Sylas_verlain

In a sprawling empire where beauty masks betrayal and power is balanced on a blade's edge, whispers of a long-buried truth begin to stir. Rin Soryu, a brilliant but overlooked apothecary, is drawn into a chilling mystery when a noble dies under impossible circumstances—his body warm, his blood strange, and his death officially erased.

Forced into an uneasy alliance with Kael Renjou, a cold and relentless imperial investigator, Rin is pulled deeper into the empire’s hidden rot—where alchemy isn’t just science, but a weapon, and secrets are deadlier than blades. As nobles fall one by one and forbidden knowledge resurfaces, fate begins to twist around them both.

But the more they uncover, the more the line between enemy and ally begins to blur… and when every truth has a cost, some choices will demand more than either of them is ready to give.

"Whispers of the Forsaken"

The memory still lingered in her chest. It wasn't just something she saw—it was something she felt. Like Reika's smile had been stitched into her heart, like Elias' voice was still echoing inside her. It made her ache in places she didn't know were still alive.

Kael didn't ask questions. He just sat beside her, silent and still, waiting for her to speak first.

That's what he always did when the pain was too deep for words.

And somehow… that made it easier.

"I didn't know they were like that," Rin finally whispered.

"Neither did I," Kael replied, his voice low.

He nodded. "Yeah. I didn't expect it."

Rin hugged her knees, her voice small. "They looked so… happy. Like nothing had touched them yet."

Kael leaned back against the cold stone. "I guess even people like us had moments like that once."

"Do you think… we ever had that too?"

He didn't look at her. "In the version I never talk about."

That silence between them turned heavier.

She didn't ask more. Maybe she would… one day. But not now.

Instead, she stood up slowly and walked to the edge of the platform where Mikado still lay in stasis. His chest barely moved, like he was breathing with borrowed time. So still, so calm… it didn't match the storm he had caused in their lives.

Kael joined her. "What do you want to do?"

Rin looked at the man who once called himself a god.

Kael's expression tensed. "Are you sure? We still don't know how much he remembers."

"I know." She took a deep breath. "But I don't think we'll get more answers until we face him. And whatever I just saw… it was buried inside him. Maybe he's not the villain we thought."

"Maybe." Her eyes didn't leave Mikado. "But I need to know. For them. For all of us."

Kael sighed. "Then we do it together."

As Rin reached out, the air in the Vault changed.

The energy shifted—like the walls were holding their breath.

Her fingers brushed the seal around Mikado's containment. It flickered once… then broke.

A pulse of golden light shot out in every direction—soft, warm, strangely gentle. And then, for the first time in centuries, Mikado opened his eyes.

"Rin," he said, voice hoarse and ancient. "You finally came back."

Chapter 34: The Voice Beneath the Silence