Chapter 85 There’s someone

Chapter 85 There’s someone
~Morwen~ 
I sat with my head buried beneath hundreds of old journals and forgotten archives, each one spread open across my desk until there was barely an inch of wood left uncovered. Dust clung stubbornly to my fingertips, and the candle beside me had long burned halfway down its stem, yet I scarcely noticed. The only thing that mattered was finding answers.
Hours had passed, but every page I turned only led to another dead end.
I had searched through royal records, temple scrolls, fragmented prophecies, forgotten family histories, even the personal writings of scholars who had spent their entire lives studying the First Kingdom. None of them answered the two questions that now haunted me.
‘Who betrayed the First Crowned Moon?’ 
‘And where had the black weapon truly come from?’ 
Every text danced around the truth. They praised the First Crowned Moon as a divine ruler, spoke of her miracles and her connection to the Moon Goddess, then abruptly ended before the most important part of her story. It was as though someone had reached into history itself and torn away every page that mattered.
I rubbed my aching temple.
"There has to be something," I muttered beneath my breath. "People do not simply erase an entire history without leaving a trace."
I picked another journal and it was another disappointment. I shut it harder than I intended.
The sound echoed through the library before I slammed my palm against the table in frustration. "Damn it."
Silence swallowed the room once more.
Then, there were three steady knocks at my door. My head lifted immediately. For some reason, my heart whispered the answer before my mind did.
It’s the King.
I rose from my chair, carefully stepping around the mountains of books littering the floor before making my way to the entrance. As soon as I pulled the heavy door open, my suspicion was confirmed.
King Kael stood outside with Queen Elira beside him. Their expressions alone told me this was no ordinary visit.
I immediately lowered my head. "Your Majesty."
"There is no need for formalities today," Kael said. "May we come in?"
"Of course."
I stepped aside, allowing both of them inside before closing the door behind them. "You could have simply sent for me," I said as I guided them toward the center of the library. "I would have come immediately."
Kael shook his head. "No. This couldn't wait."
The seriousness in his voice immediately drew my full attention. Before either of them sat down, Kael spoke again.
"We finally know why Elira's ascension never affected Ryker."
I frowned. "You found an answer?"
"I did." He looked directly at me. "He and I are from the First Bloodline."
For a brief moment, I simply stared at him. A slow smile found my lips. "So am I."
Both of them turned toward me. "You are?" Elira asked.
I nodded.
"My family has guarded ancient records for generations. We have always known we descended from one of the original bloodlines, although we never believed it carried any significance beyond preserving old traditions."
Elira released a long breath she had clearly been holding. "So that explains it."
"It certainly explains why neither of us fell under the compulsion," I replied. "The First Bloodline appears to be immune to the Crowned Moon's involuntary call."
Kael nodded. "That answers one question."
"But not the others," Elira added quietly.
I could hear the exhaustion in her voice. Kael glanced toward her before continuing. "She ascended again."
My heart tightened.
"The third?"
He nodded.
I slowly looked at Elira. "What did you see?"
She briefly summarized everything that had happened during the vision. The masked warriors clothed in black. The strange cave. The ancient coffin. And finally, the human spine resting inside before the First Crowned Moon's face appeared directly before her.
Unlike the earlier visions, this one seemed less symbolic and far more precise, almost as though someone wanted her to notice specific pieces of a puzzle.
Before I could begin considering what any of it meant, Kael reached inside his cloak and carefully placed an old leather-bound journal on my desk.
Its worn cover immediately caught my attention.
"This..." I looked back at him. "Where did you find this?"
"My father's village." I blinked. "I returned there after speaking with Mama Cheryl."
His expression hardened. "I searched through their forbidden archives. They almost refused to let me inside, but once I explained who I was... and why I had come... they finally allowed me access."
He rested a hand against the weathered journal. "This belonged to my father."
I carefully opened it.
The handwriting was neat despite its age, and almost every page contained detailed observations rather than stories. Someone had spent years trying to uncover a hidden truth.
As I continued reading, Kael spoke quietly. "My father knew about the betrayal of the First Crowned Moon."
I nodded absentmindedly while turning another page. Then he continued. "But that wasn't all he discovered."
My eyes moved farther down the parchment. Suddenly… I froze and my breath caught.
"No..." The words escaped before I could stop them.
Elira stepped closer. "What is it?"
I slowly raised my head to look at her. "This journal says the black weapon was never forged by ordinary means."
I swallowed. "It says it was created in preparation for the arrival of the next Crowned Moon."
Neither of them spoke. I looked back down at the page.
"It was made to kill her, manipulate her and control her.” 
Kael's jaw tightened. "There is more."
I looked toward him again. He hesitated. Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, he said,
"The black weapon grows from the spine of the First Crowned Moon."
Everything inside me stopped. My eyes instinctively drifted back to the journal before the words finally registered.
Elira's vision.
Elira's face lost what little color remained.
"The cave..." She looked between us.
"The coffin I saw. The spine inside it..." She swallowed hard. "That wasn't random."
"It wasn't," I agreed quietly. "The vision wasn't merely showing you a place. It was showing you the origin of the weapon."
No one spoke for several long seconds. Finally, I looked back at Kael.
"Your father was far closer to the truth than anyone realized."
He gave a single slow nod. "And because he got close..." His voice cracked almost imperceptibly. "They killed him."
Everything Mama Cheryl had confessed suddenly fit together in a horrifying way.
"He died trying to protect everyone," Kael said quietly. "He died a hero."
Elira looked down thoughtfully.
"When you put everything together..." She spoke more to herself than to either of us. "...there has always been someone working in the shadows."
She slowly began counting on her fingers.
"They betrayed the First Crowned Moon. They turned her remains into a weapon. They murdered Kael's parents. They sent masked men after me. They knew I would eventually exist."
She finally looked up. "This isn't random."
"No," I agreed. "It never was."
Kael folded his arms. "My father almost uncovered whoever is behind all of this. He paid with his life. Now we finish what he started."
His determination filled the room.
"We find whoever has been hiding for two thousand years. And we end this."
I lowered my eyes toward the journal once more. "There may be a way."
Both of them immediately looked at me. "If your vision showed the cave..." I tapped the page gently. "...then perhaps that cave still exists. It could become our starting point."
Elira slowly shook her head.
"I was already inside it." She sounded frustrated. "I never saw where it was."
She sighed heavily.
"Maybe the next ascension will show me how to find it.” Her voice softened. "I think the First Crowned Moon is trying to lead me there."
"No." Kael answered so quickly that even I looked at him in surprise.
His entire body had tensed. "You've become weaker after every ascension."
He stepped closer to Elira. "The bleeding keeps getting worse. Your body barely survives each one."
His eyes shone with unmistakable fear. "You are approaching the seventh ascension." His voice lowered.
"I'm not ready to lose you."
Silence filled the library. I understood his fear. Perhaps better than either of them realized. But some truths demanded impossible sacrifices.
Elira looked at him with heartbreaking tenderness before turning toward me.
Without needing to speak beforehand, we both arrived at the same conclusion.
"We do not have a choice."