Karthos turned his luminescent gaze back to Malakar, the flickering light of the formation reflecting in his deep-set eyes.
His presence alone felt like an anchor in reality, sothing that should not be, and yet—was.
Malakar's smirk remained in place, but his fingers twitched slightly beneath his cloak, the weight of Karthos' words sinking into him in a way few things ever had.
Then, in a voice that seed to echo through ti itself, Karthos spoke.
"That wouldn't be a smart idea."
Malakar's eyes narrowed slightly.
Karthos continued."To show you my true appearance… that would be dangerous. For you, for them, and even for ."
His voice, though calm, carried a weight beyond mortal understanding.
But before Malakar could press further, Karthos added sothing that sent a new chill through the cavern.
"But I can tell you this—My true form is… similar to the Grendyle."
Kaelred frowned. "Similar?"
Karthos nodded, his smile never fading.
"Yes. Because I was the one who made them."
A suffocating silence followed.
Argolaith and Kaelred froze, their minds struggling to process what had just been revealed.
Even Malakar—who had seen eons of history unfold before his very eyes—felt an unfamiliar sensation creep into his chest.
Karthos—this being, this entity—was not rely an observer of the Grendyle.
He was their creator.
Kaelred finally broke the silence.
"…You made them?" His voice was slow, careful, like he wasn't sure if he wanted the answer.
Karthos nodded.
"Yes. They were my first step."
Argolaith's brow furrowed. "First step? Toward what?"
Karthos' gaze seed to darken, but not in anger—in knowing.
"To becoming sothing different."
Malakar's lips parted slightly, a spark of understanding flickering in his ancient mind.
Then—
Karthos said sothing that sent a wave of unease through all of them.
"To enter the place where mortals aren't even allowed to know about."
Argolaith's stomach tightened, but his curiosity burned brighter.
Kaelred exhaled. "And what place is that?"
Karthos turned his gaze upward, as if looking beyond the cavern, beyond the city of Gren, beyond the very plane of existence they stood on.
And then—he spoke its na.
"The Greater Realm."
The words hung in the air, their weight far heavier than they should have been.
It was as if, by simply saying it, Karthos had drawn them all one step closer to a truth too vast for the human mind to fully grasp.
Malakar, however, understood imdiately.
Not in the way of experience, but in the way of forbidden knowledge—whispers in the dark, stories traded between the oldest beings still walking the world.
He had read of it.
Hints. Fragnts.
A place that was part of this dinsion, but at the sa ti, was not.
A place that existed between existence and oblivion.
Malakar had assud it was just a myth.
But now, standing before the one who claid to have sought it, he knew—
It was real.
He inhaled slowly, then exhaled, regaining his composure.
"…And you believe you can reach it?"
Karthos' smile did not falter.
"I do not believe. I know."
Argolaith and Kaelred could barely process what they were hearing.
Argolaith, ever the one to seek answers, took a step forward, his eyes burning with determination.
"…Then is it possible?"
Karthos tilted his head slightly. "What is?"
Argolaith clenched his fists, his voice unwavering.
"Is it possible that we can save the Grendyles?"
Kaelred's eyes widened slightly, turning to look at him in surprise.
Malakar remained silent, watching closely.
For the first ti since he had arrived, Karthos' smile faded.
Not in amusent.
Not in disappointnt.
But in sothing else.
Understanding, slowly, he nodded.
"Yes."
Argolaith's heart leapt.
Kaelred let out a slow breath, as if he had been holding it in.
But before either of them could speak—
Karthos added sothing else.
Sothing that made Argolaith's excitent freeze.
"But you aren't ready for that."
The words were not cruel.
They were not said in mockery or condescension.
They were simply the truth.
A truth that settled deep into Argolaith's chest.
Kaelred frowned. "And when will we be ready?"
Karthos turned his gaze to him.
"When you no longer ask that question."
Kaelred exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of his head. "You know, I was really hoping for a clearer answer."
Karthos chuckled.
Malakar, however, remained deep in thought.
He knew what Karthos was implying.
The path ahead of them was not one of simple power.
It was a path of understanding, of shifting one's very perspective of existence itself.
And the truth was—
They were nowhere near ready.
Not yet.
But the fact remained—one day, they could be.
And that, Malakar mused, was an interesting possibility.
The air in the cavern still carried the residual weight of Karthos' words—you are not ready.
But Argolaith had never been one to accept limitations.
His eyes still burned with determination, his mind racing with thoughts of what they needed to do.
So he did what he always did—he asked questions.
"How long will the formation keep working?"
Karthos turned his gaze toward the glowing, shifting runes that pulsed like a heartbeat in stone.
"It has been breaking for thousands of years. But it will not collapse in your lifeti."
Kaelred exhaled sharply, as if he had been holding in a breath. "That's… good, I guess."
Argolaith, however, wasn't satisfied.
"And what kind of knowledge do we need to save them?"
Karthos' eyes glimred with sothing old and knowing as he regarded Argolaith.
"Not power. Not force."
He gestured toward the Grendyle beside them, the one that had helped them communicate.
"You need to understand what was lost. What was changed. The formation does not just hold them here—it has bound their very nature, altering the core of their existence. To free them is to undo a fate they have lived with for countless years."
Kaelred crossed his arms. "So we need more than just the ability to break the formation—we need to know how to return them to what they were."
Karthos nodded. "And more importantly, to make sure you do not break them further in the process."
Argolaith clenched his fists. "Then we'll find that knowledge."
Karthos tilted his head slightly. "In ti."
Argolaith frowned, but Karthos had already shifted his focus.
Then—he asked a question of his own.
A question that made both Malakar and Karthos still.
Karthos' glowing gaze settled on Argolaith's left hand.
"Tell , Argolaith…"
Argolaith blinked, confused by the shift in conversation.
"…What?"
Karthos' voice dropped slightly, a note of sothing unreadable in his tone.
"Where did you get the storage ring on your finger?"
Kaelred raised a brow. "Wait, why do you care about his—"
But before he could finish, Malakar's expression changed.
The usual smug amusent vanished from the Lich's face.
For the first ti since they had t him—Malakar looked tense.
Argolaith, still unaware of the sudden shift in atmosphere, answered honestly.
"I stole it."
A silence heavier than stone settled over them.
Argolaith continued, oblivious to the reactions around him.
"There was this old lab hidden in a massive tree in the Forsaken Forest, right? It belonged to Athos, the librarian in my town."
"He had a bunch of stuff there—alchemy books, rune smithing research, thousands of books, honestly. I saw the ring sitting in the lab and just… took it."
Kaelred snorted, shaking his head. "You're ridiculous."
Argolaith shrugged. "I an, it's not like he cared. When I got back, he just told I could keep it. He said not to tell too many people, but that was about it."
Silence.
A very different kind of silence.
Argolaith finally noticed the look on Malakar's face.
And Karthos' face.
Both of them were staring at him—not just with shock.
But with sothing else.
Sothing far closer to fear.
Argolaith narrowed his eyes. "What?"
Malakar opened his mouth—then closed it.
He looked at Karthos, as if waiting for the ancient being to say sothing first.
Karthos, for the first ti, looked uncertain.
Argolaith's stomach twisted. "What?" he repeated, more forcefully.
Karthos was silent for a long mont.
Then—he spoke.
"Keep it safe."
Argolaith's brow furrowed. "I an… yeah? I wasn't planning on losing it."
Malakar finally seed to find his voice. "No."
His usual arrogance was gone.
His violet eyes glead with sothing much darker as he took a step forward, his tone low and sharp.
"Keep it safe. Do not let anyone take it. Do not let anyone study it. Do not even let people know you have it if you can help it."
Kaelred frowned. "Okay, but why—"
"Because that ring should not exist."
Argolaith and Kaelred stiffened.
Argolaith's hand instinctively tightened around the ring on his finger.
Karthos let out a slow exhale, regaining his composure.
"Athos told you to keep it, yes?"
Argolaith nodded. "Yeah."
Karthos exchanged a brief, unreadable glance with Malakar.
Then, finally, he sighed.
"Then do as he said."
Malakar's smirk returned, but there was sothing different in his eyes now.
Sothing that had not been there before.
"I always wondered," Malakar murmured. "What kind of idiot would let sothing like that slip through their fingers?"
He chuckled, but it was not a humorous sound.
"And now I know."
Argolaith scowled. "Okay, enough of the cryptic nonsense. What is this ring?"
Karthos shook his head. "That is not sothing you are ready to know."
Kaelred let out a sharp laugh, throwing his hands in the air. "Oh, great. Another thing we're not ready for."
Argolaith gritted his teeth, frustrated. "Fine. Whatever. But I'm not going to just forget about this."
Malakar grinned. "I would be disappointed if you did."
Karthos, however, simply nodded.
"Good."
There was sothing about the way he said it—like he expected Argolaith to find out eventually.
But not now.
Not yet.
Not while the world was still watching.
Argolaith exhaled slowly, letting the tension settle into sothing quieter.
Then—he turned back toward the Grendyle.
"We have a long way to go," he muttered. "But one day… we'll be ready."
Karthos smiled slightly.
And Malakar watched.
Because no matter what the future held—
The ring on Argolaith's finger had just changed everything.
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