The royal forge of the cyclopes was located beneath the citadel, carved directly into the heart of the mountain. I descended there accompanied by two enormous guards who barely spoke. The heat increased with every step. The air grew heavier. The sound of hammers echoed in a rhythmic, constant way, as if the mountain itself had a pulse.
When I passed through the last stone arch, I saw the main furnace.
It was colossal.
The fire was not ordinary. The flame had a deep blue tone, stable, without flickering. It did not crackle like normal fire. It burned in silence, intense and controlled.
Liriel observed everything with calm attention. The light from the furnace reflected on her hair in an almost harmonious way. Elara kept her eyes fixed on the runes carved into the walls. Vespera analyzed the positions of the anvils and tools, as if she were memorizing every strategic detail of the environment. Rai'kanna seemed impressed, but she hid it well. Lyannis mentally recorded everything, as she always did.
A cyclops approached.
Tall, muscular, thick beard tied with metallic rings. His single golden eye did not convey hostility, only evaluation.
"You are the bearer of the blade."
His voice was deep, firm.
"I am."
He observed me for a few seconds.
"Then come. The stone must be understood before it is used."
I removed the magic stone from the reinforced pouch. It looked simple at first glance. Smooth surface, grayish tone with nearly imperceptible veins that moved under the light.
The cyclops did not touch it immediately.
"It does not react to brute force. Nor to common magic."
Elara tilted her head slightly.
"Then what does it react to?"
The cyclops pointed to my sword.
"To alignment."
He made a gesture and another cyclops brought my sword to the main anvil. I placed the blade on the dark metal. The sound of contact was dry, clean.
"This weapon was forged with clear intention. That is rare."
Rai'kanna crossed her arms.
"He does not use an ordinary blade."
The cyclops nodded.
"I know."
He finally took the stone.
The moment it left my hands, I felt a slight change. Not pain. Not discomfort. Just a brief absence.
He positioned the stone near the blade.
Nothing happened.
No glow.
No visible reaction.
Vespera narrowed her eyes.
"So it is useless?"
The cyclops slowly shook his head.
"No."
He moved the stone closer to the central part of the blade.
This time, something different happened.
It was not a strong glow. It was subtle.
The stone vibrated almost imperceptibly. The blade responded with a slight energetic pulse, so discreet that it could pass unnoticed by anyone else.
But I felt it.
Like a distant echo.
Lyannis stepped forward.
"There was resonance."
The cyclops looked at her with respect.
"Yes."
He then placed the stone on the blade and closed his eye.
"The artifact does not grant immediate power. It awakens when it finds compatibility."
"Compatibility with what?" I asked.
"With purpose."
Silence.
The sound of hammers around us seemed distant at that moment.
He opened his eye again.
"The stone was created to break bonds. Not to destroy flesh."
My hands grew firmer.
"Bonds?"
"Immortality sustained by pact, curse, or external anchoring."
Liriel stepped forward.
"Then it can affect something that sustains the essence of a demon."
The cyclops nodded.
"If the Fourth General is truly immortal through a bond… this stone can cut the link."
There was no certainty.
But there was real possibility.
He then gestured for me to hold the sword.
I took the blade while he pressed the stone against the metal.
The heat of the furnace intensified.
There was no explosion.
There was no blinding light.
The stone simply began to fuse into the structure of the sword, as if it had found a space that had always been reserved for it.
Rai'kanna watched with complete attention.
Elara kept her magical perception expanded.
Vespera stayed alert for any instability.
Lyannis analyzed every energetic reaction.
Liriel remained serene, but focused.
The fusion ended silently.
The stone was now embedded near the center of the blade, integrated as if it had always been part of it.
I waited.
Nothing happened.
No brutal increase in energy.
No visible transformation.
Only silence.
The cyclops crossed his arms.
"It is there."
"And now?" I asked.
"Now you wait."
"Wait?"
"Ancient artifacts do not respond to anxiety. They respond to necessity."
I ran my fingers along the blade.
I felt something.
It was not raw power.
It was… depth.
As if the sword had gained an additional layer that I still did not understand.
Elara approached.
"I do not detect direct offensive amplification."
"Neither do I," said Vespera.
Lyannis added.
"The energetic frequency is different. More stable."
Rai'kanna looked at me.
"Do you feel it?"
"Yes."
"Then that is enough."
The cyclops stepped back.
"It reacted. That is already more than many have achieved over the generations."
"Others tried?" I asked.
"Yes. None achieved resonance."
That changed my perspective.
"Then why with me?"
He held my gaze.
"Because your blade was not created for glory. It was created for an end."
The words stayed with me.
I thanked him formally.
Before leaving, he added:
"If you face something sustained beyond its own body… do not hesitate. Cut the root. Not the trunk."
I climbed back to the surface with the group.
The cold mountain air contrasted with the heat of the forge.
We walked in silence for a few minutes.
"Do you trust this?" Vespera asked.
"I trust the possibility."
Rai'kanna smiled slightly.
"Fifty percent is still better than nothing."
Liriel walked beside me.
"If his immortality is anchored… this may be the only chance."
I looked at the sword again.
Nothing different in appearance.
But something was there.
Latent.
It was not certainty.
It was not security.
It was a gamble.
I sheathed the blade.
"We still do not know if it will work."
Elara nodded.
"But now we have something we did not have before."
We stopped for a moment to observe the stone city in the distance.
The Kingdom of the Cyclopes was not only physical strength.
It was tradition.
It was precision.
It was calculated waiting.
I took a deep breath.
If this stone truly breaks bonds…
Then perhaps there is a way to strike what keeps the Fourth General standing.
Not destroy the body.
But cut what sustains it.
I started walking again.
There was still no definitive answer.
But now there was direction.
And for now, that was enough.