“Speak now!” Emperor Priam’s voice cut through the cold stone chamber like a blade.
 Alessia stood behind him, trembling despite the guards flanking her and Eryx standing at her side. Kael was still recovering under healer supervision—Eryx had forbidden Alessia to leave his side until he regained consciousness, but the Emperor himself summoned her and no one disobeyed an imperial summons.
 They were in the Interrogation Hall, a circular room deep below the palace. The walls were lined with warding runes—Lux, Aqua, Terra, and Ignis—woven in thick rings to prevent any Luminous user from escaping.
 In the center, chained to a carved pillar, sat the assassin even bound by wrists and ankles, their presence was chilling. Their silver mask had been removed, revealing a young man—no older than twenty—with dark hair matted with sweat, a sharp jaw tense, and pale skin dusted with soot and dried blood.
 But his eyes—his eyes were wrong, not frightened, not broken, and not pleading.
 They were focused, eerily calm, as if nothing in the world could shake them.
 Priam stepped closer. “Who sent you? ”
 The assassin stared straight ahead and keep its mouth shut.
 Eryx shifted angrily. “Answer the Emperor.”
 Still nothing. Priam exhaled, slow and cold. “You entered my palace. You attempted to kill my daughter. You injured my royal guard.”
 Alessia flinched at the word injured. Kael’s blood flashed behind her eyes.
 Priam continued. “And so you will answer me, or you will be erased from this world in a way far more painful than death.”
 The assassin finally turned his head very slightly—not toward Priam and toward Alessia.
 Her blood turned to ice. His voice was soft. Disturbingly soft. “You survived.”
 Eryx moved instantly, stepping in front of her. “Do not look at her.”
 But the assassin leaned sideways to see past Eryx’s shoulder, eyes locked on Alessia like a predator finding interest in its prey.
 “You should have died,” he whispered.
 Alessia’s hands trembled and her body trembled.
 Priam lifted a hand. “Guard.”
 A Terra soldier stepped forward, pressing a stone-forged blade to the assassin’s throat.
 The Emperor’s voice hardened, “Tell me who hired you.”
 The assassin exhaled slowly then smiled.
 Alessia’s breath caught. It wasn’t a smile of amusement. It was a smile of certainty.
 “I wasn’t hired.”
 Priam’s eyes narrowed,“What?”
 “I wasn’t hired,” the assassin repeated calmly. “I volunteered.”
 Eryx stiffened. “Volunteered? For what—treason?! ”
 The assassin lifted his head, “For cleansing.”
 Alessia’s stomach twisted. “C–cleansing…? ”
 The assassin’s gaze slid to her again, “You are corrupted.”
 Alessia gasped. “What? ”
 “Lux and Caligo,” he whispered. “A monster’s combination. An abomination with the face of a girl.”
 Eryx roared, “SILENCE!” He lunged forward, fist colliding with the assassin’s jaw.
 Alessia flinched at the crack of impact. The assassin’s head snapped sideways—then slowly turned back toward her, blood dripping from his lip, smile widening.
 Priam did not stop Eryx. He said nothing for a long moment before lifting a hand to steady himself. “That is enough.”
 Eryx stepped back, seething. Priam’s expression was unreadable. “Why do you believe my daughter must be ‘cleansed’?”
 The assassin chuckled softly. “Because your world depends on it.”
 Alessia’s heart dropped. “My world?”
 “Yes.” The assassin’s tone shifted to something like fanatic reverence. “The prophecy says unity comes from blood and shadow—but unity is death. The three Empires must remain separate.”
 Priam frowned. “That is not what the prophecy says.”
 The assassin turned to him slowly. “It is what it means.”
 Alessia muttered, “Who told you that?”
 The assassin’s lips curled then smirked, “My gods.”
 Seraphine, standing behind Alessia, stifled a gasp. “Gods?”
 Priam’s eyes narrowed. “Which gods?”
 The assassin smiled wider—too wide. “The ones this palace abandoned.”
 Alessia’s breath trembled. “You mean… the old gods.”
 “Yes,” the assassin whispered. “The gods of balance. Of endings. They speak through the shadows. They warned us about you,” he said, his voice darkening. “A princess reborn in light and darkness. A bringer of unity. A destroyer of divisions.”
 Alessia’s knees weakened. Priam’s jaw set. “You believe Alessia will destroy the Empires?”
 “Yes.” The assassin answered without hesitation.
 “And that justified murder?” Eryx asked. 
 The assassin closed his eyes briefly. “It justified salvation.”
 Eryx hissed, “You’re insane.”
 The assassin opened his eyes again—cold, bright, and devoted.
 “Insanity,” he murmured, “is watching a prophecy bloom and doing nothing.”
 Priam stepped closer, voice sharpening. “Who else believes this? Who else is part of your ‘cleansing’?”
 The assassin looked directly into the Emperor’s eyes and whispered—“I would rather die.”
 Priam lifted his hand to the Terra guard, “Very well.”
 The guard pressed his blade to the assassin’s throat.
 Alessia gasped. “Wait!”
 Priam’s voice remained cold. “He has attempted regicide. He does not deserve mercy.”
 Alessia stepped forward before she could think.
 “Stop!” she cried.
 The guard halted. Priam turned slowly, eyes narrowing. “Alessia.”
 Her voice shook. “Killing him won’t help us. If we execute him now, we lose the only lead we have.”
 “And letting him live risks another attempt on your life.”
 “I don’t care,” she whispered. “We need answers.”
 The assassin laughed again. “How kind. You postpone my death.” He looked at her with undeniable hatred, “but it will come and then yours will follow.”
 Alessia felt Seraphine grip her arm tightly, trembling.
 Eryx stepped in front of her, fury twisting his features. “Say that again and I’ll make sure your tongue never leaves your mouth.”
 Priam raised a hand, silence swallowed the room.
 “I will not kill him,” Priam said finally.
 Alessia exhaled in relief.
 “Yet.” Priam stepped close to the assassin, eyes keen as steel.
 “You will talk eventually. Pain softens even the strongest resolve.”
 The assassin’s smile faltered for the first time.
 Priam turned to his guards. “Lock him in the deepest chamber, ouble restraints, triple wards, and no visitors.” He looked at Alessia. “And keep her location hidden at all times.”
 The guards dragged the assassin away. He didn’t fight, didn’t scream and didn’t beg. He only whispered—just loud enough for Alessia to hear—“The shadows still hunger for you.”
 A shiver ripped down her spine. Eryx immediately pulled her away, holding her protectively.
 Priam turned to his daughter, “We have learned something important tonight.”
 Alessia gulped, “That the assassin wasn’t hired? ”
 “No,” Priam said softly. “That someone taught him to worship your death.”
 Alessia stopped moving. Priam’s gaze hardened, “And that someone inside the palace is feeding the old gods.”
 Seraphine gasped. Eryx stiffened. Alessia’s breath trembled.
 “Someone in the palace…” she whispered. “Someone believes that the prophecy makes me a threat.”
 Priam nodded. “And that,” he said quietly, “means the real danger is only beginning.”