Far away from the dark elven Court filled with jubilation, two figures sat silently beneath the shade of the many ruined temples found in the dark elven kingdom. These temples were used for the spontaneous worship of the goddess.

That was what Yander had come to do.

Caius stared blankly at the wrinkled newspaper in his hands, the afternoon sun casting its rays on the brownish paper.

Across from him, Yander looked equally lost.

Neither spoke for a long while.

Finally, Caius spoke.

"Why would anyone want to kill the lord?"

Yander blinked slowly.

"Thats all you have to say."

Caius rubbed at his face tiredly before reading the headline again.

GLADIA KINGDOM ACCUSED OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AGAINST DARK ELF FUTURE KING.

Below it...

ULTIMATUM ISSUED BY DARK ELF QUEEN.

Caius lowered the paper carefully. Everything just felt unreal. Atheline had left them two hours before the competition ended then got assassinated during that period.

"Remember the pressure and killing we felt spread through the whole forest? It might have been during that moment."

Yander frowned and nodded. She never got any warning from the goddess and this came out of nowhere.

"I remember he said that he and the fire prince had a little bit of a squabble before he met him. He was alive at that time since I saw his name on the rankings."

"The name disappeared three minutes before the competition ended," Caius calmly said, "I thought that was normal. "

Yander folded the newspaper slowly.

"... Do you think the accusation is real?"

Caius hesitated.

"I don’t know."

And that frightened him the most. Yander had taught him to see things in black and white, but at the moment, he couldn’t even place it exactly where it was supposed to fall.

Yander looked troubled.

"If the royal family really attempted an assassination..."

"They still deserve a trial."

Her voice remained firm despite the uncertainty. Her mother had always told her to carry and maintain justice.

That was who she was.

Caius was quiet for a second unsure of where to stand. He did care for both Yander and Atheline who were of different opinions completely.

"Yes," he quietly said, " what if they’re innocent?"

Her hand tightened around the magazine. She also didn’t know what to do. She came to a realisation at that moment that she had still subconsciously placed the human kingdom as the guilty while Atheline the victim.

She shook the thought and doubt away. Yander looked towards the distant mountains housing half the dark elven population.

"People are celebrating war."

Caius laughed weakly.

"Dark elves always do."

"No. Humans too."

That made him pause because she was right. Already rumors spread everywhere.

Some wanted revenge.

Some wanted fear answered with force.

Some wanted the treaty broken entirely.

The continents felt tense like dry grass waiting for sparks and it had only taken a few hours for everything to crumble.

Yander’s grip tightened slightly around her sword handle.

"We need to stop this madness."

Caius looked at her entirely and realised for the first time how powerless they currently were. They had only been fighting useless scrounges but now the people shaping the continent’s future had decided to throw fits.

There were too many things that he couldn’t understand. He felt like a fish out of water in his own home continent for the first time.

Caius clenched the newspaper slightly. Everything was moving too fast and that terrified him more than the war.

Yander had told him he was the chosen one but everything seemed to be moving forward without him even knowing.

How was he supposed to save the world from an enemy he knew nothing about?

.

.

.

The teleportation closed behind them with a low hum in the royal teleportation chamber. Cold dark silver light faded slowly from the imperial courtyard while dark elf knights immediately lowered themselves onto one knee.

"Your Majesty."

"Your highness."

Lilith walked past them without slowing. Her black dress flowed behind her like moving shadows while the pressure surrounding her still carried remnants of her anger. Even the imperial knights instinctively lowered their heads further as she passed.

They needed everyone to know that they were back.

Atheline exhaled quietly beside her.

"You terrified half the continents before lunch."

"They’ll survive."

Atheline chuckled. "You’ll cause a mass strike if they hear this."

Lilith glanced sideways at him briefly and changed the subject.

"You’re tired."

"Someone didn’t let me get enough rest last night and it’s too early. "

"And?"

"I might need another cup of tea."

"I’ll have the palace prepare your favorite desserts."

"That would be appreciated."

Despite the calmness of the exchange, both of them knew the truth.

The continent had shifted permanently today. There would be no returning to normal after this.

The attempted assassination accusation alone would have caused political chaos. But Lilith personally appearing in Gladia kingdom with the dead crown prince’s body?

That transformed panic into crisis.

And now every major power on the continents would begin moving carefully around each other like predators testing distance before a fight.

Atheline rubbed lightly at the back of his neck while following her through the palace halls.

"Will your shadows be able to hold down the kingdom’s nobility?"

Lilith nodded."Hm."

Since their decision to go to the human kingdom had been an impulsive act, the two had not prepared any military support.

This meant they had to improvise. At the moment, Gladia’s capital looked like a corrupt zone with the Shadows patrolling until the soldiers arrived.

Since most nobles governed the kingdom as a whole, the shadow watched over them as they stopped all activities and conveyed news to Lilith.

Atheline sighed softly.

"Try not to collapse their economy too fast, it might bring backlash from the other kingdoms."

"No promises."

"Really, you’re enjoying this a little too much, aren’t you?"

"Who knows?"

A faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips before vanishing again.

Servants immediately scattered from their path as they entered the inner palace corridors. News had already spread completely by now.

Every noble in the empire knew what had happened, which meant the palace atmosphere had transformed into something strangely excited.

Dark elves walked faster when war became possible.

Atheline eventually slowed near a crossing hallway.

"You’re heading to the council chamber?"

"Yes."

"They’ll probably argue with you about everything. "

"They always argue."

"And you’ll threaten them."

"That depends on their intelligence."

He laughed quietly under his breath.

"Good luck then."