Page 444

Late Evening - Late Winter - Year 24 : Ampelos | Bahamut

-----

*Sizzle...* The faint hiss of boiling tea and the gentle crackle of shifting firewood filled the air that evening—their scents settling around us like a comforting veil.

It hadn't been long since we returned then, still in our humanoid forms at a modest, human-sized table near the edge of the kitchen counter, swirling tea in cups we had yet to taste—special blends infused with mana—intended to soothe tired minds.

But despite wishing to taste it, I couldn't lift the drink to my lips.

"So," Hera was the first to break the unease, her voice soft—a cautious, gentle probe through my mind. "What did you find?"

Swirling the dark liquid in my cup as if to mirror the turbulent thoughts in my mind, I slowly pulled my eyes away, only to find them on Krystallo, laying some distance away in the warmth of the fireplace.

"Haah..." For a moment, I couldn't find words.

.. I wasn't sure where to start... "Let's just say I found evidence that things are more complicated than I had hoped. .."

Watching Krystallo's attention turn, Hera's gaze thinned—the thoughts racing behind her eyes nearly audible. "How complicated..?"

Drawing in a measured breath, I took one last moment to try and rearrange my scattered thoughts before giving up, reaching into my coat to retrieve the journal before sliding it across the table. "The Akomi Kai family is involved, but it's complicated..."

Gently taking it, Hera's brows furled, her curious expression only growing darker as she continued to read.

After a moment, her voice came out as a quiet murmur, a mumble meant to connect fragile thoughts between different parts of her mind.

"Was she.. succumbing to madness..? No..

fear..? Paranoia..?" Her gaze thinned as it darted across the pages.

"It's almost like she's searching for an escape in her work. .."

Silently nodding, I finally sipped the tea, the sugar unable to mask the bitter taste in my mouth. "After talking to Aeolos, the patriarch underwent a similar transformation back during the halfie revolt... Turns out he was the one responsible for those suspicious movements you mentioned..."

"I.. see..."

Seeing her pause to sort her thoughts, I continued softly like a guiding hand, "I think the patriarch and his daughter saw the same thing. They both shared the same slow descent into paranoia and disconnection before splitting from the estate..."

Nodding, she continued quietly, a murmur.

"Fear is indeed a powerful tool... Even blood becomes meaningless in the face of horror.

.." Finally reaching the final page, her thoughts thawed with understanding.

"Faith wavers and allegiances collapse..

all before being reconstructed to conform to a solution.

.." Falling silent a moment, the racing theories in her eyes slowed.

"It sounds exactly like how the cult was recruiting people. "

My eyes instantly jolted—the turmoil in my thoughts steadying as if finally finding a direction to flow.

"Do you think they saw the same vision?" My theories instantly compounded, forming long, endlessly splitting branches like permutations of timelines.

-'They're' staring through the fissures.

.. 'They're' being lured to the surface.

..- "Were those references to Jormungandr..

?" Speaking aloud without realizing, Hera's eyes shot open.

-If thats the case, then...- "The 'singing metal' luring them to the surface must be. .."

"Uranium..." Speaking with a thought-laden breath, Hera's eyes went wide. It finally clicked. "That must be what they're referring to. I heard some similar references in the Spathi Estate."

*Tap-Tap-Tap* "Did you see that insignia anywhere?" Anxiously tapping on the table, my thoughts streamlined. "The one in the cover?"

"No, but..." Quickly pulling out a small slip of paper she had tucked away, she slid it to me. "I found something similar."

As I examined it, my mind stuttered. It was almost identical to the insignia I found, yet lacking the distinct star at the center. -It's.. just a ring...- "What information was tied to it?"

"Ore studies. From what we could gather between them and Espera, the family recently started investing heavily into the research and study of different materials and ores—which ones, we aren't sure yet, but..."

"Hoh?" Hearing her pause, my interest piqued.

"In our talks with Alexandros, we managed to get him interested in setting up a meeting between his son and Krystallo—a formal suggestion for marriage.

" I felt my chest tighten with anxiety hearing her speak.

"Supposedly to solidify this, he's going to bring us on a tour of their facilities tomorrow. "

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Are you sure it's not a trap?"

Hera nodded before her focused gaze landed on Krystallo and wavered with worry. "I'm certain..."

-Hm...- It was a bit odd, but truth be told, even if it was a trap, no one but the upper Aesir could contest Hera.

-She'll be able to handle things there..

.- And since I wasn't without another lead, I decided we would split up once more.

"In that case, I'll approach from a different angle.

On my way back from the estate, I found a letter from Chioni's brother with that insignia, the same as in the book. "

Sipping her tea as a plan eased Hera's nerves, her posture eased. "You want to set up a meeting through him?"

"Not necessarily." Shaking my head, my ears and tail gently flicked with thought. "Just seeing the path a letter takes to reach this.. 'organization'.. is enough for me."

Silence instantly wrapped around us as we looked out toward the fire, crackling with warmth and anticipation.

With one wrong move, we could spark a war that we weren't ready for—a battle against not some random cult, but a group of terrified researchers one step away from achieving fusion.

To say we were walking the knife's edge was an understatement. The slightest slip could lead to cities getting vaporized.

But Hera and I were confident in our footing.

We spoke for quite some time after that, ironing out plans, agreeing to erase witnesses if we were caught, and setting up Krystallo's Acardi tablet so she could alert me if something went awry.

But idle worries were nothing more than that. As it stood, Hera and I were easily strong enough to face whatever troubles came our way unless someone in the Aesir appeared, which was more unlikely than ever after my recent display.

But, our worries weren't so idle to someone else. Laying silent by the fire, Krystallo's tea had long gone cold, her body still, yet her gaze troubled, staring into the dancing flames as if hoping they would burn up her worries like the wood turned charcoal.

Even after giving her the final fail-safe to contact me, she was anxious.. worried she, as the weakest link, would drop an ember into the pool of fuel beneath us...

But regardless of how much I understood, I couldn't find the words to comfort her... She was only just beginning to embark on the next chapter of her life, finally peeking above the trees and seeing the darkness beyond the forest's shadows for the first time.

However, her worries also weren't something I could let fester.

*Clink...* Setting down my cup, I shifted to the edge of my seat, watching her.. trying to read her thoughts swirling and cycling like a broken record—hoping I could find words somewhere in the silence.

But all I could do was let out a sigh... I was out of words.

Like Hera said, fear molds people—remodels their minds.. and as badly as I wish for Krystallo's childishness to never go away, on the path she was taking, that wasn't an option. She recognized the weight of what she chose, and understood the looseness of the rocks she would have to climb.

Unfortunately though.. her grip was shaky.

Finally getting up from the table, I hopped off the counter, changing to my shrunken draconic form with an easy flash before making my way to her side, drowning her in as much enriched mana as I could muster. "You know, it's okay to be afraid..." I opened softly, my voice low and measured.

But Krystallo didn't react, her eyes of lapis remaining fixed on the fire, glimmering like the flickering flames of distant stars.

I didn't want to press her, so I just laid down, curling around and draping my wing over her like a warm blanket. "You're doing well. Don't be so anxious... You aren't alone in this..."

Her wings gently shifted, as if my words reached her, but only superficially.

However, despite saying nothing, my words sank deeper and deeper the longer they laid on her mind.

And before she knew it, her mind found a moment of ease enough for her to drift to sleep—not peace, but pause. Enough for tomorrow.

She would face what was to come. And she would grow. Her grip would tighten and her claws would steady.

Not as a soldier.

Not as a shadow of me or Hera.

But as herself: A girl born beneath an uncertain fate, climbing out of her own fear step by step, like a mythril ingot lowered into a roaring forge—resilient and unshaped, yet malleable by the hammer of an artisan.

The hammer she was set to swing.

She just needed to start with lifting it.. even if ingot still wasn't hot enough.

The fire crackled on through the late hours, its glow no longer warm, but pensive, flickering softly against my blackened scales, projecting swaying, warping shadows on the walls around us.

With Krystallo finally sleeping under my wing, her breath steadying in slow, halting intervals, Hera and I allowed the silence to linger, and let the mind of the worn girl rest—our eyes only meeting a number of hours later.

But before we knew it, dawn began to break—not with brilliance, but with the dim lifting of the storm, revealing the first beams of grey to pierce the clouds in weeks.

It was time to pull on separate threads, and see which frayed.. and which led us deeper.

With one last glance toward the hearth, I rose. My thoughts, once blurred, had tempered into something sharp and cold—like steel quenched beneath water.

Whatever doubt lingered evaporated with the steam.

And though I knew the girl I left behind on that pillow would change—shaped by fear, and tempered by experience—I only hoped the fire wouldn't turn her brittle.. to leave her strong enough to change without breaking.. strong enough to become something more...

Even if that meant her innocence had to melt away in the heat of the forge.

Read up to 5 chapters ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon!

(In case Embedded Link doesn't work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD )

-------------

Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TDOD releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v

All are welcome!

---

Also if you are looking for a new story, check out my new novel! Re: The System's Harvester

On RR, SH, and now Webnovel!