The infirmary at St. Celeste was silent, except for the rhythmic dripping of a leaky faucet.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Raziel was sitting on the edge of the bed, head in his hands. The world was spinning.
It felt like someone had taken sandpaper to his brain.
The stress from the night infiltration, the weight of the stolen leather journal under his tunic, and the constant buzz of [Acute Paranoia] were taking their toll.
His mind replayed the image on a loop.
Sister Elena's face, blood staining her immaculate habit, and that look... that look of pure hatred before they ran.
"We hit her where it hurts," he muttered. "But now she's a wounded beast, and wounded beasts bite."
Raziel was about to get up to hide the journal better when the door burst open.
BANG!
Lucian came in like a hurricane, his coppery hair a mess and his eyes shot with pure panic.
He closed the door behind him and leaned against the wood, panting like he'd just run a marathon.
"Raz!" he gasped. "We have a problem. Forget the old hag for a second, we have a much fucking bigger problem."
Raziel looked up.
His survival instinct kicked in instantly, overpowering the exhaustion.
"Did someone else see us? Does Marius know about the journal?"
Lucian shook his head, pale as a sheet.
"Worse. A detachment of the Royal Guard just arrived at the Academy's perimeter. They didn't enter, they just... stood there. Like statues."
"Royal Guard?" Raziel narrowed his eyes, confused. "They're Aerion's escort. It's normal, the Prince was here."
"No, Raz. You don't get it." Lucian swallowed, and Raziel saw the genuine terror in his friend's eyes. "They're not flying the Prince's golden banner. They're wearing red cloaks. They're the Crimson Inquisitors."
The air froze in Raziel's lungs.
'Crimson Inquisitors.'
The King's personal attack dogs.
They didn't answer to the Church, or the Princes.
Only to King Aurelian and they only showed up for two things: high treason executions or watching over national-level threats.
"Have they arrested Aerion?" Raziel asked forgetting the headache for a moment.
"No," Lucian whispered. "The rumor in the cloister is that the King has lost faith in him."
The King hadn't arrested him, but he was pointing a cannon at him.
Aerion was walking on thin ice.
If he took one wrong step, if he sneezed the wrong way, they'd accuse him of treason.
"Shit," Raziel whispered. "Aerion must have tried to move too fast with the info I gave him weeks ago. The impatience of a noble..."
"What did he do?" Lucian moved closer, desperate. "Why would the King set the Inquisitors on his own son?"
"I need to see," Raziel said. The pain in his head throbbed, warning him not to do it, but he had no choice. "Give me a minute."
"Raz, your nose is bleeding... you already look horrible..."
"Shut up and watch the door!"
Raziel took a deep breath and forced his mind open.
He ignored his body's warning and activated the skill, burning his own vitality as fuel.
[SKILL ACTIVE: ECHOES OF THE FUTURE]
[TARGET: Prince Aerion (3 hours ago)]
[COST: Minor Vitality + Sanity]
The world turned to gray static. The infirmary disappeared.
A luxurious but dark room. Aerion's private office in the capital.
Aerion was on his feet, armor on, talking to an old man with a white beard and deep scars. Ser Barristan, the Lord Commander of the Royal Guard.
"My father is blind to the Church's corruption, Ser Barristan," Aerion's voice trembled with helplessness. "I have information, I know there are internal threats. I need you to mobilize your trusted men, not the King's."
Barristan, the old loyal dog, looked at him with sadness.
"Mobilize troops without the King's seal, Your Highness? That sounds like insurrection."
"It's protection!" Aerion shouted. "If we don't act, the Crown will fall!"
The vision flickered. Scene change.
The Throne Room.
Empty and cold.
Barristan was kneeling before King Aurelian.
The King was sitting in the shadows, coughing into a handkerchief.
When he pulled it away, Raziel saw the dark stain. Black blood.
"He says the Crown is in danger, Your Majesty," Barristan said, his head bowed. "He asks for loyalty to him before you, to 'protect the kingdom'."
King Aurelian stood up with difficulty. His face was gaunt, his eyes sunken in dark pits of paranoia.
"Protect me?" The King's voice was a venomous hiss. "He thinks I'm weak, he thinks my illness makes me stupid. My own son can't wait for my corpse to get cold to take power."
"Your Majesty, Prince Aerion is noble, perhaps he's just confused..."
"Silence!" The King threw the stained handkerchief to the floor. "Don't arrest him, but put the Crimson Inquisitors on his neck. I want to know every time he breathes. If he takes one step towards the throne before I die... cut off his legs."
The vision cut out with a violent buzz.
[ECHO FINISHED]
Raziel came back to reality with a gasp, falling to his knees on the infirmary floor.
"Raz!" Lucian caught him before he could smash his face on the tiles.
Raziel coughed, wiping the blood that ran from his nose to his chin. His brain was processing the information at the speed of light.
"The King..." Raziel gasped. "The King is dying, Lucian."
Lucian froze.
"What?"
The System confirmed what Raziel had just seen.
[CRITICAL INFORMATION ACQUIRED]
[TARGET: King Aurelian]
[STATUS: TERMINAL ILLNESS (Mana Corruption)]
[ESTIMATED TIME OF DEATH: 8-14 MONTHS]
"That's why he's paranoid," Raziel said, getting to his feet with the help of the bed. "He knows he doesn't have much time left. Barristan reported Aerion's restlessness, and the King interpreted it as impatience to inherit the crown."
Raziel looked Lucian in the eyes.
"Aerion isn't arrested, but he's been neutralized. The King thinks he's a potential usurper."
"So we're fucked," Lucian said, running his hands through his hair. "If Aerion can't make a move, who's going to protect us from the Church?"
"No one," Raziel clenched his fists. "The worst part is, Aerion knows he's lost his father's trust. Now he's desperate to prove his loyalty or to save what little he has left."
A smile crossed his face, the kind that had nothing to do with humor, he knew the situation was perfect for a disaster.
A cornered and desperate Prince was dangerous.
If Aerion felt like he had to act alone so he wouldn't implicate anyone else... he would make mistakes.
"Lucian, listen carefully," Raziel said. "Keep your head down, bacuase if the Crimson Inquisitors are watching, any strange move will cost us our heads."