Morning light poured through the high windows of the healing sanctuary, casting a soft silver glow across Jai's hospital room.
Three days had passed since the explosion.
Three days since the palace had been torn apart.
Three days since Jai had fallen unconscious.
Now, finally, he was awake.
The doors opened quietly.
Morisa entered first, followed closely by little Arthur.
The moment Arthur saw Jai sitting upright, relief spread across his face.
At almost the same time, James emerged from the physician's chamber.
The difference in his condition was remarkable.
The bruises were gone.
His broken arm and leg had been restored.
Even the exhaustion that had weighed down his posture seemed to have disappeared.
He looked almost completely renewed.
The Tier 6 Healing Artifact had done its work.
There was, however, something unusual about the disguise artifacts Jai and James wore.
Mable's Veridian Chrysalis did not merely cover their bodies with an illusion.
Once bonded deeply enough, the artifact synchronized with the wearer's physical condition.
If Jai, while disguised as Arthur, suffered a wound, the illusion reflected that injury.
And more importantly, Jai still felt the pain completely.
The disguise could hide his appearance.
It could not protect him from suffering.
The same was true for James under the identity of Clement.
That was the terrifying price of maintaining such a convincing false body.
Morisa hurried toward the bed.
"Big Brother Arthur!"
Jai smiled.
She immediately examined his face, arms, and chest as though expecting to find hidden injuries.
"Does anything still hurt?"
"No."
Jai gently patted her head.
"I'm fine."
Morisa looked unconvinced.
"Really?"
"Really."
Jai then looked toward her.
"What about your father and mother?"
Morisa relaxed.
"They're fine."
"King Borin recovered?"
"Mostly."
She nodded.
"My parents have a powerful healing artifact of their own."
James walked closer.
"A royal-grade one?"
Morisa nodded proudly.
"It automatically helps their bodies recover from serious injuries."
Jai raised an eyebrow.
"Automatically?"
"Yes."
Morisa hesitated.
"But Father says powerful healing artifacts can be dangerous for weaker people."
"Why?"
"They interfere with the body's natural recovery."
She tried to explain what she had been taught.
"If someone's cultivation is too weak, the artifact's energy can overwhelm them instead of helping."
Jai nodded slowly.
That made sense.
Powerful artifacts were not automatically safe simply because they healed.
Little Arthur had remained silent throughout the conversation.
Then he approached Jai's bed.
His eyes were already watery.
Jai looked toward him.
"Arthur?"
The boy took Jai's right hand in both of his.
Then he held it tightly.
Jai's expression softened.
Arthur had spent three days wondering whether the man who had promised to protect him would ever wake again.
"Hey."
Jai squeezed his hand gently.
"I'm okay."
Arthur tried to answer.
Instead, tears rolled down his cheeks.
The physician entered a few moments later.
After examining Jai's pulse, core stability, and several remaining signs of internal damage, the physician finally nodded.
"Your condition is stable."
Jai waited.
"Your internal energy has recovered, and the injuries caused by the explosion have healed properly."
"So?"
The physician smiled.
"You may leave whenever you wish."
Jai immediately moved to get out of bed.
James grabbed his shoulder.
"Bro."
Jai looked at him.
"Don't rush."
"I'm healed."
"That doesn't mean you need to run back into another disaster five minutes later."
Jai stared at him.
James continued.
"Stay here for another day or two."
"No."
James sighed.
"Of course."
Jai stood.
"I've already wasted three days unconscious."
His expression became serious.
"I need to return to the palace."
"Why?"
"Zayn."
Jai looked toward the window.
"There are too many questions."
"Abinay."
"The explosion."
"The person controlling him."
"The Shadow Ledger."
"And now..."
His eyes narrowed.
"...that blue-haired man."
James's expression immediately became serious.
Jai continued.
"Lying in a hospital isn't going to answer any of them."
James knew there was no point arguing.
"Fine."
Morisa smiled.
"We'll go back together."
Little Arthur still refused to release Jai's hand.
Jai looked down.
Then, with a faint smile, he lifted the boy into his arms.
Arthur immediately wrapped his hands around Jai's neck.
"Were you scared?"
Arthur nodded.
"You thought your Big Brother died?"
Another nod.
Jai held him a little tighter.
"I told you already."
His voice softened.
"I'm not disappearing that easily."
Arthur buried his face against Jai's shoulder.
After the others left to prepare for the journey back, Jai asked James to remain behind.
The two walked into the hospital garden.
Jai led him toward the same black wooden bench where he had encountered the mysterious stranger.
James sat beside him.
"So?"
Jai remained silent for several seconds.
Then he told him everything.
The blue moonlight.
The stranger with white skin, blue hair, and sea-blue eyes.
The conversation.
The stranger claiming responsibility for the explosion.
And finally...
the name.
"He called me Jai."
James stared at him.
"What?"
"My real name."
James leaned forward.
"Say that again."
"He knew who I was."
Jai's expression hardened.
"He looked directly through Arthur."
James's face slowly lost color.
"Are you sure?"
Jai looked at him.
James immediately realized how stupid the question sounded.
"I mean..."
He lowered his voice.
"Was he actually there?"
"Do you think the explosion damaged my brain?"
"No."
"Do you think I imagined an entire conversation?"
"I didn't say that."
Jai's voice became sharper.
"Then don't ask me whether I know what I saw."
James raised both hands.
"Fine."
Jai calmed himself.
James stared at the empty garden.
"He knew your true name."
"Yes."
"Which means..."
"He could probably see through my disguise."
James swallowed.
"And maybe ours too."
Jai nodded.
For several moments, they sat in silence.
Then James spoke.
"We need to tell Zayn."
"Exactly."
Jai stood.
"And we need to investigate that man."
"How?"
Jai looked toward the palace in the distance.
"First we find out what Zayn knows."
They returned to Stonehead Palace later that morning.
The building was still scarred from the explosion.
Several walls remained covered in scaffolding.
Workers moved constantly through damaged sections of the palace.
Stone blocks, metal supports, and magical construction artifacts were everywhere.
After washing and changing clothes, Jai went searching for Arthur.
He found him in the dining hall.
The boy sat beside Morisa, happily eating.
The moment Jai entered—
Applause erupted.
Jai stopped.
Servants.
Guards.
Palace workers.
Even several officials began clapping.
Arthur immediately jumped out of his chair.
"Big Brother!"
Jai couldn't help smiling.
For once, the noise around him wasn't caused by an explosion.
He walked down the short steps leading into the dining area and took his seat.
The applause faded.
King Borin slowly stood.
The room became silent.
His injured hand was wrapped in a dark healing bandage.
He looked around at everyone gathered.
Then he bowed.
Deeply.
The room froze.
A King did not bow casually.
Especially not in his own palace.
"I owe all of you an apology."
Borin's voice carried across the hall.
"Many people were injured inside these walls."
He looked toward the damaged section visible through the open windows.
"My palace was attacked."
"My guards were wounded."
"My family suffered."
His gaze eventually settled on Jai and James.
"And guests who had already risked their lives for my daughter were nearly killed beneath my roof."
Borin lowered his head again.
"For that, I am ashamed."
Zayn immediately stood.
"Father."
Morisa followed.
"Please stand."
Borin slowly straightened.
Most people in the room looked moved by the gesture.
Jai did not.
He remained silent.
The palace attack had not been entirely Borin's fault.
Jai knew that.
But the King was responsible for the security of his own palace.
An enemy had entered.
Reached his private chambers.
Injured him.
And destroyed almost a fifth of the royal residence.
Whatever the reason, the failure was real.
Borin seemed to understand Jai's silence.
He didn't demand forgiveness.
Instead, he changed the subject.
"Arthur."
Jai looked toward him.
"Your Minister appointment ceremony will take place in two days."
Jai nodded.
"Understood, Your Highness."
"The palace will also undergo complete reconstruction."
Borin glanced toward the damaged walls.
"I will personally oversee the restoration of every destroyed section."
Jai gave another small nod.
Nothing more needed to be said.
Breakfast continued.
Quietly.
Heavily.
Then King Borin made another announcement.
"I will be traveling to the Human Kingdom."
Several people immediately looked up.
Zayn frowned.
"Father?"
"For how long?"
Borin shook his head.
"I haven't decided."
Queen Morlin remained unusually calm, suggesting that she already knew.
The palace officials, however, were visibly disturbed.
The kingdom had just suffered a major attack.
The palace defenses were damaged.
And now the King intended to leave?
Jai and James exchanged a glance.
Neither reacted strongly.
They had something the others did not know about.
Their emergency necklaces.
The artifacts Beatrice had given them.
If the situation became impossible, they still possessed a way to call for powerful assistance from the Human Kingdom.
It wasn't perfect protection.
But it was a final safeguard.
After breakfast, Jai and James immediately went looking for Zayn.
They found him inside his private chamber.
He sat near the window reading an old, leather-bound book.
The moment he saw their expressions, he closed it.
"I assume this isn't a social visit."
Jai sat down.
James followed.
"We need answers."
Zayn sighed.
"I expected that."
He placed the book on the table.
"Ask."
Jai didn't waste time.
"The academy principal."
Zayn's expression changed.
"What about him?"
"Why did you appoint him?"
Zayn remained quiet for several seconds.
Then he answered.
"His real name was Vystan."
Jai froze.
James stared.
"What did you say?"
Zayn leaned back.
"Vystan."
Jai immediately stood.
His chair scraped loudly across the floor.
In two steps, he reached Zayn.
His hand grabbed the front of the prince's clothing.
"Vystan?"
Zayn's expression hardened.
Jai's voice dropped.
"He was one of the men who kidnapped Morisa."
Silence.
Zayn's face slowly changed.
"What?"
"The man you appointed as Principal..."
Jai tightened his grip.
"...was one of her kidnappers."
Zayn stared at him.
Then anger appeared.
"You knew?"
Jai released him.
"We suspected it."
"Suspected?"
"We didn't have proof."
Jai's voice remained firm.
"His appearance was different."
"He was using a disguise."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Zayn stood.
"Because Morisa wasn't the only victim."
Jai looked directly into his eyes.
"There were other kidnapped children."
Zayn went silent.
"If we exposed Vystan too early, the organization could have moved them."
"Killed them."
"Destroyed evidence."
Jai shook his head.
"We couldn't risk it."
Zayn remained angry.
But he understood.
Slowly, he sat again.
"Then I made a terrible mistake."
James frowned.
"What did you know about him?"
"Almost nothing."
Zayn rubbed his forehead.
"I knew his real name."
"You knew he was using a false identity?"
"Yes."
Jai stared.
"And you still appointed him?"
Zayn nodded.
"I was suspicious."
James looked completely confused.
"That's your reason?"
Zayn continued before he could complain.
"I had soldiers investigate him."
"They found almost nothing."
"No serious criminal history."
"No confirmed organization."
"No political connections."
"Nothing that justified arresting him."
Jai remained silent.
"So I placed him somewhere visible."
"The academy."
Zayn nodded.
"Exactly."
Jai slowly understood.
"If he did something suspicious..."
"Teachers would see it."
"Students."
"Guards."
"Parents."
Zayn leaned forward.
"I didn't trust him."
"So instead of letting him disappear somewhere I couldn't monitor..."
His expression hardened.
"...I put him in one of the most watched institutions in the kingdom."
James stared at him.
"That's either clever or incredibly stupid."
Zayn sighed.
"After what happened, apparently both."
Jai almost agreed.
Then Jai's expression became serious again.
"There's something else."
Zayn looked toward him.
"The night I woke up in the hospital..."
Jai told him everything.
The blue light.
The strange man.
His appearance.
White skin.
Blue hair.
Blue eyes.
The claim that he had caused the palace explosion.
And most importantly—
"He called me Jai."
Zayn's eyes narrowed.
"Jai?"
James looked toward the prince.
"His real name."
Zayn slowly turned back toward Jai.
For a second, nobody spoke.
Then Jai realized what James had done.
He stared at him.
James froze.
"...Oops."
Zayn's expression became sharper.
"Your real name?"
Jai remained silent.
James looked away.
Zayn stood.
"So Arthur isn't your real name?"
The tension in the room changed instantly.
Jai and James exchanged a glance.
They had just made a mistake.
A serious one.
Jai slowly exhaled.
"We'll explain that."
Zayn crossed his arms.
"You definitely will."
"But not before you hear the rest."
Zayn stared at him.
Then reluctantly sat.
"Continue."
Jai nodded.
"The blue-haired man said he caused the explosion."
"He knew who I was."
"He knew enough to see through my disguise."
"And he told me we would meet again."
Zayn's expression became grave.
"Did he threaten the kingdom?"
"Not directly."
"What did he say?"
Jai remembered the words clearly.
"That our next meeting would be an extraordinary day."
"For me."
He paused.
"And for the whole kingdom."
The room fell silent.
No one joked.
No one argued.
Vystan had infiltrated the academy.
Someone had turned him into a living weapon.
A mysterious man could see through Jai's disguise.
The Shadow Ledger still held children somewhere inside or beyond the kingdom.
And none of them knew who was truly controlling the organization.
Jai looked toward James.
Then toward Zayn.
"We're dealing with people stronger than us."
Zayn nodded.
"And smarter than we assumed."
James added.
Jai looked toward the palace window.
The repaired sections of Stonehead Palace gleamed under the sunlight.
For now, the kingdom looked peaceful.
But that peace had already been broken once.
And somewhere beyond those walls...
someone was watching.
Someone knew Jai's true name.
Someone had infiltrated the kingdom without fear.
The attack on Stonehead Palace had not been the end of anything.
It had been a warning.
A first move.
Jai slowly clenched his fist.
Whatever was coming next, they could no longer afford to simply react.
They needed to prepare.
Investigate.
Grow stronger.
And most importantly—
discover who was standing behind the Shadow Ledger before the next attack began.