The final stretch of the kingdom's grand thoroughfare disappeared behind them, replaced by the breathtaking sight of Headstone Palace.
It was not merely a palace.
It looked like a mountain that had been carved into submission.
Every towering wall was made from dark stone, massive and unyielding, while bands of polished obsidian ran through the structure like ribbons of black glass. Under the harsh midday sun, the entire fortress gleamed with a cold, majestic brilliance.
The architecture was a testament to the Dwarf Kingdom's mastery over the Earth Element.
The palace did not look built.
It looked as though it had grown from the bedrock itself.
Jai, still carrying the sleeping Morisa, felt the weight of the moment settle over him.
They had reached the palace.
But this was also the most dangerous point of their disguise.
King Borin Stonehead was said to possess tremendous elemental strength. If his spiritual perception was powerful enough, the identities of Arthur Barne and Clement Barne might collapse the instant they stood before him.
"Almost there, James," Jai murmured.
James shifted nervously.
"Yeah, but the moment we enter..."
He lowered his voice.
"What if the King has some kind of truth-sensing ability?"
Jai looked toward the massive gates.
"We can't let him inspect us too closely."
"Exactly."
Jai's mind was already working.
They couldn't simply return Morisa and disappear.
That would look suspicious.
But they also couldn't meet the King immediately.
They needed an excuse.
Something believable enough to delay the meeting without making the royal family suspicious.
Jai gently adjusted Morisa.
"Morisa."
Her eyes slowly opened.
"Brother?"
Jai smiled.
"Listen carefully."
She nodded.
"When the guards take you inside, I need you to tell your brother—or whoever meets you first—that your father shouldn't meet us yet."
Morisa tilted her head.
"Why?"
Her expression became confused.
"Don't you want to meet my dad? You saved me."
Jai had already prepared the lie.
"It's not that I don't want to meet him."
He lowered his voice and made his expression solemn.
"It's a matter of tradition."
Morisa listened carefully.
"In the land we come from, meeting a great ruler immediately after escaping a serious danger is considered extremely bad luck."
Her eyes widened.
"Really?"
Jai nodded seriously.
"A terrible omen."
James looked away so Morisa wouldn't see his expression.
Jai continued.
"We believe we need to cleanse ourselves and wait for the right time. Otherwise, the bad fortune could follow us into the royal court."
Morisa looked horrified.
"It could affect the kingdom?"
"It could."
James nearly coughed.
Jai ignored him.
Morisa immediately nodded.
"Then you definitely shouldn't meet Father yet."
"Exactly."
Jai paused.
"There's one more thing."
"What?"
"We need work."
Morisa blinked.
"Work?"
Jai nodded.
"We lost most of our money during the journey."
That part, at least, sounded believable.
"So could you tell your brother that we're looking for honest work?"
Morisa's face immediately brightened.
"Of course!"
She smiled.
"I'll tell Zayn."
With the plan settled, Jai lowered Morisa back onto her feet.
She immediately took his hand.
Together, Jai, James, and Morisa stepped into the main palace courtyard.
The reaction was immediate.
"STOP!"
Two heavily armored guards rushed forward.
Their scaled armor reflected the sunlight, and each shield carried the crest of a mountain.
Within seconds, four more joined them.
Six swords were drawn.
The blades pointed directly at Jai and James.
James froze.
His eyes darted between the guards, instinctively searching for a way out.
Jai remained completely still.
This is exactly how they should react.
Their princess had vanished.
Now she had returned with two unknown men.
Suspicion was reasonable.
"We mean no harm," Jai said calmly.
The nearest guard tightened his grip.
"Step away from the princess."
Before Jai could respond, Morisa moved in front of him.
"Put your weapons down!"
The guards froze.
Morisa's voice echoed through the courtyard.
"You fools!"
She pointed toward Jai and James.
"These are the men who saved me!"
Silence.
Then came the sound of metal striking stone.
Six swords dropped almost simultaneously.
The guards bowed deeply.
"Our deepest apologies, Princess."
Morisa crossed her arms.
"Apologize to them."
The lead guard immediately turned toward Jai.
"Our deepest apologies, sir."
Jai nodded.
"Accepted."
Morisa pointed toward the palace.
"Now go!"
Her voice became sharper.
"Find my brother. Tell Zayn Stonehead that Morisa has returned."
The guards disappeared almost immediately.
High within the palace, Zayn Stonehead sat alone in his private chambers.
He looked nothing like the composed crown heir the kingdom expected.
His white hair was slightly disheveled, and the exhaustion on his face made him appear far older than eighteen.
His eyes were strange.
Pale blue around the edges, but with a darker, almost golden-black depth near the center.
The last three days had destroyed any sense of calm he possessed.
His sister was missing.
No ransom.
No body.
No reliable clues.
Every passing hour had made the worst possibilities feel more real.
A guard suddenly entered and dropped to one knee.
"Your Highness."
Zayn looked up immediately.
"What is it?"
The guard hesitated.
"Princess Morisa..."
Zayn stopped breathing.
"...has been found."
His eyes widened.
"What?"
He stood so quickly that the chair nearly fell backward.
"Say that again."
"Princess Morisa has returned."
Zayn stared at him.
"Where is she?"
"At the palace entrance, Your Highness."
"Who found her?"
"Two men."
Zayn's expression changed immediately.
"Where are they?"
"They are waiting with her."
Zayn frowned.
"Waiting?"
"Princess Morisa ordered us to bring word to you first."
Zayn didn't wait for another explanation.
He rushed from the room.
The moment he entered the waiting hall, he saw her.
Morisa.
Alive.
Standing in the center of the room.
Everything inside Zayn shattered.
Royal dignity.
Control.
Pride.
None of it mattered.
"Morisa!"
She turned.
"Brother!"
Zayn ran toward her and wrapped her in a fierce embrace.
Morisa immediately began crying.
So did he.
For several moments, neither spoke.
They simply held each other.
Jai and James watched quietly.
Then Jai noticed something.
Zayn looked...
human.
Not mostly human.
Completely human.
Tall.
Slender.
No obvious Dwarf features at all.
Wait.
Jai narrowed his eyes slightly.
He's human?
That didn't match what Jai had expected from the Stonehead bloodline.
Eventually, Zayn pulled away from Morisa.
His hands remained on her shoulders.
"Are you hurt?"
Morisa shook her head quickly.
"I'm okay."
His eyes moved over her.
Then...
they landed on Jai and James.
The emotion on his face changed.
Relief disappeared.
Suspicion replaced it.
Then suspicion became anger.
Jai saw it happen too late.
Zayn raised one hand.
A spear-like spike of crystalline ice formed instantly.
James's eyes widened.
"Wait—"
Zayn moved.
Fast.
Far too fast.
The ice spike slammed directly into Jai's abdomen.
THUD.
The force threw Jai backward.
His defensive training prevented the spike from piercing straight through his body, but the impact itself was devastating.
Tier 9 energy exploded through his abdomen.
Pain tore through his organs.
Jai hit the floor hard.
He couldn't breathe.
For several seconds, everything disappeared beneath the agony.
"ARTHUR!"
Morisa screamed.
She tore herself away from Zayn and ran to Jai.
She dropped beside him and lifted his head into her lap.
"Brother! What did you do?!"
Zayn stood frozen.
The ice around his hand slowly dissolved.
His anger vanished.
Horror replaced it.
"I..."
His voice failed.
"I thought..."
Morisa stared at him through tears.
"They saved me!"
Zayn looked at Jai.
"I thought they were the kidnappers."
His voice cracked.
"I thought they were pretending to rescue you so they could enter the palace."
"No!"
Morisa shouted.
"They saved me! The kidnappers were different people!"
Zayn closed his eyes briefly.
Then he immediately knelt beside Jai.
"Arthur."
He placed a hand against Jai's abdomen.
A faint blue glow spread from his palm.
Jai felt warmth push against the cold pain inside him.
The damaged tissue slowly began to recover.
Zayn's Ice affinity was normally destructive, but through precise control he could reverse some of its effects and reduce the damage his own attack had caused.
Jai finally managed to breathe properly again.
Zayn lowered his head.
"I apologize."
His voice was heavy with guilt.
"What I did was unforgivable."
Jai remained on the floor for several seconds.
Then he slowly sat up.
"It is..."
He winced.
"...understandable."
Zayn looked at him.
"Your sister is safe."
Jai took another breath.
"That matters more."
Zayn's expression only grew more ashamed.
Once Jai had recovered enough to stand, James handled most of the explanation.
"My name is Clement Barne."
He gestured toward Jai.
"And this is my older brother, Arthur Barne."
Jai nodded.
James described their journey.
Finding Morisa.
The traffickers.
The escape.
The river.
He deliberately left out anything that could expose their true identities.
And he said nothing about the larger organization.
For now, they were simply two wandering brothers who had happened to intervene.
Zayn listened carefully.
When James finished, he bowed his head.
"Thank you."
Both Jai and James looked at him.
"Truly."
Zayn raised his eyes.
"You saved my sister."
He hesitated.
"And I repaid you by attacking you."
His expression tightened.
"I owe both of you more than I can properly express."
Jai said nothing.
"My father is currently away from the kingdom," Zayn continued. "He is handling urgent state matters."
Jai's attention sharpened.
"He won't return for several weeks."
That was useful.
Perhaps too useful.
"So your official royal reward will have to wait until his return."
Morisa immediately stepped forward.
"That's fine!"
Everyone looked at her.
"They can't meet Father yet anyway."
Zayn frowned.
"Why?"
Morisa spoke with complete seriousness.
"Bad timing."
Silence.
James looked down.
Jai kept a straight face.
Morisa continued.
"In Arthur and Clement's culture, if they meet a powerful ruler immediately after escaping danger, it brings terrible luck."
Zayn stared at her.
"It does?"
"Yes."
She nodded firmly.
"They have to wait until the right time."
Zayn slowly looked toward Jai.
Jai bowed his head respectfully.
"It is an old tradition of our homeland, Your Highness."
Zayn clearly didn't believe a word of it.
But he also looked at Morisa.
After everything she had endured, arguing with her over the matter seemed cruel.
"Very well."
He sighed.
"We will respect your tradition."
Morisa smiled.
Then she remembered something else.
"And they need jobs!"
Zayn froze.
"Jobs?"
"They lost their money!"
James tried not to look uncomfortable.
Morisa pointed enthusiastically toward them.
"They need good work."
Zayn studied both brothers.
That request made even less sense.
Two capable men had rescued a princess from armed kidnappers...
and now they were asking for ordinary employment?
Suspicious.
Extremely suspicious.
But Zayn owed them.
And Morisa was staring at him expectantly.
He clapped once.
A servant appeared.
"Summon Minister Valerius."
The minister arrived several minutes later.
Zayn explained the situation.
"These two men are to be given legitimate employment within the royal territory."
Minister Valerius studied Jai and James.
"What skills do they possess?"
Jai answered first.
"I have experience teaching the fundamentals of Elemental Magic."
Valerius's expression changed.
"Teaching?"
"Yes."
The minister thought for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"That may actually be useful."
He turned toward Zayn.
"Your Highness, Alverian Academy is currently hiring."
Jai remained calm.
Inside, however, his interest immediately spiked.
"The Academy is preparing for the next generation of awakened students," Valerius continued.
"Mr. Arthur Barne could be appointed as a probationary instructor."
Zayn nodded.
"Good."
The minister then turned toward James.
"And Mr. Clement?"
James answered smoothly.
"Construction."
Valerius smiled.
"Even better."
James blinked.
"The Academy is expanding its Earth Arts Wing. They desperately need workers familiar with large-scale structural construction."
He looked toward Zayn.
"We can place him there at a very respectable wage."
Jai and James exchanged a quick glance.
The Academy.
The center of the kingdom's future elemental talent.
Students.
Teachers.
Officials.
Artifact specialists.
It was an excellent place to learn more about Khazadcoher.
"We accept," Jai said.
James nodded.
"Gladly."
Morisa smiled brightly.
With the matter settled, Morisa suddenly tugged on Jai's sleeve.
"Big Brother Arthur?"
Jai looked down.
"What is it?"
She pointed toward Zayn.
"Do you want to know why he looks different from me?"
Zayn sighed.
"Morisa..."
She looked at him.
"Can I tell them?"
Zayn shook his head with a faint smile.
"Go ahead, little star."
Morisa immediately turned back toward Jai and James.
"We don't have the same mother."
Jai listened carefully.
"My mother is Verona Stonehead."
She smiled.
"She's a Dwarf."
Then she pointed toward Zayn.
"But Zayn's mother was human."
Jai's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Her name was Rebecca Stonehead."
Morisa's expression became softer.
"She died when Zayn was born."
The room grew quieter.
"Father later married my mother."
Everything immediately made sense.
Zayn had inherited far more of his mother's human appearance.
The Stonehead royal family was not entirely Dwarf by blood.
That explained the contradiction Jai had noticed.
"Thank you for explaining," Jai said.
Morisa smiled.
Then, without warning, she hugged him.
Jai stiffened slightly.
"I already told you."
Morisa's voice was muffled against his clothes.
"I'm the one who owes you."
Jai smiled faintly.
"Then we'll call it even."
"No."
Jai almost laughed.
A guard later escorted Jai and James to a luxurious guest chamber.
The room was enormous.
Thick carpets covered the floor.
A massive bed dominated one side of the chamber.
Fresh clothing had already been prepared for them, along with enough food to feed several people.
James stared at the bed.
Then at Jai.
Then immediately dropped onto it.
"I'm never leaving."
Jai shook his head.
"You have work tomorrow."
James closed his eyes.
"I resign."
Within seconds, he was asleep.
Jai sat nearby.
His abdomen still ached faintly from Zayn's strike.
Tier 9.
Jai stared at his hands.
And he's only eighteen.
The Dwarf Kingdom was stronger than he had expected.
Far stronger.
His mind moved through everything that had happened.
Morisa was safe.
Their aliases remained intact.
The King was absent.
They had secured positions inside Alverian Academy.
On paper, things had gone almost perfectly.
But another thought pushed its way forward.
Black hair.
Red eyes.
The strange room from his dream.
The image came back without warning.
That man.
Jai still didn't know who he was.
Or why seeing him created such a strange sensation inside his chest.
Sometimes the vision felt like a memory.
Other times, a warning.
And sometimes...
something much worse.
Jai slowly lay back and stared toward the ornate ceiling.
Tomorrow, Arthur Barne would begin work as an instructor at the most prestigious academy in Khazadcoher.
Clement Barne would begin work within its expanding Earth Arts Wing.
Their journey into the heart of the Dwarf Kingdom had truly begun.
But Jai could feel it.
Beneath the mission.
Beneath the Shadow Ledger.
Beneath every mystery surrounding Emperor Dominatrix and Yaowang Ming.
Something else was waiting.
Something connected to black hair.
Red eyes.
And a destiny Jai could not yet understand.