As Lumumba and Jon climbed back up the damp stone stairs, the cold air of the underground chamber still clinging to them, Jon couldn't shake the anxiety gnawing at him. He had never seen Lumumba hesitate like that before, even if it had been for a brief moment. The weight of the decision they had just faced seemed to hang in the air between them, unspoken but palpable.
"So, what now?" Jon asked, glancing at Lumumba as they reached the top of the stairs and emerged back into the dimly lit halls of the royal library. The flickering candlelight cast long shadows on the ancient shelves around them, making the silence even more oppressive.
Lumumba stretched his arms, shrugging off the tension of the confrontation below. "Now? We head back to the princess, tell her what we found, and figure out what comes next. No point sitting around here and waiting for Raven to drop in for another round of cryptic villain talk."
Jon nodded, though his brow remained furrowed. "You really think Amara will know what to do with that crystal? Or how to stop Raven?"
Lumumba gave him a sideways glance, smirking slightly. "One thing I've learned, Jon, is that the people who look like they know what they're doing are usually just winging it, same as the rest of us. Amara's smart, but she's not a miracle worker. We're gonna have to figure out a lot of this on our own."
Jon sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Great. So we're still flying blind."
"Pretty much," Lumumba replied with a grin, "but hey, that's half the fun, right?"
They stepped back into the bustling streets of Valarys, the noise and chaos of the market a stark contrast to the eerie stillness of the library. The air was warmer here, filled with the smell of street food and the hum of city life. For a moment, the danger of the crystal and Raven's manipulations seemed distant, like a bad dream they had just woken up from.
As they wandered through the streets, the familiar vendor from earlier waved at them from his stand, the smell of roasted meat wafting through the air.
"Ah! You two again!" the vendor called out with a hearty laugh. "Hungry yet?"
Lumumba grinned and approached the stand, leaning casually on the counter. "Always. What's cooking?"
The vendor handed them a plate piled high with freshly roasted meat. "Something special today—straight from the northern plains. Guaranteed to keep you on your feet."
Jon, still looking a bit shaken from earlier, hesitated before grabbing a piece. "I'm starting to think we should just live here. We spend more time eating than anything else."
Lumumba chuckled as he bit into the meat, savoring the smoky flavor. "That's because you keep forgetting the most important rule of adventuring: never fight on an empty stomach."
Jon gave him a weak smile but quickly looked serious again. "You know, we've been running around chasing clues, fighting Raven's mind games, and now we've got this crystal... but what's the actual plan? We can't just keep reacting to everything. At some point, we need to take control of the situation."
Lumumba nodded thoughtfully, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "You're right. We've been letting Raven and the Sovereign call the shots. It's time we flip the script. But before we do that, we need more info. There's no point going in blind, especially if Raven's got us outnumbered and outmaneuvered."
Jon frowned, clearly worried. "And where do we find that kind of information? I doubt the answer's in another dusty book."
Lumumba thought for a moment, his eyes scanning the crowd as they continued walking through the streets. "We'll start by talking to Amara. She's got more connections in this world than anyone else we know. Plus, her father's got to know something about these fissures or the Sovereign's real plans. If we can figure out where the next fissure might open, we can get ahead of Raven for once."
Jon nodded slowly. "And if we don't?"
Lumumba grinned, but there was a sharp edge to it. "Then we improvise. Like always."
Back at the palace, Amara stood waiting for them in a small council room, her expression tense. She was dressed in simple but elegant clothing, the weight of her responsibilities clear in the dark circles under her eyes. She nodded as Lumumba and Jon entered.
"Did you find anything in the library?" she asked, her voice low but steady.
Lumumba leaned back in one of the chairs, propping his feet up on the table. "Oh, we found plenty. Like the fact that there's a crystal sitting down there that can tear the fabric of reality wide open."
Amara's eyes widened, but she didn't lose her composure. "What do you mean? A crystal... like the one the Sovereign has been searching for?"
"Yep," Lumumba said, his tone casual but his gaze sharp. "It's an anchor, according to our good friend Raven. Can open rifts between worlds, maybe even send me back home. But the catch is, it could also collapse this world if used wrong."
Amara's face tightened as she processed the information. "So it's dangerous, but it could be the key to stopping the Sovereign. Or at least slowing him down."
Jon, still standing by the door, added, "Raven said we weren't the only ones after it. He hinted that others might try to use it for... less noble purposes."
Amara nodded, her expression grim. "If that's true, then we need to secure it. We can't let it fall into the wrong hands. The Sovereign has been searching for these anchors for a reason. If he controls them, he could gain enough power to breach the barriers between worlds, not just with the fissures but on a much larger scale."
Lumumba's eyes narrowed. "And Raven? What's his play in all this?"
Amara hesitated, clearly considering her words. "Raven... is a different kind of threat. He doesn't seem to want power for the sake of power, but control. If the Sovereign wants to break the rules, Raven wants to rewrite them. He's playing a much longer game, one we don't fully understand yet."
Lumumba smirked, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Well, I've always been good at breaking games."
Amara shot him a sharp look. "This isn't a joke, Lumumba. We're dealing with forces beyond anything we've ever seen. If Raven is truly manipulating the fissures, we have to tread carefully."
Before Lumumba could respond, the doors to the council room swung open, and a young attendant rushed in, breathless.
"Princess! There's been a sighting—another fissure is opening to the north, near the borderlands."
Amara stood up immediately, her face set with determination. "Then we need to move. Now."
Lumumba stretched his arms lazily, then got to his feet. "Looks like we've got our next stop."
Jon, his nerves visibly fraying, asked, "Are we really ready for this? We barely got through the last one, and now we've got another fissure and Raven breathing down our necks."
Amara turned to him, her voice resolute. "We don't have a choice. If we don't stop this fissure from opening, the Sovereign will gain even more power. And if Raven's involved... we can't let him get ahead of us."
Lumumba grabbed his katanas and slung them over his back, his grin returning. "Well then, let's go crash their little party."
As they left the palace and began preparing for the journey north, the weight of the coming battle pressed down on them all. Lumumba's mind churned with thoughts of Raven, the crystal, and the game that seemed to have no end. There were too many moving pieces, and Raven was always two steps ahead. But something about the way Raven had spoken to him earlier nagged at the back of his mind.
What was Raven really after?
And more importantly, why did it feel like their paths were converging, even though they were supposed to be enemies?