Kilibur placed his index finger on Paltio's forehead and connected him to the search plane. However, this time, the environment wasn't as distorted as before.
"Why does it look normal?" Paltio asked, glancing around curiously.
"Well, that's because of my power," Kilibur replied with a smile. "I've removed all illusions from this place, leaving it in its original form: a clean space without so much madness."
"Alright, let's focus on why we're here," Paltio said, regaining his composure.
Suddenly, Rykaru appeared floating beside Paltio. The prince sighed, still wondering how the little creature managed to sneak into these moments unnoticed.
A door opened in front of them, revealing a long passageway. Kilibur pointed the way.
"You must follow it, Paltio."
The young prince advanced with Rykaru in his arms, while Golden suddenly appeared next to Kilibur.
"Hey, you should've asked me before doing that," Golden said, crossing his arms.
"Yes, but there was no time," Kilibur responded with a mischievous smile. "We'd better follow him."
Paltio continued down the hallway until he reached a white door that materialized before him. Upon opening it, he found a room with several screens projected onto the walls. A semi-robotic voice echoed in the chamber:
"Young man, what do you seek?"
Paltio, somewhat confused by the voice, replied:
"I want to find the scepter of Avocios… Well, the piece of the scepter that's in this realm."
"Very well," the robotic voice responded.
Immediately, all the projections merged and positioned themselves in front of Paltio, showing him exactly where the piece should be.
"Great, I've got it," Paltio said, satisfied.
At that moment, Golden entered the room alongside Kilibur.
"Good, now that you have it, let's contact Avocios," Golden said, visibly excited.
"And what's with him? Why is he so thrilled?" Paltio asked, looking at Kilibur curiously.
"It's because Golden is Avocios's most fervent servant and his right-hand being," Kilibur explained, smiling at Golden's energy.
"I see," Paltio said, nodding slowly. Then, with some concern, he added, "And how do we get back? It won't be like your other friends who hit me to wake me up or something, right?"
"No, I'm not that barbaric," Kilibur replied with an innocent smile. He pulled out a triangle and a small stick. "We'll do it with this."
"Oh, just with a musical instrument… What a relief!" Paltio said, relaxing.
However, when Kilibur played the instrument, a loud, sharp sound made Paltio cover his ears and scream in pain. The noise was so intense that it lifted him off the ground abruptly.
Upon leaving that place and returning to the real world, Paltio glared at Kilibur.
"You told me you weren't as barbaric as your friends, but it turns out you're worse. I'd have preferred a small hit to wake up; that noise nearly blew my brain out."
"I'm sorry," the young fox said, visibly embarrassed as he lowered his gaze.
Now that they had the location to search for the scepter piece, they were about to set out when an announcement echoed throughout the realm:
"Martial law has been declared! No one has to leave their homes! A full inspection of every building will be conducted!"
Soon, a contingent of guards began deploying across the area, storming into shops and homes without warning, breaking down doors and entering with brute force. The tension in the air was palpable. Among the soldiers, Zor's report about the disappearance of the power source that had kept the populace subdued had sparked frustration and anger.
Zor led the intervention, furious after leaving the underground tunnels without answers. He had left a team inspecting the area for clues about how someone could escape without a trace. "It must have been witchcraft," he thought to himself, but then shook his head. "Or perhaps an illusion created by that sneaky fox." However, he didn't have time to speculate; if the general found out the fox was still free, he'd turn him into another trophy for his display case.
Tired of playing the "good cop," Zor decided to adopt a more aggressive approach. He stormed into places without warning, determined to get answers.
When he arrived at the location where Paltio and his group were, Zor approached them directly. With an authoritative voice, he asked:
"Have you seen these people?" He showed a paper with drawings of Paris and Kilibur. "The boy with light hair doesn't belong to this realm, so there's no reason to hide him."
"No, we haven't seen any of them," some of those present responded, trying to remain calm.
"Are you sure?" Zor insisted, showing the portraits again.
Without warning, Zor drew his sword and, stepping behind Alita, placed it against her neck. His cold, calculating gaze swept over the group.
"Are you sure?" he repeated, this time with a threatening tone.
"Hey, leave her alone! She hasn't done anything wrong!" Ron exclaimed, stepping forward.
"You stay out of this, kid. I'm the one asking the questions here," Zor replied coldly, pressing the sword slightly harder against Alita's neck. Now he had her at his mercy, and everyone knew he was willing to use her as leverage to extract information.
Paltio, feeling adrenaline and fear coursing through him, mustered the courage to speak, though his voice trembled slightly:
"If you don't know, I was sent by Tejod to find the scepter piece of this realm. I want to do it as soon as possible and leave here to deliver it to Tejod. Do you really want him to be upset with you? What's your name?"
Zor looked at him with a crooked smile, savoring the young prince's nervousness.
"I know," he replied disdainfully. "Only you, your foolish butler, and your servant Pax were mentioned in the message. These two brats with you weren't included, so I can do whatever I please with them… Don't you think?" His tone was menacing, laced with intent.
"Damn coward!" Ron shouted, his fists clenched and eyes blazing with fury.
Zor ignored the insult and, with a dismissive gesture, ordered his men:
"Alright, take these two. I'll see what they have to say."
"Wait! You can't take my friends!" Paltio exclaimed, stepping forward with determination.
"It's true, you can't take them. I vouch for them," Lukeandria (Pax) interjected, stepping forward firmly, trying to protect Alita and Ron.
Zor let out a mocking laugh before responding:
"You don't have that kind of power, Red Shadow."
With a cold smile, he added:
"I'll see if I can get some information out of them. I'll keep them until they tell me the truth… by any means necessary."
Paltio was about to lunge at Zor to defend his friends, but Mok held him back firmly, placing a hand on his shoulder. Ron shook his head silently, signaling that he shouldn't act impulsively. Alita, with the sword still at her throat, gave him a pleading look, begging him to stay calm.
Before leaving with his prisoners, Zor turned back toward the group with a sinister smile:
"How strange that these things happen just when you all show up… You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with them, would you? We'll see. Oh, and if you're looking for the scepter piece, I suggest you find it and leave this place as soon as possible."
With one last icy glance, Zor departed, leaving those present frozen under the weight of his words.