— Solinthar, Empire of Althea —

Stepping through the rift, I walked into my little room and my eyes quickly moved to the bed. Reina lay there, sleeping peacefully, and on the bedside table were leftovers from the food they brought.

Her complexion was slightly better than before, and the dark circles under her eyes were gone.

My gaze shifted to the window, and it turned out it was nighttime. If I had kept to my original plan, I would have been here by evening, not night.

I quickly took off my jacket and hung it on the rocking chair before heading straight for the door. Unlocking it, I was shocked to see Prince Caelum on the other side of the door, just moments away from knocking.

"Is there a problem?" I asked.

Our meeting was meant to take place around 10 p.m., and I was sure it wasn't that late yet. And even if it was time for the meeting, it had nothing to do with Caelum.

He shouldn't be here.

"I—I wanted to show you something before you head into battle," Caelum stuttered, sounding a bit shy.

My eyebrows raised in surprise as I wondered what was going through his head.

"Show me then," I said, and Caelum nodded.

"This way," he said and began walking down the corridor.

My eyes narrowed, but I put aside my doubts and followed him—but not before shutting the door behind me. From the corridor, we walked downstairs and reached the ground floor. Then he led me into the same throne room I had been in numerous times.

"Are you playing games with me?" I asked with a raised eyebrow as soon as we entered the empty courtroom.

My eyes darted around cautiously while I shut the door behind me. I wasn't afraid of getting ambushed because I was certain I would win against anything that came at me.

Especially within this empire.

However, it doesn't hurt to be cautious.

Caelum stopped and turned to meet my suspicious gaze.

"Do you remember when I told you there was a way to save my mother?" he asked, and my eyes dilated in surprise.

Memories flashed across my mind, so vivid it felt like it was just yesterday.

"Serena was against it." I nodded. "I remember."

"Good! That makes things easier." Caelum smiled and turned around.

I watched him walk up to the throne I had sat on multiple times and then go around it.

The wall behind was covered by the large Solinthar Empire flag, but Caelum didn't hesitate to rip it off the wall in one pull. My eyes narrowed at his actions, but I remained silent and patient.

Behind the banner was just a wall, as expected. Nothing about it looked special, but what Caelum did next stunned me.

Caelum unsheathed the dagger strapped to his waist and cut his palm open with one slash. He hastily tossed the dagger aside and placed his bloody palm on the wall.

'Why is he in a hurry?' I couldn't help but wonder.

Is this something I shouldn't know about?

Bang!

The entire room shook, dust falling off the walls as the wall behind pulled in before sliding to the side.

Stunned, I walked up to Caelum, who was tying a piece of cloth around his palm with genuine shock in my eyes. What I saw was a staircase leading to a lower level in the palace—

Something I was never aware of.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Come on, we don't have much time," Caelum said impatiently and began descending the stairs.

Reluctantly, I followed him down the dark staircase, which took us a few minutes to cover. Soon, we entered a massive circular room with four pillars.

Each pillar had a massive chain bound to one black and red grimoire located at the center of the room.

Originally, I was confused—especially since there were pieces of paper with strange words attached to the chains—but Caelum wasted no time in explaining the situation.

"This is called the Devil's Grimoire. It contains the most sinister and evil spells to ever exist in this world," he explained.

Ding!

[Devil's Grimoire Located]

[This grimoire harbors the resentment, pain, and negativity of both the creators of those dark spells and the former users of the grimoire. Taking hold of it will instantly increase your corruption level by 10%, and once taken, it cannot be abandoned until the user's death. Leave now!]

The system's warning fell on deaf ears.

"I believe power is power, regardless of the source. Some can control it, some cannot," Caelum continued. "The forefather and founder of Solinthar used this grimoire to carve out a place for humanity in the Ashen Realms, which were originally ruled by beasts. Every other successor who tried to wield the grimoire after his death ended up running mad, so it was locked away."

Caelum walked up to me and fell to one knee.

"But you… I believe you have what it takes to wield this power. So why must we hide it from you?" Caelum asked. "If you had this grimoire, Mother could have been saved. But sentiments and fear of the unknown made us watch her die."

I waved my hand, and Caelum stopped talking.

I had heard enough.

"Power is power… I like those words," I said before turning my attention to the Devil's Grimoire.

[YOU MUST RESIST THE URGE! EVERY POWER GOTTEN FROM THE DARKNESS COMES WITH A PRICE!]

The voice returned, screaming loudly in my head.

'And yet the power that came from the heavens is the one that makes me suffer every moment of my life.' I countered, grinning mischievously.

Without hesitation, I began walking towards the Devil's Grimoire with a cold smile on my face.

[THE SUFFERING YOU FACE TODAY IS ATONEMENT FOR YOUR CRIMES. ONCE YOUR ATONEMENT IS COMPLETE, YOU WILL BE REWARDED. BUT IF YOU DO THIS, YOU RISK LOSING EVERYTHING!]

The voice was more desperate and loud.

I chuckled lightly and ignored its words.

Sin?

For what crime?

What crime did I commit that needs to be atoned for?

I don't see my wife and brother serving as Gatekeepers for the sin they committed against me. They ruined a good man, and yet the good man is the one paying for a sin that was forced upon him.

"Fuck you and your kin." I hissed as dark cracks spread across my eyes and I reached for the Devil's Grimoire.

"When this is all over, the heavens will be the ones making atonement for their crime against me!"