Chapter 27 – In the Depths of the Kingdom

  **[STEVE – THORNVALE, AFTERNOON ]

  Steve grabbed Any's hand and ran.

  He didn't think. Didn't plan. Just *reacted*.

  Adrian's scream exploded behind them — **"GUARDS! ARREST THEM!"**

  The world became a blur of irregular stones and shocked faces. People jumped out of the way, shouting indignation. A fabric merchant watched his stall topple, expensive cloths dragging in the mud.

  Any's hand was small but surprisingly strong, pulling Steve with absolute determination. She didn't hesitate, didn't stumble — ran like someone who had planned the escape route long before that kiss.

  Steve, on the other hand, almost fell three times in the first ten seconds.

  — **Why did you DO that?!** — he shouted, voice coming out higher than intended.

  — **I'll explain later!**

  — **LATER?! We're going to be ARRESTED!**

  Any turned left sharply, pulling him into a side street. Narrower. Old wooden houses leaned dangerously against each other, almost touching at the top. The smell changed — garbage, sewage, something rotting in some hidden alley.

  Steve risked a look back.

  Four guards. Polished armor reflecting the afternoon sun. Swords drawn. Running with the mechanical efficiency of trained soldiers.

  *Shit. Shit. Shit.*

  — **Keep going!** — Any shouted, feeling him slow down.

  They turned right, diving into an alley so narrow Steve had to turn sideways. Stacked crates blocked the exit. Any jumped over them with feline agility, landing on the other side without stopping.

  Steve tried to imitate. His foot caught. He fell face-first, knee hitting the stone with impact that brought tears.

  — **OW! DAMN IT!**

  — **GET UP!** — Any was already extending her hand.

  He grabbed it. She pulled with impossible strength for someone her size, lifting him as if he weighed nothing.

  *How is she so strong?*

  No time to ask. They kept running.

  The alley ended in a market in full activity. Dozens of people, stalls selling everything from fruit to improvised weapons. Voices mixed in cacophony that made Steve's head throb.

  Any dove into the crowd without hesitation, using people as living shields.

  Steve followed, trying not to lose sight of the black hair. He bumped into a man carrying baskets. Vegetables flew, scattering like a green and red explosion.

  — **HEY! YOU DAMN KID!**

  — **Sorry!** — Steve shouted over his shoulder, not stopping.

  They crossed the market like a chaotic hurricane. On the other side, Any turned onto a descending street.

  The ground changed — irregular stone, damp, covered with slippery moss. Steve almost fell twice. The houses leaned even more, completely blocking sunlight. The air cooled rapidly, carrying humidity that stuck to the skin.

  *We're going down. A lot.*

  — **Where are we going?!**

  — **Just trust me!**

  — **I DON'T know you!**

  Any looked back, and even through the exhaustion, Steve saw the smile.

  — **That's exactly why it's fun!**

  *She's CRAZY.*

  The street got narrower, darker. Torches fixed in rusty brackets cast shadows that seemed to move on their own. Steve felt a chill run down his spine.

  *Where is this crazy girl taking me?*

  Any stopped abruptly before a staircase. Not an ordinary staircase — steps carved directly into living rock, descending in a tight spiral into almost total darkness. Torches every ten steps created weak circles of orange light. The air rising was freezing and carried the smell of wet earth and something else... ancient.

  — **You're kidding** — Steve whispered.

  — **Go down!** — Any was already starting.

  — **This goes WHERE?!**

  — **To the Depths of Thornvale!** — she answered, as if it were obvious. — **Come on!**

  Steve looked back. The guards were rounding the corner, only twenty meters behind.

  *No choice.*

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  He descended.

  The steps were irregular, worn by decades — perhaps centuries — of constant use. The stone wall was damp to the touch, covered with moss that glowed faintly pale green. But there was something more — **symbols**.

  Carved into the rock. Ancient. Worn almost to unrecognizability, but still visible under the weak light of the torches. Circles within circles. Lines that crossed in patterns that made the eyes hurt if observed too long.

  *What is this place?*

  Steve counted. Twenty steps. Thirty. Fifty. Seventy.

  *How much further down?!*

  — **They went down to the tunnels!** — a guard's voice echoed from above, distorted by the strange acoustics.

  — **Call reinforcements! Block all exits!**

  Any accelerated even more. Steve stumbled, hitting his shoulder against the damp wall. Sharp pain shot through his arm, but he didn't stop.

  Finally they reached the bottom. A wide passage opened — clearly excavated, not natural. The marks of ancient tools were still visible in the stone, along with more symbols. Torches every ten meters created islands of orange light in the darkness.

  — **What is this place?** — Steve gasped, bending over, hands on his knees.

  — The Depths — Any answered, breathing surprisingly controlled. — Thornvale was built over the ruins of Vel'Tharion, a city that existed over a thousand years ago.

  She touched the wall, fingers tracing one of the worn symbols.

  — No one knows why it was abandoned. Only that when Thornvale's founders arrived, they found these ruins. And built on top. These tunnels connect everything — the districts, the palace, even the water wells.

  Steve looked around with new understanding.

  — And you know this... how?

  Any hesitated for the first time.

  — Because I spent years exploring — she admitted. — Escaping etiquette lessons. Family meetings. Adrian.

  Her voice broke slightly on the name.

  Steve straightened up, still gasping.

  — **Now** — he said, voice firmer — **explain. Why the hell did you do that?**

  Any turned her face. Even in the dim light, Steve saw the expression — something between defiance and raw vulnerability.

  — Because I needed to break up with Adrian. Publicly. In a way that couldn't be ignored or reversed.

  — **And I came into this HOW?!**

  — You appeared at the right time — she said simply. — Perfect. Strange. Non-noble. Someone Adrian could never trace afterward.

  Heavy pause.

  — So yes. I used you.

  Rage exploded in Steve like long-contained fire.

  — **Do you have ANY IDEA what you did?!** — he took a step forward. — I came to do a simple mission! Watch over you! And now I'm being **hunted** because you decided to use my face to humiliate a **noble** publicly!

  — I know —

  — **You KNOW?!** — Steve gestured violently. — This isn't a game! Those guards are going to **arrest** me! Or worse! And Dagon will kill me when he finds out I—

  — **I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE!**

  Any's scream echoed through the tunnels like thunder, cutting Steve off mid-sentence.

  She stepped away from the wall, hands clenched in trembling fists.

  — You think it was easy? — voice breaking. — Adrian isn't a bad person. He loves me. Truly. I know that. I see it in his eyes every time he looks for me.

  She took a deep breath, trembling.

  — But **I don't love him**. Never did. And my family doesn't care. My father had already arranged everything. Wedding in two months. Contract signed. Alliance between houses. No discussion. No choice.

  Tears began to flow.

  — So yes, I used you. Because if I broke up privately, Adrian wouldn't believe it. He would insist. Beg. And I would give in because I'm **weak**. But doing it like this... publicly... humiliating him in front of everyone... — her voice broke completely. — Now he'll **hate** me. And that hatred... that hatred sets me free.

  She covered her face with her hands, crying silently.

  Steve remained motionless, the rage draining like water through a hole in the floor.

  — You... — he began slowly — ...couldn't you have just run away?

  — Where to? — Any laughed without any humor, wiping her face. — I'm a noble. I'm seventeen. My face is known in three provinces. I wouldn't last three days alone before being found and brought back.

  She stared at him directly.

  — Sorry for involving you. Truly. But I was desperate and you... you were perfect. And I'm selfish enough to have dragged you into this even knowing the risk.

  *Honest, at least.*

  Steve sighed, rubbing his face with his hands.

  — This is complete madness.

  — I know.

  — And I'm an **idiot** for following Dagon without asking anything.

  Any let out a broken laugh.

  — Probably.

  That's when they heard it.

  Footsteps. Many. Echoing through the stairs above.

  Steve and Any looked at each other.

  — **We need to move** — she whispered urgently.

  — Where to?

  — Deeper.

  They ran through the labyrinthine tunnels.

  The passages branched in dozens of directions. Any seemed to know every turn, every fork, turning without hesitation. Steve just followed, trusting because he had no option.

  They passed abandoned chambers — old storage rooms with rotted barrels, rusted tools covered in spider webs as thick as ropes. Rat skeletons — some the size of cats — scattered in the corners.

  The air got colder, damper. Constant dripping echoed from somewhere invisible, creating a hypnotic rhythm that made Steve want to stop and rest.

  *No. Keep going.*

  — **There!** — a guard's voice echoed from somewhere behind, impossible to determine the distance.

  Any turned another corridor, pulling Steve—

  And they stopped.

  **Five guards** blocked the path ahead. Swords drawn. Torches raised.

  Steve felt his blood freeze completely.

  — Exit blocked — said the front guard, voice echoing. — Surrender peacefully and no one gets hurt.

  Any instinctively backed away, pulling Steve with her.

  They turned—

  **Three guards** emerging from the corridor behind, cutting off the retreat.

  Perfectly surrounded.

  — **Shit** — Steve whispered.

  The front guard took a step forward, sword pointed but not threatening yet.

  — Lady Any, this has gone too far. Come with us. Lord Adrian just wants to talk.

  — **No!** — Any screamed, hiding behind Steve.

  *Why is she hiding behind ME?! I don't know how to fight!*

  — Boy — the guard turned attention to Steve, voice hardening. — Step away from her. Now. This isn't about you.

  Steve looked at Any over his shoulder.

  He saw pure fear in the blue eyes. Her hands trembling. Her entire body tense like a rope about to snap.

  *She's terrified. Completely.*

  Something inside him **clicked**.

  Not rational thought. Not heroism. Pure protective instinct.

  *I won't let them.*

  He took a step forward, placing himself completely between Any and the guards.

  — **No** — he said, voice firm for the first time.

  The guard frowned.

  — Boy, don't be stupid. Step away or—

  — **I SAID NO!**

  The HUD **exploded** in Steve's vision.

  Not a soft blink. Violent **invasion**.

  **[EXTREME EMOTION DETECTED]**

  **[CONNECTION: 5% → 6%]**

  **[PERCENTAGE SYSTEM: FORCING ACTIVATION]**

  **[LIMITED DURATION: 30 SECONDS]**

  **[WARNING: FRAGMENT_001 IS WATCHING]**

  Steve felt it.

  Not pain. **Transformation**.

  Every cell pulsing. The body becoming light — not normal lightness, but as if gravity were a suggestion. Vision sharpened brutally — he saw every guard movement before it happened, every muscle contraction, every drop of sweat.

  And he felt **her**.

  *"Protect her..."*

  Nessira's voice whispered directly in his mind. Not threatening. Almost... **encouraging**.

  *"Show them... what you can be..."*

  Steve's right hand began to burn.

  Purple and black pulsed under the skin like veins of liquid energy, crawling up the arm, rising to the shoulder.

  The guards hesitated, feeling something deeply **wrong**.

  — What... — the front one began.

  Steve raised his hand.

  Not fully conscious. Just **knowing**.

  — **Back off** — the voice came out distorted, echoing with impossible harmonics.

  Energy **detonated**.

  Not an explosion. A **wave** of purple-black force that expanded like an invisible tsunami, distorting the air itself.

  It hit all five front guards simultaneously.

  They were **thrown** backward violently, bodies hitting the stone walls with sounds of breaking bones, falling disjointed and groaning.

  Steve turned slowly to the three behind.

  They were already **running** in the opposite direction, armor clanking.

  The power disappeared as abruptly as it had appeared.

  Steve staggered, falling to his knees, gasping. The world spun. Vomit rose but he swallowed it by force.

  **[PERCENTAGE SYSTEM: DEACTIVATED]**

  **[ENERGY: COMPLETELY DEPLETED]**

  **[FRAGMENT_001: SATISFIED]**

  Behind him, absolute silence.

  Steve slowly turned his head.

  Any was completely motionless.

  Eyes widened to the maximum. Mouth half open. Face pale as paper. Body rigid.

  Expression of pure **terror**.

  She wasn't looking at him.

  She was looking at **something in him**.

  — What... — she whispered, voice trembling — ...what **are** you?

  Steve didn't answer.

  He couldn't.

  Just gasped, feeling the void where the power had been. And something worse.

  The distant echo of feminine laughter inside his own mind.

  *"Well done... my fragment..."*

  **[DAGON, JELíM, KEARA – THORNVALE, NIGHT]**

  The crescent moon faintly illuminated three figures dressed completely in black.

  Cloaks covering from head to toe. Masks concealing faces completely. Only shadows moving through Thornvale's deserted streets.

  The palace rose ahead, towers illuminated by dozens of torches that created orange halos in the night mist.

  Keara broke the silence, voice muffled by the mask.

  — Dagon... don't you think it was risky to leave Any with Steve?

  Dagon didn't slow his constant pace.

  — Don't worry — he responded, unconcerned. — She put on a veil to hide her face. And we clearly warned them to stay away from the palace.

  Pause.

  He remembered the conversation at the guild. The attendant — the one with the scar on her face — explaining about the "delicate matters" involving royal families. Problems that Rank B or lower adventurers couldn't touch. Political assassinations. Convenient disappearances. Things that needed... discretion.

  A smile appeared under the mask.

  — Besides... — he said, voice carrying satisfaction — ...it's **boring** pretending to be weak all the time.

  Jelím turned his head slightly, mask reflecting the moonlight.

  — You mean you just want to show off, then?

  — Maybe — Dagon admitted without shame.

  Keara sighed, but smiled too under the mask.

  The three stopped before the palace's main gates.

  Guards in position. Dozens of them. Full armor. Spears and swords.

  Dagon adjusted his mask, making sure it covered his face completely.

  Jelím did the same, beginning to float slightly above the ground.

  Keara traced a rune in the air — soft golden glow pulsing between her fingers.

  — **Let's go** — Dagon said simply.

  And they advanced.

  Straight into the heart of Thornvale's power.

  Ready to show why veterans played on a completely different level.