The doors of the imperial palace closed behind Celestine.
The sound echoed through the enormous hall.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Celestine stood before the throne.
Beside her were Leonhardt, Seraphina, Seris, Aldren, Lyra, and the Guardian.
Emperor Edric IV observed each of them.
His gaze finally settled on Celestine.
— You took a long time to return.
Celestine narrowed her eyes.
— You knew I would return?
— I knew you wouldn't run away.
— Then you know what happened.
The emperor slowly descended the steps of the throne.
— I know enough.
Celestine raised the pendant she had received.
— And this?
Edric froze.
For the first time, his expression changed.
— Where did you get it?
— A woman gave it to me.
— Who?
— I don't know.
Edric stared at the black rose engraved on the pendant.
— Then he has already reached you.
Leonhardt stepped forward.
— Who?
The emperor did not answer immediately.
Celestine noticed.
— The golden-eyed man.
Edric raised his eyes.
— Yes.
Seraphina clenched her fists.
— He was involved with Aelira.
Edric looked at her.
— You are Seraphina.
She was surprised.
— You know who I am?
— I knew your sister.
The hall fell silent.
Celestine felt her heart begin to race.
— Aelira?
Edric nodded.
— Four hundred years ago.
Seraphina stepped forward.
— Then you knew her!
— I did.
— Did you know what they did to her?
Edric did not answer.
Seraphina raised her voice:
— You knew that the ancient emperor wanted to use her as a vessel for the Void?
Edric remained silent.
Celestine looked at him.
— Answer.
Finally, the emperor said:
— Yes.
Seraphina became furious.
— And you belong to the same bloodline!
— Yes.
— Then why are you still on the throne?
Edric stared at her.
— Because my predecessor was not the only one responsible.
He walked toward a large window.
— The history of the Empire of the Crimson Sun was built upon lies.
Celestine approached.
— What kind of lies?
Edric took a small book from a hidden drawer.
He placed it on a table.
The cover was worn with age.
Written upon it was an inscription:
Aelira d'Arven.
Celestine froze.
— That name...
Seraphina quickly approached.
— That's my sister's name.
Edric opened the book.
The pages were covered in ancient writings.
— Aelira was not merely a warrior.
He looked at Celestine.
— She was the person chosen to guard the empire's most dangerous secret.
Celestine touched the book.
— The Void.
— Yes.
— Then why did the emperor try to use her?
— Because he believed he could turn the Void into power.
Celestine closed her eyes.
— And he failed.
— Not completely.
The Void pulsed inside her.
Celestine opened her eyes.
— What do you mean?
Edric pointed to a page.
There was an ancient drawing.
A black rose surrounded by three lines.
Celestine immediately recognized it.
It was the same symbol she had seen in Aureon.
— This symbol...
— It predates the empire.
The Guardian approached.
— Then the history is even older.
Edric nodded.
— The symbol belongs to an order that existed before Aureon.
Celestine became serious.
— The same order as the First Inquisitor?
— Yes.
Leonhardt asked:
— Do they still exist?
Edric closed the book.
— They exist in the shadows.
Celestine tightened her grip on the pendant.
— And the golden-eyed man?
Edric answered:
— He is one of the last known members.
Seris asked:
— Who is he?
Edric looked at Celestine.
— We still don't know.
Celestine did not like the answer.
— He said he followed my soul from Aelira.
The emperor remained silent.
— And he said they tried to destroy my soul three times.
Edric took a deep breath.
— Then he knows a part of the truth that even I don't know.
Celestine realized something.
— You don't seem surprised.
— Because there is something I have never been able to explain.
— What?
Edric pointed to the book.
— After Aelira's death, the records say that the Void disappeared.
Celestine stood motionless.
— But it didn't disappear.
— No.
— It passed on to me.
Edric nodded.
— That's what we realized.
Celestine felt a weight in her chest.
— Then you knew I existed?
— No.
Edric looked directly at her.
— Until you were born as Celestine, we believed the Void had been destroyed.
Silence filled the hall.
Leonhardt asked:
— Then why was she hunted since childhood?
Edric answered:
— Because someone discovered it.
Celestine closed her hand.
— The First Inquisitor.
— Most likely.
Seraphina asked:
— And why does he want to open the passage?
Edric looked at the pendant.
— Because he believes the other side possesses what Aelira was searching for.
Celestine felt a shiver.
— What?
— The answer to overcoming death.
Seraphina went pale.
— Edran...
Celestine looked at her.
— What is it?
— Edran didn't only want to stop the ritual.
Seraphina closed her eyes.
— He wanted to prevent the emperor from discovering how to make someone incapable of dying.
Celestine remained silent.
The memory of Edran returned to her mind.
His gaze.
His words.
His guilt.
— Then Edran knew how to destroy that condition.
Edric nodded.
— Aelira discovered it.
Celestine clenched her teeth.
— That's why he killed her.
— No.
Celestine looked at the emperor.
— No?
— That's why she asked him to die.
The words struck Celestine deeply.
She remembered Aelira.
I chose.
It had not simply been a death.
It had been a decision.
A sacrifice.
Edric closed the book.
— There is one more thing.
Celestine raised her eyes.
— What?
— The golden-eyed man isn't only trying to open the passage.
— Then what does he want?
Edric looked at Lúmina.
— He wants to bring someone back.
Celestine felt the Void tremble.
— Who?
The emperor answered:
— The ancient emperor of Aureon.
Seraphina took a step back.
— That's impossible.
— I wish it were.
Celestine felt her blood run cold.
— He's been dead for four hundred years.
Edric nodded.
— Dead.
Then he looked at her.
— But not destroyed.
The hall became completely silent.
Celestine slowly raised her head.
— And what if he returns?
Edric answered:
— Then the Empire of the Crimson Sun will be only the first place to fall.
At that moment, a bell rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The guards rushed toward the doors.
Edric turned around.
— What happened?
A soldier entered in desperation.
— Your Majesty!
— Speak.
— The northern barrier has been breached.
Celestine became alert.
— By whom?
The soldier swallowed hard.
— We don't know.
— How many enemies?
— None.
Edric frowned.
— What do you mean?
— There are no soldiers.
— Then who breached the barrier?
The soldier answered:
— A shadow.
Celestine felt the Void pulse violently.
He's here.
Leonhardt drew his sword.
Seris did the same.
Edric looked at Celestine.
— Now you understand why you needed to return.
She gripped Lúmina.
— Yes.
Celestine walked toward the doors.
— He didn't come after the empire.
Leonhardt followed her.
— Then he came after you.
Celestine looked at the sky through the window.
An enormous black crack was beginning to appear above the capital.
— No.
She tightened her grip on the sword.
— He came after all of us.
And, for the first time in four hundred years, the symbol of the black rose appeared across the sky of the Empire of the Crimson Sun.