The night passed by smoothly and the next morning the Krovzaryan envoys were already preparing for the departure back home.
The council proceedings drew to a close as the sun reached its zenith, casting gilded light across Amanécer's marble courtyards.
With the treaties signed and sealed, the final arrangements unfolded swiftly. Servants bustled to prepare the imperial carriages. Krovzaryan banners snapped in the courtyard wind, their dark silhouettes casting long shadows across the alabaster stone.
But before the portal's activation, Luciana turned away from the preparations, her silk cloak trailing behind her as she made her way back through the sunlit halls of her homeland—one final time.
Helios, remained in the grand chamber, his wounded leg bound, his golden gaze resting heavily on her.
"You know where this path leads," Helios remarked, his tone low, carrying the weight of bloodlines and empire. "But you've chosen it—if only for them." His eyes flicked to where Augusta stood in the distance, holding Ra'el, and Nemesis and Hades clung to her skirts.
Luciana nodded, steady despite the ache that curled beneath her ribs.
"For them… and for peace."
Helios' jaw tightened, his expression carved in stone, but his hand reached for hers regardless. A quiet, firm grip. A father's farewell tempered with pride—and the inevitability of what must be done.
He hugged and snuggled his grandchildren one last time while grieving their departure.
From there, Luciana moved through the familiar halls—the courtyards where she had walked as a child, the terraces carved into the marble cliffs, the sunlit libraries where Amanécer's scholars whispered of stars and legacies.
Her siblings awaited her by the east pavilion, Melody and Aria lingering near the columns, their blonde hair braided with gold strands, eyes glistening despite her composed facade. They embraced Luciana tightly, whispering beneath their breath,
"You'll write to us… promise us that."
"I will," Luciana assured, her fingers lingering a moment longer than propriety allowed.
Other relatives—the distant branches of Amanécer's noble houses—approached with formal farewells, cautious words laced with veiled grief. Even the most composed of courtiers could not fully conceal their uncertainty, their apprehension over sending their phoenix-crowned princess to a realm once veiled in shadows.
But there were no outbursts. No resistance now.
The treaties were signed. The children's fate sealed the terms. The court—reluctant as they were—had no choice but to let her go.
Her final stop was among the servants—the ones who had attended her chambers since childhood, their faces lined with quiet loyalty. Familiar maids pressed small charms into her hand, blessings whispered beneath their breaths, their eyes watering despite their practiced decorum.
"Protect them," one whispered.
"And yourself," another added softly.
Luciana accepted each word, each gesture, without faltering.
Only then did she return to the courtyard, the final preparations complete.
The carriage gleamed beneath Amanécer's sunlight, reinforced with obsidian and ivory. Krovzaryan soldiers stood stationed along the perimeter, their dark armor contrasting starkly against Amanécer's pale banners.
The alchemist tower's scholars completed their work, the portal arch igniting with glowing violet sigils as the air hummed with magic.
Luciana stepped forward, her children gathered around her. The soldiers helped them board the carriage.
Erebus seated on his nightmare waited at the portal's threshold, his posture straight, his eyes steady—not rushing her, but watching, patient and unwavering.
Luciana's gaze swept the courtyard one last time—her father watching from the steps, her people assembled in solemn ranks, the marble city gleaming beneath a clear sky.
She held Ra'el closer, her hand brushing against Nemesis' shoulder, her other settling briefly atop Hades' head as the child clung to her cloak.
Then she turned, crossing the final distance toward the portal.
The swirling energy engulfed them, and the marble city of Amanécer vanished.
They emerged upon the stone platform at the heart of Krovzaryan's capital—Stygian.
Luciana's breath caught, her eyes widening as she took in the scene before her.
Gone were the bleak, fractured ruins of the past. Stygian now pulsed with life—an obsidian metropolis of reinforced strongholds, and bustling avenues paved in black stone. Soldiers marched with precision, merchants traded under banners of black and gold, arcane lights flickered along carefully managed streets. Strictly managed departments and the personalized police force guarding the new capital keeping the citizens secure and free of any crime.
As the procession passed through the city, cheers from the citizens arose with deep respect to their emperor and his empress.
"Mama look! They admire father." Nemesis pointed excitedly.
"No pointing Nemesis. It is considered rude," she scolded him firmly but gently.
"But they are!" He insisted.
"Yes the people love you father very much sweetling. But please sit down, you'll hurt yourself," she cautioned him as she held Hades and Ra'el under her protective embrace.
"This is stygian?..." She muttered to herself recalling how this land was once isolated and shunned.
At the city's core, the once-crumbling Stygian fortress built on foot of the mountain, now stood reborn.
Its original stonework remained, preserved as a symbol of endurance, but obsidian reinforcements now arched across its walls, etched with gilded sigils. Stained-glass windows gleamed along the grand hall and public floors, casting fractured colors across polished courtyards below.
Gardens flourished—imported flora, carefully arranged, maintained by strict groundskeepers. The overgrown fields and desolate courtyards of the past were gone, replaced by symmetry, structure, and quiet, undeniable power.
Administrative departments, military quarters, and alchemical archives lined the fortress' inner grounds, reorganized with ruthless efficiency.
The empire's rise from blood and ash was carved into every stone.
The carriage halted at the fortress gates.
Mina and Lilith were already descending, their faces alight with relief and curiosity. Fortress staff lined the stairs, dressed in Krovzaryan black, their expressions proud, disciplined, expectant.
Among them, Erebus' most trusted men—Callum, Alessio, others—watched with measured satisfaction. Their emperor had returned. His family was here. The empire's foundation, once fractured, was being restored.
Erebus dismounted his nightmare handing the reins to one of his subordinates and walked to the carriage to help Luciana down.
Blake could barely control his emotions satisfied to see as Luciana carefully got off the carriage holding Ra'el and Hades resting on Erebus' shoulder.
When Nemesis flanked down from he carriage, Leo pounced playfully upon him licking his face furiously.
"Leo! S-stop it," Nemesis tried to escape the wolf's playful act.
Mina approached first, eyes glistening despite her formal posture.
"Welcome home, Your Highness," she whispered, voice steady yet cracking faintly at the edges.
She had grown so much. This was the huge time difference for demons as they aged more quickly than Amanécerians.
Lilith bowed, smile breaking through her restraint as she added,
"We've prepared everything… the entire fortress has been waiting."
" It's good to see you all in high spirits," she said with a warm nostalgic smile.
They were the people who remained by her side when the world was against her.
Luciana's gaze swept across the grounds—the gleaming obsidian, the stained glass depicting the entire history of Krovzaryan's emergence, the quiet efficiency of an empire transformed.
Everything they had built—everything still to come—unfolded ahead of them.
The fortress doors opened, as the staff twice the number there used to be welcomed them back.
"Welcome back home, your imperial Majesties." The fortress roared.