The sun had just started to rise when Isaac and the freed captives reached the edge of the camp. The sky glowed faint gray, and morning mist still clung to the trees.
Guards spotted them from the lookout posts.
Nai and Bartos were the first to reach them. Both wore serious expressions, weapons ready, until they saw Isaac leading the group.
"Isaac?" Nai stepped forward. "You're back."
Isaac nodded. "We found them in the ruins in the second core," gesturing to the ragged, exhausted group behind him.
"They were captives… like what Belga tried to do. Turn them into humanoids."
Bartos frowned. "More of them?"
"It was worse than we thought," Isaac said.
Elder Peter came running, Mira behind him. More followed, refugees, scouts, even children. Their eyes scanned the group, then landed on Isaac.
But something was missing.
"Where's Aiah?" Peter asked.
Didi pushed past the crowd. "Where's my sister?"
Everyone went silent.
Isaac let out a slow breath. His eyes looked heavy. "She was taken."
"What?" Didi's voice cracked.
Isaac knelt in front of him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "I'll bring her back," he said. "I did it once. I'll do it again. Alive."
Didi's tears fell, but he nodded.
Isaac stood, turning to address the crowd.
"We fought… but the enemy was stronger. General Harper, he's alive. But he's not human anymore... and he has taken Aiah."
Gasps echoed.
"They said he lost in the second core," Mira brows furrowed.
Isaac shook his head. "That's what we were meant to believe. He's a monster now. Like Belga, but stronger. And he's not working alone."
Elder Peter narrowed his eyes. "You're saying…"
"Our theory was right," Isaac said, his voice cold.
"The King. He's behind this. He's building an army, using people. Turning them into humanoid soldiers. Belga, Harper… they're just the start."
Murmurs spread through the crowd.
Just then, a buzz came from above.
A locust flew down from the trees, wings fluttering slow. It landed on Isaac's shoulder, Hopper.
'Hopper, contact Tiny, ask where they are.'
'Yes master.'
The locust tilted its head, vibrating its antennae.
Isaac stood still.
Then the reply came.
'They're heading toward the Bulcan Palace,'
Hopper's voice echoed inside Isaac's mind.
Isaac's jaw clenched.
"They're going to the palace," Isaac said out loud.
The camp fell into a hush.
Then Elder Peter spoke, voice steady.
"…We need a plan."
—-------
At the capital of Bulcan, the morning sun rose above its towering walls, when a four-legged, half-human figure appeared on the main road leading toward the capital gate.
Guards on the high towers tensed.
"Movement at the gate!"
"That's no man…" one soldier muttered.
"Close the gates!"
"Arrows ready!"
Below the walls, the city reacted.
Merchants abandoned their carts. Children were dragged inside by frantic mothers. Doors slammed shut as the creature neared. The streets emptied in a wave of panic, silence spreading in its wake.
Above the gate, General Corpuz stood on the battlements, hand resting on his bow. "Take it down."
But General Broner raised his spyglass. He focused on the figure's face.
"Wait," he murmured. "I know that face…"
The guards held their fire. Arrows stayed notched, but no one moved.
Then a voice rang out, calm and cold.
"Hold."
Everyone turned.
Atop the very wall, standing high above the battlements, King Geoffrey appeared.
Dressed in white robes. Cross symbols were etched into the fabric, glowing faintly in the morning light. His hands rested behind his back. A thin smile crossed his lips.
The monstrous figure stopped a few steps from the gate.
Slowly, it bent its front legs and dropped to a knee.
Its head bowed.
In its arms hung an unconscious woman, Aiah.
Broner lowered his spyglass. His eyes widened.
"Harper…?" he whispered. "And the princess…"
King Geoffrey stepped forward.
"Gentlemen," he said, "behold the future. Not man. Not beast. My perfect creation."
Silence followed.
The monster, once General Harper, rose and handed Aiah to two guards.
"Too bad," Geoffrey added with a grin, "the princess is asleep. I had just prepared her grand entrance."
Chains clinked as the guards bound her wrists and ankles.
Broner took a step forward. "Your Majesty, this…"
Geoffrey raised a hand.
"Loyalty," he said sharply, "is not questioning. It is obeying."
Broner froze. His jaw clenched.
Corpuz bent the knee immediately. "Yes, my King."
Broner stayed on his feet. His fists tightened.
Geoffrey turned to the guards. "Put her in Cell."
His smile widened.
"She'll be… useful."
—-------
Later that night...
The camp was quiet.
The fire crackled in the center, but no one spoke.
Isaac sat on a log, his head lowered, staring at the dirt.
His fists were clenched. His jaw was tight.
He remembered.
Aiah's voice before they entered the deeper part of the forest.
"Isaac… you're not seriously planning to fight that thing with just the two of us?"
But he had waved her off. He thought they could handle it. Thought they didn't have time to wait.
He was wrong.
Now Aiah's gone.
His chest felt heavy. Like a weight pressed down on him, deeper than anything he'd ever felt before.
"Damn it," he muttered under his breath.
Mira stood nearby, watching him. She didn't say anything.
Didi sat with his back to a tree, knees pulled to his chest. Silent tears rolled down his cheeks, but he didn't make a sound.
Elder Peter walked over and sat beside Isaac.
"You couldn't have known," the old man said gently. "None of us did."
Isaac shook his head. "But I should've listened. She trusted me. And I walked her straight into danger."
Peter placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then make it count. Bring her back."
Isaac looked up, eyes burning, not with tears, but with purpose.
"I need to know," Isaac said, "about the Bulcan Palace. How many soldiers do they have?"
Peter folded his arms, thinking for a moment.
"Bulcan has around ten thousand trained soldiers," he said. "And that's not counting the royal guards or the elites stationed near the capital."
Isaac's face darkened.
"Ten thousand…"
He clenched his jaw. "There's no way we can break through that."
Peter nodded. "Not with what we have now. A frontal assault is suicide."
Isaac rubbed his forehead. "There has to be another way. A path. A weakness."
Peter stayed quiet for a long time, eyes narrowed at the darkness. Then, suddenly, his eyes widened slightly.
"There… might be," he said slowly.
Isaac looked at him. "What do you mean?"
Peter turned to him, voice quiet but firm.
"Back when I was still part of the appraisal team serving the palace…" Peter said slowly, "I remember an old passage. A forgotten one. It runs from deep inside the palace to the lower district."
Isaac leaned in. "A tunnel?"
Peter nodded. "Yeah. Built as an escape route for the royal family, in case of siege. But it only goes one way, out. It's sealed from the palace side."
Isaac frowned. "So we can't open it?"
Peter hesitated. "Not easily. Unless someone on the inside finds the passage and unseals it. But…"
Isaac raised an eyebrow. "But?"
"There's a rumor," Peter said quietly. "Hearsay, really. The tunnel's outer door, the one hidden in the lower city, it's protected. They say it's sealed by a spirit. A magical guardian placed there to stop invaders from coming in through the wrong side."
Isaac's face hardened. "A spirit?"
Peter nodded again. "If it's real… and if we can defeat it… the passage might open from the outside."
Isaac glanced at the others, then looked up at the stars.
"There's still a chance," he said.
Then his gaze dropped, firm and burning.
"First," Isaac said, "we send someone into the palace, quiet. They find the entrance door, unlock it, and confirm the tunnel path."
Peter nodded slowly.
"Second," Isaac went on, "we get someone into the capital. Into the lower city. They'll find the tunnel's exit door."
He paused, fists tightening.
"And if that passage is still sealed…" He cracked his knuckles. "Then we handle whatever's guarding it."