Anny had always thought the pendant was just a gift.
Something simple. Something ordinary.
She didn't remember when she got it, only that it had always been there — resting against her chest, warm even on cold days, as if it carried its own heartbeat.
High above the mortal realm, Duckan's deep voice echoed through the throne room.
"Some connections should never be formed."
The silver-haired prince sat upon his throne, his posture relaxed, silver strands falling loosely over his face. He didn't look troubled. If anything, he looked amused, absently tracing the surface of the Life Ocean Stone embedded into the throne.
"Yet you allowed it," he said calmly.
Duckan's gaze shifted — sharp, unreadable.
"I did not create it."
(Flashback)
The hall was quiet, lit only by the glow of ancient runes suspended in the air. At its center stood a woman cloaked in black, her presence precise and restrained. A mask concealed her face, etched with symbols that pulsed faintly with power.
Deshmuck.
Before her floated a delicate object — a pendant, small and unassuming, yet vibrating with unstable energy.
"This link is dangerous," Duckan said. "You're binding a mortal artifact to a prince of the Dark Realm."
Deshmuck tilted her head slightly. "Not binding," she corrected calmly. "Synchronizing."
The silver-haired prince watched from his throne, interest flickering briefly in his pale eyes.
"What does it do?" he asked.
Deshmuck's gloved fingers moved through the air, weaving sigils with practiced ease. "It observes. It responds. It resonates only when your aura stirs."
She paused, then added, "You won't feel it."
Duckan frowned. "And the girl?"
"She will feel safe," Deshmuck replied. "Even when she shouldn't."
The pendant glowed faintly as the final seal locked into place — thin threads of energy stretching across realms, unseen and undetectable.
Deshmuck stepped back. "The connection is complete."
The silver-haired prince frowned slightly, sensing a brief pull in his chest — fleeting, unfamiliar — then dismissed it.
"Strange," he murmured.
Duckan said nothing.
(Present)
Anny laughed as she spun the pendant absently between her fingers, unaware of the way it pulsed softly at her touch.
Abigail felt it immediately.
Her steps faltered for half a second before she steadied herself, her sharp senses flaring. The aura was faint — controlled — but unmistakable.
Not Ezerus.
Something else.
Her eyes drifted to the pendant, though her face remained calm.
"I'm very sure I wasn't imagining it," she whispered.
"Abby?" Anny called, smiling brightly. "Are you okay?"
Abigail smiled back easily. "Of course, my dear."
But deep within her chest, unease settled.
Far away, hidden behind layers of forbidden seals, Deshmuck stood before a projection formed of shifting light. Lines connected the pendant's signature… and another source entirely.
The silver-haired prince.
Her lips curved slightly beneath the mask.
"So the resonance has begun," she murmured. "Earlier than expected."
She raised a hand, stopping the projection just before it revealed too much.
"Let's see which of you notices first."
From his throne, the silver-haired prince paused mid-movement, his fingers tightening briefly over the Life Ocean Stone.
A strange warmth passed through him.
Gone as quickly as it came.
And above all realms, Duckan watched in silence — aware that a thread had been pulled that could no longer be undone.