Theo enters Arthur’s room with a quiet excitement he has not felt in days. He is convinced he can reach Arthur again. Properly this time. Not the way it happened before, when Arthur came to him to say goodbye. That had been a sad meeting, necessary but heavy. This time they will simply talk. Theo has a great deal to tell him.

But as he approaches the bed, he feels the presence that has been following him drawing closer to the door as well.

He turns his head, anticipating, even though he knows he will likely see nothing.

Then Arthur’s aura bursts outward. Fast and powerful.

Theo braces, expecting to be caught in it. But nothing happens to him. A second later, he hears a loud, solid thud from the corridor. The unmistakable sound of someone hitting a wall and going down.

Theo steps back out into the corridor. Both Sentinels are on high alert but have nothing to point their attention at. Theo squints toward a particular stretch of empty space. He can feel Arthur’s aura pulsing steadily behind him like a second heartbeat.

He walks toward the empty space and stops. He is facing a blank wall. He cannot see anything. But he is certain someone is there.

"I do not know who you are or what you want." He keeps his voice low. "But I would suggest you do not try anything. My brother is very protective of me."

He turns around and walks back into Arthur’s room.

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

Elder Loujt is still sitting on the floor when Theo appears directly in front of him and speaks.

He hears every word. He is too stunned to do anything but stare at Theo. After Theo turns and walks away, he realizes he has been holding his breath.

He lets it out slowly.

He gets up, moving carefully. His jaw is tight. So are his fists.

This is humiliating. I cannot believe that just happened. Though I will admit, that aura blast was extraordinary. Raw and completely unrefined. That kind of power without any training behind it is genuinely alarming.

His lower back took the worst of the impact. He limps past the door and his eyes catch the nameplate.

ARTHUR MONTROSE.

He stops.

He is not dead? I was certain the Princess said he had died. And according to her, Arthur Montrose reached the next tier of Fire. Blue Fire. The same level as Liam Monfort.

Elder Loujt groans inwardly. Everything hurts. He should go back. He has gathered more than enough for one day.

But he cannot help himself. He leans toward the window to peer inside.

Another aura blast.

This time he is ready. He steps back and meets it with his own aura, deflecting rather than absorbing. The exchange creates a pressure wave that ripples down the corridor, confusing both Sentinels. They can feel something happening. They cannot see what or where.

Elder Loujt holds his ground and then steps back deliberately.

Alright. Message received. You do not want visitors. I understand.

He turns and limps toward the elevator.

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

"Arthur." Theo approaches the bed and calls out to him softly.

His mind is still turning over the questions he cannot answer. How is Arthur producing an aura blast from a coma? And how is Theo feeling it when he has no access to mana?

"Too many questions, not one answer." He mutters, pulling a chair to the bedside and settling into it.

"Arthur." He tries again. "Are you conscious in there? Did you sense that someone was watching? Is that why you blasted him away?"

Silence. But the pulsing aura gradually settles and fades.

Theo notices. He gets up, goes to the door, and reaches outward with whatever it is he has been using instead of mana. When he finds nothing, he returns to his seat.

"He has gone. Is that why your aura stopped pulsing?" Theo asks.

"You know, this suggests that you are somehow conscious. Aware of what is happening around you. You just cannot wake up. Am I right?"

Silence again.

Theo sighs. "Alright. I am going to try to enter your Soul Palace. I am not entirely sure whether you can hear me right now, but if you can, please do not attack me. I do not have my magic at the moment. To you, I am about as threatening as an ant. So please. Be gentle with me." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

He takes a slow breath, places one hand on Arthur’s chest, and closes his eyes.

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

Sonia jabs the elevator button impatiently. "Come on!"

She had felt the aura blast. It was not exactly subtle. Even the non-mages in the lobby had been looking around, unsettled by something they could feel but not name.

She jabs the button again. "Come on!" She exclaims under her breath.

Ding.

"Finally."

The elevator doors open.

Elder Loujt is standing inside, one hand gripping the railing for support.

All four of them freeze.

Then —

"Elder Loujt!" The other three exclaim in carefully restrained voices.

"Shh." Elder Loujt waves a hand. "I am fine. I am fine. Just..." He stops. He takes one slow step forward and nearly goes down.

"Elder!" Dae lunges forward and catches him.

Dae and Huri take him from both sides and guide him carefully to the nearest sofa, helping him lower himself down.

Sonia sits beside him, her expression tight with concern. "What happened?"

Elder Loujt chuckles softly. "You felt it?"

All three of them nod.

He nods too. "Yes. I thought you might. It was very strong."

"Who attacked you? And how did they manage to put you in this state without you fighting back?" Sonia asks.

"I was taken completely by surprise. That was my own fault for not paying attention. And it was Arthur Montrose." He pauses. "He is not dead."

"What?" Sonia’s eyes go wide. A faint smile crosses her face before she can stop it. "He is not dead?"

Elder Loujt watches her reaction carefully. "You seem pleased about that, Your Highness." He says softly, still catching his breath.

Sonia’s expression snaps back into place. "What? No. Why would I be pleased?"

She clears her throat.

Elder Loujt smirks. "Does that mean you wanted him dead?"

Sonia’s reaction is immediate and completely unguarded. She stands up abruptly. "What? Of course not! I never wanted him dead!"

She catches herself. She sits back down slowly, her voice dropping to a mutter. "I mean... I — I —" She stops. She genuinely does not know what to say.

She looks at Elder Loujt, helpless.

Elder Loujt lets out a small, quiet laugh.

Then groans.

"Oh, okay. Let us go back and rest. This old body has had enough." He gets up slowly with Dae and Huri’s help, one on each side.

Together, they move toward the exit.

"Elder Loujt." Sonia calls after him.

"Hm?"

"Was Arthur awake when he attacked you?"

Elder Loujt considers it for a moment. "I do not know. I never saw him. I was still outside the door when it happened. Though I will say, there are two Sentinels posted at his door."

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

Theo exhales loudly and leans back in his chair. Then exhales loudly again.

He gets up and throws his hands in the air.

"Argh. I do not know, Art. I have been trying to enter your Soul Palace and I am getting nothing. Not a reaction, not a flicker, not a single sign that anything is happening. Nothing from you and nothing from me. I am starting to think I imagined the whole thing."

He stands there with both hands on his hips, looking down at Arthur.

"Is there any way you could give me something? Anything? Some small indication that I did not make it up, that you really did blast that spy to protect me?" He waits.

Silence.

Theo laughs. "Yes. I am definitely going crazy. Talking to someone in a coma." He sits back down and takes a slow breath.

"I am sorry, Art." His voice drops. "I really am. This whole thing..." He stops and lets the sentence go unfinished.

"A lot has happened since you fell unconscious. Well, perhaps not that much in terms of time. But my understanding has grown considerably. I have so many questions I want answered."

He smiles. "You cannot answer me either. But at least you know who I actually am. Not her. Just me." He pauses. "I know Maeve knows too. But it is not the same. She does not have your brain. I need a second brain, Art. Someone to think alongside me and help me work through all of this."

He takes another slow breath and goes quiet for a few seconds.

"Alright. This is what I know so far. After we cleared St. Lucas dungeon, the green mist was somehow not completely purified. It did not do anything immediately, but then I somehow summoned an unimaginably powerful thunderstorm. The remaining green mist used that as an opportunity to corrupt people. Made them aggressive. Violent."

"It went on for days and it started to get to all of us as well. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, I somehow lost my connection to my mana." He pauses. "I keep using the word somehow, by the way. That is because I genuinely do not know how any of it happened. Those are among the questions I need answered."

"Anyway. Let us continue. The storm’s effect was bad enough that it drew the attention of another group of mages. Not the Custodians. A different group entirely. For now let us call them Sonia’s group."

"Sonia came to Solarys to find the summoner, which turned out to be me. She tracked me down and told me I needed to stop the storm. Which I could not do, because I have no mana."

"Then the green mist started working on all of you. The corruption magic clouded everyone’s judgment and you all broke into arguments. Things escalated. You fought." He stops and smiles. "Oh, and you broke through, by the way. Congratulations. Genuinely. Anyway. You fought, our apartment got destroyed, and now we are all here."

"Also, Hawk can do magic. So now we have four groups that we know of who can use magic. Us, Sonia’s group, the Custodians, and Hawk’s group."

He exhales. "That is quite a lot, right? And I have not even started on what has been happening to me specifically."