Asher leaned against the damp wall of the cell, dragging a hand down his face. He was mentally drained from questioning themander, yet the nagging sense of dissatisfaction wouldn''t leave him.


    "Is that everything?" Asher asked, his voice edged with frustration. He stared at the defeatedmander, now slumped against his restraints, his once-fierce eyes dulled by exhaustion and the effects of the potion. "Maybe you''ve forgotten something."


    The potion''s limitations were evident to Asher. ''The potion is strong, but there''s a catch, it only works on what I ask. If I don''t ask the right questions, I won''t get the right answers,'' he thought, biting the inside of his cheek in frustration. The timer disyed only eight minutes remaining. Time was running out.


    "Alright, let''s make this easy for you," Asher muttered, running through the questions still lingering in his mind. One stood out above the rest. He locked eyes with themander and asked firmly, "What''s so special about Laxen that your king wants it so badly?"


    "Ah…" Themander hesitated, his lips quivering as if battling the truth lodged in his throat. Sweat beaded on his brow, and his shackles rattled faintly. Finally, he whispered, "The fragments."


    Asher''s eyes narrowed. "What fragments? Why does he want them?"


    Themander gulped, his voice shaky as he replied, "No one knows the specific reason, but... ording to rumor, the fragments, if assembled, possess the power tomunicate with gods. With that... one can attain omnipotence."


    The revtion made Asher''s chest tighten. ''Seriously? Just how many messed-up events do we have to prevent?'' He frowned, trying to recall what he knew of Laxen''s history and the significance of these fragments. A flicker of realization crossed his mind, but he kept his expression neutral. ''Fragments of what, though? And how do they even exist in this world? Or could they be…? There''s no way, right?''


    Asher pushed himself off the wall, preparing to leave. He turned back to themander onest time, the timer now showing only a few minutes left. "Besides your king," Asher asked, his tone low and deliberate, "are there any others we should be worried about?"


    Themander flinched, his body trembling as if resisting the answer. Finally, he spoke, his voice like a whisper carried on the wind, "Yes... there are others. But not all of them are... human."


    Themander hesitated, his gaze was hazy with a mix of reluctance and fear, but the effects of the potion left no room for deception. "If they were to be ranked," he began, his voice rough and uneven, "the king would be at the top. Below him, there''s a ferocious beast, a monstrosity he lets roam free, unmatched in brutality. Then there''s me, and anothermander... though he''s a bit weaker than I am."


    Asher''s lips curled into a smirk, his confidence unwavering. "Is that so? We can take them."


    Themander''sugh was dark and humorless. "Your ego shall be the death of you."


    Asher chuckled, shaking his head as he turned to leave. "Worry about your own life, old man. You can watch from the side lines if you can. Watch how we take down your king." He walked out of the prison, his steps quiet and deliberate, leaving no trace that he had ever been there.


    *****


    Asher made his way further from the secure confines of the prison, his mind still processing the fragmented revtions. His ring buzzed with a message, pulling him out of his thoughts.


    -Rey- "Hey Asher, where are you? We need to talk."


    Rey paced impatiently as he waited for a reply, his brow furrowing when no response came. "Come on, Asher," he muttered under his breath.


    Nearly thirty minutes passed, the silence gnawing at Rey''s nerves, before the device finally buzzed.


    -Asher- "What''s the matter? I had something to take care of."


    -Rey- "There''s been a new development with John and Jett."


    They both went quiet for a moment.


    -Asher- "Really? I''ve got one too."


    Rey froze mid-step. "You found something?"


    -Asher- "John''s the traitor." -Rey- "We need to talk the others right now. Meet me at my room, I''ll go contact the others"


    *****


    The atmosphere in Rey''s room was tense. Everyone was present: Evelina, Finn, Rosa, Aiden, Morrigan, Elora, and everyone else, waiting impatiently for Rey to arrive. Finn, in particr, was drumming his fingers against the table, his frustration clear as he muttered, "What''s taking him so long?"


    The door swung open suddenly, and Rey rushed in, slightly out of breath. He froze for a moment as he met the impatient gazes of everyone in the room. "Sorry I''mte," he began, raising his hands apologetically. "I had to retrieve something." Explore more adventures at empire


    "And what could that be?" Finn asked sharply, his irritation apparent. But Rey didn''t answer, instead moving toward his spot in the room.


    Finn''s eyes narrowed dangerously. "Ignoring me, huh?" he muttered under his breath, his hands twitching as though itching to grab something. Aiden quickly stepped in, cing a firm hand on Finn''s shoulder to hold him back. "Calm down, Finn," Aiden said with a hint of amusement, though his grip didn''t waver.


    Rey cleared his throat to refocus the group. "Alright, you guys. This is really important," he said, his tone grave. "We know the identity of the traitor."


    The announcement sent a ripple of tension through the room.


    "Well…?" Rosa snapped, clenching her fists. "Get on with it. Who''s the freaking bastard?"


    "It''s John," came a calm voice from the corner of the room. Everyone turned toward Asher, who had been sitting quietly in the shadows, speaking for the first time.


    The room fell into a stunned silence. Evelina was the first to break it, her eyes narrowing as she fixed Asher with a suspicious look. "And you know this because…?"


    Asher blinked, his mind racing. "Oh, umm, Rey told me beforehand," he said, his tone a little too casual to be convincing.


    "Right…" Evelina muttered, clearly unconvinced, but she chose to let it slide for now.


    "It''s worse if it''s John, though," Elora said, her expression thoughtful. "Those morons won''t even listen to us if we tell them theirmander is trying to get them all killed. And I''m very sure even the queen would turn on us if we tried to tell her."


    As the room buzzed with whispered conversations and theories, Morrigan''s sharp gaze fell on Freya, who was sitting quietly in the corner, her head slightly bowed. "Freya, what''s wrong?" Morrigan asked, her voice tinged with concern.


    Freya looked up hesitantly, her hands clutching the edges of her cloak. "I… I used Lumina," she admitted softly, "to manipte the light so I could sneak into the prison without being seen."


    "And?" Morrigan prompted, her eyes widening slightly.


    Freya''s voice dropped further. "Jett… he wasn''t there. The cell was empty."


    The room erupted into a flurry of voices, questions flying in all directions. "What do you mean, he wasn''t there?" Rosa demanded. "Where could he have gone?"


    Freya shook her head. "I don''t know. I searched the entire area, but there was no trace of him. It''s like he vanished into thin air."


    "He''s fine, for now at least. John moved him to a more secure cell," Rey sighed, running a hand through his hair, clearly tired from the constant pressure of their situation.


    "That''s the least of our worries right now," Seraphina remarked, her voe calm but with an edge of urgency.


    "Yep," Marce added nonchntly, nibbling on a pastry.


    "How do we expose John, then?" Cedric asked, leaning forward with a serious expression.


    "Forget about exposing him for now. There''s no time," Asher interjected, his tone firm. He turned his attention to Rey. "We have to prepare for the real trouble. You still have those items we got from ourst trial here, right?"


    "Yeah, but Jett has thest piece. Why?" Rey replied, curiosity flickering in his eyes.


    Asher exhaled deeply and began to exin. "Themander mentioned fragments: ancient artifacts supposedly connected to some divine power. ording to him, if the fragments are brought together, they have the potential tomunicate with gods and grant omnipotence. That''s the king''s true goal, he believes these fragments are the key to ultimate power."


    The room went eerily silent as the weight of Asher''s words settled in.


    "Now we''re supposedly battling gods?" Finn muttered, his frustration palpable. He threw his hands in the air. "This is just messed up."


    "Don''t worry," Asher said, attempting to reassure him. "It''s just a rumor. Even if it''s true, as long as we don''t bring the fragments together, we should be fine. The real issue is what''sing next."


    Evelina narrowed her eyes, folding her arms. "You seem to know an awful lot about this whole situation, don''t you?"


    "Umm, Rey told me already?" Asher replied, his voiceced with just enough uncertainty to draw suspicion. He subtly nced at Rey, silently pleading for backup.


    "For an assassin, you really suck at lying," Evelina said with a smirk, her sharp gaze cutting through his fa?ade.


    Before she could press further, Matthew stepped in, redirecting the conversation. "Hold on… So what''sing next?"


    Before anyone could answer, the room shook violently as a deafening explosion echoed through the air. The ground trembled beneath their feet, knocking over a few items on the nearby shelves.


    "That!" Asher shouted, steadying himself against the wall. The group exchanged rmed nces as another explosion rumbled in the distance, the sound of chaos reaching their ears.


    *


    *


    *


    Won''t be long now till he get''s back in.