In the process of cracking and disintegrating, the throne shifted slightly revealing a hidden compartment.

"What is that?"

Even in what seems like the eventual collapse, something had been left behind.

Lilith crouched slightly, retrieving what lay within it.

It was a dark cold metal slab, etched with markings that pulsed faintly beneath her touch.

The light slowly connected revealing what was on it, a map, marking locations she vaguely recognised but not the exact position.

Atheline slightly leaned in and took a look.

"It seems the goddess didn’t lie," he said," except for the moon crystals."

She frowned slightly. Before she could respond, a low rumble cut through the room.

Unlike before, this time it didn’t stop. The cracks widened. The split across the floor deepened, sections beginning to give way as the structure above started to fall.

And then, another shift. A section of the wall slid open. A hidden chamber. Light spilled through it, soft, pale almost gentle in contrast to everything else.

"This is either a trap , or the best thing that has happened in life," Atheline said.

Lilith’s sharp gaze pierced through the chamber.

"Moon crystals."

They moved towards the chamber. Inside were moon crystals, clusters of them lined the walls, all organised in heaps as they moved inward.

The vault was full of them, so much so that it left both of them surprised. They had expected to hurriedly mine it, not find fully processed ones.

Atheline let out a heavy breath.

"Okay, I like this room."

"Take what you can."

Her shadow spread through the large room while Atheline’s wind guided the crystals forward without leaving any behind.

Behind them, the temple was fully crambling. The rumble deepened.

The structure started to collapse inwardly, piece by piece as though it had fully let go.

They finished storing all the crystals a few moments later, not leaving even one piece behind.

By the time they reached the main chamber, parts of it had already fallen away, the path they had taken no longer intact.

"We are not taking the stairs, " he said almost to himself.

She moved fast. Power curved a path forward, stabilising space just enough for them to cross as the ground gave way beneath them.

The temple exit was already fracturing when they reached it.

Outside the island had already started to crumble. Around them, the storm became more violent, the other islands started to visibly tremble, and the sky warped around itself.

Atheline glanced up at the churning sky.

"Tell me it’s not going to..."

The island folded. The barrier holding the storm, tore apart as water flooded in in high violent waves.

At that moment the islands exploded.

Lilith didn’t hesitate, her hand moved darkness covering them just before the wave consumed them and they were gone.

They reappeared far away, far enough that the ruin was no longer a ruin. Just a small blip in the large ocean.

Below them, was their ship, having drifted far from the rest. The captain was standing on the deck waving up at them.

They both descended, landing on the ship’s deck.

"My lady, thank you for warning me, " the captain said, with a grateful smile on his lips.

"No problem."

Atheline looked at Lilith in confusion.

"I told him to move the ship far from the storm, before we entered. "

Atheline nodded. That was actually perceptive.

"How long has it been since we entered?" Atheline added.

"Three days."

Atheline nodded and turned to Lilith.

"Did you know it would explode?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Most ruins don’t explode after you’ve removed the anchor but the ruin was violent from the beginning meaning it would eventually explode the moment, the anchor is exhausted. "

He nodded. They walked to their room each lost in thought.

"I need a bath," Atheline said, the moment he closed the door behind them.

He didn’t delay, walking directly to the bathroom. She followed right afterwards.

Atheline leaned his back on the ship’s walls, the smooth rocking of the boat soothing, as he enjoyed the lazy comfort of not doing anything just sitting lazily on the bed.

Lilith lay beside him, her head on his lap. His hand ran through her hair occasionally rubbing the back of her ear forcing her to move her head in irritation.

"You said you would explain to me?" Atheline said, breaking the comfortable silence.

She held his gaze for a moment then turned to gaze out the window.

"The dark sovereign seemed to be fighting someone in the vision but I couldn’t see who it was," she calmly said," the person seemed to be overpowering him."

Atheline nodded. Sovereigns were more of a legend written in history books since it had been so long since one had risen.

Sovereign represented full control of elements. The sovereign of darkness means he can literally command anyone who has darkness Aether and darkness itself.

They are the ultimate manipulators only a few steps from Godhood.

But even with this not everyone can be a sovereign. There can only be one sovereign for each element regardless of the type of aether used unless the former dies.

Atheline didn’t know if there was another type of sovereign but at the moment, that was the most common knowledge about them since people believed they had already died with the cataclysm.

It is also speculated that they were the cause of the cataclysm. A fight between sovereigns can be catastrophic to the world.

"Why do you think the goddess would give you a sovereign’s core?" He asked.

Everything felt so bizarre. The fact that they had used moon crystals to bait her and then give her something better didn’t make sense.

’Did she become a sovereign in the novel or did the protagonists get to it first?’

"Probably wants me to be a sovereign. "

"You don’t need that to become one," he praised her, almost subconsciously.

She chuckled, smiling up at him.

"I know," she said, " but it accelerates the process. It would have taken me at least fifty years to get there."

"Then this had been a fruitful trip."

"Yes, it has."

Atheline could clearly see her excitement. Silence fell between them each lost in their thoughts.

"Are we going back to Titam?" He asked her.

Her eyes flew open. She shook her head.

"No, we’ll be teleporting back home, " she said.

A small sigh left him.

"Now?" He asked.

She shook her head.

"When evening comes, I want us to have some time together before going back."

"Are you worried about the coronation?" He asked.

She nodded.

"The moment we go back, I won’t be able to spend enough time with you."

Atheline chuckled.

"I’ll stay with you in the study," he said," it will only be for three weeks before everything goes back to normal. "

She didn’t respond. She lifted herself and sat on his lap.

"I’m bored, " she said, her eyes on his lips that curved at her invitation.

Atheline took her lips.

[Fate deviation: 43%]