The Bond's pulse had faded, leaving Ren with a cold, paralyzing certainty: his brother was in Aethelgard. Not just in the city – he was moving under a magical signature that mocked his own existence: a dark replica of an Elite Paladin's Forged Light.
Ren headed to the Shield Master's Command Tower, the pinnacle of Aethelgard's defense and surveillance. His sudden ascension had granted him absolute control over the network of runes, shields, and sensors. He was Eterea's most dangerous hunter.
His first act was to silence the situation. No one could know a disguised Chaos agent was inside the city.
"Officer Galt!" Ren ordered the duty guard, his voice tempered with newly acquired authority. "Activate the Arcanist Instability Protocol."
"Commander! A Level Five protocol?" The officer was shocked.
"Yes. The Altar's destruction wasn't the only sabotage. I've detected an unstable magical mutation, a new type of Elemental Magic that could collapse our communication network," Ren lied with an already terrifying ease. "Seal the city's three outer sections. Only Shield Master-permitted personnel can move."
The lie worked. Ren had justified a total quarantine without mentioning the Shadow or his brother.
The Dual Signature
Once the Command Tower was sealed, Ren went to his personal surveillance center, a crystal terminal controlling the sensor network.
The problem was Kaito's Infiltration Cloak was a perfect copy of Light magic. Aethelgard's sensors only detected Forged Light, making Kaito invisible.
Ren channeled his own essence into the terminal, forcing sensors to look beyond mere Light detection.
"Look for duality patterns," he whispered, his forehead beaded with sweat. "Find Light with a pulse of inverse Shadow in the matrix."
The arcanist terminal flickered, blinking with error. It was designed to seek purity, not paradox.
Finally, the crystal screen stabilized, and a single point blinked on a three-dimensional city map: the Library of Archives.
Kaito had been with Lyra.
Ren felt a surge of rage. Kaito wasn't here to confront him; he was here to dismantle his power network.
He immediately headed to the Archives sector.
He found Lyra in a corner, huddled and shaking, murmuring incoherencies about "the Light's truth" and guilt.
Kaito's psychic attack had been devastating.
"Who was here, Lyra?" Ren asked, his voice tense, without a hint of compassion.
"A Paladin... golden... he said the Conclave knew everything. That I was the traitor..." Lyra trembled, unable to distinguish truth from illusion.
Ren needed no further confirmation. Kaito was using Elora's training to strike the emotional cracks of his allies.
Lyra was useless for the moment.
The Brotherhood's Encirclement
Ren returned to the Command Tower. Kaito had already moved from the Library.
The Light/Chaos signature blinked again, now in the Guardian Barracks sector – a high-security zone holding plans and tools for maintaining the city's shields.
"The second target!" Ren growled.
If Kaito sabotaged the shields, he'd expose Aethelgard to the Ash Queen's attack, and blame would fall on the new Shield Master.
Ren took his sword, feeling his armor's heaviness. He couldn't send anyone else; Kaito was too dangerous, and the truth, too explosive.
"Officer Galt, activate Total Lockdown of the Guardian Sector. No one enters or leaves. And tell me the magical signature I'm detecting."
The officer checked the system, his voice shaking.
"It's Commander Ren's signature, sir. A Forged Light signature. But... the system is registering a resonance error."
"It's a system glitch from the new elemental magic. Ignore it," Ren ordered.
Ren moved, leaving the Command Tower. He was hunting his brother – the only person understanding his motivations and weaknesses.
The confrontation would be in Aethelgard's defense heart.
"You aren't a prisoner anymore, Kaito," Ren thought, feeling his Light's burn in response to his brother's Chaos. "You're a threat I must neutralize. And this time, I won't fail."