Inside the Imperial Chambers

At the very heart of the Imperial Castle, behind doors no ordinary soul dared approach, silence ruled. The chambers of the Empress were not simply rooms they were sanctums where power itself seemed to breathe as clearly radiating in every inch of castle .

In one corner of the vast chamber, Nerissa, the Empress of the Empire, sat with her daughter. The chamber was filled with soft golden light streaming through enchanted glass, reflecting off walls etched with ancient imperial sigils. Between mother and daughter lay scrolls, crystalized memory stones, and diagrams of bloodlines traced through centuries of conquest and preservation.

Celestia sat straight-backed, her pale fingers resting on the edge of a scroll. Despite her youth, her aura shimmered faintly platinum threaded with hints of violet, the mark of her inheritance of bloodline Authority. Yet, though her strength was destined to surpass nations, at this moment she was simply a student.

"You must understand, Celestia," Nerissa's calm yet commanding voice broke the silence as she continued teaching, guiding her daughter through the intricate art of wielding her abilities. She explained not only how to channel them but also which bloodlines could be woven together to unleash their ultimate potential. After all, in the entire world, there was no one else who possessed this knowledge no one except her. Nerissa alone carried the legacy of this technique, As the last keeper of a power that countless ancestors before her left to inheritance.

There were millions of possibilities endless combinations of techniques, bloodlines, and elements each one capable of leading to unimaginable results if mastered correctly. The burden of such knowledge pressed heavily on the room, and Celestia listened with a mix of understanding, complexity and quiet determination.

Just as Nerissa extended a hand to demonstrate a fusion pattern between ice affinity and magma with little of draconic blood essence, the silence was broken.

Three knocks. Firm, deliberate.

Celestia's head snapped toward the grand door, her brows furrowing. Never.. never in all her memory had anyone interrupted these lessons. These sessions were inviolable, a time sealed against the world. Her frown deepened, rare confusion clouding her otherwise composed face.

Nerissa, however, only smiled faintly, as if the disruption had been expected. She folded her hands with a grace that seemed almost mocking of the intrusion.

"Come in," she said. Her tone was soft, but it carried through the chamber like an unyielding command.

The great doors opened with a whisper, and a woman stepped through.

She was robed entirely in platinum every inch of her form concealed beneath flowing fabric inscribed with imperial patterns. A thin veil descended from her headdress, obscuring her face, leaving only a pair of sharp eyes visible. She moved with precision, each step deliberate, her head bowed low in reverence as she advanced into the sanctum.

She stopped at the foot of the dais where Nerissa and Celestia sat, then bent at the waist in a deep bow.

"Forgive my intrusion, Your Imperial Majesty," she began, her voice steady though tinged with urgency, "but I bring grave news."

The chamber seemed to still further, as if the air itself held its breath.

"The prisoner Razeal, who had been consigned to the Eternal Hold, has escaped."

Celestia's eyes flutterwd open, shock breaking through her usual composure. Her lips parted, but for a moment no sound came. Escaped? The Eternal Hold was a place even whispers dared not linger on. A prison outside space from which no one returned unless her mother let them be. And yet

The woman in platinum did not stop there. She pressed on, as though knowing hesitation would cost her dearly.

"In the course of our search, we discovered another prisoner missing as well. We believe Razeal is responsible, though… how he achieved this remains beyond comprehension. There are no signs of breach, no passage, no trace. It is as though both men simply ceased to be bound." She exhaled, steadying her voice. "I humbly deliver this report at once, lest greater peril arise."

Celestia finally found her voice. "Really…?" It came as a whisper, uncharacteristically small. "Escaped?"

Her platinum eyes, usually calm and unshakable, flickered with raw confusion. For her to be so unsettled was rare indeed.

Nerissa, however, leaned back in her seat. A sound slipped from her lips low, amused, almost musical.

"Kufufu…" She chuckled softly, her expression one of curiosity rather than alarm. "How very… not so unexpected."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, calculating. "And tell me who is the other? Who walked free alongside this boy?"

The messenger dipped her head lower. "It is Yograj Molarious, Your Majesty. The man personally imprisoned three decades ago by Duchess Merisa Virelan."

At that name, Celestia went into confusion trying to remember as she tried to remember where she had heard this name.

Though

Nerissa's chuckle deepened into quiet laughter, her hand rising to her chin in thought. Her expression brightened with recognition, as though a puzzle had fallen into place.

"That lunatic…" she murmured, almost fondly. "Oh, I see, I see…" Her fingers tapped against her chin, her eyes gleaming. "Now it makes sense. Yes. Everything fits neatly together now."

The messenger lifted her gaze slightly. "Shall I attempt to track them, Your Majesty? Mobilize the seekers and binders to retrieve the fugitives?"

Her words carried respect, and her posture remained low, showing no concern for how dangerous or difficult the task might be. It was as if, once the Empress gave an order, it was destined to be carried out.. for after all, it was their duty.

But Nerissa only waved her hand dismissively.

"No. There is no need." Her tone was decisive even casual . "Let them be. The boy was meant to be released sooner or later. As for that old coin…" A smirk touched her lips. "Let him wander. He's been punished enough after all these years."

The woman bowed again, pressing her forehead nearly to the ground. "As you command, Your Majesty."

With that, she turned, her platinum robes sweeping across the marble floor as she moved toward the door. Before departing, she paused, bowed once more first to the Empress, then to the princess and left, the heavy doors closing behind her with a muffled finality.

Silence reclaimed the chamber.

Celestia sat motionless, still stunned, her frown deepening as her mind raced. Razeal… escaped? Yograj Molarious… free? The Eternal Hold… broken? It felt unthinkable.

Nerissa, however, broke the silence with another soft laugh. Her eyes glittered, fixed on her daughter, who still looked lost in disbelief.

"How rare," she said, amusement thick in her tone. "To see my all perfectionist daughter confused And so dumbfounded of that?, hm?"

Her smile widened, half-mocking, half-indulgent. "How very amusing."

Celestia's lips tightened, but she said nothing. She hated being mocked, hated appearing weak before her mother. Yet she could not help it her confusion was genuine

Finally, unable to endure the quiet judgment shimmering behind that faint smile, Celestia spoke.

"Mother… Is there something I did wrong?"

Her voice was calm on the surface, but beneath it throbbed unease. She had carried doubts since the moment she ordered Razeal sent into the Eternal Hold, doubts that had only grown when her mother chuckled at the announcement as though it were a private joke. And now again, Nerissa's eyes glittered with hidden meaning, as if mocking her without words.

For all her years of discipline, for all the perfection she strove for, Celestia was never entirely sure of her own judgment when measured against Nerissa's. The Empress was a woman who never erred, whose schemes spanned decades. To disappoint her even without consequences, without scolding was terrifying enough. It felt as though the years of toil Celestia had poured into becoming the perfect daughter could be erased with a single sigh of disappointment.

Nerissa folded one leg gracefully over the other, resting her hands in her lap. Her smile deepened, amused but edged.

"Oh? You still didn't get it?"

Celestia straightened, forcing steel into her voice despite the knot forming in her stomach. "Get what?"

Frustration leaked into her tone despite her best efforts to suppress it. Inside, she cursed herself. You fool. You slipped. You lost control in front of her. The thought screamed in her mind, though outwardly she maintained her posture.

Nerissa let her linger in that silence before answering.

"It's nothing earth-shattering," she said at last, though her words sliced sharp all the same. "You were simply too emotional. Too quick to act with your heart. That I can forgive.. you are young, still learning. But in this case, you committed a blunder. A very large one."

Her smile widened slightly, as though savoring the discomfort in her daughter's eyes.

Celestia's lips parted, desperate to defend herself, to salvage her reasoning. "I thought… there could be no problem. There was no sign of planning, no obvious profit in it. I didn't know he intended to escape."

Her words spilled quickly, almost frantic despite the calm mask she tried to wear.

Nerissa tilted her head, her gaze sharpening. "Then tell me.. why, Celestia, did you permit him to enter the Eternal Hold at all, knowing it was by his own request? Was that not suspicious in itself as you just said it was? Even a fool would hesitate to grant such a thing. What sane man begs for a prison, let alone one that has never been broken and more painful then a death can ever be?"

The words stinged hard. Celestia's shoulders stiffened. She forced herself to meet her mother's gaze, forced herself to respond without flinching.

"Because he sought protection," she said firmly. "From the Ghost Clan. He was desperate. He had no allies, no one to shelter him, and he knew his mother would inevitably destroy them in two or three days. He only needed a safe place to survive until then. But his pride.. and arrogance would not allow him to beg for aid. So he chose this. It was logical. Arrogant indeed, but again logical."

The reasoning flowed out smooth and practiced. She had gone over it in her head a hundred times, weighing every possibility. She had been confident it was the perfect calculation, the inevitable conclusion from Razeal's actions and nature.

For a moment, Nerissa said nothing. Then, abruptly, she laughed.

A sharp, melodic laugh, mocking and cruel. She even raised a finger, pointing at her daughter as if exposing a child's foolishness.

"He played you," she said, delight in her voice. "He played you like a harp."

Celestia's fists clenched at her sides. To be mocked by her mother.. to hear laughter at her expense was agony. Shame burned under her skin, yet she did not protest. She sat, face impassive, her platinum eyes unblinking, and absorbed the sting of Nerissa's words.

"He played with everyone's emotions," Nerissa continued, laughter fading into a smile both dangerous and amused. "Not only yours. He knew perfectly well that all of you.. every last one of you would choose emotion over logic."

Still

Celestia blinked, confusion cutting through her shame. "What do you mean, Mother?"

Her mind spun, calculations colliding in her head. She could accept that Razeal had escaped, shocking as it was. She could even accept that she had underestimated him. But why? Why choose such a route? If his goal was simply freedom, he could have fled in a hundred other ways. Why risk the Eternal Hold, a place where escape was impossible? It made no sense. Even now, she could not reconcile it.

Her mother's words gnawed at her. If Razeal had planned this… what did he gain from such risk?

Nerissa's smile only widened at her daughter's turmoil. She leaned forward slightly, her eyes gleaming with the satisfaction of a hunter watching prey stumble into a trap.

"You, Selena, Nova, even his own mother…Who is brilliant in her own category" Nerissa let each name fall like a stone, slow and deliberate. "All of you have been played. He wrapped you in his web of sentiment without you realizing it."

----

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.