According to the tracker, Zale was in the outskirts of the city.

If I  had to take a guess, he was trying to make a run into the forest.

I glanced behind my back just to see if I was being followed by anyone. Luckily, I wasn't.

I knew it will take a while for them to recapture Zale again, what I need now was just evidence.

Evidence to keep Kaito behind bars, for good.

Cyra and I made our way to the Izel park, to where the fountain was located. If we were caught, there is a high chance that we were to be taken to the four leads.

"Umm.. Lumi.. why are we here?" Cyra asked with a confused look in her face.

"I think there is a secret passage here.. which might lead to the orphic." I replied back.

"Here? an orphic?" Cyra exclaimed.

"Who knows?" I said as she got down.

I took a deep breath and tried to resonate with the orphic, and just I had expect, the power grew within me meaning it was not too far from here.

It must be underground but... I couldn't figure out how..

Cyra slowly got up and made her way to the fountain.

"Hey Cyra! wha-" before I competed my sentence, she started pushing and pulling anything she could find on the fountain and within a minute, the water stopped flowing and a staircase appeared right before us.

We both just stood there. awestruck.

"How did you even-" Words wouldn't even come out my mouth.

"Guessed-" 

She really reminded me of Arwan.

"Can you walk?" 

"A bit, yeah. Don't worry I'll come slowly.." She replied.

We both slowly made our way down the staircase, and as soon as we reached the bottom water stared to flow from the top again.

Cyra looked around mesmerized, well she wasn't wrong. The whole place looked stunting.

Limping she went near a crystal which was shining the brightest.

Well I was about to tell her not to touch anything but she did, as soon as she did touch it there was a spark a kind of light flashed straight into our eyes. Making us blind for a second or more like a minute or two but who's counting?

"Cyra! Are you okay?? Please reply dude!"

"Yeah Lumi! I am finee, come here lumi.."

She sounded different, worried different..

"Are you okay? Cyra? Your brother's gonna kill me if anything happens to you"

"Dude you should be paid for your job- overthinking" she chuckled.

"Wish I did, I'm getting paid minimum wage here... anyways! lets go find the orphic now-"

"No, we don't need to "

"What are saying cyra? You know it's impor- "She cut me and said..

"You idiot look here" she pointed to behind the large crystal, and well I did and saw that the orphic was resting near her leg.

But it was stuck somewhat and we put our full force into it and pulled it out but to our doom, and before we could understand anything, the crystals from ceiling of the underground cave structure started falling, I ran with the orphic in my arms towards the exit only to realize cyra wasn't with me..

"Cyra? Cyra where are you?? This is not the time to joke!" I called out when I realized she wasn't with me.

"She ain't joking, she is stuck down there Lumi" Erven shouted!

Oh Shit-

"Lumi!, where are you going? We need to go and take care of the orphic "

Never mind-

No Oh Shit- 

"Oh my filping God! Cyra your okay? I thought that you.. you were stuck inside and your leg- its injured" 

"Lumi, I am fine, I am great. Relax. Remember that white blinding flash when I touched the crystal? I think it kind of healed me.. I can't feel that much pain but it still stings a bit, I have soo much to discover about my planet!"

"Thank the gods your okay! Now that we found this secret I think we should tell this to Arwan and the others but not right now, first we need to take the orphic and go."

I'm damn glad that Cyra is still alive... but before anything happens,  we need to get out of here as soon as we can-

but there is a problem, a huge one.. we  have no idea where the damn exit is and if we run into a dead end then.. well we are dead.

"I turn on heat vision, to see if there is an exit to the the outside, then there should be some kind of heat or suns UV ray as its still day."

"Lumi, lumi!" Cyra cried, more like yelled at the top of her lungs.

I  took a sharp left turn, I suspect  cyra knows this place or I would actually swear luck is on our side.

boulders and rocks kept on falling from every angle w turned, tension rose within m.. are we even going to make it out alive??

no sooner did that thought came to my mind,.. there it was, an exit  finally!

we ran and ran as I felt pebble and smalll rocks falling on me and just when thought I was done for... I collapsed right outside.

"hey cyra.. huff huff.. u good- huff.. sorry I didnt- "

"Its fine, I can see that you are dead tired"

I thought we were done for but it looks like I got another chance at life for like the hundredth time but who's counting -

"Well.. no time to lose now is there?  We are so damn close!" Cyra said as she got up, her eyes sparked with with.

"Lets go then!" I replied back as I pulled out my bag and took out two jackets.

"Here, we need to blend ourselves as much as possible." I said as I gave her one.

We made our way to Visha Palace, apparently thats where the four lead are. Luckily, it's not far from here.

The problem now, we wanted.

So, if we have any chance of not being thrown into jail-

Thats the orphic that is in my bag right now.

We still weren't noticed yet, which is good.

And after a bit of running and pushing through the crowd, There it was.

The Visha Palace.

And there was security too-

Cross my fingers, hoping this will go smoothly and not ending us in jail.

We approached the guards, their spears crossed to block the ornate palace gates. One of them, a tall man with a huge scar on his face.

"Hold it right there! State your business," he yelled.

I stepped forward, "Please, we're here to deliver urgent news to the Leads. This concerns the Orphic." I replied calmly. If we screw this up, we are done for.

The guard's grip on his spear tightened, his gaze shifting warily between us. "You think we don't know who you are? The whole region is looking for you. Hand over the Orphic, and maybe we'll let you leave in one piece."

I held my ground and steady told him. "We didn't steal it. Someone else did, and we recovered it. If you don't let us in, you're jeopardizing the palace. The true thief is still out there."

The scarred guard exchanged a look with his companion, clearly unconvinced. "That's a convenient story, but the Leads don't take audiences with wanted criminals. Turn around before we drag you in chains."

Cyra's fists clenched at her sides, I padded her , a silent reminder to stay calm and reassuring her that nothing will happen. Taking a deep breath, I lowered my voice,

"Listen," I began, "One of your own is involved in this. Cyra's father—one of the Leads—stole the Orphic. If you don't let us in, you're protecting a traitor."

The guard's eyes flickered with uncertainty, but his grip remained firm. "And I'm supposed to believe you? What proof do you have?"

I motioned to Cyra, who reluctantly stepped forward, pulling back her hood. "You recognize me," she said quietly, her voice trembling but determined. "You know who I am, and you know my father. Do you really think I'd stand here accusing him unless it was true?"

The guards exchanged uneasy glances. The younger one leaned closer to the scarred man. "If she's lying, the Leads will deal with her themselves. Maybe we should take them in."

The scarred guard hesitated, studying Cyra's face. Finally, with a grunt, he stepped back, lowering his spear. "Fine. But if this is a trick, you won't live to regret it. Follow me."

He pushed the heavy gates open, and we both exchanged a brief, tense glance before stepping inside.

As we stepped through the gates, the air seemed colder, heavier, as if the palace itself disapproved of our presence. The courtyard stretched wide, paved with glistening white stone and lined with statues of the Leads who had ruled over this place for generations. Their marble faces looked down at us with hollow eyes, their carved expressions unreadable. She hadn't said a word since revealing herself, but I could feel the tension radiating off her.

"Keep up," the guard barked, glancing over his shoulder. "The Leads aren't known for their patience."

We followed him into the grand entrance of the palace. Servants and guards moved silently through the space, their eyes flickering toward us before quickly looking away.

"This way," the guard muttered, leading us toward a smaller side door. My heart pounded as we passed hallways that twisted into the unknown.

Finally, we reached to a room, guarded by two more soldiers. The scarred guard leaned in and whispered to one of them. I couldn't hear what he said, but the second guard gave us a suspicious once-over before disappearing inside.

Cyra shifted uncomfortably beside me, I asked her, "Are you okay?"

She nodded stiffly. "Fine. Let's just get this over with."

Before I could respond, the door swung open. The guard returned, motioning for us to enter.

The room was dimly lit, the air thick with incense. A long table stretched out before us, and at its head sat four figures, each cloaked in authority. The Leads.

My throat tightened as their eyes fell on us. The man seated second from the left was Cyra's father, a sharp-featured man with graying hair and a calm, calculating expression. He didn't react to her presence, his face an unreadable mask.

The Lead at the head of the table, a woman with piercing blue eyes, spoke first. "You have some nerve walking into this palace. Explain yourselves."

I took a step forward, ignoring the weight of their stares. " I'm grateful for give us a chance to explain, we are here because we have the orphic... and we know who stole it."  The Leads exchanged glances, but Cyra's father remained still, his hands folded neatly on the table.

" Zale, a runway, escaped again when we finally caught him, and according to the guards, you helped him. Why would we want to believe you? What proof do you have?" the blue-eyed woman asked, her tone icy.

I hesitated. Proof. That was the one thing we didn't have—not yet.

Before I could speak, Cyra stepped forward, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands. "The Orphic was stolen by someone inside this palace. Someone trusted. And we have it back."

Cyra glanced at me, and I knew what she meant. I quickly took out the Orphic, and held it tightly. 

The blue-eyed Lead leaned forward, her gaze sharp. "And who do you accuse of this betrayal?"

Cyra's voice was barely a whisper, but it cut through the room like a knife....

Hello! Author here~

I know this chapter is... longer than expected-

I wanted to publish it on Friday but it delayed-

sorry about that!- 

Anyways,

ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTERR!