By morning, everything was different.
The Mana Devourers were pulling back.
There'd been no big win to cause it, no sudden drop in their numbers. All over the capital, corrupted humans and beasts just gave up the ground they'd been fighting so hard for, and the true Devourers slipped away with them.
All heading the same way.
North.
The imperial forces carefully took back the streets, and Scarlet stood beside Cornelius as soldiers cleared the northern road. She had come to Vallahia for one reason—Cornelius. When Talon told her the empire was under attack, nothing else mattered. Finding him alive meant she could have gone back to Sien, but she stayed. She'd seen one of those creatures herself, watched it absorb elemental mana like it was nothing, and witnessed the aftermath of their feeding. Now, an enemy that had fought toward the Vallahian capital was suddenly pulling back. Scarlet didn't know why, and neither did Cornelius. That was reason enough to follow.
Talon joined them, with June, Julie, and Silver following close behind. Their retreat carried them toward the northern border, and beyond that—the elven domain. Silver's gaze lingered on the distant road. For him, unlike the others, the word elves carried a personal weight. A hooded girl with long hair streaked in blond and dark. A hand pressed to his forehead. A dream that had stretched on impossibly long. And with it, the awakening of something ancient within him. Nella.
Silver hadn't seen her since their academy days. He still remembered the warning she'd given him—the Mana Devourers would return. She'd been right about the danger, just wrong about the timing. Or maybe—Silver's jaw tightened—maybe Nella had known more than she ever let on.
Pandora.
The dragon stirred.
Do you think Nella knew they were already coming?
I don't know.
Pandora's answer was unusually measured.
She knew enough to awaken me. That alone means she possessed information we didn't.
Silver looked north again.
And now they're coming from where the elves live.
Pandora went quiet. There wasn't enough to go on, and Silver knew it. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling there was a link. Scarlet caught him gazing off.
"You're quiet," Scarlet said.
Silver hesitated, not ready to explain everything here.
"Just thinking."
She accepted that and kept walking, and he followed, keeping Nella's name to himself—for now.
The farther they traveled north, the stranger things grew. They had expected resistance, but there was none—only abandoned settlements, parched land, and tracks from humans, animals, and unidentifiable creatures. All heading north.
Scarlet knew little about the elves beyond what most demons understood. Cornelius's knowledge came solely from Vallahian records. Talon had bits of information, but no real explanation. June and Julie had never traveled this far north. Only Silver had actually met someone from the elven lands—and with every mile, he found himself thinking of her more. Nella had awakened Pandora, convinced Silver would one day need her against the Mana Devourers. Now those creatures were retreating toward her homeland, and Silver couldn't believe it was just coincidence. But belief wasn't proof. So he kept walking, watching. Hours later, at the crossing of two northern roads, Talon suddenly stopped.
Scarlet's tessen snapped open as Cornelius turned and June and Julie drifted apart. Silver tightened his grip on his staff, eyes narrowing at the figures approaching from the eastern road. The strangers reacted almost in unison—John's hand went to his bow, George drew his sword halfway, Marcus stepped beside David.Then recognition rippled through both sides. At the center of the newcomers stood Emperor Darius, flanked by his three sons—George, John, and David—with Marcus close to David's side. Darius's gaze swept over Cornelius, Talon, Scarlet, and the three younger figures with them. Weapons eased down. This meeting hadn't been planned; Darius had been following the retreat from the imperial defensive line, while Scarlet's group had trailed it from the capital. Different origins, different paths, same destination. Silver glanced beyond them, to where the two roads merged into one route heading north—toward the elven domain. Pandora stirred within him, and he thought again of Nella, her warning, her urgency.
She had gone out of her way to awaken Pandora years before the Devourers were even expected. And now, those same Devourers were retreating toward the place she had come from. To most, the elven domain was simply where the invasion seemed to start. But for Silver, it was where the first person to warn him about it had come from—and that could no longer be ignored. The tension at the crossroads began to fade as weapons were put away. John lowered his bow, George's hand left his sword, and David stepped up beside Marcus. Silver recognized him instantly—and so did Julie. Her eyes narrowed, then a slow grin spread across her face. Marcus caught it, and his expression darkened. Julie strolled past Silver. "Well, look at you." Marcus stayed silent.
Julie's gaze drifted slowly from his boots to the insignia on his armor.
"A knight."
Marcus's jaw clenched. June slowly turned her gaze aside, while Julie watched him as if he were some rare, baffling specimen.
"Ten years ago, you were getting slapped out of academy exams."
Marcus stared.
"That happened one time."
"One slap."
Julie lifted a finger, and Marcus's scowl grew darker as she motioned toward his armor.
"And yet, they still made you a knight."
David coughed into his fist, unable to hide a smirk. Marcus ignored him.
"I've spent ten years training."
Julie nodded seriously.
"Good. You probably needed all ten."
Marcus took a slow breath.
Silver glanced away before his expression betrayed him.
June wasn't as quick—her small smile appeared before she dropped her gaze.
Marcus noticed them both.
"Are we done?"
Julie paused to think.
"For now."
She walked away looking completely satisfied with herself.
Marcus watched her leave.
A decade had changed many things, but Julie wasn't one of them.
Nearby, the older members of both groups focused on far more pressing matters.
Scarlet stood beside Cornelius, observing the imperial party.
Emperor Darius had come in person.
Not just with soldiers, but with all three of his sons, Marcus, and his closest entourage.
That alone showed how serious things were.
Cornelius's eyes lingered on Darius for a moment.
The Emperor looked worn out.
They all did.
The battles along the northern defensive line had clearly taken their toll, even if the Devourers' sudden retreat had kept things from becoming worse.
Scarlet's gaze drifted past the group, first to the eastern road, then north. Two groups, two routes, both covering an unnatural distance without running into real resistance. Her jaw tightened. Behind her, Talon stayed quiet, barely speaking since the two parties had met. While the others kept their eyes on the Emperor and his entourage, Talon's covered gaze stayed fixed on the roads. Scarlet caught it, glancing at him once, but he gave no sign he noticed. She shifted her focus to Darius, then to Silver and the twins, before stepping back and taking hold of Talon's sleeve. He turned his head slightly, but she said nothing, simply leading him away from the others. They walked until the voices at the crossroads faded. Cornelius saw them go, watching her briefly before looking away. No one followed. Scarlet stopped beneath the shadow of the trees.
Talon stood across from her, silent for several seconds. Scarlet finally broke the silence, and whatever passed between them stayed there. No raised voices drifted to the crossroads, no clear signs of an argument—just two figures talking quietly under the trees while the others waited. At one point, Talon's stance shifted; later, Scarlet crossed her arms. He said something, and her expression tightened. Minutes ticked by before it ended. Talon came back first, his face unreadable, slipping into place behind the others as if nothing had occurred.
Scarlet came along soon after. Cornelius glanced her way, and she met his eyes. Whatever he'd been about to ask vanished in that moment. She wasn't going to explain—at least not yet. Behind them, two roads wound south in different directions; ahead, they merged into one, leading north. Whatever she and Talon had talked about, neither planned to reveal until the journey's end.