The candles finally relit themselves with weak, trembling flames.
The chamber, still heavy from Elira's revelations, felt colder.
Aria exhaled shakily, trying to steady herself.
Her team stood near her — uncertain, afraid, but ready.
Then the door opened softly.
Elira stepped aside…
and behind her walked a girl with nervous steps and trembling hands.
Elayne.
Her dark hair was tied loosely behind her head, her maid's uniform still plain and fit for work, but her eyes — her eyes held something different now.
Something touched by shadow.
Elira placed a gentle hand on her back.
"She is the one," Elira said softly. "The only person who understood the Book of Shadow."
The Aetherbounds turned to face her.
Morian leaned forward. "You? You're the one who read it?"
Elayne swallowed hard. "Y-Yes."
Deyr's eyebrows rose. "I couldn't read a single line without getting a headache. The words kept moving."
Suvarn nodded. "Even I felt dizzy. The book rejects anyone whose mind is too… stable."
Morian threw his mug into the corner.
"I tried reading it once. Gave up after one paragraph. Felt like someone punched my brain."
Kaenmor's eyes softened at Elayne.
"Elira said you were able to read all of it?"
Elayne nodded timidly.
"Yes… I read every page."
Aria stared at her in awe and fear.
"Was it… about Dravon's past?"
Elayne shook her head slowly.
"No. Not his human past. Not how he became an Aetherbound. Not about battles or stories or legends."
Her hands clenched on the hem of her skirt.
"The book isn't a history."
The room grew quieter.
Elayne looked down at the floor, voice trembling.
"It's pain."
Aria's breath hitched.
Elayne continued.
"Every line… every word… carries pain so deep it almost feels alive. The book doesn't tell you facts, it makes you feel what he felt."
She met their eyes, one by one.
"You cannot understand it with your mind. Only your heart."
Suvarn whispered, "That… sounds like him."
Deyr scratched his head uncomfortably. "Explain 'feel' — please, in words a dumbass like me can get."
Elayne bit her lip.
"Imagine reading about a monster. A merciless, devastating force. Someone who slaughters without hesitation. Cold. Detached. Violent."
The room stiffened.
Aria whispered, "Are you still talking about Dravon…?"
Elayne nodded.
"But the more you read, the more you realize something terrifying."
Her expression grew solemn.
"You don't hate him.
You pity him."
Kaenmor's eyes closed.
Elayne took a small step forward.
"The book makes you see a void. A darkness that isn't evil… just empty. A place where someone used to be, but is gone now. A soul that lost its warmth long before Aether touched it."
Aria felt her chest tighten painfully.
"He was suffering… even as a human?"
Elayne nodded.
"It feels like you're watching someone drown… but they don't scream. They don't fight. They just let themselves sink."
Deyr looked uncomfortable for the first time.
Morian muttered, "Damn… idiot should've shouted for help."
Suvarn's voice was hollow.
"He didn't know how."
......
Elira gently motioned for Elayne to continue.
"What else did the book tell you?" Kaenmor asked softly.
Elayne inhaled shakily.
"The closer you get to the end… the more the book breaks. Pages blur. Words correct themselves. Sentences scratch out on their own."
Aria felt goosebumps rise on her arms.
"Like it's trying to protect something," Elayne whispered.
"Or hide it."
"What?" Aria asked. "What is it hiding?"
Elayne shook her head.
"I don't know. But I think… whatever broke Dravon… whatever pushed him past the point of no return…"
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"…happened in those missing lines."
Silence.
The Aetherbounds did not speak.
Not one.
Because they knew she was right.
....
Aria finally broke the silence.
"Then we have no choice."
Her voice was steady, even if her hands shook slightly.
"We need to find Dravon. Before Zephyrion does."
Morian scratched his beard.
"Yeah, but we don't even know where the idiot is."
Suvarn looked at Elira.
"Do you?"
Elira closed her eyes, her silver hair rustling like mist.
For a moment, she looked almost ghostly.
Then her eyes snapped open.
"I can feel him. Just a fragmant, but I still feel it."
Everyone straightened.
"He's near," Elira whispered. "Not in Luminera… but close enough that the shadows still respond to him."
Aria felt her crest pulse faintly — warm, urgent.
"Can you track him?" she asked.
Elira shook her head.
"Not directly. He's shielding himself. But I can sense the places where his presence lingers."
"What does that mean?" Deyr asked.
"It means," Elira said softly, "we follow the trail of shadows he leaves behind."
Morian crossed his massive arms.
"That sounds like a pain."
Deyr smirked. "Everything involving Dravon is a pain."
Suvarn sighed, rubbing his eyes.
"But necessary."
Kaenmor met Aria's gaze.
"Aria. You should lead us. Your light… it's the only thing that makes him pause."
Her heart stopped for a moment.
Me? Lead the hunt for the strongest Aetherbound in existence?
But she forced herself to nod.
"I will."
Elayne took a step forward suddenly.
"Wait—!"
Aria turned to her.
Elayne clutched the Book of Shadow to her chest.
"I'm coming too."
Aria blinked. "You?"
Elayne's voice didn't waver.
"He left this book in my hands. Somehow, he wanted me to understand him. I don't know why… but maybe…"
Her voice cracked.
"Maybe he doesn't want to be alone anymore."
A painful silence stretched across the room.
Finally, Elira nodded approvingly.
"Then we go together."
She raised her hand, Aether swirling around her fingertips.
"But prepare yourselves."
Her eyes darkened.
"Finding him is the easy part."
Deyr frowned. "Agreed..."
Elira looked around the room — at the Aetherbounds, at the heroes, at Aria…
Her voice was solemn.
"The hard part is bringing him back."
The candles flickered.
The shadows trembled.
Aria's crest burned faintly beneath her skin.
A decision had been made.
They would face Dravon.
......And they started tracking for hours...
The landscape changed long before the group saw the city.
The earth grew grayer.
The wind colder.
The trees thinner, twisted, shivering despite the still air.
Even Aria felt it — a heaviness that clung to her chest like invisible chains.
Behind her, Elayne walked quietly, clutching Dravon's book to her chest, the shadows around her reacting faintly to its presence.
Ahead of her, the Aetherbounds stopped speaking.
Deyr's jokes dried up.
Morian's swagger faded.
Suvarn's gentle warmth dulled.
Kaenmor walked silently, the wind barely circling him.
All of them knew where they were going.
Dravon's city.
The place he once protected — or tried to.
The place that hated him more than it hated demons.
.....
By midday, they reached a ridge overlooking a valley.
The city below was large — nearly as large as Luminera — but it was nothing like it.
There were no vibrant markets, no bright banners, no lively streets.
Everything was sunken.
Gray.
Unmoving.
Buildings sagged inward, roofs shattered like broken ribs.
Smoke drifted upward from chimneys with no warmth, only ash.
People walked slowly, dragging their feet, eyes hollow.
Aria felt pain in her chest that wasn't her own — pain radiating from every soul down below.
"What… is this place?" she whispered.
Kaenmor answered softly.
"Once… Eldgrave. The City of Blades."
Morian exhaled, jaw tight.
"It was thriving. Proud. They worshiped strength. They respected Dravon more than their own king."
Deyr muttered, "And now look at it."
Sera held her cloak tighter.
"Did a demon attack?"
"No," Elira said, stepping forward.
Her silver hair fluttered faintly, though there was no wind.
"This is despair. Not destruction."
Aria shivered.
Despair felt worse than ruin.
.......
When they reached the gates, a few guards stood half-asleep, leaning on rusted spears. Their armor was cracked, their eyes dark.
One guard saw Kaenmor and froze.
His voice shook.
"Y—you… the Veins?"
Morian crossed his arms proudly. "You're welcome, weaklings."
But the guard did not bow.
He did not smile.
He didn't even look relieved.
Instead—
The guard spat on the ground.
"All of you… especially him… you are not welcome here."
Aria stiffened.
Suvarn's eyes widened.
"Wait—what?" Aria asked, stepping closer. "Is Dravon not here?"
The guard recoiled as if the name itself was filth.
"Don't say it! Don't—!"
Another guard shoved him aside.
"You're looking for… that man?" he growled.
Aria nodded.
"We have to find him."
The guard's expression twisted with hatred.
"Then do this city a favor—kill him when you do."
Silence snapped through the street.
Even the wind froze.
Kaenmor's brows lowered, his aura shifting.
"That is enough," he said softly — a warning wrapped in calm.
But the guard glared fearlessly.
"He abandoned us. Promised to protect us. Promised hope. But look around! Eldgrave is dead! Our people are broken! And all because of him! That monster!"
Elayne flinched.
Aria felt sick.
Morian stepped forward, voice dark.
"Watch your tongue, insect."
But the guard spat at the ground again.
"I'd rather face the Demon Lord than live under the shadow of Dravon Valeis."
.......
As they entered the streets, whispers filled the air.
"That name again…"
"The Shadow…"
"Because of him—!"
"Curse him!"
"Why did he ever come here?"
"If he shows his face… kill him."
Sera held onto Deyr's sleeve. "They hate him more than they fear demons…"
Deyr didn't joke.
Didn't smile.
He simply walked with his eyes lowered.
Aria finally asked him, voice small:
"Is this true…? Did Dravon abandon them?"
Deyr chuckled bitterly.
"Dravon never abandoned anyone. But people? They're good at abandoning him."
Morian added quietly:
"This city worshipped strength. They expected miracles from him. Expected him to fix everything. But Dravon… is not a god."
Kaenmor's voice followed, calm but heavy.
"When Zephyrion's influence spread, despair seeped into the city. The people needed hope… and Dravon had none left to give."
Elira whispered:
"So they blamed him for their own darkness…"
Aria understood.
Her crest pulsed painfully in her chest.
People hated what they didn't understand — and hated even more the ones who reflected their suffering back at them.
......
Elira guided them through narrow streets and twisted alleyways.
"His presence lingers here," she said. "Like footsteps across dust."
They walked past shivering beggars, hollow-eyed children, silent merchants. Not a single smile existed in this place.
By late afternoon, they reached a stone staircase covered in moss, leading up a steep hill.
At the top stood a structure once magnificent — a church of black stone and white spires.
Now its windows were cracked.
Its doors broken.
Its bell tower crooked.
Elayne froze.
Aria whispered, "Is this…?"
"Yes," Elira said. "This was Dravon's sanctuary."
Suvarn placed a hand on the broken door.
"He used to come here often. Not to pray… but to hide."
Deyr pushed the door open.
"Let's hope he isn't in a bad mood."
They entered slowly.
The air inside was cold.
Heavy.
Still.
Light filtered weakly through broken stained glass, scattering divine shapes on ruined floors.
As they walked deeper, they saw pews overturned, dust thick on every surface, cobwebs stretching like scars across pillars.
Garron whispered, "Feels haunted…"
Kaenmor corrected gently.
"No. Just sorrowful."
Aria felt her chest tighten again with foreign emotion.
She could feel Dravon.
Not his aura — not his power — but something else.
........
Elira stopped suddenly.
"He's here."
Aria's breath caught.
Sera clutched Deyr's arm, and he gently squeezed her hand — unusually serious.
Morian's expression hardened.
Suvarn's eyes softened.
Kaenmor's wind stilled.
Aria slowly stepped forward.
Past broken pews.
Past a fallen statue.
Past a cracked altar.
And then—
She saw him.
Standing at the far side of the ruined church, back turned, hands folded behind him…
Dravon Valeis.
He stood motionless, looking out through a shattered stained-glass window at the dead city below.
His black coat flowed slightly in the dim breeze.
His hair — black with streaks of platinum — fell over his shoulders.
His stance was calm.
Still.
Almost regal.
Even from behind…
Aria felt his presence like a gravity well.
Not crushing.
Not violent.
Just… heavy.
He spoke without turning.
His voice was quiet, emotionless.
"Well, look who's here."