Adeline surveyed her surroundings carefully. The walls bore signs of a violent struggle—deep claw marks marred the stone, and bloodstains trailed erratically across the ground.
She glanced back at Dimitri, who had stopped short and was scanning the area with narrowed eyes.
"It’s clear that this cave is the home to some wild animal... My guess is wolves. Let’s just hope that they don’t come to find us." Dimitri narrowed his eyes as he took in the information.
He couldn’t imagine what bloody fight took place. It wouldn’t be ideal to stay here longer than they have to.
They could fight off the wolves if worse came to worst, but they were already tired. It would be best to not fight a pack of wolves and instead conserve their energy. They still have to climb down the mountain after all.
Her instincts pulled her deeper into the darkness, overriding her common sense. "I need to check something," she muttered, brushing past Dimitri.
"Adeline," He said in a low, warning tone, "This isn’t a place we should be exploring. This cave... It’s the lair of a beast." What if there was still an animal lurking deep within the cave? He couldn’t let her go alone in there.
His words sent a chill down her spine, but Adeline couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that there was something more to this place. Her gut told her to go deeper into the cave.
"I know what I’m doing, Dimitri." Her tone was sharp. There was no time to waste. She understood that he was looking out for her, but there was something... She needed to check it out.
He grabbed her arm gently but firmly. "My lady, the claw marks, the blood—this is a predator’s domain. We shouldn’t—"
She knew that it looked like she was insane for daring to go deeper into a wolf’s den but she had to!
She pulled away, her curiosity overriding his concerns. She made quick steps trying to venture deeper as fast as she could.
As they left, the knights exchanged uneasy glances but said nothing. Dimitri was with her, so it should be fine, right?
As they moved deeper, Adeline stumbled upon the first body—a wolf, its lifeless form sprawled across the cave floor. Its fur was matted with blood, and its eyes were glazed over in death.
But it wasn’t the sight of the dead wolf that unnerved her—it was the faint traces of forbidden magic that still clung to its corpse.
Because of the coldness on the mountain, the corpses didn’t start to rot. Even still, it was not something easy to look at. Adeline felt like the hairs on her body stood up.
Adeline’s breath hitched. This magic... it was unmistakable. Dark tendrils of energy coiled faintly around the body, dissipating into the air like smoke. It was easy for her to recognise it, it was unmistakable.
The Lunaria empire had been overcome with a plague because Edward started... Using forbidden magic. Now, on the very same mountain, just a little further away from the river they found this.
She knew about Edward. He was a demon disguised as an angel. Pure white hair, an immense amount of holy powers... He would put on an act in front of Annora and the others...
She knew about how many schemes he was behind, he brought the downfall of many people. He didn’t care if the innocents were implicated in his schemes, what he wanted, he would get.
She knelt down, running her fingers just above the lingering traces of magic. The energy was faint, nearly gone, but its presence was undeniable. Her mind raced with questions. Could Edward have been here? Was this his doing? The thought made her stomach churn.
"Adeline..." Dimitri’s voice was laced with unease. He stood a few paces behind her, sword drawn, his eyes darting around the cave as if expecting the beast to return at any moment. "We should leave."
"Not yet," she replied, her voice distant. Her gaze travelled further into the cave. There was something else. She used her holy powers to light up the cave. Yes, she was exhausted from cleansing the river but she had to do this.
As she approached, her heart sank. The corpses of more wolves lay scattered across the floor, their bodies bearing similar signs of a struggle. But it wasn’t just the animals that caught her attention.
Among the carnage, she found fragments of torn fabric, stained with blood. She picked up one of the pieces and turned it over in her hands. Her breath caught in her throat. The fabric bore the emblem of the Holy Temple.
No, it wasn’t Edward’s. She could clearly tell that this piece of cloth was from the uniforms given to the female members...
Was the Holy Temple involved in this plan to bring the country to ruin? She thought it was done by Edward alone, but it was clear that there was someone else with him. So was this plan executed by the Temple?
Or worse— did Edward kill someone from the temple? The realisation made her head spin. At such a young age... He killed someone!
This world was not like her modern world... It was a world where people could kill each other easily, it was the survival of the fittest.
She had been living a sheltered life, but now she came across the dark reality.
Her hands trembled as she scanned the area for more clues. That’s when she saw it- a simple rope bracelet lying amidst the debris. It had metal beads on it which reflected the light into Adeline’s eyes making her flinch.
It was too inconspicuous, it was a cheap rope bracelet after all... Anyone else would have missed it and moved on. It wasn’t even worth stealing or looting.
She bent down and picked it up, holding it up to the light. The pattern was unmistakable: a delicate flower motif created from the loops of the rope. Her eyes widened in recognition.
"This... This is Annora’s." Her voice was barely a whisper, but it echoed in the silence of the cave.
Annora’s bracelet. She remembered it vividly from the side story. Annora, the original heroine, had worn it as a token of her past—a humble accessory that connected her to her unknown origins.
Most children raised in the Holy Temple had no ties to their biological families, and Annora was no exception. Yet, in the side story, she had gone on a journey to uncover her parentage.
Adeline racked her brain, trying to recall the details. Who were Annora’s biological parents? No matter how much she tried to remember, she couldn’t. It was like there was a blank in those parts of her memory.
She was frustrated. The Goddess gave her bits and pieces to work on.
But that wasn’t the most pressing issue. The bracelet, the signs of struggle, the forbidden magic— it all painted a grim picture. It couldn’t be, right? Edward couldn’t have done the unthinkable!
Annora was the heroine of the story! She should be fine! She couldn’t have... Edward couldn’t have... Could this world even survive without her? Adeline started to panic. Her life... Everyone else’s life would be at stake.
She didn’t want to admit it. She closed her eyes. Adeline’s chest tightened as the thought crossed her mind. Was Annora... Dead?