Chapter 88: Her plan.
The silence that followed Lilian’s confession was suffocating.
It settled over the room like an invisible weight, pressing against everyone’s chest until even breathing felt difficult.
Lilian stood rooted to the floor, unable to raise her head.
For the first time in her life, she truly felt like the worst person in the world.
And perhaps she was.
Because of their foolish decision, Saline had disappeared beyond the kingdom’s borders. Gina was dead. Everyone was terrified, and the people she respected most were now looking at her with disbelief.
Queen Calista remained motionless.
Her expression revealed nothing, but her tightly clenched jaw spoke volumes.
After several long moments, she slowly rose from her chair and walked toward Lilian.
Each step echoed through the chamber.
Lilian’s heartbeat thundered in her ears and she expected to be slapped,to be punished.
Instead...
The Queen stopped directly before her, gently cupped both sides of her face, and stared silently into her frightened eyes.
A weary sigh escaped her lips.She released Lilian and turned toward Florence and Kaelion.
"We don’t have time to waste."Her voice was calm, yet it carried unmistakable urgency.
"We’re bringing Saline home."She looked back at Lilian."You know exactly where you left her, don’t you?"
Lilian swallowed hard before giving a trembling nod."Y-Yes... Your Majesty."
"Then you’ll lead us."Without another word, Queen Calista closed her eyes.
A pulse of violet light shimmered around her body, like ripples spreading across still water, the magic washed over her appearance.
Her elegant pointed ears gradually shortened until they appeared completely human. The striking violet of her eyes darkened into an ordinary shade of black.
Standing beside her, Kaelion performed the same spell.
His hair remained untouched, but his pointed ears disappeared beneath the illusion, and his unusual blue eyes transformed into those of an ordinary man.
To any outsider...They looked completely human.
Calista opened her eyes.
"Let’s move."
The four of them hurried through the palace corridors.
No one cared stop or question them.
News of Gina’s death had spread throughout the kingdom with frightening speed.
The once lively streets had fallen eerily silent.
Children who usually played beneath the crystal trees were nowhere to be seen.
They had abandoned their cheerful voices.
Even the birds seemed quieter.
Grief hung heavily over the kingdom.
Queen Calista silently bit the inside of her lip.
One death...
One missing girl...
Her kingdom was falling into fear before her eyes.She refused to allow another tragedy.
Beside her, Florence walked in silence, wringing her hands together anxiously.
Kaelion noticed immediately.
Without saying a word, he reached over and intertwined his fingers with hers.
She looked at him.
"It’s going to be alright," he whispered softly.
"We’ll find her."
Florence forced a small nod.
She desperately wanted to believe him.
Eventually, they reached the enormous cave that concealed the entrance to the hidden kingdom.
Queen Calista stepped forward.She raised one elegant hand.
Ancient runes carved into the cave walls began glowing with brilliant violet light.
The magical seal rippled like disturbed water before slowly parting to reveal the path beyond. Her appearance flickered between the fake and Original for a moment before staying to the one she changed it into.
One after another, they stepped outside.
The seal immediately closed behind them.
The forest welcomed them with cool winds carrying the scent of damp earth and pine.
Towering trees stretched endlessly toward the sky, their leaves whispering softly as the breeze passed through them.
Lilian remained at the front, leading them in silence.
Her shoulders were tense.
She couldn’t bring herself to look back.
After nearly an hour of walking, the trees began thinning.
Soon, the entrance to the nearby human village appeared.
Florence slowed her steps.
She hadn’t visited the human world in years.
Everything looked both familiar and strangely different.
Simple cottages lined the dirt roads.
Children chased one another through open fields.
Women laughed while hanging freshly washed clothes beneath the warm afternoon sun.
The scent of freshly baked bread drifted through the air.
For just a brief second...
She almost forgot why they had come.
Kaelion, however, remained focused.
Unlike Florence, he had ventured into the human world many times during missions.
Nothing here surprised him.
Queen Calista turned toward Lilian.
"Where exactly are we going?"
Lilian nervously bit at her fingernail...a habit she suddenly developed and Calista noticed with a frown.
"It... it’s beyond this village."
She still couldn’t meet the Queen’s eyes.
Calista noticed but said nothing.
The journey continued.
The villagers occasionally glanced toward the unfamiliar travelers.
Some whispered.
Others simply stared.
No one approached them.
There was something about Queen Calista’s commanding aura that instinctively kept strangers at a distance.
Before long, they reached the outskirts of the village.
Lilian suddenly veered away from the main road.
Instead, she led them down an overgrown trail hidden between towering trees.
The farther they walked...The stranger everything became, the air grew colder.
The birds disappeared.
Even the forest itself seemed unnaturally quiet.
Kaelion frowned.
"This doesn’t seem to be the direction of any house."
Florence looked around in confusion.
"This isn’t where Saline was supposed to be..." It was far too eerily here.
Lilian continued walking without answering.
Then...
She stopped.
The silence became deafening.
Queen Calista narrowed her eyes."Where’s Saline?"
Lilian remained facing away from them as several seconds passed.
Then...
A quiet chuckle escaped her lips.It gradually grew louder.
And louder.
Until it became full-blown laughter.
Cold, Mocking and definitely unfamiliar.
Florence’s eyes widened.
"Lilian...?"
The girl slowly turned around.
The fear that had filled her face moments ago...Had completely vanished.
Instead...
She smiled...A smile that sent chills racing down everyone’s spine.
"Well..."She shrugged casually."I don’t know."
Florence instinctively stepped forward.
"Lilian, what’s wrong with you?"
She barely took two steps before Queen Calista suddenly stretched out an arm, stopping her.
"Don’t."
The Queen’s voice had become dangerously cold.
"That isn’t Lilian anymore."
The smile on Lilian’s face widened.
"My, my..."
"What sharp instincts."She slowly lifted one hand.
Her fingernails began extending unnaturally, becoming long, razor-sharp claws.
Without hesitation...
She dragged one claw across her palm.
Slash!
Blood poured onto the forest floor.
The instant the crimson drops touched the earth...
The ground trembled.
Dark crimson symbols spread across the soil like living veins.
The trees twisted violently.The air warped.
The entire forest seemed to peel away like an illusion.Within seconds...
An enormous ancient cave emerged from beneath the earth.
Its entrance resembled the gaping mouth of some forgotten beast.
Black mist continuously seeped from within.
The atmosphere instantly became suffocating.
Lilian slowly lifted her head.
When she opened her eyes...
They were no longer the familiar golden-yellow Florence knew.
They blazed with brilliant molten gold.
Power radiated from her body.
Wild,ancient and terrifying.
Florence gasped.
"W-What are you...?"
She couldn’t recognize the girl standing before them anymore.
Without warning...
The earth exploded.
Countless enormous vines burst from beneath the ground, surging toward Queen Calista like enraged serpents.
They wrapped tightly around her legs before rapidly climbing higher, attempting to imprison her entire body.
Calista’s eyes flashed.
A burst of violet magic erupted from within her.
BOOM!
The vines were blasted apart instantly.
However...
The illusion disguising her shattered.
Her pointed ears returned.
Her magnificent violet eyes glowed brilliantly beneath the forest canopy.
Kaelion’s disguise vanished as well.
Silver energy exploded around him as his true appearance resurfaced.
"Florence!"
He grabbed her waist just as another massive vine shot toward her.
He leaped backward, narrowly avoiding its razor-sharp thorns.
The forest instantly became a battlefield.
Vines erupted endlessly from every direction.
Trees bent unnaturally.
The ground cracked beneath their feet.
Queen Calista destroyed wave after wave with her magic.
Kaelion cut through others using blades of condensed mana.
Yet...
For every vine destroyed...Three more appeared.
Lilian floated several feet above the ground, laughing hysterically.
"Run!"
"Jump!"
"Dodge all you like!"Her golden eyes gleamed maliciously."None of you..."
Her smile widened.
"...are leaving this place."
The ground beneath her suddenly swallowed her whole.
She disappeared without another trace.
Only her laughter lingered through the forest.
It was time...
For the second phase of the plan.
*******
Elsewhere....
Saline slowly opened her eyes.
The darkness surrounding her had disappeared.
Instead...
She found herself standing beside a peaceful river bathed in warm golden sunlight.
A gentle breeze danced across the water.
White flowers swayed peacefully along the riverbank.
It was...
Home.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Standing a few steps away was a woman dressed in flowing white.
Long silver-white hair cascaded down her back.
Gentle emerald eyes looked at her with endless warmth.
The same eyes Saline saw every time she looked into a mirror.
"Mother..."
Her voice trembled.
The woman smiled."My precious Saline."
She opened her arms.
Saline immediately rushed into them, tears streaming freely down her cheeks.
"I missed you so much..."
She buried her face against her mother’s shoulder.
"Where have you been?"
Soft fingers gently stroked her hair.
"I’ve never truly left you."
Her mother’s voice was as soothing as the flowing river.
"I’ve always been watching over my little girl."
Saline looked up through watery eyes.
"Then stay."
"Please stay."
"We’ll go back together."
"I’ll tell Aunt Florence you’re here."
"We can all live together again."
Her mother smiled sadly.
"Oh, my sweet child..."
She gently cupped Saline’s cheeks."There are places I can no longer follow you."
Tears blurred Saline’s vision.
"I don’t want you to leave again."
"You must listen carefully."Her mother’s voice became softer.
"The time has come."
"You are stronger than you know."
"The power sleeping inside you..."
"It is finally awakening."
She leaned closer.
"When you wake..."
"Trust the earth."
"Listen to nature."
"It has always listened to you."
A gentle kiss landed upon Saline’s forehead.
"I love you."
"And remember..."
"A mother never truly leaves her child."
Light surrounded her.Her figure slowly dissolved into countless glowing fragments.
"Mother!"
Saline reached desperately toward her.
"No!"
Her eyes flew open.
She gasped sharply.
The familiar cold cave greeted her once again.
The river was gone.
The sunlight had vanished.
Only darkness remained.
"...A dream..."
She whispered painfully.
Fresh tears threatened to fall, but she quickly blinked them away.
"No."
She took a deep breath.
"I won’t cry."
Remembering her mother’s words, Saline slowly closed her eyes.
She stilled her breathing.
Silently...
She reached out with her senses.
Past the stone walls.
Past the darkness.
Toward the heartbeat of the earth itself.
For several moments...
Nothing happened.
Then....
A warm energy answered her.
It flowed through the cave.Through the soil.
Through every root buried beneath the ground.
Nature had heard her call.
A soft white glow surrounded her body.
Her black hair gradually shifted back into its natural silver-white color.
Ancient energy pulsed beneath her skin.The enchanted ropes binding her wrists began smoking.
Crack.
Crack.
SNAP!
The restraints shattered.
Saline rubbed her sore wrists before slowly standing.
"So this..."
She whispered.
"...is what Mother meant."
She carefully made her way toward the entrance.
Every step echoed through the silence.
She reached for the stone door.
Just as her fingers brushed against it...
Creeeaaak...
The door slowly opened from the outside.
Saline froze.
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