They walked across green meadows blooming with never seen before flowers and trees. The astral realm felt like a mirror image of the Realm of Harmony. At a distance, the majestic silhouette of Mount Lavos rose tall amidst the clouds.
Zerath's account of the hidden cave's discovery sank Vivia's heart. To imagine demons forced to breed, their children made into slaves and possibly be used as pawns in the war was incorrigible. It churned her stomach with disgust.
"Where did the exit behind the altar lead?"
"I didn't find out. In the midst of escaping, I found myself here. But I suspect it'd be somewhere in the middle of Nethermoor's lake forest. Isolated and home to many wild animals. Seemed like a perfect place to hide their exit there."
"So the cave now…"
He exhaled. "Is completely destroyed. Fortunately, Sir Gressil and the other knights made it out safely."
His expression hardened. He had wanted to investigate the cave's history and the demons involved in building such a prison. But the cave was now only a pile of rubble, and any hope of future investigations was buried along with it.
Though their fingers couldn't intertwine, nevertheless, Vivia squeezed her hand through his. Warmth permeated him even through that illusion.
"Are you okay?"
Zerath caught a faint tremor in her voice that rang of fear and dread. He pressed upon Vivia's grip a little firmer.
"Look at me. I'm hopping around just fine, am I not?"
Vivia cast a pointed but silent glare to his arm which was clearly still bleeding and hurting. He watched the helplessness tighten her beautiful facial features.
"If one shard of a rock was enough to kill me, what kind of a husband would I be who wouldn't be even able to protect his wife? Demons have stronger bodies," he chuckled.
"Quiet!"
He quietened down dutifully.
"You've stronger bodies, doesn't mean you're invincible. You promised me you'd take care of yourself and look at yourself now!"
He cleared his throat. "Please forgive me. I'll be careful next time."
"So there'll be a next time," she squinted.
He pouted. "Trouble seems to love me more than you do. How could anyone else's love overpower yours?"
That shameless tongue…
She shook her head. "What about Eurus?"
Though some evidence of his mother's existence was found, the circumstances surrounding it only gripped her chest with unease. A torn hair ribbon felt like an ominous sign. Eurus being a hybrid child had come as a surprise - but considering his powerful ice magic, it equally made sense to her.
"He has been holding onto his mother's ribbon. I can't say about her fate at the moment, but her powers being misused for something so terrifying…would've only been painful and unpleasant," his voice dropped to a somber whisper.
A tense silence ensued, and his gaze dimmed further.
"Vivia."
"Hm?"
"Seeing the state of that cavern, I don't have…high hopes for his mother's well-being."
She didn't respond.
"I've heard spirits are God's messengers. They're technically immortal, but their life can wither away if their powers are drained from them - much like our life force."
"I understand your apprehensions, Zerath. I cannot help but feel the same. But we shouldn't work with assumptions alone. What happened was bleak and disastrous, but it doesn't confirm the worst, the fatal."
He let out another quiet breath and nodded.
"What worries me further is the timeline itself. The cavern is centuries old, possibly built around the time of war or even before that. Eurus's mother was taken away around twenty years ago. I'm trying to understand why a spirit's power would be needed now in the present after so many centuries? What kind of spell was it and what was happening in there twenty years ago? It couldn't be forced breeding I believe. The era of war has long passed. Yet…"
She looked at him. "Yet?"
He met her eyes, an impending doom resting within his own irises.
"For more than a year or so, there've been disappearances in my realm."
Her eyes went wide.
"There've been thirteen disappearances so far. All were well educated, bright demons and demonesses. No reason to hate their family or escape their home. Yet we're not able to trace them at all, as if they just vanished in thin air."
The space between her brows crinkled faintly.
"Strange. This feels vaguely similar to Martin's case."
"Martin?"
She gave him a gist of Claudia's tea party.
"When you mentioned the disappearances, I felt it to be very similar to her cousin's disappearance. He had no personal enemies, no skirmishes with his family. Yet he simply vanished without a trace one day."
Zerath tilted his head. "I see…"
Something like this occurring in the Human Realm was unheard of. A gut feeling tugged at him, and he weighed his options.
"Can you find out whether Martin was the only case or if there've been others too?"
She beamed. "Yes!"
Zerath was caught off-guard by her excitement. He chuckled. "You look happy."
"I was going to look into it anyway just out of curiosity, but…" she grinned, "I'm glad that you relied on me. Women in my realm are only assumed to be in a wife's role. There're so many things we wish to do, we can do, but our fate gets tied to marriage at the end. Even Clairette…She wanted to contest for the Emberlain throne."
He glanced at her. "Ah."
"Yes. She wanted to unify our realms. But because King Rosrell and that idiot elder brother of hers don't believe in it, Clairette wanted to take the matter into her own hands. But…"
Vivia frowned. "As always, a woman - whether a commoner or noble, is only expected to get married off and serve her husband's family. Leading a nation and realm is too lofty a dream."
Zerath stayed silent. It wasn't so different in his realm either. Demonesses were mainly expected to manage the household, except for a few like Asmodea who held a significant position in the Order of the Council. It was a change he planned to bring in the demographics and responsibilities wholeheartedly once he would be crowned as the King.
He smiled. "For a woman who knows the ways of the dance and sword, keeping you as a mere housewife would be a waste of your talent and intellect. I wouldn't dare. But you must promise me you'll be careful."
"Of course," she nodded. "I'll be cautious. I won't do anything to make you worry."
"No, I mean…" his brows furrowed, tense.
She chuckled and flicked his forehead, though he couldn't feel it. "What is it?"
With a hint of concern and anxiety, Zerath pressed her hands. Even through the lack of physical touch, Vivia sensed the tremor in his grip.
"You must be careful at all times. I'm not just talking about the investigation. One or both of your brothers colluded with Sir Malphas to have you harmed. Cousin Astaroth clashing with you in Rudaheim was a result of that plot. The result being Sir Malphas…is now dead."