The Crying Stone Cell lay in the deepest layers of the castle, designed to isolate prisoners from any external magical source. The walls here were not ordinary stone; they were coated with Octane powder, a metal known for absorbing Aetheric energy. Yet, despite the isolation, the cold tingle continued to gather in Adam's palm—a reminder of Lia's message.
"The Lost Book of Shadows… ancient Djinn monument…" Adam muttered to himself, his ordinary mind struggling to interpret the fantasy terms. The most important thing now was survival.
He crouched, closing his eyes, and tried to focus on the electrical energy he felt. He realized that the magic he possessed was not "traditional" like Kays' blurred memories described. Kays' magic was fiery and destructive. But this magic, coming from Adam's soul, was cold, analytical, and mentally attuned.
"Perhaps it is pure Aetheric magic, untouched by the world of Aetheria…" Lia's voice echoed in his mind, but this time internally, as if recalling what had been whispered to him in secret.
Adam wielded this cold magic. He directed it toward his Octane-made shackles—not attempting to break them, but to "read" them. Slowly, the shackles glowed within his mind, revealing precise weak points in their metallic structure.
In the midst of concentration, another memory from Kays' recent past surfaced: a mercury-coated dagger plunging into the knight's back, and a noble face smiling arrogantly. The memory was swift and painful, but it confirmed one thing: Kays had not betrayed—he had been stabbed.
After several hours, as darkness consumed the cell entirely, the sound of a key turning in the lock echoed with tension. A guard entered—not the massive one, but a thin young man with weary features. He wore cracked armor and bore an old tattoo of Kays' family on his shoulder.
"Sir… the sword…" the guard whispered nervously, eyes darting around.
"I… I am not here under orders. But I never believed you were a traitor."
Adam expected the guard to ask him to escape, but what he said was stranger.
"Three years ago, when honor still meant something, you sent me to the Elvina grave by the ancient monument to bury your old sword there. You told me: if the day comes when you think I betrayed you, know that the truth is buried with the sword."
Adam froze in place. This guard knew nothing of the demon conspiracy, yet spoke of a "will" left by the original Kays in anticipation of betrayal.
"Elvina grave…" Adam repeated, recording the name in his memory.
"Why bury the sword?"
The guard sighed, tears in his eyes.
"The sword is not just a sword, sir. It is made of pure Aether glass. It absorbs and stores the wielder's magic. It was the last remnant of your honor. Perhaps… perhaps it holds the answer."
As quickly as he arrived, the guard closed the door, leaving Adam behind with this astonishing new piece of information. The betrayal puzzle was not a mere passing conspiracy—it had been meticulously orchestrated for years, and the original Kays had known it, leaving his final clue at the ancient Djinn monument.
Now, the goal was not only the Lost Book of Shadows that the elf spoke of, but also the Aether Glass Sword buried near the monument, which could reveal the identity of the true traitor through the stored magical memory within it.