Avvion looked at Olivia, who was still sitting on the stone floor, her breathing irregular.

"What are you hiding?"

he asked once more, this time with a sharper gaze, as if he were trying to break through the girl’s defensive walls.

Olivia immediately pulled her sleeves down, covering her left wrist, which still felt warm from the mark of the mysterious red line.

"Nothing," she replied, her voice trembling slightly, though she tried to emphasize it to sound convincing.

"Don’t lie."

Avvion’s tone was not loud, but it was enough to make the hair on Olivia’s arms stand up. It was the tone of a predator who did not like being played with.

Several moments passed in suffocating silence; only the sound of their breathing could be heard in the cramped room.

Avvion finally exhaled slowly before turning toward the door, his back to Olivia.

"Get up."

Olivia frowned, confused by the man’s sudden shift in mood.

"What?"

"I don’t like repeating orders," Avvion replied, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.

Olivia bit her lower lip, enduring the pain in her feet that had not yet fully recovered, before slowly standing up. Avvion scrutinized her appearance from head to toe the dirty white shirt, the dust-covered skirt, and her messy, tangled black hair.

However, his eyes lingered on her hair. For a few moments, Avvion’s expression became much more serious, as if he had just realized something that had escaped his notice until now.

"From today, that hair must be covered."

Olivia was stunned.

" Huh ..Why?"

"That is none of your concern."

"But—"

"I am not asking for an explanation," Avvion cut her off sharply.

Olivia fell silent, not daring to fight back again. Avvion then opened one of the old cabinet drawers in the secret room and pulled out a dark-colored headscarf, the kind usually worn by low-ranking palace maids.

He threw it at Olivia.

Catch.

Olivia nearly missed catching it, her hands a bit clumsy.

"Wear it," Avvion commanded.

Olivia looked at the cloth before raising her face to look at the man who had now become the ’jailer’ of her life.

"Why do I have to wear this?"

Avvion crossed his arms, looking at Olivia with a gaze that was difficult to decipher.

"Do you want to live peacefully in this palace?"

Olivia went quiet, offering no answer.

"If you do, cover that hair."

There was an aura of threat in his tone that made Olivia comply. Slowly, she put on the headscarf, hiding her black hair, which had previously been a source of unwanted attention. Avvion watched her every move without saying a word.

Now, the girl looked like an ordinary maid. But in Avvion’s eyes, that appearance was still not ordinary enough to deceive his senses. There was something about Olivia that was far too difficult to hide.

A moment later, Avvion turned and stepped toward the door.

"We’re leaving."

"Where to?"

"My residence."

Olivia swallowed hard. The words did not bring her any relief; instead, they felt like a warning bell signaling the beginning of a life even more confined.

Meanwhile, deep beneath the palace floor, inside a damp and dark prison cell...

Javien, a man chained to the stone wall, suddenly opened his sharp eyes.

The pulsation came again stronger, more painful, and more real than before. He clutched his chest slowly, his breathing growing heavy..

Javien closed his eyes, trying to control his heart, which was beating unnaturally fast. For some reason, his wrists began to throb.

He had been suffering here for years. He hadn’t felt this sensation for years.

It was a feeling that was foreign, yet far too familiar.

It was as if someone who had been lost for a long time someone he thought had been shattered along with the memories of the past was now very close to him.

So close that he could feel that ’vibration’ seeping through the thick stone walls.

Impossible.

His hands, shackled in iron chains, trembled.

Impossible...

his mind rejected it fiercely. Impossible, because in this cruel world, he had accepted the fact that Olivia was dead.

Javien bowed his head, letting his hair cover his face. Yet, in the darkness, a single tear flowed, falling onto the cold stone floor.

If she is still alive, why hasn’t she returned? And if she is dead, why does my heart still moan, calling that name?

The atmosphere, which had been quiet, suddenly turned into chaos.

Several high-ranking Mages tasked with guarding the secret prison began to panic.

They could feel a surge of magical energy coming from the body of the shackled Javien.

A red-haired male Mage standing at the front

the head of the prison’s magical guards had turned pale. He could feel that Javien’s power was no longer just a remnant of old energy, but a truly terrifying awakening.

"Why is his aura changing?" one of the Mages exclaimed.

"I don’t know... I have never seen him react or having an aura like that," replied a female Mage.

"Quick! Strengthen the barrier! Now!" the red-haired Mage commanded with a shrill voice,

his eyes widening as he saw cracks forming on the magical shield protecting the cell.

"His energy... it’s strange!" another female Mage chimed in, her hands shaking violently as she tried to channel energy into the magic ring installed on the wall.

Without waiting for a second order, all the Mages immediately formed a circle. They began to chant ancient, complex spells. Golden and blue light radiated from their palms, forming layered magical networks to lock Javien’s cell more securely.

Every time they increased the strength of the barrier, Javien only bowed his head.

Finally, the ritual performed by the Mages succeeded, at least for a moment. The layered magical network enveloped the prison cell, pushing Javien’s aura back into his body with brutal force.

The golden light around the cell flickered before dimming, signaling that the barrier was now at the maximum strength they could generate.

The Mages were panting, their faces deathly pale, and some slumped to the floor, exhausted. The red-haired Mage wiped the sweat from his forehead with a still-trembling hand.

"Hold it... don’t lose focus," he whispered in a voice that was still shaking.

Behind the layers of light that blocked him, Javien no longer thrashed. He no longer emitted an aura capable of shaking the stone walls. He slowly released his grip on his chest, lowered his hands, and then sat down on the cold prison floor.

He sat in a calm position, almost rigid.

His gaze was fixed blankly on the damp,

mossy stone floor beneath him.

He did not look at the terrified Mages outside. He did not look at the chains locking his wrists.

He only stared at the stone floor.

In the silence that returned to the dungeon, Javien looked like a man drowning in his own thoughts. His face, which had been tense, returned to a flat, unreadable expression.

He did not move. He did not speak.

He just sat staring, watching the water droplets that occasionally fell to the stone floor, creating small ripples that slowly vanished.

Is she still alive...but how?...

His heart whispered, a conclusion that made Javien’s dark world suddenly feel different.

The Mages outside the cell looked at each other, confused by the man’s sudden change.

The silence left by Javien felt far more terrifying than his anger moments before.

"What is he doing?" a young Mage asked in a whisper, afraid to speak too loudly. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"I don’t know," the red-haired Mage replied, his eyes never leaving Javien, who remained silent.

"But... never lower the defense. He is no longer trying to escape, but he looks like... he is waiting for something."

Javien remained quiet. He let the cold of the prison floor seep into his body, as if he were waiting for the right moment, or perhaps... waiting for that ’pulsation’ to return with news of Olivia’s whereabouts, which were now getting closer.

Upstairs, far from the dungeon, Olivia, who was walking with Avvion, suddenly stopped. She held her wrist, which felt increasingly hot.

"What is it now, Via?" Avvion asked in an impatient tone.

Olivia did not reply. She felt a very strong pull, as if something were calling her name.

"I... I feel like someone is calling me," Olivia whispered, her voice barely audible.

Avvion looked at Olivia with a sharp gaze, his eyes narrowing.

Calling?

He felt uneasy. Something major was happening, and he did not want his ’plans’ to be disturbed by things outside his control.

Avvion immediately grabbed Olivia’s arm, an action more intended to restrict the girl’s movement than to guide her. He did not want Olivia to be influenced by whatever ’hallucination’ she was feeling.

"It’s just your imagination," Avvion’s voice sounded hard, as if he were trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince Olivia.

"In this palace, many things can play with your mind. Do not let those delusions control you."

Olivia did not argue, but her heart was not at ease. The vibration on her wrist was not just a delusion; it felt like a second heartbeat that was not her own. She held her left wrist tighter, trying to hide the line that was still throbbing from Avvion’s sight.

She did not know why, but she felt as if something was ’pulling’ her soul in the opposite direction of Avvion’s steps.

Meanwhile, underground, behind the rows of barriers that were still glowing, Javien slowly raised his head.

His glowing red eyes were fixed exactly on the ceiling of the prison. He felt that presence an aura he knew very well moving on the floor above.

Impossible...

Javien bit his lip until it bled. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to push the feeling away. He forced himself to believe that it was merely a trick of his own mind, the result of years of prolonged torture.

She is gone. She is gone. And I see everything...

He kept repeating that denial in his heart, over and over like a mantra. He did not want to admit, he did not want to believe, that what he was feeling was reality.

Because if he admitted it, he knew he would be destroyed if it turned out to be just another cruel game of fate.

Upstairs, Olivia suddenly stopped walking. She turned around, looking at the floor beneath her feet as if she could see through those thick stones.

"What is it this time? Are hands touching you? Is there whispering?" Avvion called out with an impatient tone.

Olivia snapped out of it. She looked at Avvion’s face a face that looked cold and full of secrets.

"I... I... um, it’s nothing. My feet are just sore from wearing these high heels," she said, her voice almost inaudible.

Avvion looked at Olivia with a sharp gaze, his eyes narrowing. His eyes fell on Olivia’s feet, which were wearing high heels. He was confused.

"Where did you get these strange shoes?..."

Avvion asked with anger almost bubbling over, though he suppressed it.

The shoes Olivia was wearing did not resemble any design that existed in this empire. They looked modern, sharp, and did not fit the maid’s robes she was currently wearing at all.

Olivia gasped; she had just realized she was still wearing her office high heels. She immediately hid her feet behind her leg.

"I... I don’t know either, Sir. Maybe I picked them up from the hallway where you found me earlier," she answered, trying to give the safest answer.

Her heart was pounding, terrified that she might make a wrong move and reveal something that was not supposed to be known

Avvion snorted harshly. He did not reply, but his gaze became increasingly suspicious.

"Don’t let anyone see you wearing those things. They attract unnecessary attention."

He turned and continued walking, leaving Olivia, who now felt increasingly pressured

When will all this end!!

Olivia muttered, nearly crying.