Helios looks at Circlet. "Now that you have a name, let's talk about more important matters," Helios says.
"What do you want?" Circlet asks, floating above Helios with an inquisitive tilt.
"How many abilities do I have now?" Helios asks in an interested voice, his eyes narrowing as he focuses.
"Let's see... your abilities are Nightmare's Dream, Tyrant Pressure, and Nightmare Summon. There are also some other abilities branching off Nightmare Summon; you can see through your Nightmare's eyes and can place your Nightmares in other people's shadows," Circlet lists, spinning slowly in the air.
"You are useful sometimes, crown," Helios says in a sarcastic voice, a small, mocking smirk playing on his lips.
"Why do you always like to use a sarcastic tone when saying something nice about me?" Circlet says in a frustrated, high-pitched tone, its glow flickering with irritation.
"I feel like it," Helios shrugs, his expression indifferent.
"Well, at least I didn't get traumatized, let my sister get kidnapped, and then have to fight for the person that kidnapped her," Circlet snaps back bitingly.
Helios takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, his face hardening. "Well played, dumb crown," Helios says in a deceptively calm voice, though his eyes flash with suppressed anger.
"Anyway, it seems like your training really helped with your spiral energy control. You might not cough up blood anymore," Circlet says, regaining its composure.
"What do you mean I might not cough up blood anymore?!" Helios shouts, looking at Circlet with a mix of shock and indignation.
"Well, it's time for you to go back. See you later," Circlet says dismissively as the realm begins to fade around Helios.
A pillow suddenly comes flying at Helios as he opens his eyes, but he catches it with practiced reflexes.
"You're finally awake," Sara says, looking at Helios with an impatient pout.
"Morning," Helios says, sitting up in bed. At least it's not a bucket of water, Helios thinks, remembering the time Luna threw a bucket of warm water on him to wake him up.
Sara looks at Helios closely. "Why do you look so sad?" she asks, walking to his side of the bed and sitting down next to him, her expression softening with genuine concern.
"Nothing. It's just your imagination," Helios says with a nervous laugh, avoiding her gaze. I can't tell her that I'm thinking about Luna. She still hasn't forgiven herself for letting Luna be taken in front of her, Helios thinks grimly.
"Are you sure about that?" Sara asks, leaning in closer until she is nearly nose-to-nose with him.
Helios looks away, his face turning a deep shade of red. "Yes, I'm sure," he insists, his long hair falling forward to cover his reddening face. "That blue dress looks good on you," he adds, trying to deflect.
"Thank you, but that doesn't answer my first question," Sara says, crossing her arms.
Helios stands up abruptly and walks toward the bathroom. Seems like he doesn't want to talk about it, Sara thinks with a sigh, standing up and walking out of the room.
Later, Helios walks down to the dining room wearing his military uniform. Sara is already sitting down, eating. "Can you tell Rio to hurry up with the mission I gave him?" Helios asks, looking at her expectantly.
She gives him a thumbs up and swallows the food she is chewing. "Fine. I hope your meeting with the Royal family goes well and you don't kill them!" Sara shouts after him as he closes the dining room door.
We move to a room where the curtains are tightly drawn. Luna is sitting on a chair, her head resting on the table, her silver-white hair spreading across the surface like silk.
Someone knocks on the door. "Come in," Luna says weakly, sitting up and looking toward the door with dull, tired eyes.
A maid enters with a silver trolley laden with food. "Your food is ready, my Lady," the maid says gently.
"I'm not eating today," Luna says in a hollow, sad voice.
"My Lady, you need to eat. It's been five days," the maid says, looking deeply worried. "You've barely eaten anything lately."
"Do you have information on my brother?" Luna asks in an expectant, desperate voice, leaning forward before slumping back onto the table.
"I don't have any more information on your brother," the maid says, looking away guiltily.
"What about Sara?" Luna whispers.
"No, I don't have information on Sara either," the maid admits.
"You can leave now," Luna says, tears beginning to well in her eyes. The maid takes the trolley and exits, closing the door softly.
"Did she eat anything today?" another maid asks, meeting the first in the hallway.
The first maid shakes her head, her expression grim. "She's getting even more depressed the more she grows up," the second maid says with a heavy sigh.
"Yes. When she was eight, we could at least lie to her about her brother, but now we can't," the first maid says, her voice trembling slightly. "She looks sick; her skin has gotten so pale."
"She was better when she first got here," the second maid adds, remembering. "At least she threw tantrums back then, but now she's just... quiet."
The scene shifts to Helios walking down the hall toward the imperial palace. He remembers what Circlet said, and he grits his teeth, his jaw tight with tension.
Inside, members of the royal family are sitting at a long table: Prince Edmund, Princess Svetlana, Prince Lionel, and Princess Saville.
"One of your siblings, Kain, is dead," the King announces to the room. No one looks shocked; they all continue eating with cold indifference.
"Is that all?" Lionel asks, not looking up from his plate.
"Yes, Lionel," the King replies. "It is worrying that you won't stop killing each other, if you didn't already understand that."
"You said we were going to have an important guest today," Edmund says, looking at the King with a bored expression.
"Is it that guy again?" Svetlana says, her mind instantly jumping to Helios.
"Are we talking about Commander Helios? I haven't seen him since his training," Saville says in an interested voice, leaning forward.
"Of course you haven't. No one would want to see you, Saville," Lionel sneers.
"Are we doing this again, Lionel?" Saville asks, her voice laced with frustration.
"Why are you two always fighting like cats and dogs?" Svetlana asks in a calm, tired voice.
"I've heard about this before—when someone loves you but they are always mean because they are shy," Edmund says in a mocking tone, glancing at Lionel. "I forgot what the word was, but it sounds like it describes you perfectly."
Lionel grits his teeth, his eyes burning with unmasked killing intent.
"What? Are you going to kill me like y
second brother?" Edmund asks in a teasing, provocative voice.
"Don't blame people for things you know they had nothing to do with," the King says, calmly cutting his steak.
Lionel slams his fist into the table. The force causes Edmund's food to fly off his plate and scatter across the table. Edmund looks calmly at the mess, his expression turning cold, and picks up his steak knife.
Edmund suddenly lunges at Lionel with the knife. The blade almost reaches him, but a P.O.C. member appears instantly, intercepting the strike.
"You're lucky I'm not a Seeker, or you would have been dead by now," Edmund says, retracting the knife and returning to a calm, mask-like face.
"You still have anger issues, little brother," Svetlana says, watching the two siblings across the table with a judgmental gaze.