Omega Ascension System[BL]-Chapter 303: _Hunting Ground

Elian’s POV

*****

If panic had a smell... It was thick right now in the halls of the Lunarian palace.

Elian, Lucian and Sylas—all youths, struggled to keep pace with an alarmed queen who moved ahead of them like the whole world didn’t matter.

This hallway was dimly lit, unlike most in the palace, soft blue crystal lights lining the rune-encraved walls in delicate patterns.

No maids in sight. Only a few guards in front of different doors leading to gods know where.

"I still can’t believe you didn’t say anything about the curse coming back." Lucian’s whisper interrupted Elian’s train of thought. "Kyren and I could’ve found a way to fix it."

Elian’s throat tightened.

How does he begin explaining he didn’t want to share the curse’s return because it was now a fucking quadruple threat?

The system had scanned and revealed it.

Not only would the curse now make him experience a severe backlash anytime he used any form of divinity, but it would also affect those "connected" to him if he taps a certain threshold.

At first, he thought "connected" only ended at Sylas. The boy had the divine crystal’s energy after all. But no. Connected included bonds.

Mate bonds.

"Alright, can anyone give me a breakdown of what and how this curse works again?" The Luna Queen finally glanced over her shoulder before any arguments could ensue, eyes darting between all three of them.

Elian swallowed.

No way in hell’s kitchen was he going to mention anything about Divinity to her.

[Aww, you’re starting to sound like me now. See? Some secrets aren’t meant for everyone.]

"It’s a curse that allows Amara..." He tried to answer too quickly, making his voice break at the end.

Elowen squinted at that while Lucian arched a brow beside him.

Gods.

"... Sorry about that. It transfers any harm inflicted on Amara back on me." Elian completed. "We witnessed it first hand in Arcadia. And in... Other ways."

[Didn’t think the Queen of the werewolf empire would have much knowledge on curses.]

No. That’s not exactly what was going on here.

"And... Amara..." Elowen turned her neck back ahead. "She’s the High Matron. All this time... Arcadia’s top leader has been one of the Dark Hand’s leaders as well."

A dry chuckle left her lips but she didn’t push further.

[Looks like you’re not the only one going through it. Probably bringing up memories of her husband.]

Elian exchanged looks with the others. Sylas was clearly confused—as expected.

As for Lucian, he couldn’t keep his eyes off Elian despite his mother’s obvious spiral. Couldn’t stop tracing his eyes on his body as if imagining his arm being ripped to bloody shreds all over again.

And Elian noticed.

Grinding his teeth, Elian grabbed Lucian’s wrist. He established a telepathic link with his magic and although the Alpha Prince hesitated at first... He accepted it.

’I thought this was a you and Kyren thing?’ Lucian’s mental tone was snarky.

’It’s an Elian thing now.’ Elian flashed a sarcastic smile. ’I need to explain something about the curse. It evolved. Not the same as what we saw in Arcadia.’

Lucian paused.

’Not... Not the same? Evolved?’

Not wasting a millisecond, Elian went ahead to explain the new rules of the curse and how being close to the Divine Crystal could come with drastic effects that would affect Sylas, Lucian and Kyren.

’Gods have mercy.’ Lucian’s expression was one of horror. ’And... And your system was the one that helped you figure it out? After it’s... Upgrade?’

[Tell him I said he’s welcome!]

’Well, yes. It did. But—’

’So how does this explain you not telling us before we left?’

Elian nearly stopped walking on the spot.

Fortunately, at that same moment, Elowen finally stopped in front of a massive door which seemed carved of white marble and glistened with golden and silver glyphs.

[Now would you look at that...?]

It was a double door with no guards in sight. That’s because it didn’t need guards.

Even with his low mana core he could sense the energy fields sizzling through each glyph on the door like lightning.

What could possibly be behind this?

"Welcome to the royal jewellery room." Elowen simply raised her wrist, clicking a rune on her bracelet.

Instantly, the glyphs dimmed, the door creaking open. Crisp, cold air rushed out slowly.

Royal jewellery room—

Of course.

When the doors opened fully, Elowen waltzed in quickly. "I’m sorry I couldn’t introduce you properly to this part of the palace, Sylas and Elian... but right now this palace is compromised."

Elian frowned while Lucian followed hastily behind his mother. The former was too busy admiring what he saw inside.

It was a magnificent hall, chillier than outside and brightly lit with gold crystal chandeliers. The hall was filled with holographic screens showcasing a variety of jewellery and precious stones, some even seeming otherworldly.

[Because they are. Girl, you don’t need to gawk like a lost puppy. I’ve scanned everything in here. You can check them out in a recording later—for a price of some Ascension points, of course.]

Shaking his head, Elian turned to Sylas, who was even more awestruck. The lad’s jaw slacked as if he’d walked into paradise.

He grabbed the red-haired boy’s arm, rushing into the hall so they could keep up with the mother-son duo.

"Compromised?" Lucian nearly stumbled on a life-sized statue with a pearl necklace strapped around its neck. "Gods. You’re talking about my theory of Garrick having control of the palace wards, right?"

"Oh, son." The Luna Queen’s voice grew grim, hair whipping back. "Not just a theory. It’s a reality." Elian and Sylas got beside Lucian at this point, just in time to watch the queen walk ahead yet again.

This time, a white holographic screen the same height as her appeared. She stopped, gesturing at it.

"When you first called the head of security and questioned him about the palace’s protection wards and securing them... I thought you were being paranoid." Her brows fell. "Grieving your father. Until the head of security confirmed the force shield projector wards haven’t been active for a while."

Elian’s eyes wandered to something beside him just then. A silver glint so bright it almost made him look away. Until he narrowed his vision, staring at a silver gemstone necklace sitting pretty in a display case.

The silver shine reminded him of Aurora.

Speaking of which... Where was she?

"Yeah, it didn’t make any sense," Lucian mumbled. "We couldn’t fathom father being the one who ordered or coded their deactivation. So the answer was—"

"The man who’s been hiding in a stolen body for years." Elowen raised a finger, interrupting like she was about to hit something big.

But those two words: stolen body.

They triggered memories in Elian that he didn’t want to reminisce right now.

Fuck, the fact that both he and Garrick stole bodies to blend in! What kind of twisted—

"Garrick, Axel or whatever he calls himself now," Elowen swiped her palm across the screen. "Began damaging the wards immediately he became Beta. Which was six years ago when the body he stole was supposed to be nineteen."

Gods, she said it again.

"I looked into records of anomalies noted in the palace’s systems and wards throughout the past six years." An image of the Lunarian palace, dark at night, appeared on the screen. "Like this night... When the palace experienced a blackout for two whole minutes."

Lucian muttered. "I... Remember that night. Aurora covered for me when I went out into the city. She told me all about it when—"

A single eyebrow raise from Elowen was all it took to shut Lucian up. Elian almost chuckled, forgetting his emotional constipation and the curse for a moment.

[Emotional constipation. Tch. Now he’s stealing my lines.]

"I’ll ground your grandkids for that one," Elowen said it with a deadpan tone, moving on to another slide. "Anyway, more anomalies happened within these six years. Palace wide hologram malfunctions. Cooling units heating up. Spatial wardrobes folding in on themselves—all of which seemed minor at the time. Until you realise what all these things are powered by."

Elian’s heart dropped to his stomach.

That two-faced son of a bitch...

"The palace wards." Lucian’s eyes were wide. "Mother... This..." He pointed at the holographic screen. "These are actual evidence of Garrick slowly gaining control of the wards. Each ’incident’ was him cracking another code in the system."

However, Elowen didn’t seem done.

Swiping the screen out of existence, she spun fully to face them. "Which brings me to why I brought you here. I collected the heart jewel necklace from this jewellery room. This room..." A wave of her right hand revealed several runic lines on the far walls. "Is heavily protected. So a curse from Amara getting into here shouldn’t be possible. Not without—"

"A tether," Elian whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. Of course! "Or in this case a person who has access to wards that could lead her curses straight into any room in this palace. Including this one."

The gravity of those words made his stomach churn.

Royal palace or not... It was no longer a safe haven.

It was a hunting ground. A prison.

And the predators were the most psychotic couple in Evaros.