The room was dimly lit, the crackling fire casting shadows on the stone walls. Draco leaned against the cold surface, arms crossed as he listened to Noah. The silence in the room felt dense, as if all of them, the seven chosen of the prophecy, had their breath collectively held, waiting for the next revelation. The air was heavy with secrets, too many of them.
"So… this place," Light began, her voice steady, though her golden eyes flickered with uncertainty. "The city of… Ophiuchus. How is it hidden from the Kingdom? How have we never heard of it, except through whispers and myths?"
Noah stood before them, his presence both commanding and strangely comforting. He had the aura of a man who had seen too much, lost too much, and yet remained unbreakable. He glanced at Lilith, who gave him a slight nod. The Oracle sat quietly beside him, her gaze sharp and calculating, as if always seeing beyond the present moment.
"Ophiuchus is just our constellation, the name of our district is Serpentpire," Noah began, his voice deep and measured, "or as the other districts like to call it, 'Dragonwoods,' is not a place easily found. It's located in the southernmost region of the Zodiac Archipelago. The land facing the rest of the islands is covered in thick, dark woods—the Dragonwoods. They are treacherous and nearly impenetrable to anyone who doesn't know their paths."
Hunter leaned forward, his brows furrowed. "What happens if you make it through the woods?" He asked, wanting a real explanation, even if he already knew, given how they passed through them.
"If you manage to survive the forest's creatures and dangers," Noah continued, "you'll reach the Aedraynne Mountains. The widest and tallest range in the Archipelago, they form a natural wall, blocking passage further south. Few have ever tried to cross them… and even fewer survived."
"And if you do?" Claus asked, skepticism lacing his voice.
"If you do," Noah said with a faint smile, "you'll find yourself at the Hollow Caves. A maze of caverns, filled with traps and illusions, leading deeper into the heart of Serpentpire. Beyond those caves is the hidden paradise where the resistance has lived for centuries, undetected."
"The resistance…" Amelia whispered, her eyes wide, the word tasting foreign in her tongue. "How have you stayed hidden for so long?"
"Serpentpire is protected by a natural magnetic field," Lilith answered, her voice soft but firm. "It disrupts navigational tools and makes it impossible for ships or airships to approach without being torn apart. Only those born under the Ophiuchus constellation know how to navigate its barriers. And even then, it's not without risk."
Draco's mind raced. The idea of a hidden district, cut off from the rest of the Archipelago, thriving despite everything the Kingdom had thrown at them, was astounding. But there was more. He could feel it—there was always more when it came to Seventeen and her people.
Joshua cleared his throat. "The powers of Ophiuchus are unlike any other district. Those born under the Ophiuchus constellation wield abilities that the Kingdom has long rejected—too dangerous, too unpredictable. Transformation. Chaos. Soul related. Forbidden knowledge. They possess powers that go beyond what the rest of us can comprehend."
Cassie leaned forward, eyes wide with curiosity. "Like what?"
Noah didn't miss a beat. "Serpent summoning. Rebirth magic. Venomous touch. Illusion crafting. Necromancy. Soul manipulation. Serpent shifting. Foresight. Mending. Some even wield ancient, forgotten magic—magic that the rest of the world has long since abandoned."
Draco's jaw clenched. He knew Seventeen was powerful, but this was a whole new level. As if sensing his thoughts, Lilith spoke up.
"And then there's Seventeen."
The room went silent again, every pair of eyes on Noah as he spoke. "Seventeen is… unlike anyone who has ever been born under Ophiuchus. She possesses all of these abilities, and more. She was born during the turning of Scorpio to Ophiuchus—November 30th. This gives her access to powers beyond just Ophiuchus. She can wield abilities from her birth parents' constellation, powers she keeps hidden from almost everyone. Only I know of them, and I've vowed to keep her secret."
Light blinked in surprise. "Of course. She lied about her birthday."
"What does that mean for the prophecy?" Amelia asked, her voice tinged with concern.
"The prophecy doesn't care about time of birth," Lilith said, her voice calm but firm. "It cares about strength, will, and destiny. And Seventeen… she is the key to it all. She is the strongest Ophiuchus ever born, with the potential to master all forms of her constellation's power. But there's more…"
Draco narrowed his eyes. "More?"
Noah's gaze darkened. "Seventeen is bound to something ancient. An artifact that holds forbidden magic, the kind that can reshape reality itself. It's a power that no one else can wield, not even other Ophiuchans. Only Seventeen."
The room fell into a stunned silence. Draco's mind raced, trying to piece together everything Noah had revealed. Seventeen wasn't just powerful. She was beyond anything they had imagined—stronger, more dangerous, and yet somehow still so isolated, so lonely.
"And her siblings?" Light asked softly, breaking the silence. "The ones who died…"
Noah's face darkened with grief. "We had seven children. We thought they were the prophecy—the seven to save the world. Her, Aaron, Thalia, Mason, Kara, Philipp, and Hermés. We renamed them Seventeen, Thirteen, Fifteen, Eleven, Nineteen, Fourteen, and Ten Whitlock."
Draco's heart tightened at the names, at the thought of the family Seventeen had lost. He had seen the pain in her eyes, but now he understood it even more.
"What was... what was her real name?" Hunter was the one to ask, and Draco noticed an uncanny tension in his friend.
"We don't know," Cassandra mumble. "When Noah came back with her, she was Seventeen."
"Our children were all powerful," Lilith continued. "Thirteen, Fifteen, and Nineteen had venomous touch. Eleven and Fourteen were masters of illusion crafting. Ten had soul manipulation, though he struggled to control it and illusion crafting. They were all so young… Thirteen was 17. Fifteen and Eleven were both 16. Nineteen was 15. Fourteen was 14, and Ten… Ten was just 13."
"She... she had accused my father of... of taking something from her. He didn't..." Light's words trailed off and Claus intertwined their hands softly.
"Don't worry, Valiant," Cassandra said dryly, "it's not your burden to carry alone. All of your parents were involved."
"Cassie," Joshua groaned.
She glared her twin brother, "She asked. And Seven may have gotten closer to them, even if she hates it, but we haven't. It hasn't been that long since we lost them, Josh. They are the spitting image of their parents, even Saint-Montclaire and Hart, the adopted one, have their same physical appearance."
"Our parents wouldn't kill innocents children, they," Light huffed, panic crawling into her heart, "aren't that cruel."
"How do you know it was them?" Draco asked, sick, knowing that his parents were far too capable of doing that. They had taken his sister when she was still a teen, it haunted him, it forever would.
Noah stared at the ground, hands closed in fists. "They made a broadcast out of it," when he spoke, his voice was tense, deeper than before, raspy with emotion. "To the entire Kingdom. We have television and holograms, we saw it happening. Seven watched it. She nearly destroyed the city in a breakdown, it made her lose control of her magic. For two full months, she was phasing in shadows, unable to control it to get tangible again. We all had it hard but she... she couldn't bear it."
Suddenly, one of the worse memories he had came to his mind. He was 21 back then, studying in his chambers when the hologram of the broadcast popped up in his room. His parents and the others had claimed that they had captured a group of terrorist teens trying to murder his aunt, Queen Seraphina. When the teens were brought in the platform, they looked like they had been through heavy torture before, their mouths sewed, their clothes ripped showing their bodies bruised.
He had forced himself to watch as his parents, Claus', Light's, Hunter's, Amelia's, Sablina's, together with the rulers of Liberty Hills, Horn, and Loveliar took turns brutally murdering all the... six kids. They were different from each other. Black hair, ginger hair, blonde hair, brown hair, pink hair. He had wondered why the teens had dared to do something stupid when the repercussions would be so brutal, and he was unable to eat for the following two days.
"Black, ginger, blonde, brown, and pink hair," he whispered, staring down, hands shaking softly, his bile threatening to crawl up his throat. "Was... was it them?" He forced himself to face Noah, and when he nodded, he felt as if the ground was swallowing him.
Suddenly, Seventeen's struggle and forced denial to get closer to them made sense. Guilty gripped his heart like a vile, ["Fuck. Why did they had to do that? They took my sister and then her siblings... why? Why? Why?"]
Draco felt the weight of it all. Seventeen was a force beyond anything they could comprehend. And yet, she was still human. Still carrying the weight of her past, her overwhelming grief, and her burden alone.
And now, more than ever, he knew they couldn't let her face it alone. Even if she insisted in... reasonably, pushing him away.
["She lost everything and it's their fault,"] he clenched his jaw, swallowing the bile down. ["And we are a living memory of them."]