“This is Thak.”

Charles’ received no response as they had no idea what he was talking about.

“From the Tha’keh Empire? A-anyway, I know a little about it.”

He averted his gaze back to the plaque, cleared his throat, and recited the written words,

“Left Almond 2 jumps, Front Sienna 1 jump, Right Nyanza 3 Jumps, Back Denim four jumps.”

“So, a riddle? That’s pretty exciting!”

“There’s more. It goes like this: D◼N●A▲S●S⬟A▲N●D⬟. ‘Light is Reverse and Dark is direct’”

Unlike Isabella and Chris, who were both attentively listening to Charles, Evelyn seemed grossly disinterested in the riddle.

“We don’t have time for this. The platforms are close to each other, so we could try jumping to the other side.”

She performed a quick jump to a Denim-colored and circle-shaped pillar, however, the instant she landed on it, the pillar started to progressively spin faster. Moreover, when Evelyn jumped to the pillar to the front of her, she teleported to the edge.

“It’s not going to be that easy. Remember when I teleported both of us here? We were falling into the hole so I tried to teleport us to safety only to find us standing here. It seems like we can’t fly or teleport straight to the other side. In addition to the riddle, the shapes of the pillars mean something too.”-Chris

“There’s no mention of the shapes on the plaque. They might be defensive mechanisms?”-Charles

There were a total of four shapes: Circle, Square, Triangle, and Pentagon.

“We likely have to follow a specific pattern to reach the other side. Hold on… I require some time to think about this.”

Christopher paced around, occasionally staring at some of the pillars and mumbling to himself.

Meanwhile, Evelyn stubbornly tried to brute force her way through this. Although her attempts were futile, she did help them understand the functionalities of the shapes.

The circle rotated, the square was stable and harmless, the triangle crumbled after a couple of breaths, and the Pentagon shot a random elementary spell that was either Fire-aspected, Water-aspected, Wind-aspected, Earth-Aspected, or Lightning-aspected.

As long as one was quick enough, the shapes weren’t that dangerous. The distance between one pillar to the other was 1.5 meters and their distribution- based on the four colors- seemed to be completely random.

Only after twenty minutes to half an hour did Chris speak up again.

“If my guess isn’t wrong, then the riddle isn’t actually that difficult. To clarify, the Almond-colored pillars allow us to a maximum of two jumps to the left. Jumping to any other direction would reset us to the start, so to speak.”

Chris pointed at the plaque and continued, “The solution is written here, in fact. DNAS and then SAND. We’ll have to begin with Denim then jump to Nyanza, followed up by Almond and Sienna. After that, we follow the ‘SAND’ order.”

“What about Light is Reverse and Dark is Direct?”-Isabella

“I was hoping one of you would help me figure that part out.”

Charles shrugged his shoulders, looking completely lost. Evelyn was walking near the edge, surveying the area and still trying to find a crossable path.

“It’s as light as day here. Didn’t we teleport here at Dusk? It’s supposed to be night outside, no?”-Isabella

“Indeed. At first, I thought this bright illumination was just to help us distinguish between the colors and the shapes, but now that you mention it, I think it has something to do with the riddle.”-Chris

A bout of silence flowed between them as each was lost in their own thoughts.

“Evelyn! You’re the fastest of us. Let’s try this out.”

The maid didn’t object, she listened to Chris explain a few things then followed his careful instructions.

She began by jumping on an triangular Denim-colored pillar, then leapt over to a Nyanza Pillar, which shot a thin thunderbolt at her, one which she evaded with ease.

However, when she finished the DNAS order and sprung on a Sienna Pillar, she was teleported to the beginning, much to her surprise.

“The first order was correct, but we’re missing something.”

“So intense… and pure.”

Amidst a gargantuan plateau that floated in dark space, the gargoyle was hovering near the edge and sucking the ambient Light-aspected energy.

This isolated place pulsating with Light, so much so that the plateau was like a blinding, shining beacon amidst a sea of ever-lasting darkness.

The gargoyle had stumbled upon this place coincidentally, all because of a summoning that happened decades ago.

Every full moon, he had desperately searched for this place and managed to find it again a couple of months ago.

Usually, an entity like a gargoyle wouldn’t be able to absorb Light energy, but this was a most unique situation.

“An absolute power… wanting for guidance. I will take it and arise anew, unbound by the shackles of mortality.”

The Gargoyle retracted his long arms as his body was emitting pulses of Primordial Light.

Parts of his body turned white, but he forced himself to his original and hideous appearance.

“Now, I can fight back. I will be a pawn no more.”

Gargoyles were a combination of magically animated stone and an evil spirit. This one was no different, and its sole existence was to obey the Master who summoned it from Hell, specifically the place known as the Hall of Torment. They were sentient beings, but were never meant to have free will.

The process of binding a gargoyle to one’s self was complicated and very different from summoning a gargoyle for a singular task. The former was permanent and completely bound the gargoyle until its Master was dead while the latter was a temporary covenant in which the summoner would offer something to the gargoyle in return for its help in a verbally-specified objective.

13th of the Black Star

(One day before the banquet)

Imperial Capita, Regium District, Nobilis Street

“I hope this estate is to your liking.”

Jennifer Zok Azakin, older sister of the Emperor, held a cup of tea in her hand while smiling at a young girl that couldn’t be older than 20.

This girl, who has recently become Baron and become part of the Aeternus Family, was someone that intrigued Jennifer.

Julie Lernon and Feylord sat across from Jennifer, who had gifted them an entire villa in the Imperial Capital. She came to visit the second day after the arrival, accompanied by four knights clad in jet-black armor.

These knights were the finest in the Empire, existing to protect members of the Imperial Family.

“It is, Your Imperial Highness. If I had known about your visit, I would’ve prepared a proper welcome.”

Jennifer let out a soft laugh and shook her head, “There’s no need. I’ve known, and met, Feylord, but I didn’t expect his younger sister to be as talented as he is. It is truly a pleasant surprise.”

Julie reciprocated with a smile of her own, but she didn’t know how to react to the woman’s excessive flattery and over-friendliness.

Albeit being a capable ruler, Julie was still a young girl and not well-versed in dealing with politicians, especially someone as hard to read as the Emperor’s older sister.

“I also want to thank you for accepting my invitation.”

Jennifer paused for a second, her inscrutable smile widening as she put the cup of tea down, “I will empathise that you need not worry about the Holy Church in here. You are here as the dear guests of the Imperial Family. Your Race, origin, or affiliation matters not to us, so feel free to explore the city as much as you like. We’ve made sure that all local Paladins and Holy Knights are to stay in the Light Cathedral until after the banquet.”

“I-I see…”

Julie meekly nodded her head, though she was starting to feel a bit anxious. It was crystal clear that Jennifer knew about the Bishop’s visit and the Masked Queen’s intervention.

‘The rumors about her being the Empire’s Spymaster were true, after all.’-Julie

“Feylord.”

The blonde-haired youth snapped out of his daze and looked at her

“Yes, Your Imperial Highness?”

“The Master of the Red Magic Tower is very eager to meet you. He repeatedly expressed to me how he wants to meet someone like you. A mage capable of wielding the Phoenix Flames. If you have time, then please visit me in the Imperial Palace and I shall take you to him.”

Jennifer was hinting about her offer, which he had yet to accept. Although she expressed her intentions somewhat indirectly, Feylord still understood the hidden meaning.

A short while later, Jennifer left along with her knights.

She excited the estate and got into a massive silver carriage that was as big as the road.

Only one of the knights joined her inside. He was an elderly man with a thick beard and a grizzly face.

“Their maid was a demon.” He immediately said, his voice solemn.

“The maid?”

Jennifer had barely noticed the maid, who had stood at the back and never uttered a word. That young woman was unremarkable and warranted no intentions, so upon hearing the knight’s words, Jennifer was surprised.

“She doesn’t seem adept at controlling the Demonic Energy. It was leaking from her body.”

“Alright. What about Julie Lernon? Were you able to glean anything?”

The knight took a couple of moments to respond, as if he was choosing his next words carefully.

“She is indeed a Vampire, and not a weak one. However, she’s different from the Masked Queen’s children.”

Jennifer frowned, “She's a real mystery, that girl. I’ve yet to find out who transformed her. No matter, my interest lies with Feylord. He seemed perfectly healthy to me.”

“I couldn’t sense anything either. He has the Phoenix Flames under control.”

“...”

Jennifer didn’t speak anymore, she sat there lost in thought until she reached the Imperial Palace.

She went directly to her younger brother, Augustus.

‘He still looks anxious.’

Jennifer approached him but voiced any comments on his haggard expression. It was very rare to see her brother worry like this. He was almost always composed, calm, and never dared to showcase any emotion on his face, whether they were that of joy or dread.

“I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me.”

Only when he heard her voice did the Emperor lift his head and look at her.

He didn’t speak, but that didn’t stop her from trying to pry,

“What kind of ruler keeps information from his spymaster? I thought the banquet was supposed to be a celebration… yet, I’m starting to suspect otherwise.”

At last, Augustus broke free from his silence and responded, “There’s just a lot on my mind lately, is all. The Parasite in the Western Continent is growing stronger each day.”

“I told you to send the Angel Corps. That parasite cannot be allowed to grow bigger than it already is.”

“I told him that, but he refuses to let them out of the palace!” Bellowed a drunken voice from the entrance of the room.

The man wore flamboyant clothes, walked around unsteadily, and looked like a drunkard.

Upon seeing the disastrous state of the Chamberlain, Jennifer glared at him and snorted.

“I do not know or understand why you keep such company, brother. What would others say if they saw your chamberlain like this?”

“Oh come off it, Jenny! I know you like me!”

Chamberlain laid down on a small couch and winked at her, but his nonchalant attitude only increased her ire.

In the end, she whispered a couple of words to Augustus before storming out of the room.

“You shouldn’t talk to her like that. She can get you killed within the hour.”

“Hehehehe but she won’t! Jenny knows that I’m still useful to have around.”

The Emperor rolled his eyes and changed the topic,

“Is everything ready?”

“As ready as they can be. Then again, it’s not like our role in this is particularly difficult.”

“Weakening the seal isn’t an easy.”

“But we can do it, and we will. Again, Augustus, I think this plan is… stupid, for want of a better word. Ah! I’m not saying it’s going to fail, but on the off chance that it does, we will be screwed.”

“That’s why I’m keeping Jennifer out of this.”

The Emperor let out a heavy sigh, “I’m tired of the restraint and inability to act like an Emperor. If we succeed, I will be able to become a true ruler and rid our Empire of the abhorrent monstrosity sealed under our feet.”

“Let us pray that we win, then.” The Chamberlain suddenly sat up straight and rubbed his already dishevelled brown hair, “Shit! We’re colluding with Death itself to kill the Dark Knight! To top it up, we’re doing it during a banquet!”

“The banquet is merely an accessory to the plan.”