Three days after the confrontation with the spy network at the academy, Aeris stood in the royal stables with his equipment carefully packed and his mind racing with uncertainty. Dawn light filtered through morning mist, casting long shadows that seemed to mirror the doubts in his heart.
[MISSION STATUS: DEPARTURE IMMINENT]
[TRUST LEVELS: CRITICALLY LOW]
[PARANOIA MODE: PERMANENTLY ACTIVE]
"Final equipment check," Leon said as he adjusted his armor straps. The holy knight regalia gleamed in the early light, but there was a tension in his shoulders that betrayed underlying anxiety.
Seraphina stood nearby in deceptively simple travel clothes, but Aeris could sense power coiled beneath the surface like a sleeping dragon. Ever since the incident in the classroom, she had become more protective—and more dangerous.
"Horses are ready," the royal groom reported with professional courtesy. "The route to Crystalline Peaks has been mapped, and supply points confirmed."
Aeris nodded acknowledgment while checking saddlebags for the third time. Diplomatic documents, emergency supplies, and carefully concealed weapons are all accounted for. But the most important thing—the list of suspected academy spies he compiled thanks to the system's accidental intelligence access.
[INTELLIGENCE ASSET: SPY NETWORK MAPPING 73% COMPLETE]
[REMAINING THREATS: UNKNOWN QUANTITY]
[MISSION COMPLICATION: EXTREME]
"Aeris," voice called from stable entrance. Princess Lyanna approached with an expression that mixed concern and royal authority. "Father wants final briefing before departure."
"Of course," Aeris replied, but something about her tone made system alert activate.
[BEHAVIORAL ANOMALY DETECTED: PRINCESS LYANNA]
[STRESS INDICATORS: ELEVATED]
[POSSIBLE DECEPTION: ANALYZING...]
"Leon, Seraphina," Princess continued, "please continue preparations. This briefing is private matter."
Leon frowned with confusion. "But we're team members. Shouldn't we—"
"Royal orders," Princess said firmly. "Aeris will return shortly."
Seraphina's ruby eyes narrowed with suspicion, and Aeris felt the familiar chill of her protective instincts activating. "I don't like this," she whispered in a voice that carried the undertone of otherworldly menace.
"It's fine," Aeris assured her, even though his own instincts screamed warning. "Just... stay alert."
[SEPARATION FROM ALLIES: HIGH RISK SCENARIO]
[SYSTEM RECOMMENDATION: REFUSE PRIVATE MEETING]
[OVERRIDE: DIPLOMATIC NECESSITY]
Following Princess Lyanna deeper into palace corridors, Aeris noticed a route leading away from the throne room. Instead, they headed to a section he had never visited before—private royal chambers which were normally off-limits to academy students.
"Princess," he said carefully, "where exactly are we going?"
"Somewhere safe to discuss real missions," she replied without turning around. "Your diplomatic assignment... it's not the complete truth."
[MISSION PARAMETERS: POTENTIALLY FALSIFIED]
[DECEPTION CONFIRMED: ROYAL LEVEL]
[TRUST EROSION: CATASTROPHIC]
They entered a small room richly appointed with royal furnishings but clearly designed for private, confidential meetings. Princess Lyanna closed the door behind them with a soft click that sounded ominously final.
"Sit," she commanded, and for the first time since meeting her, Aeris sensed something different about her demeanor.
"What's really going on?" he asked, remaining standing with hand casually positioned near concealed weapon.
Princess smiled, but the expression lacking warmth she usually displayed. "You've been very perceptive, Aeris. Too perceptive for your own good."
[THREAT ASSESSMENT: PRINCESS LYANNA COMPROMISED]
[ESCAPE ROUTES: LIMITED]
[COMBAT READINESS: ACTIVATING]
"Meaning?"
"Meaning," a voice spoke from the shadows behind him, "that your unusual abilities have attracted attention from people who prefer obscurity."
Aeris spun around to find Professor Thorne—the academy's Defense Against Dark Arts instructor—emerging from the concealed alcove. But like Professor Blackwood before, there is something wrong with his presence.
"Let me guess," Aeris said with growing dread, "another spy?"
"Not spy," Princess Lyanna corrected. "Handler."
[REVELATION: PRINCESS LYANNA = ENEMY AGENT]
[SYSTEM ALERT: EXTREME DANGER]
[SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: CALCULATING...]
"You see," Professor Thorne explained in a cold and clinical voice, "your diplomatic mission was designed to remove you from the protective environment of the academy. Get you isolated, vulnerable, and far from interfering friends."
"But why?" Aeris demanded, mind racing to find escape strategy.
"Because," Princess stepped closer with a predatory smile, "you possess information that threatens very delicate political arrangements. Information about future events, strategic outcomes, and most concerning—ability to predict and influence probability."
[EXPOSURE SYSTEM: COMPLETE]
[COVER IDENTITY: DESTROYED]
[CRITICAL DECISION POINT: REACHED]
"I don't know what you mean," Aeris replied, but the bluff sounded weak even to his own ears.
"Don't you?" Professor Thorne produced a small device that hummed with magical energy. "This scanner can detect system anomalies with perfect accuracy. And you, my friend, are absolutely glowing with impossible energy signatures."
The device beeped with increasingly rapid rhythm as it pointed toward Aeris, confirming worst fears. His system—source of all his advantages in this world—was completely exposed.
"What do you want?" he asked, preparing for desperate action.
"Transfer," Princess said simply. "We want complete access to your system capabilities. And we want information about how you acquired them."
[DEMAND: IMPOSSIBLE TRANSFER SYSTEM]
[TORTURE SCENARIO: PROBABLE]
[RESISTANCE: ONLY OPTION]
"And if I refuse?"
"Then your friends will experience very unfortunate accidents," Professor Thorne replied with casual cruelty. "Starting with that overprotective Valemont girl."
Rage flared in Aeris's chest. Threatening him was one thing, but threatening Seraphina and Leon crossed a line that he wouldn't tolerate.
"You made a mistake," he said in a steady voice despite the circumstances.
"Did we?" Princess laughed. "You're alone, outnumbered, and far from help."
"Actually," a familiar voice spoke from the doorway, "he's not alone."
Seraphina stood at the entrance with ruby eyes blazing and power radiating from her like heat from a furnace. Behind her, Leon appears with sword already drawn and righteous fury written across features.
"How did you—" Professor Thorne began.
"Find you?" Seraphina finished with a smile that promised violence. "I followed scent of deception. And betrayal has a very distinctive aroma."
[ALLIES: LOCATED AND ENGAGED]
[COMBAT SCENARIO: INITIATED]
[ODDS: SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED]
"Impossible," Princess protested. "Palace guards should have—"
"Guards who were mysteriously asleep at their posts?" Leon interrupted with grim satisfaction.
"Seraphina has many talents."
Ruby light began emanating from Seraphina's form, and Aeris felt familiar reality-bending power building to release. "Nobody threatens what belongs to me," he said in a voice that echoed with otherworldly authority.
"Wait!" Professor Thorne raised hands in apparent surrender. "We can negotiate! There's information you need—about war preparations, about the true scale of conspiracy!"
"Talk," Leon commanded with sword point directed at Professor's throat.
[INTELLIGENCE OPPORTUNITY: POTENTIAL INFORMATION EXTRACTION]
[CAUTION: POSSIBLE DECEPTION]
[SYSTEM ADVICE: GATHER DATA WHILE MAINTAINING READINESS]
"Neighboring kingdoms," Professor said with rapid desperation, "they're not just mobilizing for war. They're coordinating with internal elements to stage a coup during a diplomatic mission."
"What coup?" Aeris demanded.
"King is the target," Princess Lyanna admitted with resignation. "Original plan was to remove him during your absence, blame foreign intervention, and install more... cooperative leadership."
"More cooperative with who?" Seraphina asked with a voice that carried the promise of terrible consequences for wrong answers.
"Shadow Coalition," Professor revealed. "Multi-kingdom alliance dedicated to controlling magical system users like yourself."
[REVELATION: INTERNATIONAL CONSPIRACY]
[SCOPE: MULTI-KINGDOM POLITICAL MANIPULATION]
[AERIS: PRIMARY TARGET DUE TO SYSTEM ABILITIES]
"How many others?" Leon pressed. "How many people with abilities like Aeris?"
"We don't know," Professor admitted. "That's why capturing him was critical. He might be only one, or he might be first of many."
Aeris processed this information with growing horror. His system wasn't just personal advantage—it represented a potential threat to established power structures across multiple kingdoms.
"Diplomatic mission," he realized. "It was a trap to get me away from the academy's protective environment."
"And to remove potential interference from your friends," Princess confirmed. "Particularly her,"
she gestured toward Seraphina. "Our intelligence suggested she possessed unusual protective capabilities."
"Unusual," Seraphina repeated with a laugh that sounded like breaking glass. "That's the diplomatic way to put it."
[SERAPHINA VALEMONT: ABILITIES RECOGNIZED BY ENEMY INTELLIGENCE]
[THREAT ASSESSMENT: REALITY-ALTERING POWER CONFIRMED]
[OBSESSION LEVEL: WEAPONIZED PROTECTIVENESS]
"So what now?" Leon asked. "We can't complete the diplomatic mission designed to trap Aeris. But we also can't ignore the original problem with neighboring kingdoms."
"Actually," Aeris said as a plan began forming in his mind, "maybe we can do both."
Seraphina turned toward him with an expression that was a mixture of curiosity and concern.
"What are you thinking?"
"We complete the mission," he explained, "but on our terms. We expose conspiracy, prevent coup, and deal with real diplomatic crisis simultaneously."
"That's incredibly dangerous," Leon protested.
"Everything's dangerous now," Aeris replied with grim determination. "At least this way, we take the initiative."
[PLAN FORMATION: HIGH-RISK STRATEGY]
[MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES: COUP PREVENTION + DIPLOMACY + CONSPIRACY EXPOSURE]
[SUCCESS PROBABILITY: UNKNOWN BUT BETTER THAN ALTERNATIVES]
"Princess," he addressed his former ally in a voice that was hard as steel, "you're going to help us. Because the alternative is facing Seraphina's disappointment. And I don't think you want that."
Ruby light pulsed from Seraphina's form, and Princess Lyanna visibly shuddered with recognition of true threat.
"What... what do you want me to do?"
"Help us save your father's kingdom," Aeris replied. "Because of the conspiracy you joined? It won't stop by just removing King. It will consume everything."