran murmured.
They moved through the bowels of the Spire. The orphans, Kael, Rian, and Elara, moved with surprising stealth, their rag-wrapped feet making no sound on the metal walkways. They navigated the maze of pipes and steam with an ease born of desperate survival.
"Up there," Rian pointed to a ventilation shaft. "Maintenance level. It bypasses the barracks."
They climbed. Zoran moved efficiently, his movements precise. He wasn't moving like a noble anymore; he climbed like the beasts he had hunted in the wilds—silent, fast, and lethal.
They emerged into a corridor made of polished black crystal. Violet light pulsed through the walls like veins.
Zoran paused. His headache spiked—a warning.
He threw his arm out, stopping Rian just as the boy was about to step on a pressure plate disguised in the floor pattern.
"Trap," Zoran hissed. He pointed to a faint shimmer in the air. "Void rune. One step, and it liquidates your bones."
Rian swallowed hard. "How did you know?"
"Instinct," Zoran muttered, rubbing his temples. The cost of using the ability stung, but it was necessary. "We walk around."
They ascended higher, bypassing two patrols by hiding in the shadows. But as they reached the antechamber of the upper levels, their luck ran out.
The elevator doors at the end of the hall opened. But no guards stepped out.
Instead, a figure leaned casually against the frame, cleaning his fingernails with a dagger made of shadow.
Kaelus.
The Executive looked up, his smile thin and cruel.
"I told you," Kaelus drawled. "Moths to the flame. Did you come to beg for her ashes, little Prince?"
Vorn stepped forward. "I will handle him, Prince."
"No," Zoran said. He stepped past his mentor. He didn't flare his golden aura or summon the red lightning of Rage. He drew his Stariron sword, holding it in a low, relaxed stance. "He is mine."
Kaelus laughed. "You think because you knocked over a few grunts, you can face an Executive?"
Kaelus thrust his hand forward, launching a lance of concentrated shadow.
Zoran didn't block. He simply wasn't there.
Flowing Steps of Aethas.
Zoran pivoted, the movement so fluid it looked like he slid across the floor. He closed the distance instantly.
Kaelus snarled and unleashed a barrage of void bolts. Zoran weaved through them—a dance of minimal motion.
"You rely too much on magic," Zoran whispered, stepping inside Kaelus's guard.
Crack.
Zoran slammed the pommel of his sword into Kaelus's wrist, shattering the bone. He swept Kaelus's legs and drove his knee into the Executive's chest as he fell.
Thud.
Kaelus gasped, airless, staring up at the tip of Zoran's sword.
"Weak," Zoran said coldly. He hadn't used a single drop of his Celestial energy. He had dismantled the enemy leader with pure, honed skill.
Suddenly, the walls flashed red. This was Zoran's first time killing a person with his blade, yet he didn't have time to understand this strange feeling; the urgency of saving his mother overruled everything. A siren wailed.
"Reinforcements," Vorn rumbled, looking down the hallway. Heavy footsteps echoed from the stairwell below.
"Go," Vorn said, planting his massive shield to block the corridor. "The elevator is behind us. I will hold the line here. These children will not die today."
Zoran hesitated. "Vorn—"
"This is your birthright. Go get her!"
Zoran turned and sprinted. He dashed up the final spiral staircase, his lungs burning. He reached the apex of the Spire—the landing before the Throne Room.
He skidded to a halt.
The massive obsidian doors were shut. But standing before them, blocking the path, were four hulking figures.
Void Sentinels.
They were constructs of animated black armor, standing eight feet tall, etched with glowing runes and wielding heavy halberds. They didn't breathe. They simply turned their helmeted heads in unison to face him.
Zoran clenched his jaw. The rebound headache was throbbing, and his muscles ached, but he could feel the Edict's energy screaming from behind those doors.
"Move," Zoran commanded.
The Sentinels charged. The floor shook with their weight.
Zoran exhaled. He didn't have time for a duel. He moved.
The first Sentinel swung its halberd—a blow meant to cleave him in two. Zoran slid underneath the blade, sparks flying as his Stariron sword slashed the rune on the construct's ankle. The armor crumbled into dust.
Two more attacked from the sides, their coordination flawless. Zoran couldn't dodge both.
He flared his King's Aura—just a pulse. The golden pressure slammed into the constructs, staggering them for a fraction of a second.
In that split second, Zoran leaped off the wall, decapitating one and driving his sword through the chest of the other.
Three down.
The last Sentinel stood directly in front of the door. It dropped its halberd and raised massive, glowing fists. It was bracing itself, ready to grapple him, to crush him.
Zoran didn't slow down. His eyes flashed red—just for a second.
He channeled a burst of Rage into his grip. His sword heated up, turning white-hot. He screamed a war cry and swung.
The blade sheared through the Sentinel's metal hands, through its torso, and bit deep into the obsidian door behind it.
The construct fell apart, molten edges glowing.
Zoran stood panting, sweat dripping from his nose. He was exhausted. His reserves were low. But the path was open.
He channeled his remaining Aether into his leg and kicked the damaged doors. They shattered inward with a thunderous boom.
The Throne Room was vast, open to the swirling purple sky above. In the center, Queen Eliana was suspended in a cage of lightning, screaming silently.
Malakor stood before her, his porcelain mask glowing. He held the Edict pendant in one hand, tracing runes in the air with the other.
Malakor paused. He turned slowly toward the intruder. He didn't look concerned. He looked amused.
"You are loud," Malakor's voice echoed, smooth and dangerously charismatic. "I expected more subtlety from Kai's spawn."
Zoran stepped over the threshold, the debris crunching under his boots. He gripped his sword, staring across the room at the monster who held his mother.
"Malakor!" Zoran's voice cut through the magic.
The porcelain mask tilted. The air in the room grew heavy, pressing down with the weight of a crushing ocean.
"Welcome, Dreamer," Malakor hissed. "You are just in time to watch your world end."