CHAPTER 43: I DIDN’T SIGN UP FOR THIS!

Fluffy darted behind her hair, trembling slightly. "That crown just blinked! I swear on my fuzzy tail, that crown blinked!"

’No, Fluffy. It glowed.’

"Same difference when we’re in a creepy whisper-cave with haunted art!"

But Evelisse was already stepping forward again, drawn like a thread being tugged.

The mural stopped glowing... but the *crown* on the pedestal beneath it didn’t.

It hovered now—just a few feet away.

Real. Tangible.

Like it had peeled itself out of the wall and manifested into reality.

A stone crown, simple yet majestic, adorned with seven faintly glowing points—just like the mural. Each one pulsed in time with her heartbeat.

Evelisse’s throat dried.

"What is this place?" she whispered.

"I’d guess prophetic dungeon chamber, tier-three artifact containment zone," Fluffy mumbled. "Maybe tier-four if it sings again."

The crown spun gently mid-air.

Below it, carved into the pedestal in flowing script she didn’t recognize, was the symbol of a gemstone surrounded by a beautiful blooming vine.

"Fluffy... that symbol..."

"It’s the same one engraved on my archive," he finished.

Evelisse’s pulse spiked.

’This isn’t a coincidence.’

She took a careful step forward. The crown didn’t move. The air thrummed, thick with tension, as though the chamber was holding its breath.

Then—

A quiet whisper.

Not in her ears.

In her mind.

"Daughter of Dawn... return the echo..."

Evelisse froze.

"Did you hear that?"

"...No," Fluffy said slowly. "But your shell just started glowing again."

The shell pulsed from her pocket. She pulled it out.

Inside, the pearl was spinning like a compass needle on overdrive.

And then, it snapped—pointing directly to the crown.

"Nope," Fluffy said. "Nope, nope, nope. That thing is going to bind to your soul, make you queen of lost ghost mermaids, and drag you into a tragic underwater war."

Evelisse didn’t move.

She reached forward.

Her fingertips grazed the crown.

A flare of light burst across the chamber.

Runes erupted across the walls.

The murals shifted.

Fluffy screamed, "YOU TOUCHED IT?!"

"I HAD TO!"

The stone beneath them rumbled.

The vines trembled.

And in a corner of the chamber, a new passage unfurled—one that hadn’t been there before.

A tunnel carved with water symbols and starlight lines.

A message etched above the new doorway:

"Where tides repeat, the door shall sing."

Evelisse felt her knees wobble. "I think this is what the shell was leading me to."

"No! This is what you get when you touch glowing mystical crowns without reading the return policy!"

But Evelisse was already walking again.

And the shell in her hand began to sing.

A haunting lullaby, just like before, echoing down the newly revealed path.

It sounded almost like a memory she never made.

Like a voice she used to know.

Like... family.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

The path twisted deeper than she expected.

Twisting down into the cliff’s root.

The farther she walked, the quieter everything became.

The sound of waves above dimmed. The wind vanished. Even Fluffy had stopped muttering sarcastic comments and was now clinging to her shoulder in silence.

At the end of the path stood a door.

Circular. Carved from coral and bone, reinforced with glowing shell fragments. The same gemstone-surrounded-by-a-blooming-vine symbol gleamed in its center.

And at its base... a small indent.

Shaped exactly like her shell.

"You’ve got to be kidding me," Fluffy muttered. "It’s really a magic key?"

Evelisse crouched and held out the shell.

It rose gently from her palm on its own... and clicked into place.

The door groaned.

Rumbled.

And then opened with a soft hiss.

Inside was a room unlike anything she’d seen in the palace.

A hidden chamber.

Round. Glimmering. Lined with mirrors and soft velvet moss.

In the center...

A dais.

On it, a mirror.

And inside the mirror—

A reflection.

Not hers.

Older. Maybe seventeen or eighteen. Maybe exactly the age she’d been before the cancer ate away her years.

The girl in the mirror had the same green eyes. Same face. But different hair. Curly. Free.

The girl smiled.

And then—

Whispered.

"Do not let go of the Seven Stars."

The mirror darkened.

The crown reappeared, this time on the reflection’s head.

And Evelisse—this Evelisse—stood frozen, heart hammering in her chest.

Evelisse gulped. "Could you please explain what you mean? I’m a bit lost here and didn’t expect a cryptic message, when I came here for answers."

"Curiosity is the flame of destiny," the reflection replied. "You walk the path of the Lightbearer."

"Does that come with, like, a manual? Or maybe a scroll?"

"Seven seals guard the gate," it said, ignoring her question. "Each mystery unlocked will restore the bond between land, tide, and soul. Beware the Shadow that lurks above your soul. Do not end up like me, princess!"

"What does that mean?! Please just answer me without some sort of riddle."

But the figure was already fading.

"Wait—!"

The glow died and mirror crumbled into dust.

"Fucking hell!!!" Evelisse cursed into the air, her teeth grinding in rage.

She had expected a scolding comment from Fluffy, but surprisingly received none.

Tears streamed down her eyes as she continuously wiped at them.

Sniff!

"Princess?" Fluffy placed a paw on her cheeks, its eyes wide with concern.

"I am tired of this!" Evelisse muttered, "Brother Marcus was right, this is too much for a little kid. All I wanted was to enjoy the moment I have now, not some mystery solving case after FUCKING CASE!!!"

She screamed out the last part, heaving as her body shook.

She glanced at the mirror shards still scattered on the dais. Each piece reflected a sliver of her face—seven fractured versions of her expression, like a puzzle too complicated to solve.

Fluffy didn’t say anything for a long moment.

Its silence, for once, said everything.

Evelisse sat crumpled at the base of the dais, tears clinging stubbornly to her cheeks, fists balled up in her lap. The cold of the underground chamber seeped into her bones—but the fire in her chest roared louder.

"I didn’t sign up for this," she whispered hoarsely.