King Gulben opened the door only after sliding the Codex back into its sealed compartment behind the wall, concealing every trace of its presence. This book was too dangerous to be discovered by them for now.

Aurdis stepped in first, followed by Erend, Eccar, Aerchon, and Aesa.

Their eyes moved across the room quickly and then landed on Saeldir who was now lying unconscious on the bed in the corner, pale, sweating, and still streaked faintly with dried blood.

A silent tension gripped the air as they approached.

King Gulben raised a hand before anyone could speak.

"Calm yourselves," he said. "Saeldir and I were working on something important that required immense focus and Magic power."

Aurdis stepped forward. "Then what happened to him?"

"He pushed himself too far," Gulben replied. "He drained his strength completely. But do not worry. He will wake once his mind reorganizes itself."

Erend frowned. "Are you sure he's alright?"

"Yes," the king answered, though a faint strain tightened his voice. "He only needs time. That is all."

Erend, Aesa, and Eccar exchanged confused looks. They had seen Saeldir in battles and Magic but never like this. From here, he somehow looked fragile, unconscious, and Erend felt like he was marked by something far beyond normal Magic.

They moved to the seats arranged near the center of the room.

Aurdis sat close beside Erend, her eyes glancing repeatedly toward Saeldir's still body.

Aerchon leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. Eccar sat with his usual relaxed posture, and Aesa kept her expression tightly guarded and cold.

Erend introduced Aesa to the king. The king shows a little bit of surprise but quickly gets used to it.

Erend sighed. The weight of everything they had been carrying followed that breath into the room.

He then began explaining with a steady voice. When they went to the ruined world, nothing unfolded as they planned. They confronted a being named Zerathul, an entity whose power was bigger than the strongest forces they had known.

They had been overwhelmed almost instantly. The battle wasn't a fight but a demonstration of how outclassed they were.

Zerathul crushed them without effort, and during that confrontation, one of their Dragonborn brothers was absorbed completely.

King Gulben's pupils tightened and his face drained of color. The shock in the room pressed like a heavy fog, but Erend continued.

He described the sensation of losing, the feeling of an entire world collapsing around them, and the terror of watching a companion get consumed.

A chilling silence followed, stretching uncomfortably as the king processed just how monstrous this Zerathul truly was.

Then Erend told the king the part that mattered most. Before he returned to the Elf Palace, he had spoken with an ancient god, an ally who agreed to interfere.

That god was currently holding Zerathul back, preventing him from unleashing his full power into this world. But the barrier the god created cost immense energy. It was temporary. It would not last long.

The realization settled quickly on the king. Time was no longer a luxury.

Erend continued, saying that they needed to move fast, prepare themselves, and ascend to a strength capable of facing Zerathul again before the barrier fell and the world fell with it.

The room sank into stillness once more when the king absorbed the gravity of Erend's words.

King Gulben exhaled slowly, a weary sound, then lifted his gaze to the group. "Problems keep coming without rest," he murmured. "But I suppose… that is simply the way we live now."

A small, tired, bitter smile tugged at his lips but undeniably there, as if he had accepted the weight of his fate long ago.

Erend, Aurdis, Aerchon, Eccar, and Aesa watched him quietly. Somehow, that fragile smile eased the tension in their chests. If even the king could smile under all this pressure, then maybe they could endure it too.

Gulben's smile faded as he turned to Erend, his expression sharpening with intent.

"Very well," he said. "What do you suggest we do next?"

His tone made it clear he already suspected Erend had an answer.

Erend straightened. "I have a place. A hidden dimension."

The king's eyes looked sharply toward him.

"It's accessible now to the ally I brought," he continued. "Inside that dimension, we can hunt monsters. We grow stronger by absorbing their power. It's where me and Eccar trained before and it's where we need to go again."

King Gulben's brows furrowed. "A dimension like that exists?"

His voice held disbelief but also curiosity.

Erend nodded once. "I've already explained it to Aurdis and Aerchon."

The king's gaze drifted for a moment. His eyes looked distant, calculating, and thoughtful. The idea unsettled him not because it sounded impossible, but because it sounded familiar.

It reminded him of the place he entered when reading the Codex. A dimension of unfathomable pressure where he gained the essence of the creature he killed and became stronger from it. A place no ordinary space should mirror. It turned out that Erend had a similar place.

A whisper in his thoughts wondered whether Erend's power and the Codex shared some hidden connection. But he pushed the thought aside. This was not the moment to reveal such suspicions.

"If that is what must be done," King Gulben finally said, steady and resolute, "then we will do it."

The decision settled over the room like a shift in the wind—subtle but powerful. At least for now they have a new direction, a new path. And perhaps the only hope they had left.

After a few moments of silence Erend said, "We should prepare soon, Your Majesty. Zerathul won't wait."

King Gulben nodded. "We will. And when Saeldir wakes, he will join this plan as well."

Erend exhaled, already thinking ahead. "Then I need to leave again. There's another ally I must warn."

"Go," Gulben said. "Do what you must. We will be ready."

"Let's move," Eccar said.

Aesa glanced back at the king but said nothing.

With that, Erend, Eccar, and Aesa stepped into the portal Erend just opened, and its light swallowed them whole.

—