Three days later, Serah strode down the long marble hallway of the upper wing. The weight of the day pressed heavily on her shoulders — three meetings back-to-back, all filled with pompous nobles arguing over titles, land, and coin. By the time she reached the doors of her office, she felt as though her soul had been wrung dry.

The doors opened with a faint creak as she entered, and without a second thought, she dropped herself into her chair with such force that the poor thing let out a protesting groan beneath her.

"Ugh… these damn old pigs really know how to say a whole bunch of nothing for hours," she muttered, dragging a hand across her face. Her voice was tired, laced with irritation. "By the stars, I think I lost more brain cells than I did patience."

She leaned back in her chair, arms hanging loosely by her sides, staring blankly at the ceiling. For a few blissful moments, there was silence — the kind she'd been craving since sunrise. The air felt calm, as if the world had paused just to give her a breath.

But that peace didn't last long.

A firm knock echoed through the room.

Serah groaned softly, tilting her head toward the door. "What now…" she muttered under her breath before raising her voice. "Enter."

The door creaked open, and in stepped a familiar figure dressed in the deep silver and crimson of the Solaran Knights — Zion.

Serah blinked, sitting up straighter. "Zion?" she said, surprise flickering in her tone. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

Zion bowed slightly, his hand pressed over his chest in formality. "My apologies for the intrusion, Lady Serah. I… needed to speak with you."

She gestured toward the seat across from her. "You're always welcome here. Please, sit. How did things go at the border?"

For a moment, Zion didn't move. He stood there in silence, eyes slightly downcast. His jaw tightened ever so slightly, and that alone made Serah's chest tighten. There was something off about his posture — a stiffness that wasn't usually there.

"Zion?" she pressed gently, her tone soft but edged with unease. "What happened?"

He lifted his gaze to meet hers, and that was when she saw it — the flicker of conflict, of something heavier than a soldier's usual burden.

"My lady…" Zion began quietly, his voice carrying a weight that made Serah's stomach knot before he even finished. "It's about your brother."

Her heart skipped a beat. The air suddenly felt colder. "What about Galen?" she asked quickly.

Zion's expression hardened, guilt shadowing his eyes as he spoke the words that froze Serah's world in place.

"Galen has been kidnapped."

***

It took mere minutes for Serah to gather herself, summon her composure, and command one of the royal mages to open a portal to the borders of Darenville and Qeren.

When they emerged, the crisp air of the borderlands greeted them — a biting chill that carried the faint scent of smoke and sea from the distant docks of Darenville. The city was quieter than usual, its streets cloaked in the light of noon. Serah didn't waste a breath; her voice came sharp, calm, and commanding.

"Show me the place."

Zion gave a firm nod and led the way, his boots striking against cobblestone with deliberate pace. They weaved through narrow streets and weathered stone buildings until they reached a narrow alley tucked behind a row of taverns.

"This is where I last saw him," Zion said quietly, his tone grave.

Serah looked around — the alley was damp, dark, the scent of ale and salt heavy in the air. A few barrels were overturned, and puddles reflected the dim lantern glow from above. Nothing about it looked out of place, and yet… she felt it. The faint hum beneath the air. The quiet stillness that didn't belong.

"What happened here?" she asked, her gaze sweeping every inch of the alley.

Zion exhaled slowly, lowering his hood. "Last night, I saw Galen come this way. He'd decided to do a quick sweep — clear out drunkards, perhaps scare off any demons or crooks lingering around. He'd done the same thing the night before, so I didn't think much of it. I kept watch from a distance, just in case. But when twenty minutes passed and he didn't return…" He paused, jaw tightening. "I knew something was wrong."

Serah turned sharply to him, her crimson eyes narrowing. "And when you came here?"

"I found nothing," Zion said grimly. "No sound. No trace. Just this."

He reached into the satchel at his side and carefully pulled out a familiar weapon — a sleek steel sword marked with the insignia of the Solaran army on its hilt. Serah's breath caught as she reached out and took it from him. The moment her fingers brushed the blade, her heart twisted.

"This was his…" she whispered, thumb brushing over the worn grip. It was warm, faintly pulsing with residual myst — Galen's myst.

Zion continued, his tone darkening. "At first, I thought he might've found another way out of the alley. Maybe pursued something. But after searching the entire block and every adjacent path, I knew something had gone terribly wrong."

He knelt, pressing a gloved hand to the ground near the wall. "When I came back, I felt it — faint traces of something unnatural. Dark myst. It was faint but unmistakable. It clung to the shadows like smoke. Whoever took him… they used the darkness to do it."

Serah's entire body went still. Her mind immediately pieced together the implications — dark myst, no traces, disappearance within minutes. Her voice dropped, low and grave.

"A dark mage," she murmured. "Or more than one."

Zion nodded solemnly.

For a brief second, Serah's composure cracked. Her hand tightened around Galen's sword as emotions surged — anger, fear, guilt — threatening to drown her. But just as quickly, she forced herself to breathe. Calm. Think. Her brother needed her to think.

She exhaled slowly through her nose, then turned her gaze back to Zion. "What about the others? Fred, Ivar, and Lyra — where are they?"

"They're safe," Zion replied. "I kept them under watch after I realized Galen was missing. Fred was sweeping the southern district of Qeren, while Ivar and Lyra were scouting near the outer borders. None of them noticed anything strange until I found them."

Serah's expression hardened. "Then whoever did this… came for Galen specifically."

"Yes," Zion agreed grimly. "It wasn't random."

Serah fell silent, her mind racing. The way it was done — silent, precise, cloaked in shadow — it wasn't the work of some wandering dark sorcerer. This had been planned and calculated.

But how?

This mission wasn't public. It had been sealed, restricted to only her inner circle and a handful of trusted officers — Zion included. Even the deployment location wasn't supposed to be known outside that circle.

"Someone knew," Serah muttered, her voice low. "They knew Galen would be here. And they came prepared." Her eyes flickered dangerously as she stared down the alley. "No ordinary mage could've tracked him like this."

Zion stayed silent, waiting for orders.

After a long pause, Serah turned sharply toward him, her authority returning in full force. "Zion. Gather more men. I want every inch of Darenville and Qeren searched — every street, every sewer, every shadowed corner. I want mages sensitive to dark myst leading the sweep. If Galen was taken through shadow teleportation, we might still catch the lingering trail. It won't last long, but if the distance wasn't far…"

She paused, her eyes narrowing, fire flickering faintly across her irises. "Then we'll find them."

Zion straightened, placing a fist over his chest. "Understood, my lady."

"And bring Fred, Ivar, and Lyra back to camp immediately," Serah added firmly. "They'll give me every detail of last night — no matter how small. If anyone so much as blinked wrong in their presence, I want to know."

Zion nodded once more. "At once."

As he hurried off to relay her orders, Serah remained standing in that alley, Galen's sword still in her grasp. She looked down at the steel once more, her reflection faintly shimmering in its surface — eyes burning like tempered fire, jaw clenched with resolve.

Her whisper was low, but it carried a promise.

"Hold on, Galen. I'll find you. No matter who I have to burn to ash to do it."