In a world far from Neyru, the atmosphere here was filled with a heavy sense of conflict. Unlike the peaceful and serene energy of Neyru, this world was soaked in the tension of battle, and the looming presence of the Ilyron Dominion cast a shadow over everything. Here, Kaelith and Rhazien had been imprisoned for three long months, locked away in a dungeon.
The two princes, chained with shackles designed to seal their cultivation, were reduced to a state that left them feeling more like ordinary mortals than the elite warriors they once were. Their enhanced physiques remained, but their abilities were suppressed, making them vulnerable. They were nothing more than prisoners in the eyes of their captors.
The sound of footsteps echoed through the darkness, breaking the silence that had surrounded the brothers for so long. Step, step, step.
Kaelith struggled to raise his head, his vision blurry from both the strain and the oppressive darkness of the dungeon. As his eyes adjusted, he saw her—a figure in the dim light. A woman with long dark blue hair and magenta eyes, her mouth partially covered by a half-mask. She floated gracefully into view, her presence radiating arrogance and disdain.
It was Jane.
"Sorry to keep the two of you waiting..." she mocked, her voice dripping with sarcastic sweetness. "It troubles me that I couldn't tend to such important people sooner."
She floated effortlessly into the air and crossed her legs, as though sitting upon solid ground. It was an eerie, almost surreal sight.
"Jane," Kaelith grumbled, his voice raspy from weeks of disuse.
Rhazien, sitting beside Kaelith, sighed deeply but didn't open his eyes. His frustration was palpable, but he chose silence over confrontation.
"What do you want from us?" Kaelith asked, his voice sharp with a mix of irritation and confusion.
Jane's lips curled into a mocking smile as she leaned forward slightly, her eyes glinting with mischief.
"Isn't that ironic?" she sneered. "You know it's not about what we want from you, it's about what you stole from us!" Her words were laced with venom.
At those words, Kaelith's eyes sharpened, his anger rising. "Don't you dare speak such blasphemy! We, the Neyru, are warriors! What need is there for us to steal?" He roared, his voice echoing off the stone walls.
Jane chuckled, clearly amused by his outburst. "Right... so you say. Anyways, I just came back to check up on you, my dear prince." She leaned back as if lounging in comfort. "Don't worry. You'll be freed soon enough. Maybe in a few years, or maybe a few hundred... who knows how much your dear father cares about you two?"
Before Kaelith could respond, Jane disappeared from the cell in an instant, her form vanishing into thin air as though she had never been there.
Her parting words lingered in the air, leaving an unsettling feeling in the pit of Kaelith's stomach.
Rhazien, having listened in silence, finally opened his eyes and looked at his brother. "Brother... what is she talking about?"
Kaelith leaned back, taking a slow breath. His gaze shifted away from his brother for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, preparing to share a part of his past that he had long buried.
"About 850 years ago," Kaelith began, his voice quieter now, tinged with regret. "Jane and I were engaged… no, we were married."
Rhazien's eyes widened, but he remained silent, listening intently.
"I was 30 years old, and she was 32. Back then, our family's alliance with the Ilyron Dominion was solid, and it was forged through marriage. It seemed like a normal, peaceful arrangement."
Kaelith paused for a moment, his gaze distant as memories from long ago resurfaced. "Things were good for a time. But after five years of marriage, Father and a few others from his generation entered a secret realm." He took a deep breath, continuing. "In that realm, they found an artifact—one that could increase a person's talent by two entire ranks."
Rhazien's brow furrowed in confusion. "An artifact like that... where did it come from?"
Kaelith shook his head slowly. "It was originally discovered by Father, but due to an agreement, the Emperor at the time allowed the Ilyron Dominion to claim it."
He sighed, remembering the events that followed. "The artifact was powerful, so much so that the Ilyron Dominion couldn't use it properly. However, even then it gave off an aura that made cultivating easier, and with that advantage, they grew stronger than us. By the time Father had become the Emperor, the Ilyron Dominion was a serious threat. So, Father used me—and my connection to Jane—to retrieve the artifact."
Kaelith's tone was bitter, his words heavy with the weight of betrayal and manipulation. "That artifact was our leverage. It was the beginning of everything—our alliance, the Ilyron Dominion's rise, and our involvement in the politics that followed."
Rhazien absorbed his brother's words, the truth settling uneasily in his mind. "Brother... did you at least love Jane seriously?" he asked, his voice low.
Kaelith thought for a moment, a heavy silence stretching between them. "Yes..." he finally said, though his voice was tinged with sorrow. "But not more than my blade."
In the void, unbeknownst to them, Jane had never actually left. She had been listening to their conversation from the shadows, her presence unseen. When she heard Kaelith's final words, her face twisted in a mixture of sadness and anger. A few tears slipped from the corner of her eye, but she quickly wiped them away with a scoff.
"Jerk," she muttered under her breath before she finally left, fading into the darkness once more.