Chapter 278: “I told you,” Althea’s head turned slowly.
"No," she repeated, like she didn’t believe she heard him right. "You’re saying that like you’re sure."
Lucian sat with his back against a pack, eyes on the firelight. He didn’t look dramatic about it. He looked like he’d already had this argument in his own head and got tired halfway through.
"I’m sure," he said.
Elara glanced between them, careful not to interrupt. She pretended to check the perimeter, but she was listening like everyone else.
Althea’s jaw tightened. "You dragged me out here. You said the Trial was tied to the key. You said my mother is part of this whole... mess."
"She is," Lucian said.
"Then why are you telling me she won’t be there."
Lucian exhaled once. "Because if she was in this world, I’d feel her. Not the way you feel rumors. The way blood feels blood. The way fire knows fire."
Althea’s eyes narrowed. "You’re guessing."
"I’m not guessing," he said, and his voice was calm enough that it made her angrier. "I’ve been walking around for days, keeping my head quiet, letting the world speak. If Lucy was here... I wouldn’t need a Trial to find her."
Althea leaned forward, elbows on her knees. "Then where is she."
Lucian didn’t answer immediately. He stared into the small flames, like he was choosing words that wouldn’t break something.
"I think she’s not inside the board," he said finally. "I think she’s outside it."
Althea’s brow creased. "Stop talking like a riddle."
Lucian looked at her. "Okay. I think she’s not in this universe."
Silence hit harder than a slap.
Elara’s fingers paused on the strap of her pack.
Althea’s face went still. Then her voice came out sharp. "That’s impossible."
Lucian shrugged slightly. "You live in a world where people fly on swords and pull lightning out of their hands. Don’t pick ’impossible’ now."
"That’s not the same."
"It is to me," he said. "Lucy wasn’t normal even among us. If she’s missing, it’s because someone made sure she couldn’t be found by normal means."
Althea’s throat worked. "Then why do you keep saying ’find her’ like she’s a missing merchant on the road."
"Because she’s still my sister," Lucian said, and there was a quiet edge there. "And because I can still reach her."
Althea stared. "How."
Lucian’s eyes shifted to the dark beyond the camp.
"The Trial is a hook," he said. "Not a meeting point. Someone built it to attract people like you. Bloodlines. Legacies. Pieces of the old era that shouldn’t still be breathing."
Althea’s fingers curled. "You think the assassin... and the attackers... they weren’t random."
"No," Lucian said. "They’re looking for the same thing we are. A clue."
Elara couldn’t hold back anymore. "A clue to what."
Lucian glanced at her. "To a crack."
Elara blinked. "A crack."
"A seam," Lucian corrected. "A thin place where the new world rubs against something else. People call it a ruin. A tomb. A relic chamber. But under all that, it’s usually a tear. A leftover scar from the reset."
Althea’s voice dropped. "And you think the Trial zone has one."
"I don’t think," Lucian said. "I know. Cael’s been quiet about it, but I can feel it when I stop pretending I’m small."
Elara’s eyes hardened slightly. "So the Trial is a trap."
Lucian nodded once. "For whoever carries the right signal."
Althea felt that word hit her like a weight.
Signal.
She swallowed. "Me."
Lucian didn’t deny it. He just said, "You’re not the only one."
Althea’s gaze snapped to him. "Who else."
Lucian’s voice stayed even. "I don’t know names. I know types. Somebody out there has something tied to Marc. Somebody else has something tied to Vyn. The world’s been farming myths for thousands of years. Pieces don’t vanish. They get buried. They get worshiped. They get passed down without understanding."
Elara’s lips parted slightly. "Marc... Vyn... those are Sleeping Progenitor names in the Church texts."
Lucian’s eyes flicked to her. "Yeah. Church texts."
Althea watched his face. "You keep saying them like they’re people you knew."
"They are," Lucian said.
Althea’s voice turned raw without her meaning it. "Then where are they."
Lucian stared at the flames again. "Not here either. Not fully. Some of them might be sealed. Some might be sleeping deeper than I was. Some might be... scattered."
Althea’s chest tightened. "And my mother."