CHAPTER 42: WHISPERING RUINS

Moonlight filtered through gauzy curtains, painting silver ripples on Evelisse’s floor. The shell lay beneath her pillow again—quiet this time, but still warm. Still watching. Still waiting.

She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes and trying not to wake Snugglewuff who snored like a sleepy teapot at the foot of her bed. The room was silent except for his tiny wheezing snorts and the gentle pulse of her heartbeat, which was starting to race.

Fluffy appeared beside her, yawned, and floated lazily near her shoulder like a lantern on low energy mode.

"You’re up," he mumbled. "Let me guess... another midnight sneak-out?"

Evelisse didn’t answer right away. She padded barefoot across the cold floor, opened her wardrobe, and began pulling on her soft-soled slippers and a hooded robe.

"You’ve been sneaking out more than a rogue squirrel in an acorn vault, Your Royal Stealthiness." Fluffy continued, squinting at her. "What’s the excuse this time?"

Evelisse tied her sash with a determined tug. "This body," she muttered, "happens to attract weird shells, glowing caves, musical fish, and cryptic murals that look like me. I’m just trying not to drag the entire royal family into a magical meltdown."

Fluffy grinned. "So... you’re sneaking out because you’re dramatic."

"I’m sneaking out," Evelisse corrected, "because I’m practical. If I wait any longer, someone else might find that door."

He hovered closer. "You’re not going unarmed, are you? What’s the plan?"

Evelisse crossed her arms. "I need two things. One, a cloaking mechanism to hide me for five hours. Two, a body double to stay here in bed in case someone checks."

"Ooh, I love a good heist setup," Fluffy said brightly. "Requesting now!"

The air shimmered with runes as a small, transparent screen appeared in front of her.

[♡ Affection Points Remaining: 910♡]

[Valid Request Detected: Initiating Item Match...]

Glowing script scrolled across the air like starlight on parade. After a few seconds:

Ding!

[Item 1: Moonshade Cloak]

[Type: Active Stealth Field]

[Effect: Temporarily renders user invisible and muffles footfall/scent]

[Duration (5 hours) = 10 Affection Points]

[Cost: 20 Affection Points + 10 Affection Points + 5 Personal Request Fee]

♡

[Item 2: Shadow Duplicate (Basic Holoform)]

[Type: Visual Body Double]

[Effect: Mimics sleeping appearance for short-term disguise]

[Duration (5 hours) = 10 Affection Points]

[Cost: 20 Affection Points + 10 Affection Points + 5 Personal Request Fee]

[Total Cost: -70 Affection Points | Affection Points Remaining: 840♡]

"Approved?" Fluffy asked.

Evelisse gave a single nod. "Do it."

Two items appeared before her with twin puffs of glitter.

The Moonshade Cloak, a fine, gossamer-like wrap that shimmered like midnight dew. She threw it over her shoulders and instantly felt her presence dull—like she’d stepped behind glass.

Fluffy let out a low whistle. "You look like an invisible ninja with bedtime issues."

"Thank you, I think," she whispered.

The other looked like a tiny crystal fox that unfolded into an illusion of her—already tucked in bed and snoring softly.

"I hate how creepy-real that is," she muttered.

The illusion flopped its arm dramatically and murmured, "No, mommy, not the soup spoon—"

Evelisse blinked. ’Did it just talk?’

Fluffy shrugged. "It’s improvising. Let’s go."

Wrapped in the Moonshade Cloak, she became a moving shimmer. She slipped from her room, silent as fog, following the invisible trail only she could see.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

Sneaking through a Bsy was easier than she expected.

Maybe because there were no night patrol—or maybe because Fluffy kept whispering dramatic spy music and making her giggle under her breath.

’I can’t believe I’m doing this,’ she whispered. ’A seven-year-old ninja princess.’

Fluffy floated close. "Correction: a seven-year-old transmigrated ex-cancer patient ninja princess with magic accessories."

’...That’s oddly specific.’

The cliffs were darker this time.

Colder.

The wind tugged at her cloak like curious fingers. Sand crunched faintly beneath her slippers, but not loud enough to matter. The moonlight painted the world in pearl and shadow.

She held the humming shell in her hand, and it pulsed with a soft glow, guiding her steps.

Left.

Then through the tide-worn rocks.

Then—stop.

A pool of seawater shimmered nearby, untouched despite the low tide. Beneath it, the glint of a spiral rune.

The shell in her hand vibrated harder.

And from it—emerged a tiny floating pearl.

It hovered ahead of her, bobbing slightly like it had a mind of its own.

"A compass," she breathed. "Of course."

She followed it.

It led her behind a jagged rock wall, through a barely visible crevice lined with moss and shimmering crystals.

The tunnel beyond was overgrown with coral vines. It smelled of jasmine, sea salt, and old stories. Her breath fogged faintly as the temperature dipped.

The pearl paused at a stone wall.

A rune shimmered.

And the wall—moved.

A hidden door cracked open with a sigh.

Inside was not like the cave they’d found with the others.

This was older. Hidden deeper. Almost... waiting.

Vines curled along the walls like veins, pulsing with a faint blue glow. The air was damp with salt and laced with a sharp sweetness—jasmine.

Soft light filtered through bioluminescent moss.

And the murals...

The murals were alive.

Scenes scrolled along the curved stone as Evelisse stepped deeper, like watching time unravel in ink:

– Armored figures clashing by a moonlit sea.

– A sleeping girl in a crystal chamber.

– A stone crown placed atop a still brow.

– The stars above shifting into alignment.

– A creature—white, soft-eared, and smug—floating by her side.

"...Is that me?" Fluffy whispered, eyes wide. "I would look fabulous in white."

Evelisse didn’t laugh.

Her gaze was locked on the mural’s center.

A girl—again—was kneeling before a pedestal. Her expression sorrowful. Her hands empty.

’Did she lose her gemstone?’ Evelisse wondered.

But above the pedestal floated the very same shell Evelisse now held.

Then, something in the mural moved.

The shell shimmered.

The girl’s eyes slowly turned—

Straight at Evelisse.

The lights flared.

The mural pulsed once—

And the crown on the pedestal began to glow.

Evelisse stumbled back, nearly tripping over her own feet.

’Did—did that thing just freaking move?’