Free Web NovelChapter 47: An unanswered Question
Athlian’s fear surged through the soul bridge.
And for the first time...she begged him not to ask the question.
Mason stood motionless in the corridor outside the council chamber.
That alone was enough to unsettle him.
Athlian argued.
Athlian dodged.
Athlian lied by omission so often that he had practically started expecting it.
But begging?
That was new.
Dangerously new.
"My goddess"
Zereth’s voice pulled him back.
The silver-eyed immortal was still watching him carefully.
Unfortunately, Zereth was very good at observing.
Mason forced himself to relax. "What exactly are we talking about?"
Zereth studied him for another moment before answering.
"The missing records."
"Yes. I gathered that."
"They weren’t ordinary contracts."
That wasn’t surprising.
Nothing in this kingdom was ordinary anymore.
"The archive classification marks placed them above royal authority."
Mason blinked.
"Above royal authority?"
"Restricted by divine decree."
That immediately sounded terrible.
Athlian remained silent.
Far too silent.
A very bad sign.
Mason folded his arms.
"And who signed them?"
Zereth’s gaze shifted briefly toward the nearby guards.
Not wanting an audience.
"The names were partially erased."
Of course they were.
Because apparently ancient conspiracies enjoyed dramatic timing.
"But?"
"But one signature remained intact."
Athlian’s emotions twisted sharply.
Zereth lowered his voice.
"The signature belonged to someone called the First Witness."
Silence followed.
Mason waited.
Nothing happened.
No divine lightning.
No sudden revelation.
Just confusion.
"That means absolutely nothing to me."
"It shouldn’t."
"Good."
Zereth nodded slowly.
"Because it shouldn’t exist."
That sentence somehow made everything worse.
Before Mason could ask another question, footsteps approached from behind.
Several nobles exited the council chamber.
The moment was broken instantly.
Zereth’s expression closed off.
The immortal straightened.
Conversation over.
For now.
"We’ll speak later."
Then he walked away.
Leaving Mason standing there with even more questions.
His collection was growing rapidly.
Athlian finally spoke. ’Stop investigating.’
He nearly laughed.
"That has literally never worked."
’I’m serious.’
"So am I."
’Some things should stay buried.’
Mason rubbed his forehead.
"That’s exactly what suspicious people say."
Athlian didn’t respond.
Which honestly felt like confirmation.
The walk back through the palace was strangely quiet.
The frantic chaos from earlier had settled into something more controlled.
Soldiers stood guard at major intersections.
Servants hurried through the corridors carrying reports and supplies.
Repair crews worked on damaged walls.
The palace was recovering slowly.
Outside the tall windows, the capital glowed beneath hundreds of lanterns.
The city still looked wounded.
Even from here.
Mason paused near one of the windows.
Several districts remained dark.
Entire streets had been evacuated.
Temporary shelters filled public squares.
People were rebuilding already.
The sight sat heavily in his chest.
Athlian felt it too.
’They are resilient.’
"Most people are."
A brief pause followed.
’You sound certain.’
Mason stared out at the city.
"I’ve seen enough bad days."
Athlian didn’t ask what he meant.
Perhaps because she sensed he wouldn’t answer. Or perhaps because she had her own memories to avoid.
Eventually he returned to his chambers.
The moment the door closed behind him, exhaustion hit like a physical blow.
His body felt heavy.
His head hurt.
His emotions felt like somebody had thrown them into a blender.
Overall, not his best day.
A knock interrupted his suffering.
Peace remained illegal.
"Enter."
The door opened.
Draca stepped inside.
Mason immediately relaxed.
The reaction happened before he could stop it.
Athlian noticed instantly.
Unfortunately.
’There it is again.’
"I don’t know what you’re talking about."
’You do.’
Ignoring her felt healthier.
Draca approached carrying a stack of reports.
Of course he was.
The man practically breathed responsibility.
"You should be resting."
Mason pointed dramatically.
"That sentence applies to both of us."
Draca glanced down at the reports.
"Fair."
Victory.
A rare and beautiful thing.
The commander set the documents aside.
For several seconds neither spoke.
The silence wasn’t awkward.
Which somehow made it worse.
Mason was beginning to notice how easy things felt around Draca.
That realization was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Athlian hated it.
He could feel it.
Not anger but something more complicated.
Something she clearly didn’t want to examine.
Draca eventually sat across from him.
"The city will recover."
Mason looked up. "You sound confident."
"I have to be."
Annoying, simple and effective answer.
Mason sighed.
"You always do that."
"Do what?"
"Say reasonable things."
Draca looked genuinely confused.
"I wasn’t aware that was unusual."
"It is in this palace."
That earned a brief laugh.
A real one.
For a moment, the tension eased.
No conspiracies.
No divine prisons.
No mysterious contracts.
Just two tired people sitting in a room after surviving a disaster.
Unfortunately the universe hated peace.
Another knock came.
Draca closed his eyes.
Mason pointed immediately.
"See? Even reality agrees with me."
The commander rubbed his temple.
"Enter."
The door opened.
A palace messenger hurried inside.
The young servant looked nervous.
Very nervous.
Never a positive sign.
"Commander. Your presence is requested."
Draca stood immediately. freēwēbnovel.com
"Where?"
"The western archive wing."
Mason frowned.
Archives again.
The messenger swallowed.
"There has been an incident."
Of course there had.
Because apparently one catastrophe wasn’t enough.
Draca’s expression hardened.
"What kind of incident?"
The servant hesitated.
Never reassuring.
"Someone broke into a restricted chamber."
The room went still.
Even Athlian reacted.
Mason exchanged a glance with Draca.
Both reached the same conclusion immediately.
This wasn’t random.
Not after today’s discoveries.
Not after the missing records.
Draca turned toward the messenger.
"When?"
"Less than an hour ago."
"Any suspects?"
"No."
Wonderful.
The servant looked increasingly uncomfortable.
"There’s something else."
Of course there was.
"There always is," Mason muttered.
The messenger continued.
"The guards found a symbol."
Draca’s eyes narrowed.
"What symbol?"
The servant produced a folded piece of parchment.
Draca unfolded it.
His expression changed instantly.
Not fear but real concern.
Mason noticed immediately.
"What?"
Draca handed him the paper.
A strange mark had been sketched across the page.
A circle.
Several intersecting lines.
And a single symbol in the center.
Athlian completely froze.
Mason felt the reaction before he understood it.
His pulse quickened.
"You know this symbol."
Athlian didn’t answer.
"Athlian."
Nothing.
The silence felt loud.
Draca was watching him.
Mason forced himself to remain calm.
"What’s special about it?"
The commander studied the drawing.
"I’ve never seen it before."
Interesting.
Athlian clearly had.
The messenger shifted nervously.
"The archive guards reported something else."
Nobody liked where this conversation was going.
"What?" Draca asked.
"The chamber wasn’t damaged."
That drew both their attention.
"What do you mean?"
"The locks remained intact."
A pause.
"The seals remained intact."
Another pause.
"The door was never opened."
Mason frowned.
That made absolutely no sense.
The messenger swallowed.
"Yet everything inside disappeared."
Silence settled over the room.
Heavy silence.
Because that was impossible.
Even by the kingdom’s increasingly ridiculous standards.
Athlian finally spoke.
One sentence.
Barely above a whisper.
’Someone remembered.’
Mason’s stomach dropped immediately.
Because her voice didn’t sound confused.
It sounded terrified.
The servant eventually left.
Draca departed shortly afterward to investigate personally.
Promising to report back.
Leaving Mason alone.
The room felt quieter after they were gone.
Athlian remained silent.
Mason sat beside the window.
Thinking.
Processing.
Failing to process.
The moon hung above the city.
Bright.
Cold.
Distant.
Hours passed.
At some point exhaustion finally won.
Sleep arrived suddenly.
Without warning.
Without permission.
And the dream came immediately.
This time there were no chains.
No prisons.
No fractured skies.
Just a hallway.
Endless. freewёbnoνel.com
Ancient.
Lined with silver doors.
One stood open.
Light spilled from within.
A voice echoed from somewhere beyond it.
Painfully familiar.
"Mistakes cannot remain buried forever."
Mason moved toward the doorway.
The closer he got, the harder Athlian’s fear became.
Not fear of the dream.
Fear of what waited beyond it.
Then he reached the door.
And saw a figure standing inside the light.
Tall.
Motionless.
Watching him.
The face remained hidden.
The features blurred.
Impossible to recognize.
But one thing stood out clearly.
The figure wore the exact same symbol found inside the archive.
The circle.
The intersecting lines.
The forgotten mark.
Then the figure spoke.
And Athlian screamed.
Mason woke instantly.
Heart pounding.
Breathing hard.
The room was dark and silent.
Except for one thing.
A piece of parchment sat on the table beside his bed.
A parchment that definitely had not been there before.
And across its surface...someone had drawn the same symbol.
