Northern exhaled heavily and looked to the side. His clone was bringing his father in his arms, the older man’s breathing steady now.
’At least that’s one crisis averted.’
"I’ve healed him. All should be well from this point on, and hopefully he knows where Mother is."
Northern looked at the clone, then at his father cradled in those identical arms. Strange, how normal that sight had beco.
"Let’s go up."
He put his hands behind his back and walked upstairs, footsteps echoing through the ravaged depths of the Kageyama castle.
***
When they erged onto the surface of the grand palace—the main floor—Northern found that his clone had been busy. The one he’d sent with Kai had managed to round up almost everything and everyone involved in whatever had torn through the Kageyama clan.
’I’m efficient. As expected.’
The survivors were gathered in clusters, so wounded, others simply shell-shocked. And there, sitting apart from the rest, was a prisoner with ashen hair. He looked broken, beaten down by circumstance, but his eyes held a strange calm nonetheless.
Northern’s investigating clone glanced up as the other two arrived, then returned his attention to the prisoner.
The young man’s gaze flickered to the clone behind Northern—the one carrying his father—then snapped back to the Northern seated before him.
"B—but we were told... you went to fight... I saw you leave?"
Northern nodded, settling into a more comfortable position.
"Indeed, I went to fight." He tilted his head slightly. "What? Is three days not enough?"
The man fell silent, conflict dancing across his features. He looked down, jaw working as he processed sothing.
"It’s not that... I just..."
He exhaled slowly.
"I never imagined that we wouldn’t need to back you up. I thought it was more like you would hold him off for a while, and eventually we would also have to face our fair share of this fate."
Despite the scathing wounds across his face, his tone remained fine and refined. Educated. Cultured, even.
Northern laughed shortly, the sound carrying no mockery.
’He’s not wrong to think that way.’
"I understand why many would think that way. Not that a handful of people understood what I am, after all."
Northern shrugged, the gesture casual.
"But either way, it all ended well. Not completely well, by the way—the Chaos Prince and Koll escaped."
The prisoner’s expression shifted slightly.
Northern waved a hand dismissively.
"But there’s nothing to be concerned about. The next ti they decide to show up, I’m sure I would’ve gotten stronger. More echoes, more forms, stronger."
’And I will. That’s not arrogance—just fact.’
The man looked at him, clearly confused by half of what Northern had said, but he managed a small laugh and nodded along anyway. Pretending to understand.
Northern caught it imdiately. He always did.
"What’s your na and how did you end up here?"
The man exhaled, shoulders sagging slightly.
"Right."
He looked down, sothing somber passing over his features.
"I am Sael of the White String. I’m not sure you saw , but I saw you in South Drywall when you arrived with the massive airship."
He paused, then added with quiet formality:
"I am an elite of the Tharion Citadel."
Northern leaned forward slightly, fingers steepling beneath his chin.
"Hmm, then what business brought you all the way from South Drywall to here?"
Sael answered imdiately, his response practiced.
"We couldn’t sit around and do nothing while... you were in Stelia, holding back the Origin..."
His words dropped as he spoke, almost as if he were checking his own reasoning, doubting it. He started again, more firmly.
"We couldn’t sit around and do nothing. The battle between monsters and governnt forces had drowned each nation in a periter of their own. We figured the only thing to do was to break that periter and alert the other nations."
Northern nodded slowly, piecing it together.
’A relief force. Coordinated across multiple citadels.’
"So you decided to co here..."
"There were other people who went to different nations too. I was just part of the designation to this place."
Northern frowned slightly, sothing not adding up.
"How? How did you get here with the Region of Death and monsters swarming the routes? I assu you would’ve lost almost all your forces trying."
Sael looked at Northern intensely, then leaned in, voice dropping to barely a whisper.
"We discovered an underground channel system."
Northern’s eyes widened a fraction.
’Underground channels? That changes everything.’
But he imdiately fixed his expression and whispered back, matching Sael’s conspiratorial tone.
"We’ll talk about it later."
Sael leaned away, reading the room. Northern did the sa, settling back against his seat.
A mont passed. Then Northern asked the question that had been gnawing at him since he’d arrived.
"So... you must know my summons. Abyss Tyrant and Nebulous Lord. Where are they?"
Sael answered carefully, his voice taking on that noble, asured quality again.
"The one with the staff was appointed to a different team. The dark and lithe one ca with us." He paused, discomfort flickering across his features. "However, he suddenly disappeared. At first we thought the Kageyama clan had taken him—after all, sothing was strange about the way they received us. We decided to search the place, but were engaged in battle. At the end of the day, the rest had to prioritize escape..."
His jaw tightened.
"And I stayed back to ensure it."
Northern rubbed his chin, brows slowly drawing into a tight knot. The pieces weren’t fitting together cleanly.
’Nebulous Lord doesn’t just disappear. He’s too sharp-witted. If he disappeared, there had to be a reason.’
Sael added quickly, perhaps sensing Northern’s concern:
"All this happened just two days ago. I doubt they would have gotten far. Unless they encountered exceptional luck..."
Northern looked at him, expression sharpening.
"What about Ryan—the boy who controls ice—Ellis, the boy with dark hair, the girl with white hair, and the rest of the students?"
Sael responded evenly, professional mask back in place.
"Everyone joined the five groups tasked with carrying this order. Ryan was with us. As for the rest..."
He hesitated, sothing apologetic in his tone.
"Forgive , their faces are quite prosaic. I cannot place them specifically."
Northern exhaled, frustration creeping in at the edges.
"So you have no idea where Nebulous Lord might’ve gone. You also know nothing about my mother’s whereabouts."
’But they have to be connected. They have to be.’
His instincts were screaming at him, that peculiar certainty he’d learned to trust.
’Sothing tells if I find my mother, I will find Nebulous Lord.’
Kai, who had been standing quietly sowhere behind him this entire ti, finally spoke up.
"If you want, I can take you to the quarters where she and Shin stayed. I also think that’s where they were attacked by the elven creatures."
Northern turned sharply, every muscle coiling with sudden urgency.
"Hurry!"
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