The Royal Feast of the Crimson Solstice was supposed to be a celebration of unity, harvest, and political lies.

Aria arrived fashionably late, arm-in-arm with Prince Kael, dressed in a silver-and-black gown that whispered "I'm not here to charm you, I'm here to outlive you."

Whispers swirled across the ballroom like perfume.

“Is that her?”

“The girl who dueled Ravin?”

“Didn’t she marry the prince last week?”

“By accident.”

“That’s so romantic.”

Kael leaned closer, murmuring, “Remind me again, whose idea was this?”

“You,” Aria replied sweetly. “But I’m the one who’ll profit.”

They took their seats at the high table. Aria stabbed a grape. Kael stabbed a threat with his eyes.

And then... dessert arrived.

It was a shimmering crimson soufflé with golden sugar petals and a single folded note tucked under the plate.

No one else noticed it.

Aria did.

She unfolded it.

Inside: a map.

Not inked. Burned into parchment by magic.

And at its center: The Hollow, a sealed realm whispered only in lost prophecy—a place where systems were born and broken.

Below it, scrawled in familiar handwriting:

“You’re not the only one who can evolve.

See you at the source.

—Y”

System Alert: Forbidden Map Acquired

Status: Fragment (1/3)

Warning: Viewing causes temporary memory instability

Bonus: Adrenaline Spike +1

Aria’s Response: Smiles like a lunatic

Kael noticed.

“That smile,” he said, “what did you just find?”

Aria slid the map fragment into her sleeve. “Something I’m not supposed to have.”

“And are we—by ‘we’ I mean ‘you’—going to do something reckless about it?”

“Yes,” Aria said. “And I’m dragging you with me.”

Then—

A servant approached with a box.

Black velvet. No seal.

Aria opened it cautiously.

Inside: a silver mirror. Cracked. Humming with dark magic.

And across its surface, a voice whispered.

Yvonne’s voice.

“You looked better dead.”

The mirror cracked further—then shattered into ash.

System Sync Attempt: Denied

Message Type: Psychological Strike

Effect: Mild Rage. +15 Focus. Emotional Shield Reinforced.

Kael stood, drawing his dagger.

“No one sends cursed mirrors to my dinner table.”

Aria stood too, eyes cold.

“No,” she said. “She sends them to mine.”

The feast descended into awkward silence.

But Aria didn’t care.

She had the first map. She had a prince. She had power.

Yvonne had just reminded her what was at stake.

Quest Updated: Journey to The Hollow – Fragment 1 of 3 Acquired

Temporary Title: “The Fake Fiancée with Real Power”

Relationship Status with Kael: Complicated (+3 trust / +2 jealousy / +1 unresolved tension)

Chapter 13: The Train, the Thief, and the Trial by Shadow