The Audience Chamber was left in a desolate, eerie silence after Ari and Eren’s departure.

  As they fled the royal palace, rumors outpaced them. The capital was already in an uproar over the event. Since the ceremony had been hosted by the King himself, all the kingdom's high-ranking officials had been gathered there. The problem was that the more important the official, the closer they were to the front—the best vantage point. With the entire ruling class collapsing in a single moment, an uncontrollable terror began to sweep through the kingdom.

  "The King is dead. What do we do now?" Eren asked, shielding Ari’s face as soon as they cleared the palace walls. Regardless of the circumstances, Ari was still a wanted fugitive.

  "That’s not what’s important," Ari said, ducking into a secluded alley to catch her breath. "I was wrong... This wasn't Electricity; it was Radiation." Her eyes were bloodshot as she swallowed her tears. Her fists were clenched so tightly her knuckles had turned white. "I discovered it too late. I was too complacent." She leaned her head against the wall, trembling.

  "Don't blame yourself so much," Eren said, trying to stop her.

  "The ancients... they anticipated this. They were so wise not to leave records." Ari finally broke into tears. "They saw right through human nature..."

  Eren comforted her. "Ari... remember? I was the one who led us there. It wasn't you."

  "But I’m the one who misinterpreted the jar. I’m the one who made them open it..." Ari collapsed to the ground.

  The world around them was chaotic. Some people screamed that an ancient curse had descended. Some took advantage of the confusion for their own gain, while others were simply desperate to escape the madness. Fear had conquered the capital of the Frozen Kingdom, a city no enemy had ever dared to target.

  "Ari, we don't have time for this. We have to get out of here, fast."

  Ari stood up weakly. But in that moment, she gasped. "Eren... your nose... you're bleeding."

  Eren wiped his nose. Blood stained his hand. "It's okay... I’m not hurt anywhere else..."

  "You were exposed to the light too. I saw it..."

  "But I was at the very back. Don't worry." Eren forced a smile, though he could still taste that metallic, iron flavor in his mouth.

  "But where do we go?"

  "I'm... not sure."

  They realized they had nowhere left to turn. Who would take in a pair likely to be suspected of regicide? As they weighed their options, armed men suddenly appeared, blocking both ends of the alley. One man stood guard at the main road to keep onlookers away, while the others drew their blades.

  Eren stood in front of Ari, shielding her. Having come from a royal event, he didn't even have a simple dagger on him. Running against three armed men while protecting Ari was impossible.

  "Who are you?"

  "Eren Kai Liro and Ari Noa Velan, correct?" the man asked.

  "Who wants to know?" Eren countered, sizing them up. They weren't Royal Guards or the Capital Constabulary.

  "That’s none of your concern. If it's you, come with us. If not, you die." The man adjusted his mask and approached. "Come quietly, and your lives are guaranteed."

  Eren swallowed hard and raised his hands. "Kadan sent you. Fine, we'll go. I want to hear what he has to say."

  As he spoke, he surreptitiously signaled Ari. She spoke in a low, steady voice. "Eren, do you know what I discovered in the ancient texts recently?"

  "What?"

  "A way to refine a specific metal from salt." Ari smiled faintly. "If you take 'Moon’s Horn'—silver salts—and mix them into brine to refine them, you get white crystals. If you mix those with sulfur and saltpeter, something very interesting happens."

  The thugs faltered, confused by the sudden academic conversation.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  "Cover your eyes!" Ari shouted.

  She threw a bundle of paper into a puddle in the corner of the alley. A deafening crackle followed as brilliant yellow flames erupted. The men were momentarily blinded by the flash.

  "That metal reacts very violently with water," Ari whispered.

  "Tell me the science later!" Eren shouted. He shoved the largest man blocking the alley. Caught off guard, the man was pushed forward, but being well-trained, he quickly regained his balance and pivoted. However, it was enough of a gap for Ari to slip through.

  "Ari... Go!"

  Eren yelled. Without a moment's hesitation, Ari sprinted into the crowd. Eren smiled as a massive hand grabbed him from behind.

  Ari saw him being taken as she disappeared into the masses.

  A few days later, posters were put up across the land labeling her as the primary suspect in the assassination of the Kingdom's key figures.

  After the King's death, it was Kadan who seized control of the Royal Castle. It was his hand that settled the chaos and his hand that named the culprit. He had pointed at Ari as the King's assassin.

  She became a fugitive of the Kingdom. This was on an entirely different level from her previous status as a wanted person. Before, she only had to be wary of government offices, but now, it was as if every single person was hunting her.

  Deciding to flee the Kingdom and hide within another ruin exploration team, she moved under the cover of night. Previously, she could count on the help of former colleagues or acquaintances, but no longer. Having been branded a regicide, anyone who helped her risked being labeled a traitor as well. She could trust no one.

  Using the survival skills she had honed during ruin explorations, she moved from forest to forest without much difficulty. However, when she was forced to enter a village for supplies, she chose mountain hamlets where travelers stopped mid-journey. She went down to these settlements partly to check for any news, as she was desperately worried about Eren.

  Upon entering a quiet mountain village, she realized that rumors moved far faster than she did.

  "They say a demon emerged when the jar was broken."

  "Everyone in the palace..."

  "They say the blue light wiped them all out."

  The stories shifted with every mouth, but the name at the end was always the same.

  Ari, Witch of the Jar.

  The One Who Sold Her Soul to Wake the Demon.

  The Blue-Light Slayer.

  Hideous epithets. Hiding behind others, she listened to them speak her name. But the final piece of news she heard made it impossible for her to keep running.

  A public notice had been posted: Eren's execution date had been finalized for the crime of aiding the King's assassin.

  She could no longer remain a fugitive. She descended from the mountains and headed to a large town. She sought out a leather wholesaler and presented her certificate of ownership for the Onkalo artifacts. Upon seeing it, he quietly led her to a warehouse.

  "Go inside."

  "And then?"

  "I will make contact. But it will take a few days."

  "Is this imprisonment?"

  "Think of it as staying for a few days."

  "Any other precautions?"

  "Just don't attempt to escape."

  "I came here of my own accord, didn't I..."

  After her conversation with the wholesaler, Ari lay down on the straw spread across the warehouse floor. She missed Eren. She wept quietly. Seeing this, the wholesaler nodded and locked the warehouse door.

  A few nights later.

  The warehouse door rattled open. Ari looked toward the entrance. Through the gap in the door, she saw a carriage. She walked out of the warehouse. The carriage's windows were completely covered, but it was a luxury coach pulled by two horses. The masked coachman gestured for her to enter without a word.

  The carriage set off through the night mist. After traveling all night, it stopped at a certain location and signaled for her to disembark. It was a secluded, dark corner of the royal palace.

  "Wise move. How did you know the leather wholesalers were my informants?"

  Kadan spoke as he watched Ari step down.

  "Where is Eren?"

  Ari skipped the pleasantries. Kadan smiled coldly and replied.

  "Before you see him, I shall make one vow: I have done my best to treat him well."

  "What does that mean?" Ari trembled quietly.

  "Do you know the Law of Hostages? A hostage is only valuable while alive. And the one who takes the hostage must keep them alive to get what they want."

  "I asked you what that means!" Ari shouted.

  "After I took control of this palace, I assigned the royal physicians to him. But they said even they cannot understand it."

  Ari remembered Eren in the Audience Chamber that day.

  "The jar..."

  "I wasn't in the Audience Chamber that day, so I don't know, but you must. You must know why Eren is like that and what happened there."

  Ari remained silent.

  "I don't believe the stories about you being a witch or waking a demon. But I am interested in what it really is. Radiation, was it?"

  "What do you want?"

  "The method to control it." Kadan spoke with a firm voice.

  "What are you talking about?"

  "The method to control Radiation. What a magnificent weapon that would be. Killing people without sound or shape. Is there any more perfect weapon than that?"

  "You're just like the dead King."

  "The King?" Kadan laughed briefly. "That seat is not vacant right now."

  "Don't look down on me just because I've been running. I've heard more than just the exaggerated rumors about myself."

  "True... I heard my half-brother is coming here as well. I don't know if he'll offer a vow of loyalty or start a war."

  "I don't know. Even 'Radiation' is just a hypothesis."

  "But you survived that chaos. So you must know something more, don't you?"

  Kadan looked Ari straight in the eye. He was no fool who pursued only a lust for power.

  "Of those who survived and came out of that place, the only ones who saw it from beginning to end with their sanity intact, without being consumed by terror, are the two of you. But Eren refuses to speak."

  Ari's eyes widened. Kadan shook his head and said coldly.

  "I am a generous man. I don't use torture to open people's mouths. That is why I sought you out. I apologize that the methods were a bit rough."

  Kadan smiled slightly.

  "Show me Eren first," Ari said firmly.

  Kadan nodded. He led her himself.