CHAPTER 104: ELF [2]

***

My throat tightened as I tried to piece together the fragments of information about Margaret.

My fingers, trembling slightly, reached out and peeled the old poster from the pillar. The paper was rough, charred along the edges, stiff with dried dirt and ash.

There she was.

Margaret Windsor.

Her face stared back at me from the faded print, those same sapphire eyes, cold and unyielding, the faint curl of disdain at the corner of her lips.

The expression I had seen countless times before... now frozen forever beneath a headline that tore something inside me.

「Margaret Windsor, The Princess and soon-to-be Queen of Scotland, was found dead」

I didn’t know what to feel.

Anger?

Shock?

Grief?

All of it... or none of it.

My mind was a blank, my chest hollow, as I stood there staring at her picture, unable to look away.

But then, something else caught my attention.

A faint detail, almost hidden in the smudged ink at the bottom corner of the paper.

「October 14th, 2573」

"...What?"

"...."

I blinked.

My heart skipped a beat.

October 14th?

That couldn’t be right.

I tilted the paper closer, eyes narrowing, scanning the text again and again.

"No... no, this—this isn’t right."

I glanced around, the air was still thick with dust, the sky dim with smoke and shadow.

"It’s August 5th,"

I whispered.

"It should be August 5th right now..."

Then it hit me, like a shiver up my spine, a memory resurfacing from deep within.

This is another one.

A vision.

The future of this world.

My breathing quickened, the paper trembling in my hand.

And then, like lightning flashing through a storm, I remembered.

That place.

The park.

The same broken street, the same air heavy with ash.

The same vision where I had fought it, that humanoid beast that somehow knew my name.

My pulse thudded painfully in my chest.

"...That park,"

I whispered, eyes widening.

"The place where I fought that beast... in my previous vision."

The wind howled suddenly, scattering debris across the cracked road, and for a fleeting second, I could almost hear it again,

that deep, distorted voice echoing from the ruins.

"We meet again, Lyrium Blackwood."

A chill ran down my spine.

Because this time, I wasn’t sure if it was memory... or if the vision was already starting to happen again.

***

"We meet again, Lyrium Blackwood."

The same humanoid beast.

It stood before me, its towering form almost blotting out the ruined skyline behind it.

Every inch of its body radiated raw, violent power.

Thick cords of muscle coiled beneath its blackened skin, pulsing faintly like molten veins beneath stone.

It walked like a man, upright, deliberate, but that was where the resemblance ended.

Two massive horns jutted out from its forehead, twisting upward like blades forged from obsidian and bone.

Its mane, vivid crimson, the color of freshly spilled blood, fell loosely over its shoulders, each strand faintly glowing, like embers refusing to die out.

But it was the eyes that froze me.

They were wrong.

Horribly, mesmerizingly wrong.

I had never seen eyes like those, vivid blue irises rimmed by burning red pupils, swirling together like the storm of two clashing worlds.

They pulsed faintly in the dimness, alive, aware, hungry.

The air between us trembled.

The smell of dust and ozone filled my lungs.

And then, it looked at me.

That simple motion, that gaze, felt like a blade pressed against the edge of my mind.

Every instinct screamed to run, to flee, to do anything but stand there.

My throat went dry, my breath hitching as I tried to speak, to form words that didn’t sound broken.

"You..."

I managed, my voice trembling.

"It was you."

The words tumbled out, uneven, desperate.

"That beast, I saw you. You were fighting me. No... not me, but the future me. I saw you beating me... no... destroying me."

My fists clenched unconsciously, my pulse hammering in my ears.

"I-I have so many questions to ask you,"

I said, each word heavy, strained with confusion and fear.

I took a step forward, staring into those blazing eyes, my voice hardening even as it shook.

"But first..."

I paused, feeling the words burn in my throat.

"What are you actually?"

"...."

For a moment, there was silence.

The world around us seemed to hold its breath.

The wind stopped.

The dust hung motionless in the air.

And then, it spoke.

"....!"

Its voice wasn’t like anything human.

It was deep, resonant, and layered, as if more than one being was speaking through the same mouth.

Each syllable vibrated through the air, through my bones, through the very ground beneath my feet.

"Calm down, Lyrium Blackwood."

My breath caught again.

Hearing my name from its lips, its voice, was enough to send a cold shiver crawling down my spine.

"I will tell you everything,"

It continued slowly, the tone almost... patient. Like a teacher speaking to a child who wasn’t ready for the lesson yet.

"But not yet. Be still and be patient."

The creature tilted its head slightly, the faint glow of its crimson hair flickering in the wind.

"There is a sequence to all things. Questions come before answers, yes... but some answers require understanding first. And you..."

It paused, the corners of its monstrous mouth curling into something disturbingly close to a smile,

"...You are not ready to understand me yet."

Its gaze softened, but only slightly.

"So listen, Lyrium Blackwood. The future you saw... the one you fear... it is not prophecy. It is consequence."

The words hung in the air like thunder before a storm.

And for the first time since it appeared, I realized something far worse than fear...

It wasn’t here to kill me.

It was here to teach me.

***

The room was quiet, too quiet for a hospital ward filled with people who were supposed to be talking.

Only the rhythmic...

Beep... beep... beep,

Of the monitor broke the silence, matching the calm rise and fall of Lyrium’s chest.

His breathing had finally stabilized.

The impossible BPM readings that had made the doctor nearly drop his pen just hours ago, had finally fallen into a human range.

But the tension in the room hadn’t.

Silas sat slouched on the sofa, elbows on his knees, staring at the unmoving figure on the bed.

Lily sat beside him, carefully peeling an apple.

The slow scrape of the knife against the skin was oddly comforting, filling the space where words failed.

Margaret sat directly across from the bed, her back straight, her gaze unmoving, eyes locked on Lyrium as if her will alone could make him wake up.

Srrk~

The door opened softly.

Rihana entered, her expression sharp as ever, but her steps lacked their usual confidence.

She’d just come back from the doctor’s office, a faint trace of exhaustion hanging over her.

She pulled a chair beside Margaret and sat down, crossing one leg over the other.

"Margaret,"

She said quietly, her voice low but steady.

"He’ll be okay. Don’t take too much toll on yourself."

Margaret didn’t respond, not immediately.

Her fingers tightened slightly against the fabric of her skirt, her eyes never leaving Lyrium’s face.

Then, after a moment, she gave a small nod. Silent, controlled, but weary.

"Haa..."

Rihana sighed softly. She knew that look too well, Margaret wasn’t someone you could easily pull away from what she decided to care about.

"Anyway,"

Rihana continued after a moment, shifting the mood slightly,

"I spoke to the council members, Xiaolung and the others. They’re visiting their hometowns for now."

Silas blinked, leaning back on the couch.

"Yeah, I haven’t seen Senior Xiaolung in a long time. He’s visiting Asia, huh?"

"Yeah,"

Rihana said, crossing her arms.

"And the others are either on vacation or staying with their families. We’ll probably have to regroup once things settle."

The door suddenly slid open with a faint shhhk, and the quiet atmosphere broke.

Ren walked in first, his hands full, snacks, fruits, and neatly packed boxes from the cafeteria.

Behind him, Maya followed, carrying a small thermos and a paper bag, the faint smell of coffee escaping it.

"Yup,"

Ren declared proudly, stepping into the room like a parade announcer.

"I’m back with the goodies! To keep your royal stomachs full, your honors, majesties, and weary attendants."

Silas turned, half-grinning.

"Tch, you mean yourself, right? You brought half of that for you."

Ren smirked, setting the bags on the table beside the bed.

"Hey, hey. Generosity is a virtue, my dear Silas. Even the gods would appreciate a snack delivery."

Lily giggled softly, finally breaking the tension a bit.

Rihana rolled her eyes but didn’t stop him, Ren being Ren was almost refreshing amid all this dread.

Margaret’s eyes flickered briefly toward them, then back to Lyrium.

The faintest movement of her lips suggested a whisper, something too soft for anyone to hear.

Maya set the thermos down and folded her arms.

"How’s he doing?"

"Haa..."

Silas exhaled slowly, glancing toward the monitor.

"Stable, finally. The doctor said his heart rate’s... normal now. For someone who broke medical logic a few hours ago."

Ren raised an eyebrow, half-snickering.

"Normal, huh? That’s one way to describe heart beating faster than light."

Rihana gave him a sharp look.

"Don’t joke about that."

Ren’s grin faded, guilt flashing for just a moment.

He turned his eyes toward Lyrium’s sleeping face, the same face that had walked straight into chaos and lived.

Barely.

The sound of the monitors filled the room again.

The late evening light from the hospital windows painted everything in a soft orange hue.

No one said it aloud, but they all felt it.

That the calm they were sitting in... was temporary.

That the man lying unconscious in front of them... was the center of something far greater than any of them understood.

And somewhere, far away, the echoes of what happened at the plaza were still rippling through the world, whispering of something that had only just begun.

***