Chapter 3
I walked out of the north tower to find the guards' spears already raised.
Griffin stood at the door, golden royal seal in hand.
"By His Majesty's command, the north tower is now under the Association's jurisdiction." He swept his gaze over me. "No one is to approach it further."
"You arrived just in time."
"What did you do inside the tower?"
"Saved three guards."
"I'm asking about the spirit entity."
"It left on its own."
Griffin's gaze darkened.
"You let it go?"
"It was never locked in the tower to begin with."
Two Association mages were ordered to inspect the tower. Less than half a minute later, they came back out — faces pale.
"No residual spirit presence," one reported. "But we found traces of a recall seal."
Griffin turned to me.
"You knew all along?"
"I knew after I went in."
"What else did you see?"
"A spirit in old royal armor. A broken sword in its chest. No face." I paused. "It said someone stole the crown."
Murmurs rippled across the square.
Griffin stepped closer, voice low.
"Do you understand what that implies?"
"Someone wants to drag the royal family into this."
"Or it could be true."
"Then investigate."
Griffin stared at me like he was seeing me for the first time.
"You never used to volunteer for things like this."
"People change."
"You haven't changed," he said. "You seem like a different person."
I didn't reply.
Just then, a palace attendant hurried over.
"Archmage, His Majesty summons you."
In the royal council chamber, King Alwin sat in a high-backed chair. Two Church envoys stood behind him. Griffin stood at his right.
On the table lay a sealed wooden box.
"Open it," the King said.
I lifted the lid.
Inside lay a shard of black crystal, with a wisp of grey-white mist sealed at its center.
The moment I leaned closer, the mist drifted toward the black iron artifact in my sleeve.
"This was unearthed from beneath the north tower's floor," the King said. "Three years ago, the tower experienced an uncontrolled spirit-summoning incident. Archmage Vane handled it."
I stared at the crystal.
The original owner's memory surfaced.
Three years ago, he hadn't handled it at all. He'd simply broken an obsidian shard, sprinkled salt, lit a few candles, and told the King the spirit had been purified.
The real recall seal — he'd pressed it under the floor with a metal plate.
And left it there for three years.
Until last night, when someone re-activated it.
"This isn't ordinary crystal," I said.
"Then what is it?"
"A soul vessel."
The Church envoy frowned: "A blasphemous object."
"Yes."
"Can you purify it?"
"No."
The chamber fell silent for a moment.
Griffin's lip was just beginning to curl into a cold smile when I continued:
"The soul in the vessel has already been extracted. Only residual memory remains. Forcing purification now would destroy the evidence."
The King's fingers stilled on the table.
"You're calling this evidence?"
"Someone used the royal north tower to recall a certain deceased individual. They knew the structure of the royal seal. They also knew about the loose end left by the uncontrolled summoning three years ago."
I looked at the box.
"And they knew the Archmage here wouldn't lift the floor tiles."
Griffin's expression shifted.
The King turned to him.
"How did the Association's records document the incident three years ago?"
Griffin spoke heavily: "Spirit purified, seal stable."
"Who signed it?"
"Aldric Vane."
The King looked back at me.
"You admit that record is false?"
"Yes."
"You admit the Archmage at that time mishandled the north tower?"
"Yes."
"You admit you concealed a danger?"
"The name on the record is mine," I said. "I take responsibility."
The two Church envoys exchanged a glance.
One immediately spoke: "Your Majesty, this man has admitted to falsifying arcane records. He should be immediately relieved of his post and handed over to the Tribunal."
I drew a thin sheet of paper from my sleeve and laid it beside the box.
"But this matter didn't end three years ago."
On the paper was only half a seal.
Beneath a golden crown, a serpent's body was severed in two.
Griffin's face changed the moment he saw it.
"The royal vault seal."
The King stood up.
"Where did you get this?"
"The third floor of the north tower. In the lining of a guard's armor."
"What was stolen from the vault?"
"I don't know."
I pointed to the grey mist.
"But someone took something from the vault and brought it back using the north tower's recall seal."
The King was about to speak when a bell sounded from outside the palace.
The summoning bell — just one ring.
All the candles went out at once.
In the darkness, a strange voice whispered at everyone's ear.
"The crown has returned."
