In a palace bathed in dim light, Saruto and his three companions, Lucien, Kyle, and Ryan, stood. Saruto raised his hand deftly, and a profound silence fell. Then, in a low voice, he spoke, his expression filled with confidence and authority: "It's time to put the plan into action. Remember… there's no room for error this time."
Lucien nodded and drew a deep breath, a thick chill seeping through his body as if winter itself had been summoned. "Breathe ice," he whispered.
A blue mist escaped his mouth, instantly enveloping the entire hall. The air froze in an instant, the lights ceased to flicker, and even the flames in the torches stood still.
Seconds seemed to slow to a standstill, and the world itself felt as if it were trapped within a piece of crystal.
In this solemn silence, Saruto stirred. His eyes gleamed a deep purple light. "Now it's my turn," he whispered, his voice barely audible.
He vanished in a flash of shadow, leaving behind a faint trace of energy that slowly faded. In an instant, he moved to another wing of the palace, where Arena slept in her room, filled with the scent of flowers and the soft light of lamps. He approached until he was at her bedside.
He reached out lightly and touched the air before her, and a dark circle, like a silent gateway, enveloped her. Her body gradually disappeared inside it without her noticing. At the same moment, he moved to the opposite wing where Felisa lay, repeating the same scene: a dark circle silently swallowing her.
In another instant, they were all transported to a distant forest, beneath a moonlit waterfall. Saruto stood and led the two women out. The two princesses, slowly awakening, were both filled with astonishment. "Where are we?!" Felisa demanded sharply. "Who are you, stranger?!"
Arena sensed his energy first and said, with a mixture of seriousness and surprise, "You're not from our kingdom… What do you want from us?"
But Saruto remained calm, standing with his arms behind his back, his voice unwavering: "Calm down. I didn't kidnap you. I came to reveal the truth about what's happening."
As the two princesses studied his enigmatic features, Rossian appeared, accompanied by Kyle and Ryan. The air around them trembled as the ice froze and melted, and nature gradually returned to normal. Felisa cried out in astonishment, "Kyle?! What does this mean?!"
Arina looked at Ryan and said, clearly agitated, "You… What's going on? Who are these people?"
Kyle took a step forward, his expression tense, but he finally decided to confront them. His voice was steady. "Felicia… What I'm about to say could change everything."
Then he looked at Ryan, who nodded in response. The two breathed deeply, exchanged glances, and then Ryan said honestly, "We weren't commoners. We were from the Academy, sent only to retrieve our families' treasures."
Felice raised her eyebrows in even greater surprise, while Arena looked toward Saruto, as if she recognized him as their leader. Saruto approached slowly, his eyes shining with a sharp, glassy clarity. "The Director personally sent me after learning that your mission might become entangled in a conflict between the two kingdoms," he said. "So I decided to end it differently."
His words were spoken slowly and deliberately, in a tone that combined sternness with sincerity. Arena looked at Ryan, her eyes a mixture of shock and confusion, but she saw an undeniable truth in him. Felissa, turning away from Kyle, said hesitantly but less sharply, "If what you're saying is true... then why all the deception?"
Kyle replied with a hint of bitterness, "We simply wanted to retrieve the treasures and return to the academy quickly. We made an order after meeting you both, but after all this time we've spent with you, we didn't want to break your trust."
Silence fell, broken only by the sound of the waterfall, until Saruto broke it again, saying, "Now, the choice is yours… either you choose the alliance, and together we create a world untouched by ancient wars,
or you return to the kingdom as if nothing had happened."
Saruto had already prepared to send them to Athen for the erasure of their memories, should they choose the second option, to prevent any future war.
The two princesses exchanged glances, their faces a mixture of surprise, fear, and confusion, before Arina said in a low but confident voice, "If you truly seek peace… I won't refuse."
Velissa smiled faintly and said, "I also agree with Arina's decision."
Saruto smiled, a breeze of faint shadows swirled around him, and then he said in mysterious calmness, "So, let's begin a new era... from here."