novelnext Chapter 262 - 262: If
Chapter 262 - 262: If
Mystica's Chamber – Day Eight of Academy Break
The moon hung high, spilling silver light across the velvet curtains of Mystica's chamber, where silence had long since become a companion. Since her conversation with Queen Lucy, Mystica had buried herself in re
Mystica smirked, biting back a laugh. "You're impossible."
"Exactly why you love me."
Magnus popped another cookie into his mouth, chuckling. "Man, this went from 'apocalyptic threat' to 'steamy novella' in record time. Can we get back to the rift-of-doom part?"
Mystica, still smiling faintly, gave a graceful nod. "Fair. Back to business."
She flicked her hand, and the display orb zoomed in, focusing on a jagged rift nestled in the canyons of the Western Region. Sickly green mist oozed from it like an infected wound.
"This rift didn't exist a few months ago. Now it's the size of a cathedral. And the myst around it—it's warped. Rotten."
Magnus leaned in, eyes gleaming. "Warped like... 'instant death' warped? Or 'lose your sanity and eat dirt' warped?"
"Little of both," Dove chimed in, already elbow-deep in Mystica's wardrobe, casually pilfering. "The myst's alive. Twitchy. Like something crawled through and left its venom behind. It's spreading."
"So," Galen said, eyes fixed on the ceiling, "you're telling me one of those pompous Demon Lords finally decided to drop by Amthar?"
"Yes and no," Mystica replied, her tone level. "Yes, because the myst signature is unlike anything else—pure demonic taint. No, because no one's actually seen what came out of it. Could be a group of Gaia demons working under stealth. But if there's even a chance Sylvathar made landfall... then we've got a real problem."
"Alright, so you want us to check out the rift and confirm if something walked out of hell, right?" Galen asked, stretching.
"Exactly. You and Magnus can handle that. Dove and I will scout the outer reaches of the Crescent Kingdom—see if this corruption has any tendrils reaching further."
"No problem," Galen said, standing up with a smirk. "And honestly? I hope it is a Demon Lord. I've been craving a real fight."
"You're definitely drunk," Dove said, snorting.
"Yeah, but he's dead serious," Magnus added, licking crumbs off his thumb.
"Don't worry, Featherbrain," Galen said, addressing Dove with a wink. "Sylvathar's the weakest of the ten Lords. I wish it were one of the nastier ones, but even a Gaia Lord's good enough to keep me entertained."
He drained the last of his wine and rolled his shoulders. "Damn, I drank too much. But at least I'll sleep like royalty tonight."
He started toward the door, waving lazily. "We'll check the rift tomorrow or whenever. If you end up fighting that bastard without me, let me know. I'll be pissed if I miss the fun."
He paused, glancing back with a grin. "See ya, Blondie Dove. Name finally stuck." And with that, he was gone.
Dove smirked as the door clicked shut behind Galen. "Man's got the ego of a war god and the alcohol tolerance of a toddler."
"Sadly, both are true," Magnus muttered, crunching down another cookie. "Still, he's not wrong. If Sylvathar really is here, we're gonna need all the firepower we've got. That bastard doesn't move without purpose."