Forbidden Constellation's Blade-Chapter 164: Still Waters

Ryn woke like he was falling from the sky.

His breath tore into his lungs all at once. For a split second, he was expecting for the ceiling above him to be the fractured sky, the beam still burning through it.

But it wasn’t.

He was in a dim room, lit only by low-burning lanterns set into the walls. But very faintly, could he still see the narrow beam still outside the window.

A quiet shift drew his attention.

Amelia was seated beside the bed.

She hadn’t been asleep. Her fingers loosely clasped in her lap as though she had been waiting for the exact moment he stirred.

When his eyes focused on her, he could tell that her shoulders eased, just a little bit.

"You’re awake."

"How long?" Ryn asked, pushing himself up slowly. His body was fine, yet it was the pain that throbbed in his head that made him flinch.

"Half a day," she replied. "You collapsed after... whatever that was." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

He leaned back against the headboard and ran a hand through his hair. The memory returned in fragments.

The machine corrupting Leviathan, the ocean crater, the chase sequence...and whatever he had said at the end before he passed out.

Amelia studied him carefully. "Ryn. What happened?"

He held her gaze for a moment, then looked away toward the faint light spilling in from the balcony.

"It’s a long story," he said quietly.

She didn’t press.

So he continued.

"When I was tracing the path, I was attacked," he began. "I managed to kill the thing that attacked me."

"But I was injured...badly."

Her hand immediately closed around his. She looked like she was on the verge of tears but was holding it back with sheer willpower.

"Well, I’m fine now," he continued. "But it was because of this."

The glass was faintly stained along the inside, dark residue clinging to the curve where the black substance had once been—the sample they had recovered from Moran.

Amelia’s eyes dropped to it.

"You... absorbed it?"

Ryn gave a small nod.

"There wasn’t time to hesitate. I could’ve died."

Silence settled between them.

Amelia’s gaze didn’t leave the vial at first.

Then slowly, it rose back to his face.

"...When you said that word," she asked quietly, "on the airship."

Ryn stilled.

"The Leviathan stopped," she continued. "Just for a second."

Amelia’s fingers tightened slightly around his hand.

"Did that feel like you?" she asked.

The question wasn’t accusatory.

Ryn’s jaw shifted faintly.

"I don’t know," he admitted. "But sometimes...I feel a tugging pull, like something is calling me."

"But for now...I think I’m me."

The words came out of his mouth unsure. It wasn’t exactly a lie yet it wasn’t the whole truth either.

Because even Ryn didn’t know what he was.

Too many things had diverged from the path he once knew. Too many outcomes that had never existed in his previous life. The sky cracking. The Hero’s Path. The machine beneath the sea.

And the power he used on Leviathan—

His memories floated back to the flashback, of when they were chased by monsters in the forest...

Of Kato’s voice as it resounded through the woods.

Amelia didn’t miss the flicker in his eyes.

"...Ryn," she said quietly.

"If it ever stops feeling like you," she said, "Tell me. Please."

It wasn’t a threat nor plea, but a genuine promise.

Ryn nodded once.

"I will."

A firm knock broke the silence.

Amelia’s hand slipped from his as she stood, but she didn’t move far from the bedside.

"Come in!" she called.

The door opened, and the rest of the party filed in.

Braum entered first, broad shoulders nearly filling the doorway, armor still bearing faint scratches from the airship’s escape. Jay followed closely behind him, glasses low on his nose. Fritz stepped in after, expression tighter than usual.

Taylor followed right after and closed the door behind them.

They stopped when they saw Ryn sitting upright.

"Good," Braum said simply. "You’re conscious."

Ryn gave a small nod. "Please give me a report."

Jay stepped forward first. "The machine is still active. Energy output hasn’t dropped." He adjusted one of the dials on the device strapped to his wrist. "But that’s not the strange part."

Ryn’s eyes sharpened slightly. "Go on."

Fritz crossed his arms.

"Leviathan hasn’t moved, not even a single meter."

Silence settled over the room.

"It submerged shortly after you collapsed," Fritz continued. "We thought it was preparing another strike."

Braum’s voice lowered slightly. "It’s just... there."

Ryn felt something tighten in his chest.

"Where?" he asked.

"Circling the basin," Fritz replied. "Slowly."

Amelia glanced toward Ryn instinctively, but he kept his expression neutral.

"How long?" he asked.

"Since we left," Jay answered. "It hasn’t pursued. It hasn’t attacked the machine. It hasn’t attacked anything."

The implication hung unspoken in the air.

Ryn stood slowly from the bed. The dull ache behind his eyes pulsed once, but he ignored it.

"It’s protecting the machine."

"Protecting?" Braum repeated.

Ryn turned back from the window.

"Leviathan isn’t just another big beast," he said calmly. "It’s a guardian."

Braum’s brow furrowed slightly. "A guardian that just tried to tear our ship in half."

"Because it’s been corrupted," Ryn replied.

He hesitated as the group looked at him, not sure how much he could get away with revealing.

"The beam pierced the sky. The machine is the source. The corruption wrapped Leviathan, but it didn’t originate from it."

Jay folded his arms. "So destroying Leviathan changes nothing."

"It removes a symptom," Ryn said. "Not the cause."

Braum was the first to speak.

"You’re suggesting we target the machine first?"

Ryn nodded slowly.

Amelia’s eyes narrowed slightly. "You saw the basin, it’s fortified and highly dangerous...not to mention Leviathan circling it."

"Exactly," Ryn said.

He exhaled slowly, laying it out piece by piece.

"We can’t destroy the machine while Leviathan is defending it."

Fritz understood first. "So we separate it."

Ryn nodded.

"Two teams."

Jay’s expression sharpened. "One draws the guardian away."

"The other breaches the basin," Ryn finished.

He turned to Braum plainly.

"How many siege ships and artillery does Khaz vordun have?"

The dwarven Hero did not react immediately. His eyes narrowed slightly, measuring the weight of the request.

"You intend to provoke it," Braum said.

"Yes."

"It already reacted to us once," Ryn said. "If we make ourselves loud enough, it will follow."

"And who plays bait?" one of the dwarven officers asked.

Ryn didn’t hesitate.

"I do."

Amelia’s eyes shifted toward him, but she didn’t speak out.

Braum’s voice lowered slightly. "You are aware that this is not a simple ’lure job’ right?"

"I’m aware," Ryn replied looking down at his hand. "But I have a way to stop it, as unreliable as it was."

The room went silent before looking at each other. Everyone with the same question on their tongue but too afraid to ask.

Braum studied him for a long moment.

"And the breach team?" the dwarven Hero asked.

"I’m going alone," Fritz said, stepping forward.

...

Jay let out a sharp breath. "That’s not what we agreed on."

"You won’t keep up," Fritz replied calmly.

Amelia frowned. "Fritz, the basin is unstable, who knows what could happen down there.

"Exactly," he said simply. "That’s exactly the point."

There was no bravado or misguided bravery in his voice, just pure resolve.

"Except for the Captain," he continued. "I’m the only other person fit for the job."

The others heard stubbornness.

Ryn saw something else.

Fritz wasn’t speaking from impulse. He had already stepped past doubt. His breathing was steady and his posture grounded.

And then Ryn saw it.

A faint prismatic light shimmered along his shoulder plate, like refracted sunlight catching the steel. It flickered once, before humming softly by his side.

Ryn’s eyes widened.

His Blessing—

[Determination]

The stronger Fritz’s resolve, the harder it became to change his mind...

And the stronger he became because of it.

Logically, his brain told him it was a bad idea. But somewhere deep inside Ryn told him to trust in Fritz.

"Then I’ll leave it to you," Ryn replied after a small pause.

Fritz met his gaze and gave a small nod.

"I won’t fail."

An awkward atmosphere suddenly invaded the room as silence filled it.

"...Are we seriously doing this in your sickroom?"

Taylor’s voice cut cleanly through the tension.

Everyone blinked.

Jay glanced around for the first time as if noticing it properly. The fact that Ryn was still sitting upright against pillows instead of at a strategy table.

"...Oh," Jay muttered. "Right."

Amelia’s lips twitched.

Ryn stared at them all flatly. "You were the ones who came in."

Jay scratched the back of his neck.

"...To be fair," he admitted, "we do rely on you a lot."

Taylor crossed her arms. "Which is exactly why you’re not moving from that bed until tomorrow morning."

Ryn opened his mouth before being cut off immediately.

"No," Amelia said sweetly, cutting him off immediately. "You’re resting until tomorrow."

Braum let out a small snort. "Seems the wifey’s orders carry more authority than the Captain’s."

Amelia’s face flushed instantly.

"It’s not like that!"

Taylor raised a brow. "Oh? Then what is it like?"

Amelia sputtered.

Ryn slowly pulled the blanket up an inch.

"...I’m going back to sleep."

For the first time that night, everything had almost felt normal.

Yet, outside, the beam still lingered...like a constant reminder.

Of what’s to come.