In the imperial capital, Lusian rested in a private room within the palace. Dainslein remained leaning against the wall, within arm's reach.
Elizabeth slept beside him, barely covered by a light blanket.
For the first time in several days, neither of them had to worry about demons, battles, or ambushes.
Silence dominated the room.
Only the wind entering through the window broke the calm from time to time.
Lusian slightly turned his head.
Elizabeth was still asleep.
Her breathing was calm.
Her hair fell loosely over her shoulders.
Moonlight entered through the window and reflected softly over her.
Everything seemed calm.
Everything seemed normal.
But then something changed.
The calm did not last long.
Elizabeth began to move restlessly beneath the blanket.
Small drops of sweat appeared on her skin.
Her breathing stopped being calm and became irregular, as if she were trapped in a nightmare she could not wake up from.
Lusian noticed immediately.
He opened his eyes and turned his head toward her.
Something was wrong.
Her hands were trembling.
Her expression shifted constantly between fear, pain, and anguish.
Then Elizabeth murmured something in her sleep.
—No...
Her voice sounded weak.
Desperate.
Lusian slightly sat up.
—Elizabeth.
She did not respond.
Her breathing suddenly worsened.
Her entire body tensed on the bed.
As if she were fighting against something only she could see.
And then the memories began.
Elizabeth no longer saw the palace room.
She saw fire.
A completely red sky covered the world while enormous columns of smoke rose from destroyed cities.
Thousands of corpses covered the streets.
The smell of blood filled the air.
In the middle of that destruction stood a gigantic altar built from black stone.
And she was there.
Elizabeth stepped back in terror.
She wore a long dark dress covered in demonic symbols.
A black crown rested upon her head.
Around her, thousands of people remained chained while monstrous creatures descended from enormous cracks opened in the sky.
Then she heard the voices.
—The Demon Queen...
—The Demon Queen has awakened...
A chill ran through her entire body.
She did not understand what she was seeing.
But she could feel it.
Those hands were her hands.
That monstrous presence belonged to her.
And the blood covering the altar had been spilled by her own hands.
A man was dragged before the structure while begging for his life.
Elizabeth tried to move.
Tried to stop it.
But her body did not belong to her.
The other her slowly raised one hand.
The man exploded before the crowd.
Blood covered the black stones.
The screams filled the place.
Elizabeth felt nauseous.
But the memory continued.
The sky opened once again.
Heroes descended from enormous magic circles.
Swordsmen covered in light.
Mages capable of destroying mountains.
Warriors summoned from other worlds.
All of them advanced toward her.
And then the war began.
Oceans dyed red.
Cities disappearing beneath demonic storms.
Entire armies being annihilated.
Millions dead.
And in the end...
A sword pierced her chest.
The pain was unbearable.
Then came darkness.
But it did not end there.
Another memory appeared.
Another world.
Another war.
Once again, she sat upon a demonic throne.
Once again, sacrifices.
Once again, blood.
Once again, death.
The cycle continued.
One life.
Two lives.
Ten lives.
One hundred lives.
A thousand different lives.
It always happened the same way.
No matter the world… the ending was always the same.
She always ended up slaughtering countless people.
She always ended up dying.
Then she opened her eyes abruptly.
A wave of mana exploded around her.
The curtains shook violently.
The crystals vibrated.
The furniture trembled slightly.
Magical pressure filled the entire room.
Lusian opened his eyes completely.
His heart began to beat harder.
He knew that presence.
He had seen it before.
Not in reality.
Inside the game.
That magical pressure felt disturbingly familiar.
A thought immediately appeared in his mind.
And he rejected it almost instantly.
It made no sense.
Elizabeth could not be her.
There had to be another explanation.
Elizabeth abruptly sat up on the bed.
Her body trembled uncontrollably.
Tears began to fall down her face.
—No...!
She tried to move away.
As if she were still seeing those images before her.
—No... no...!
Lusian reacted immediately and caught her before she could fall.
—Elizabeth!
She raised her gaze.
The terror in her eyes was absolute.
—There was blood...
Her voice broke.
—So much blood...
Her hands continued trembling.
She breathed like someone who had just escaped from a real war.
Then she clung desperately to Lusian.
As if letting go of him meant falling back into those visions.
—I was killing them...
The tears continued falling.
—I kept killing them...
Lusian embraced her firmly.
He did not fully understand what had just happened.
Elizabeth spoke, but her words made no sense.
She mentioned unfamiliar places, names Lusian had never heard before, and fragments of memories that seemed to belong to someone else.
The mana around her stirred violently again.
She brought one hand to her head.
—No... that's not me...
Lusian leaned toward her, trying to remain calm even while the uncontrolled mana continued surging through the room. He could not fight against what was happening or truly understand it. The only thing he could do was try to bring her back.
—Elizabeth… look at me.
She took several seconds to react.
Her eyes still looked lost, as if she were trapped within those incomprehensible images.
Lusian gently held her face with both hands.
—Listen to me. It was only a dream, understand? None of that was real.
Elizabeth trembled slightly.
The images continued appearing inside her mind.
Lusian pulled her closer before she could lose herself in panic again.
—It's over now.
Elizabeth tightly grabbed onto his clothes.
Lusian had already made his decision.
They would return to the kingdom as soon as possible.
At that moment, nothing was more important than Elizabeth's safety.
When they arrived at the main hall, they found Alejandro, Leonardo, and several of the heroes waiting for them.
None of them looked pleased.
Alejandro spoke first, his calm voice carrying tension beneath it.
—You can't leave.
It was not an order. It was the statement of something that, in his mind, simply should not happen.
Lusian did not respond.
—This is not just a campaign —Leonardo added—. It is a holy war. A divine mandate.
He paused briefly.
—And you are about to abandon it.
Alejandro stepped forward.
Lusian remained silent.
His decision had already been made.
Elizabeth's safety was more important than any argument.
Alejandro clenched his fists.
—Are you not even going to say anything?
Leonardo stepped forward.
—You should not leave at a time like this.
His tone remained calm, almost reasonable.
—The situation at the front is still unstable.
Lusian stayed silent.
That only worsened Alejandro's mood.
Leonardo stepped closer.
—Do you understand what it means for the princess to leave with you?
His voice became firmer.
—If she leaves, a large part of the army will follow her. The people of the Empire will be left exposed.
Lusian listened to every word.
But nothing changed.
Leonardo lowered his voice slightly, now looking beyond the immediate conflict.
—Sister… think carefully about what you are doing.
Pause.
—Defying the gods is not without consequences. Not only for you… but for the crown as well.
His expression hardened slightly.
—Andrew is already struggling to maintain the kingdom's stability.
Another pause, heavier this time.
—If everything falls apart now… the burden will fall entirely on him.
He took a deep breath, trying to remain reasonable.
—I will do what I can to help you.
He glanced briefly at Lusian before looking back at her.
—But you should leave the troops to me.
His voice lowered further, firmer now.
—I am also a prince of the kingdom… even if they now call me a hero chosen by the gods.
Lusian finally spoke.
His voice was low and firm.
—We are returning to the kingdom. Elizabeth is coming with me. The kingdom's troops are returning as well. Do not stand in our way.
Elizabeth tightened her grip on his arm.
Emily stepped forward.
She took a deep breath before speaking.
—I'm going with you.
Lusian looked at her, surprised.
Before he could respond, Alejandro intervened.
—Emily! You can't just leave like this. Our duty is to the Empire. The gods sent us here to help.
She did not look away.
—For now, we must return. Princess Elizabeth needs treatment.
Alejandro stepped forward again.
—That's selfish. People are depending on us.
Kara appeared at the side, crossing her arms.
—They're going back —she said—. I'm going too. We already understand the situation, but for now it's better to return and prepare properly.
Her tone sounded light, clearly supporting Lusian's decision.
Leonardo frowned.
—Are you also going to defy the divine mandate? You are breaking the law.
The atmosphere became even more tense.
Lusian moved.
—We're leaving —he finally said—. If you want to stay, then stay.
The silence that followed felt final.
Emily stood beside him.
Kara behind them.
Elizabeth at his side.
And the rest remained behind, caught between rage and helplessness.