The sun had finally surrendered to the jagged horizon, leaving the Orestian mountain range as a terrifying silhouette against a bruised, purple sky. On the secluded ridge, the air grew thin and biting, turning every breath into a frosty puff of white. Aster stood as a steady, unyielding pillar of strength, his arms still supporting the limp, unconscious form of Princess Lumine.
Though her body was silent in his arms, her spirit was currently thousands of feet in the air, navigating the sky through the powerful, primal frame of Ralph. Aster looked up at the massive eagle circling above, his eyes narrowing as he spoke to the empty air, knowing his voice would carry through the her mind he had helped her build. (because she has sensor type magic and now both aster and lumine's minds are connected using lumine's magic)
"Lumine, listen to my voice," Aster instructed, his tone a mix of a commanding general and a worried friend. "Don't let the eagle's instincts overwhelm you. Stay focused on the objective. Fly straight to the Sentry's Crown. Do not deviate for anything—not for the wind, and certainly not for the hunt. Look for the 'Glistening Eye'—the entrance to the Echoing Vault."
He felt Lumine's body shiver in his arms, a physical manifestation of the struggle she was facing miles away. His grip tightened instinctively. "Inside, you must place the Harmonic Player in the center of the crystalline basin. It is specifically designed to lock into the cave's natural resonance. Once it's set, come back immediately. This is your first time performing a full animal synchronization; we don't know the side effects of staying like that for too long. Be fast, be precise, and for the sake of us all... be careful."
The eagle above let out a sharp, resonant shriek—a sound that echoed with a strange, human intelligence—and with a single, thunderous flap of its wings, it vanished into the gathering dark.
***
To Lumine, the world had become a kaleidoscope of raw sensation. Through Ralph's eyes, the grey, She didn't just see the mountain; She is now seeing the clouds very closer to her eyes, and the beautiful view of the city from the top.
It's so beautiful, she thought, her human mind marveling at the sheer scale of the world. I'm not just a Princess anymore. I'm the wind itself, It seems I can enjoy my life a whole lot more with my magic.
But she remembered Aster's warning. She pushed Ralph's body harder than the bird had ever flown, her mana acting as a supernatural fuel for his muscles. The Sentry's Crown loomed before her,. As she neared the summit, she felt the hum of the anti-air wards—a heavy, static pressure that made her heart race with a primal fear.
But Aster's theory held true. The wards, designed to catch the complex mana signatures of high-level mages or enchanted machinery, ignored the biological signature of the eagle. For some reason that cave is protected by magic for a long time, and It is a duty of the royal family to gaurd that cave. But Lumine a Royal is breaking that rule by gliding through the invisible net like a ghost.
She reached the summit, and there it was: the Echoing Vault.
As she glided through the narrow, jagged entrance, Lumine felt a surge of awe that nearly broke her concentration. The inside of the cave was breathtaking. It didn't look like a dark, damp cavern; it looked like a cathedral carved from a single, gargantuan gemstone. The walls were so smooth they seemed polished by a master craftsman, reflecting the faint moonlight in a kaleidoscope of iridescent blues, silvers, and deep violets.
This was the heart of the mountain's music. The geometry of the room was perfect—a natural parabolic chamber designed to catch a whisper and turn it into a roar.
After seeing the interior, Lumine steered Ralph toward the central pedestal—a natural formation of white quartz that sat in a pool of still, crystalline water. With the precision of a surgeon, she manipulated the eagle's talons to release the "Raze" Harmonic Player.
The device, a sleek sphere of brass and mana-glass, settled into the basin with a soft, metallic clink. The moment it touched the stone, a faint, low-frequency hum began to vibrate through the cave. The Raze unit had found its home. It began to draw power from the mountain's mana, preparing to broadcast the Songs Aster prepared to every ear in the kingdom.
***
Mission success, Lumine thought, a surge of triumph washing through her. I did it, Aster! I'm coming back!
She turned Ralph around and dived out of the cave, the wind whistling through her feathers as she plummeted toward the ridge. But as she descended, the side effects Aster had feared began to manifest with terrifying speed.
The world started to blur. The eagle's instincts—the raw, predatory urge to dive and hunt—began to clash violently with her human consciousness. Ralph saw a movement in the trees below and his brain demanded a kill; Lumine fought to keep his wings level. Her vision fractured into a thousand shimmering shards.
"Aster!" she screamed in her mind, but her physical body remained silent, and all that came out of the bird's beak was a garbled, panicked squawk.
She was losing control. The ridge was coming up too fast. Ralph's wings flailed, the synchronization slipping like a frayed rope. She felt a sickening sensation of being "pushed" out of the bird's mind, her consciousness caught in the bridge between her body and the sky. The last thing she felt was the sensation of falling into a bottomless, cold abyss.
***
"Lumine! Lumine, stay with me! Open your eyes!"
The voice was distant, then suddenly sharp. Lumine's eyes snapped open. The transition was jarring—the smell of feathers and wind was replaced by the scent of coal and Aster's expensive Wynfall cologne. She wasn't a bird anymore. She was back in her own body, lying on Aster's hands.
The first thing she saw was Aster's face. His usual mask of indifference, the cold "Prince" persona he wore like armor, had completely shattered. He looked terrified. His hands were shaking as he held her, his cloak wrapped tightly around her shivering frame.
"Aster...?" she whispered, her voice a dry rasp.
Behind him, Astra was clutching her chest, tears streaming down her face, while Elian looked like he had seen a ghost.
Lumine coughed, her throat feeling raw as if she had been the one shrieking at the clouds. She looked up at the sky and saw a dark shape landing gracefully on a nearby rock—Ralph, back in his own mind, looking perfectly content and preening his feathers as if the flight had been nothing more than a casual stroll.
Lumine reached up, her fingers trembling as she grabbed Aster's collar to pull herself upright. She was weak, her head throbbing with a sensory migraine, but her eyes were shining with a triumphant, defiant fire.
"It's... it's done," she whispered, a tired, beautiful smile spreading across her face. "The Raze is in position. The Vault is majestic, Aster... I wish you could have seen it. It was like the inside of a palace"
Aster let out a long, shaky breath, the tension finally leaving his shoulders so suddenly he almost slumped forward with her. He didn't let go of her; he kept her anchored, his warmth the only thing stopping her from shivering apart.
"I didn't get to see what you saw but," Aster said, his voice soft and filled with a rare, genuine warmth that made Astra's eyes widen in surprise. "I can hear it now. Listen."
High above them, from the silent, jagged peak of the Sentry's Crown, a sound began to emerge. It wasn't a loud noise—it was a low, resonant frequency that vibrated in their very marrow. It was the sound of a deep, ancient cello, humming a melody that seemed to come from the earth itself.
The "Mountain's Song" had begun. By morning, every citizen in Orestes would wake up to the feeling that they want to hear more.
"We did it," Lumine whispered, leaning her head against Aster's shoulder. "We actually did it."
Aster looked toward the city, where the lights of the refineries were beginning to flicker. "No, Lumine. You did it. Now, let's get you back before the Palace realizes their Princess has been out all this time."
***
As they made their way back through the secret garden entrance, the "Song" grew more distinct. It wasn't a song with less lyrics, but more harmonic pattern that suggested peace, mystery, and a longing for something more than iron.
Aster looked at his sister, who was humming along to the mountain's new heartbeat. He looked at Elian, whose fear had been replaced by a look of profound inspiration. And he looked at Lumine, the girl who had risked her mind to help him.
The "Prince's Wager" had reached its endgame. The stage was set, the mountain was singing, and the Snowflakes were no longer alone in their mission.
**************
And tomorrow they are going to see a new Orestes.