The chamber was no longer the most dangerous place in the palace.
It was simply the place where everything had begun to show.
Above, the palace had awakened.
Not in panic—but in control.
Guards filled the corridors in ordered lines. Messengers moved with urgency, carrying sealed commands. The council doors remained open longer than usual, voices rising and falling behind them like a storm trying to stay contained.
And at the center of it all—
The royal family stood closer to the truth than they had ever been.
The heir did not leave immediately.
He stood at the entrance of the chamber, looking back one last time.
At the broken seals.
At the fractured stone.
At Damon.
There was something unsettled in his gaze now.
Not fear.
Not doubt.
But conflict.
The kind that came when something challenged everything you had been taught to believe.
He had trained his entire life to understand power.
To control it.
To embody it.
But what stood behind him now—
what stood in that chamber—
was not power that could be trained.
It was something else.
"You're coming with me," he said at last.
Not loudly.
But with certainty.
Damon raised an eyebrow slightly.
"That didn't sound like a suggestion."
"It wasn't."
Jeanne let out a quiet breath.
"…and me?"
The prince glanced at her briefly.
"You too."
Selene, leaning lightly against the wall, smiled faintly.
"And what about me?"
The prince didn't hesitate.
"You already followed us this far. I assume you won't stop now."
Selene's smile widened just a little.
"Good. That would've been disappointing."
They moved.
Not as allies.
Not yet.
But in the same direction.
The corridors above felt different.
People stepped aside as the prince passed—not just out of respect, but because of the presence that surrounded him.
His power was controlled.
Refined.
But undeniable.
It filled space without overwhelming it.
A perfect balance.
Exactly what the system intended.
Damon noticed.
Of course he did.
And he didn't like it.
Not because of the prince.
But because of the contrast.
Everything about the prince's power made sense.
Everything about his own—
didn't.
"You're thinking too loudly," Selene said quietly beside him.
Damon didn't look at her.
"Didn't ask for commentary."
"You don't have to."
A pause.
Then softer:
"It's obvious."
Jeanne walked just ahead, her thoughts racing faster than her steps.
A network beneath the world.
A system failing.
Something trying to return.
And now—
The palace was involved.
That made it worse.
Because power like this, once it reached the palace, never stayed quiet.
It became politics.
Control.
Weapons.
They entered the upper halls.
And everything shifted again.
The council chamber doors stood open.
Inside, voices echoed—sharp, controlled, layered with tension.
The moment the prince stepped in—
Silence fell.
Immediate.
Complete.
Every eye turned.
Not just to him.
But to who he had brought with him.
One of the elder council members stood slowly.
"Your Highness… we were informed of a disturbance, but we were not told you would bring outsiders into this chamber."
His gaze lingered on Damon.
Then Jeanne.
Then Selene.
Measured.
Disapproving.
"They're not outsiders," the prince said calmly.
"They're witnesses."
A faint ripple of reaction moved through the room.
"That is not the same thing," another voice said.
"It is when they saw what you didn't."
That stopped further argument.
For a moment.
The prince stepped forward.
"The lower chamber seal has failed."
That word again.
Seal.
But this time—
Spoken in a room where it meant something more.
The council exchanged glances.
Not confusion.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
Hidden.
But there.
Damon saw it immediately.
"…you knew," he said.
The room stiffened.
One of the council members spoke carefully.
"We are aware of structural protections within the palace, yes."
"That's not what I meant," Damon replied.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"You knew what was down there."
Silence stretched.
Tighter this time.
More dangerous.
The prince's gaze shifted slightly.
"…is that true?"
No one answered immediately.
And that was answer enough.
Selene let out a quiet breath.
"There it is."
Jeanne looked at her.
"…they've been hiding it."
Selene nodded once.
"For a very long time."
One of the council members finally spoke.
"You do not understand what you're accusing us of."
Damon tilted his head slightly.
"Then explain it."
Another voice cut in.
Colder.
Controlled.
"Those seals were never meant to be disturbed."
Selene smiled faintly.
"And yet… here we are."
The prince's voice came next.
Sharper now.
"Enough."
The room stilled again.
"If you knew what was beneath this palace, you will explain it. Now."
No titles.
No softness.
Just command.
The eldest among them stepped forward slowly.
His expression was unreadable.
"…what lies beneath this palace is not a threat you can fight with soldiers."
Damon crossed his arms.
"Good. I don't use soldiers."
The man ignored him.
"It is not a creature."
Jeanne's stomach tightened.
"…then what is it?"
A pause.
Then—
"A fragment."
The word settled heavily in the room.
Selene's expression didn't change.
Of course it didn't.
She already knew.
"A fragment of what?" the prince asked.
The man hesitated.
Not out of fear.
But out of weight.
Then he said it.
"…of the entity your ancestors failed to destroy."
Silence.
Real silence this time.
Jeanne spoke first.
"…failed?"
The man nodded slowly.
"They broke it apart."
Damon's eyes narrowed.
"…and buried the pieces."
"Yes."
Selene's voice cut in softly.
"Across multiple locations."
The man glanced at her briefly.
"…yes."
The prince stepped back slightly.
Processing.
Calculating.
"…and the seals—"
"—keep those fragments from reconnecting," the man finished.
Damon let out a slow breath.
"…and now they're failing."
The man's gaze shifted to him.
"Not failing."
A pause.
Then—
"Being undone."
That changed everything.
Jeanne felt it immediately.
"That means someone is doing this."
The man didn't answer.
But again—
That was answer enough.
The prince turned sharply.
"…who?"
No one spoke.
Because they didn't know.
Or wouldn't say.
Selene's voice came again.
Quiet.
Certain.
"Whoever it is…"
She looked toward Damon.
"…they're moving faster now."
Damon didn't ask why.
He already knew.
Because the moment he stepped into that chamber—
everything had started accelerating.
And far beneath them—
deep within the network—
something broken…
was beginning to remember what it used to be.