Morning light filtered faintly through the crystal walls of their guest chamber, refracted in soft turquoise hues that danced across the floor like rippling water. The Heart of Atlantis, far above them in the city's core, pulsed faintly with a deep, rhythmic glow, as if the world itself were breathing.
Helios stirred awake first, the ache in his body reminding him he wasn't fully 100% recovered from Hades' torture. He stretched slowly, careful not to disturb Skuld, who was still curled up in the corner on a low stone couch, her chest rising and falling in deep, untroubled breaths.
Kurai was already awake, seated cross-legged near the far wall with her back perfectly straight. Her silver eyes glimmered faintly in the dim light, locked on some unseen point ahead of her. She radiated stillness, like a blade balanced on its edge—patient, lethal, and cold.
Helios yawned softly and rolled his shoulders before conjuring a small spell with a subtle flick of his fingers. The green air shimmered faintly around them as an Aero spell wrapped the air within the room in a veil of controlled wind. The faint whoosh settled into stillness, and every sound beyond it seemed to vanish. This was the same spell he used to communicate with Ratcliff.
"Morning," Helios murmured with a lazy smile. "Don't talk. Don't move. Don't even let your expression change."
Kurai's eyes flicked to him without so much as a shift in her face.
Helios rubbed the back of his neck, sighing as if brushing off the weight of what he was about to say. "I've been thinking about how much simpler things were for you before. When you didn't need to talk to understand what I wanted. When you could just… drift inside me and read my mind whenever you pleased."
Her eyes narrowed fractionally, but she didn't speak.
"I know. You hate this. Having to ask. Having to trust me to tell you what's important. It must be maddening for you," Helios continued, his tone half-teasing, half serious. "But you're just going to have to bear with it. There's a reason we're here, and I can't let anyone—not even the Heart of Atlantis itself—catch on to our intentions."
The air between them felt taut, thick with unspoken words. Helios's voice softened as he leaned back on one elbow. "The crystal-like energy at the center of the city. That's what we're here for. The Heart of Atlantis. Not to steal it… but to understand it. To see how it was made. Because one day, Kurai, I'm going to make my own."
For the first time since he began speaking, Kurai blinked slowly, her stillness fracturing just enough for him to notice.
He chuckled under his breath, though his eyes betrayed a sharpness she rarely saw in him. "It's said the Heart is a mass of life energy so dense it sustains the Atlanteans—keeps them alive for thousands of years. Something like that… it isn't just power. It's survival. It's the closest thing to immortality that I've ever seen."
He tilted his head slightly, watching her like a predator who knew he was being watched in turn. "You're probably wondering why. Why would I risk danger for something like this? Why I'd even think to recreate such a thing? And maybe it's killing you that you can't just peek into my thoughts and take the answer like you used to."
Still no reaction. But Helios swore he caught the faintest flicker in her aura.
"I'll tell you anyway," he said after a pause. "It's for something important. Something that could save our lives later."
His voice lowered. "This world… these people… they don't realize the scale of what they're sitting on. The crystal is alive in a way. That kind of energy isn't just a resource—it's a will. It can decide who lives or dies. A living sentient mass of life energy that decides to protect these people and this city as a way to preserve itself."
For a long moment, Kurai said nothing. Then, in a voice so soft it was nearly lost in the faint hum of the spell, she finally spoke.
"You're planning something dangerous."
Helios smiled faintly and shrugged. "When am I not?"
Her hand twitched slightly as if she wanted to summon darkness to shield the room further, but his hand shot out and gently closed around her wrist.
"Don't," he said quietly. "Like I said yesterday, if you try to cloak us now, they'll notice and it'll make them suspicious. They might not understand magic like ours, but they can feel it when someone stirs the air too violently. Best to let my Aero spell do its work and keep things subtle."
Kurai's fingers curled slightly, but she didn't pull away.
Helios let go, lying back against the cool stone. "For now, let's wake up Skuld and figure out what they eat here. We've traveled a long way to get here. Whatever comes next… we'll need our strength."
The look in Kurai's eyes softened by a fraction—not enough for anyone else to notice, but enough for Helios to smirk knowingly.
"Make sure you're actually getting some sleep, Kurai. Trust me when I say things will definitely get wild here so I need you at your best."
Her gaze sharpened again, but she didn't reply. Instead, she leaned back against the wall, her silence as heavy and unyielding as ever.
Helios chuckled under his breath, letting his eyes drift shut. Outside the room, an Atlantean came forward to inform Kida. "Princess Kidagakash, I sensed one of the outsiders using magic. It's an unknown magic, so I don't know what it did. Shall we capture them and interrogate them?"
"No, I shall ask them about it when I go to greet them and see what they say first," answered Kida.