Breakfast was calm. Plates passed around, questions about the eggs and juice were settled quickly, and Bom casually helped himself to everything within reach. But Virana, who'd been quietly watching the whole scene unfold, finally lost it.
"What the hell is going on?!" she shouted, her expression a blend of shock and irritation.
Ryoken looked at her, nonplussed. "We're eating breakfast?"
"Yes, I can see that!" She pointed at Bom, the dwarf who had literally fallen out of the sky to join us yesterday. "But who is this?"
Ryoken answered with his usual casualness. "He's Bom."
Bom raised a hand, giving a thumbs-up while chewing. "Sup."
Virana's glare didn't soften. "And why, exactly, is he here with us?"
Ryoken tilted his head. "Why shouldn't he be?"
Bom's face fell, and he asked in a sad voice, "Yeah, why shouldn't I?"
Virana groaned. "Because you can't just let a random stranger join us like this! We need background checks to make sure he's not a spy or something!"
That sparked a thought. "Wait, you ran a check on us too?" I asked.
"Of course. We wouldn't have made you an offer without being certain you weren't spies sent by an enemy nation. And nothing about either you or Rem raised any flags."
A few things clicked into place, namely that Azdrian intelligence was impressive—and someone had likely covered up my week-long disappearance. I couldn't help but wonder who.
"Don't worry," Ryoken replied, waving it off. "Thalor already tried checking on Bom here, but didn't find a single suspicious thing—or anything at all… though I do know he crushed that Revenant by accident, and that's reason enough for me not try to kick him out."
Virana, though slightly less irritated, was still unconvinced. "But why is he here?"
Bom gestured in my direction, his mouth half-full of eggs. "I'll be tagging along with this guy."
She furrowed her brow. "But… why?"
"Because Big Guy said it'd be fun."
"And… who's Big Guy?"
"Big Guy."
Virana closed her eyes, exhaled sharply, and finally gave up. "Fine. Just… pass the cheese."
Thalor quickly handed her the cheese, and she joined us, looking thoroughly defeated as she finally reached the level of acceptance we'd all arrived at last night. Since the Dragonlord altar had been destroyed by the Primordial, we'd returned to the Azdrian house we'd stayed in before the attack. Bom had come along, and everyone just seemed to go with it. We asked him more questions, but he gave the same answers or just said he didn't know. More confusing thing was Thalor also confirmed he was telling the truth.
Between bites, Ryoken asked, "So… how did you all let that thing escape, anyway? I get that it was strong, but with everyone in town, it shouldn't have stood a chance."
Thalor gave a wry look. "It blew part of itself up to throw us off its trail, then beelined for you."
"Why would it come after me?" I asked.
Rem looked over at me. "You did eat a Dragonlord heart, right?"
I nodded.
Thalor grimaced. "For nightmares, that's their equivalent of feasting on someone with the Throne's Mark. Once they sense that mark, they'll hunt you to the ends of the Dreamscape. It's like a beacon calling them to you."
"Perfect…" I muttered, realizing my mark would be as much a curse as a gift.
Thalor then turned to Ryoken. "So what's the plan now? We need to bring him to the queen before word of his identity gets out or another nightmare catches wind."
"I know, I know," Ryoken said, rubbing his temples. "But there's work to do. Since the altar here is destroyed, I can't mark them as Azdrians yet. We should probably report back."
"Couldn't we just use an altar in a nearby world?" I asked.
"The right the queen gave me only works here, within a limited timeframe. With this altar gone… it's a no-go." Ryoken's face was unusually serious.
"Are you saying all that effort was for nothing?"
He glanced at me, then shook his head.
"So, I'll head back to Azdria alone to inform the queen and get the necessary permissions to mark you two as Azdrians somewhere else. In the meantime, Virana and Thalor will stay with you to ensure your safety."
"Huh?" Virana and Thalor echoed in unison, looking equally appalled.
"We're not letting you go off alone, old man," Thalor argued, arms crossed.
"Old man?!" Ryoken bristled, sitting up straighter. "For our standards, I'm practically young!"
Virana didn't let him off the hook. "Nice try. Subject change denied. You're not wandering off by yourself, especially when you don't even have a core."
I blinked. "You don't have a core?" I remembered the shadows he used against the Revenant. "But you were using somnium yesterday."
"He can manipulate the somnium around him to some extent," Virana explained, "but without a core, he's practically defenseless against even a night terror."
I felt a fresh wave of respect. Manipulating somnium without a core? I didn't even know that was possible.
"How did you lose your core?" Rem asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"Rem!" I hissed, worried the question was too personal.
"Oh! Sorry, probably not a fun topic…"
Ryoken waved it off with a dismissive grin. "Nah, it's fine. Just a long story… I'll tell it another time."
Even with his casual tone, the air grew tense. Whatever the story was, it was heavy. Both Virana and Thalor looked away, their faces reflecting a quiet understanding. Sensing the sudden weight of the moment, Ryoken clapped his hands.
"Enough with the serious stuff! We've got breakfast waiting for us!"
"But we still—" Thalor's protest was abruptly cut short as Ryoken stuffed a large red pepper into his mouth.
"Didn't you hear me?" Ryoken grinned. "Shut up and eat!"
Thalor blinked, his expression cycling through shock, betrayal, and… pain? Slowly, he started chewing the pepper, his face gradually turning crimson.
"Is he… angry?" I whispered to Virana, who shook her head.
"Nah, Thalor's not the type to get mad about something like that."
Rem pointed toward the mound of half transparent red peppers in front of Ryoken, her face pale. "Wait… did you just feed him one of those?"
"Yeah, why?" Ryoken asked nonchalantly.
Rem gulped. "Those are ghost-burning peppers. I've read about them—they're supposed to be so spicy they can knock out ten people with a single bite…"
Thalor sat there, face now beet red, silently clenching his fist as he chewed. How he hadn't collapsed yet was a miracle.
"Why are those on the table?" I managed, wondering how any of them were still in one piece.
"Oh, I bought them yesterday." Virana shrugged with a slightly guilty look. "Didn't think they were all that spicy, to be honest." To prove her point, she picked up another pepper and chewed it down like a piece of candy.
I looked between her, who apparently had an iron stomach, and Thalor, who looked ready to pass out but hadn't said a word. I'd been wrong to think she was the sensible one here.
"Okay, maybe I shouldn't have brought them to the table," Virana admitted. "But why was that the first thing you stuffed into his mouth?"
Ryoken shrugged. "It was closest. What else could I grab?"
"There were, like, thirty other dishes you could've grabbed!" I looked around, and a realization dawned. "Wait… where did everything go?"
The table, previously overflowing with food, now held nothing but the mountain of peppers.
"That would be my doing," Bom said casually, not even looking up from his seat.
"When… how?" I stammered. "It was full ten minutes ago."
"You were all distracted with your conversation," he explained with a shrug, "and it seemed rude to interrupt."
Rem's eyes narrowed at the peppers. "And the peppers?"
Bom shrugged again. "Taste buds are nearly gone at this point, but those things are too spicy even for me."
I couldn't decide what was more impressive—Bom's ability to devour an entire table's worth of food in minutes, or Virana's spice tolerance, apparently so high she was immune to what could knock out a grown man easily.
As for Thalor? Still suffering in a corner.
---
Ryoken took a steady breath, studying me with an intensity that I hadn't yet seen from him. "It's time we talked a bit more openly, don't you think?"
"Yeah," I replied, nodding as I settled into the chair opposite him. There were questions piling up between us, and a lot left unsaid.
After breakfast, Bom had wandered off into the city, claiming he had errands, though he kept returning confused and unable to find his way around. Rem offered to go with him to help, and Virana tagged along, still not quite ready to trust Bom on his own. Thalor, on the other hand, had quietly retreated to his room—likely wanting some peace after the chaos of breakfast. With everyone else busy, Ryoken had invited me up to his study for tea, and as he closed the door behind us, I sensed this conversation might get deep.
"First of all," he began, pouring us both a cup, "I'd like to hear where you came from and how you managed to obtain the heart of a Dragonlord. Not exactly an easy feat."
"I'll answer that, but first, I need to know why the Queen of Azdria is searching for the Fated Sovereign." I didn't look away from him, wanting to convey that I wasn't going to just give him what he wanted without understanding more.
Ryoken's expression changed; he straightened slightly, his earlier humor dropping. "Fair enough. Can't expect you to just lay it all out for me." He seemed almost respectable like this, every bit the leader he was supposed to be, though I noticed a glimmer of amusement lingering.
"Truthfully, I don't know exactly what she's planning…" he began, serious for once, "…because she hasn't told me." His serious tone turned into a sly smile.
Of course, almost respectable.
"Okay, okay, don't give me that look." He took another sip of tea and settled back, his smile dimming as he continued. "I might not know her exact reasons, but I can guess. How much do you know about what happened to the Highlord of Azdria?"
"I heard he died in a nightmare attack, and that one of his daughters went missing. That's about it."
Ryoken's expression darkened. "Well, you have the basics right, but that attack wasn't just some nightmare incident. That day was the beginning of most of Azdria's current troubles." He leaned forward, his voice lowering as he explained. "Allow me to paint you the full picture first. Azdria isn't a nation of warriors but of artists. It's a place ruled by beauty, ideas, and creation, not bloodshed. The ruling system's unique: the Highlord and the four families under him protect Azdria from nightmares and other threats, but don't directly rule the nation. Each of these families, including the Highlord's, descends from a Dragonlord. Their blood gives them enough strength to rival and sometimes surpass the armies of most other nations. Only one child per generation inherits the ability to summon the spirit of their ancestor Dragonlord, and these are the chosen family leaders."
He sighed deeply, casting his gaze toward the window, as if replaying good old memories. "The Highlord Haliss Azra, along with Queen Lilith Azra, ruled peacefully for twenty-five years, and they had twin daughters, Reika and Meira. They were twenty at the time—a young age, for the First Plane. I trained both of them from the age of seven, teaching them somnium control and swordsmanship. Reika was a natural diplomat, brilliant with people and politics. Meira, on the other hand, was a born warrior, able to master complex techniques in days. By the time, she could stand her ground against me, a Violet core."
It was easy to hear the affection he held for them. He continued, his voice strained. "Then, three years ago, everything shattered. Aurelia sent a desperate call for aid, claiming they were under siege from multiple Primordials. By treaty made through thirteen nations through Golden Order, Azdria was required to respond, so Highlord Haliss sent a significant force to assist. He never imagined the trap waiting back home."
He clenched his fists, containing his anger. "While our warriors were away, an enormous cluster of nightmares struck one of Azdria's largest cities. We requested help from Golden Order, but no answer came. Haliss rallied everyone he could, including two family heads, me, and Meira. Thousands of nightmares were waiting, nearly a hundred Incubi-level, eight Revenants, and a Primordial. The battle was brutal, but we managed a victory, though at an immense cost. And even as we gathered to tend to the wounded, three more clusters crashed down."
I listened, caught in his words, feeling the weight of what had happened.
"Realizing the situation was hopeless, Haliss ordered everyone to retreat. But Meira, his daughter… she refused. No matter how we tried, we couldn't convince her. She wouldn't abandon her father." Ryoken's voice softened. "But finally, she agreed. Haliss made me promise to get her out safely, and I thought I had. I thought she'd left with the others."
He looked away, his voice growing strained. "But Meira sneaked back. By the time I realized she was missing, she had already reached her father. When I finally reached her, she was kneeling, her arms wrapped around her father's lifeless form. One of the Primordials lay dead not far away from them, and the other two, injured and furious, loomed over a sea of nightmares, snarling, ready to strike her down. I barely caught a glimpse of her face before the sky seemed to crack open with an immense force. Red butterflies filled the air, glowing like embers scattered in the night. My core shattered, and the last thing I felt was my own strength slipping, failing to keep my promise to protect her.
When I regained consciousness, it was all over. The city was silent, and every trace of the nightmares had vanished as if they'd never existed. Highlord Haliss's body had been gently placed, arms crossed, his expression peaceful, almost as if he were simply at rest. But Meira…she was gone. No trace of her left behind."
I stayed silent, letting it all sink in. I had heard a version of the story from Mirella, but hearing it directly from Ryoken—someone who had been there—made it impossible to ignore the loss and betrayal that had left Azdria scarred.
"It doesn't end there. The warriors we sent to Aurelia returned untouched, reporting that there had been no nightmares there at all. Our queen… Lilith… was furious, and rightly so. She had lost everything for a false alarm, for a trap laid to weaken us. We suspect it was orchestrated by Aurelia's Empress, possibly with Golden Order's help, though there's no evidence. Queen Lilith cut all ties with Golden Order after that, and we've been under intense strain ever since."
His words hung in the air. The depth of Azdria's resentment, especially that of their Queen, was clearer now. With a tragedy like that, it made sense she might see the Fated Sovereign as a sign of Golden Order's end.
Only, I wasn't planning on taking the Throne.
---