Lindarion and lion continued their walk, four guards trailing behind them. Yet, Lindarion could feel more eyes on them.
'Yeah, there's no way only four guards would be with us.'
Shaking his head, he looked ahead—an endless expanse of ocean stretched before them, dotted with ships. And not just any ships. These things were humming with mana.
"The Solrendel Port."
lion smiled, gently grabbing Lindarion's hand as they walked closer. Her voice was soft when she spoke again.
"They run on mana."
'Oh. That explains it.'
Lindarion's gaze swept across the vessels, each one massive—palaces on water.
'They seem like…warships.'
Ard n and won road the docks, chatting among themselves, their weapons gleaming under the sun.
"Let's keep moving," lion said with a smile, placing a hand on Lindarion's shoulder.
'Right…'
He cast one last glance at the ocean stretching into infinity before nodding. They continued toward the city center, the guards close by, and the rest… lurking in the shadows.
—
The city center lood ahead, dominated by an enormous building, surrounded by heavily ard elves. And in the shadows? Even more. Perhaps hundreds of them were hidden.
'What the hell is this?'
The building dwarfed everything else…except for so gigantic tower. It adorned in gold and white, completely windowless. So kind of Ancient Elven inscriptions were carved into its walls. Lindarion's eyes scanned the markings.
Yeah. He had no idea what they ant.
"We're here," lion announced, smiling as she approached the entrance.
'Here? Where exactly are we?'
Lindarion shook his head and followed.
As they neared, the guards stepped aside and bowed without a word.
'…What's inside?'
lion glanced back at him, her smile never fading.
"Co, my son."
Her voice echoed as she stepped inside.
Around them, elves filled the streets, many stealing glances their way.
'Alright, let's see what's in there.'
The mont Lindarion entered, he was greeted by a massive staircase leading down—as if into a dungeon.
lion descended with unhurried steps, but Lindarion could feel the sheer amount of mana surging up from below. It was like standing at the edge of a stormy sea.
lion spoke softly, yet her voice carried weight.
"Only the royal family and council mbers may enter."
Reaching the bottom, she turned to him.
"Co."
There was sothing incredibly ominous about the way she said that.
'Alright, fine. I'll see what's so special down here…'
As Lindarion descended, lion pulled out an ornate white-gold key, pressing it against a door. The mont it made contact, the door began to glow… and then—
It opened in a flash.
'What… the hell?'
The mont they stepped inside, a wave of mana washed over him, rattling his very bones.
'What is this place…?'
His eyes widened. The room—no, the space—wasn't a room at all.
It was an open field.
Trees stretched toward a sky that shouldn't exist because, logically speaking, they were underground.
'Okay. What the actual fuck.'
The scent of flowers filled his nose as lion walked deeper inside.
"Bow," she whispered, still smiling.
'What do you an bow—'
Before Lindarion could even question her, sothing appeared.
A… fairy? No, its ears were long and pointed—clearly elven—but it was small, hovering midair with delicate wings.
Its golden hair floated around its head, and its erald-green eyes glowed.
'What the—'
Lindarion's knees buckled. He barely caught himself before faceplanting.
"lion Sunblade. Lindarion Sunblade."
The tiny elf's voice didn't co from her mouth. Instead, it reverberated through the very air itself.
"Nytheris."
lion greeted the being warmly before standing up. The oppressive force lifted, and Lindarion sucked in a sharp breath.
The tiny elf moved forward and snapped his finger and suddenly Lindarion's chest tightened.
'What the hell was that?!'
Pushing himself up, he stared at the hovering figure, who remained perfectly composed.
"Any information you are about to hear from now is confidential, if you ever spread it your Mana Core shall explode into pieces."
lion cleared her throat. "All of the Royal family mbers bear this. It's a must."
Nytheris nodded at lion's words.
'Seriously..?'
Lindarion wanted to drive face first into the ground.
"As I have said, her na is Nytheris," lion explained. "The ancient guardian of Eldorath. For thousands of years, she has protected our people and sustained the life force of Eldorath's Core."
'…'
Lindarion's brain stalled.
If his mind could produce smoke, it'd be pouring out of his ears right now.
'Eldorath's what now? Ancient elf guardian?'
His gaze darted between lion and Nytheris, both of whom looked way too calm for what was happening.
With a sigh, Nytheris continued.
"Eldorath's Core sustains all plant life. I nourish the Core, which in turn preserves the forests and greenery of Eldorath. Without it, the land would wither and die."
'…'
Lindarion's lips twitched.
"And," Nytheris added, "according to the ancient elves, the Core holds a secret knowledge of our people. But only a chosen one may access it."
She turned to lion, who gave a knowing nod.
"I believe you may be that chosen one."
Nytheris's voice echoed inside Lindarion's head.
'Chosen one? Ancient elves? Core? This is way too much to process at once.'
He shook his head and looked at Nytheris.
"So… should I go check it out—"
"No," Nytheris interrupted without hesitation. "You wouldn't survive more than a few seconds in its presence."
Her ever-present smile remained, her lips never moving as her voice filled the air.
lion, ever the silent observer, simply watched Lindarion struggle with an innocent smile.
Nytheris turned to him once more.
"The Core is also a prison."
Lindarion's shoulders tensed.
"It contains a being born of ancient chaos."
The weight of her words sent a chill down his spine.
'…Are they trying to kill ? What the hell kind of being?'
"Well, that's enough for now," Nytheris said lightly. "You're far too weak, boy."
With that, she casually floated away, vanishing into the distance.
lion cleared her throat, then smiled at Lindarion like she hadn't just dropped a cosmic horror revelation on him.
"Let's go. I still have a few more things to show you."
She grabbed his hand and gently pulled him toward the exit.
Lindarion's eyes flicked to the inside of the now-closing door. From this side, he could see ancient runes carved into it.
'This is so crazy shit… So I have to co back later? What the hell is inside that Core?'
As the heavy doors shut behind them, he followed lion up the stairs, his thoughts an absolute ss.
As soon as lion and Lindarion stepped out, the four bodyguards were already waiting.
At the front stood Therion, their ever-loyal watchdog. Seriously, if he wagged his tail any harder, he might start flying.
But Lindarion wasn't thinking about that.
His mind was a complete ss.
'…This just threw everything I thought I knew out the window.'
A hidden core, buried in the largest building in the city, locked away behind layers of security.
'Of all places, here?'
Then again, it did make so sense. The building was surrounded by hundreds of ard elves, most hidden in the shadows, watching. No one was getting in. And even if they tried, they'd still need that key.
Lindarion sighed and rubbed his temple as lion led him sowhere else.
'There's more?'
Honestly, after all that, he just wanted to go lie down and pretend none of this ever happened.
That thought died the mont he spotted the tower.
Tall as hell. Glass do at the top.
'Great. Let guess—that's our destination.'
And, of course, it was.
lion, smiling like she was taking a child to see the festival, practically dragged him inside.
She always seed happiest when she was with him. It was… weirdly comforting.
'So this is what it's like to have a mother who actually cares…'
His thoughts drifted, unbidden, to his past life. To a mother who had barely acknowledged his existence.
He clenched his jaw and shook his head.
'Not important anymore.'
Instead, he focused on the endless climb up the spiral staircase.
Step after step.
And step.
And step.
'Does this damn thing even have a top?'
Just as he was about to consider throwing himself out the nearest window to speed things up, they finally arrived.
"The Celestial Observatory," lion announced, her voice echoing through the chamber.
It felt like they had stepped into the sky itself, way too close to the sun for comfort.
Elves in pristine uniforms moved throughout the observatory. As soon as they spotted lion and Lindarion, they stopped what they were doing and bowed.
"This is where our scholars study the stars," she continued, her voice filled with warmth.
Lindarion glanced at the massive telescope, then at the daylight pouring through the glass do.
'…this isn't exactly what I had in mind for today'
A long silence stretched between them.
lion coughed lightly and turned to him with a perfectly straight face.
"We can learn a great deal from the stars," A white robed female elf approached them interrupting their silence, her tone was monotone yet happy. She had long blonde hair and ocean blue eyes.
lion's smile widened as she looked at the elf.
'A scholar..?'
Lindarion had a feeling his day was far from over.
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