Silence hung between them like a long, suffocating shadow.Rintal's shoulder trembled as the red afterglow of the seal slowly faded on his skin.His gaze was empty, pale—something in him looked extinguished.
Finally, in a hoarse voice, he spoke:
— "The bomb… Areday. The one you developed. It caused all of this… Am I wrong?"
Areday's face twisted under the weight of guilt.
— "I… didn't know it would be that strong. I wanted to tell you when I saw things were going wrong, but—"His voice broke.— "I saw you suffer, Twin… but the guilt was too much. I thought you'd hate me forever. It was tested only once, you know there was no other choice—either we all died, or… this. Zofia knew it too, she was the one who asked me to use it."
Rintal's fist tightened, his teeth grinding together.
— "Just don't remind me of it again… because this thing is playing with my mind. I've noticed more than once."
Areday lowered his head.— "I understand, my Twin… But at least this way, we are alive. It was a losing situation—unavoidable…"
— "I know." Rintal replied quietly.
He closed his eyes. Something inside his soul cracked softly, like old glass.
— "I understand. Truly."His voice was low, empty.— "But you should have told me."
Areday nodded silently. He knew he would carry this burden for the rest of his life.
Rintal looked exhausted.Not angry — but hollow, as if a part of him had died again under those ruins.Something that once burned in his eyes slowly faded away.
— " My Twin…" Areday said quietly.— "When I was imprisoned… I overheard the Dawn Sons talking."
Rintal slowly turned toward him.
— "What did you learn?"
— "Anyone who ends up on this island… cannot simply leave. The entire island is sealed by a spell. Only the Dawn Sons can enter and exit because their ships carry the mages and prisoners who maintain the magic."
— "Rayuka… he is the one using them." Areday continued.— "He binds their souls and shadows together with Shadow Technique. They are the scouts… the disposable soldiers. That's how he maintains the island's trap too."
Rintal's eyes narrowed.
— "And escaping…?"
Areday looked at Rintal's hand — at the seal glowing faintly red.
— "Your seal might help. Against the magical lock. In combat… and maybe to break the spell."
Rintal's expression darkened like the ash falling around the castle.
— "Every time I use it… I feel something is wrong. Like it wants to control me. Like it wants me to kill. To distort."
His words trembled — not from fear, but realization.
— "It showed me the past too. The tragedy. And I can feel it playing with my mind."
Areday said nothing at first. Then softly:
— "If the time comes… know that you can count on me, Twin. I'd give my life for yours if I must."
Phantoms Arrive
A sudden sharp, screeching sound tore into the room.The walls shook, the air turned ice-cold.
Eight—maybe ten—phantoms glided into the chamber.Their twisted shapes moved like shadows cast upon rippling water.
— "Twin…" Areday whispered.— "I can't fight… not yet."
Rintal's throat tightened. He could maybe fight alone…But Areday was beside him.
— "Areday… can you sneak?"
Areday nodded slowly, pain flickering over his face.
— "Then let's do it."
Stealth — Among Shadows
Rintal tilted the seal just enough to release a faint red glow.The phantoms instantly turned toward the scent of power.
— "Go."
Silently, despite his pain, Areday slipped sideways behind a bookshelf, then under a table.The phantoms drifted after him.
Rintal then flared the seal's light—the phantoms snapped their heads toward him instead.
Both brothers moved at the same moment:Areday slid toward the exit,Rintal backed away along the wall.
The phantoms dissolved and reformed with echoing shrieks—but too late.
Rintal and Areday closed the door quietly behind them.
The corridor's darkness opened before them like stepping into the jaws of an ancient beast.Black water trickled down the walls, as if the castle itself was sweating blood.The rust-red stones of the floor made soft, sticky sounds under their boots.
Shadow blotches clung to the ceiling beams — like they could drop at any moment.
Where torches once stood, only melted iron husks remained.Deep claw marks raked across the walls —the kind left by someone desperately trying to escape…and failing.
Rintal walked ahead, the seal's dim glow making the darkness even more terrifying.Areday followed, one hand braced on the wall because of his wounds.
After a few minutes, Areday whispered:
— "Twin… we need to eat soon. It's been over a day. Since the shipwreck… nothing."
Rintal nodded.
— "I'll check if there's anything left."His voice clanged like metal — emotionless.
The corridor bent and twisted like a labyrinth.
From the first three doors came muffled movement.From the fourth, a soft scratching.Behind the fifth — a deep, beast-like breathing.
Areday's voice trembled:
— "If those are phantoms… one fight and we're dead."
Two more doors were silent — but locked tight, as if something held them shut from inside.
At the tenth door…the handle shifted.
Only a breath. No more.
Both brothers froze.They waited.
Nothing moved inside.
— "This is the one." Areday whispered.
The room beyond was dark, dusty, still — finally a place free of magic and phantoms.
The seal's glow revealed:
a black stone table
cracked wall sconces
a charred cabinet
and a massive, tattered map on the wall
The map showed:
Solmaren — Human Kingdom
Night Nation — Humans following ancient gods
Frozeland — Land of Giants
Velmorath — Vampires
Lumaryndor — Elves
Noctyr — Dark Elves
Stoneback — Dwarven mountain realm
The Old Gods — Into the Afterlife — marked separately with its own mountain region
All of Isodell, marked with ancient symbols.
Areday sank into a stone chair, exhausted.
— "My Twin… maybe it shows where the exit is."
Something flickered in Rintal's eyes —perhaps hope, perhaps rage.
Rintal placed the map into the bag he'd received from the Old Man.There was no food left…but at the bottom of the bag lay a small vial.
The alchemist's medicine — the one that healed him so quickly.
He offered it to Areday.
— "Drink it."
Areday blinked.
— "Are you stupid? How does that look?"
Rintal gave a faint, tired half-smile.
— "Trust me."
Areday took the vial and downed it in one motion.The effects were immediate: his wounds, hunger, and thirst eased instantly —and he did not faint, sleep, hallucinate, or see visions.
Rintal stared in shock.
— "How is that possible…?"
— "What?" Areday asked, confused.
Rintal looked away.
— "Nothing… let's just say I had side effects."
— "I hope I don't."
Setting the Path
Rintal studied the map.
— "Rayuka's shadow technique is probably centered above the island… like most sealing spells."
Areday nodded.
— "I agree. We should try to break it from the highest point of the castle."
Rintal closed his eyes briefly, then spoke firmly:
— "Then we know where we're going. Can you fight now?"
— "Of course I can." Areday answered.
Rintal nodded. His vdrawn steel:
— "Then let's move."