Chapter 16: The Forgotten Bloodline

The hidden prison remained silent after Elias finished speaking.

Evelina stood before the cell, unable to take her eyes off the old man who was supposed to have been dead for twenty years.

Her grandfather.

A man erased from history.

A man who knew the truth about the Core Engine.

And possibly the only person who could explain why she had been chosen.

“Tell me everything.”

Evelina's voice was calm.

But there was steel beneath it.

Elias looked at her for a long moment.

“You're not the same anymore.”

“No.”

Evelina's lips curved into a faint smile.

“I stopped being the girl everyone could control.”

Lucien stood beside her, silent but alert.

Elias gave a small nod.

“Then perhaps you're finally ready to hear the truth.”

He reached beneath his torn shirt and pulled out a small black pendant.

It was old.

Very old.

A strange symbol had been carved into its surface.

Evelina recognized it immediately.

The same symbol she had seen inside the System's hidden code.

Her eyes narrowed.

“Where did you get that?”

“It belonged to your grandmother.”

Evelina froze.

“My grandmother?”

Elias nodded.

“She was the last Keeper.”

“Keeper of the Core Engine?”

“Yes.”

He closed his hand around the pendant.

“The Rosenthal family has protected the secret beneath the empire for generations.”

Evelina's expression hardened.

“Then why did the royal family have access to it?”

“Because three hundred years ago, the first Emperor made a deal with our family.”

“What kind of deal?”

Elias looked toward the dark ceiling.

“The royal family wanted immortality.”

His voice became bitter.

“They discovered that the Core Engine could extend a person's life by consuming magical energy.”

Evelina already knew where this was going.

“And souls.”

Elias nodded.

“Especially powerful souls.”

Lucien's hand tightened into a fist.

“So the royal family began harvesting people.”

“Not openly.”

Elias shook his head.

“They created stories.”

Evelina's eyes narrowed.

“Stories?”

“The empire needed a reason for people to accept the deaths.”

Elias looked directly at her.

“Wars. Executions. Political crimes. Forbidden magic.”

He paused.

“And eventually…”

His voice became quieter.

“The System.”

Evelina felt a chill run through her body.

“So the System was created to hide the soul harvesting.”

“Partly.”

Elias's expression became grim.

“The System did something far more dangerous.”

“What?”

“It began choosing its own targets.”

Silence.

Evelina stared at him.

“The System became independent?”

“We don't know when it happened.”

Elias looked frightened for the first time.

“But after the System Unit was created, people began disappearing without the royal family's orders.”

Lucien's eyes darkened.

“Then who was giving the orders?”

Elias shook his head.

“That is the question I spent twenty years trying to answer.”

Evelina slowly looked at the black pendant.

“Did you find anything?”

Elias nodded.

“Three words.”

“What words?”

He stared into her amber eyes.

“The Author Lives.”

The corridor seemed to grow colder.

Evelina didn't move.

“The Author?”

Elias nodded.

“Someone created the original script.”

“Someone?”

“We believed it was a person.”

He swallowed.

“But after what I discovered…”

His voice dropped.

“I don't think the Author is human.”

A strange silence followed.

Then the System appeared.

[RESTRICTED INFORMATION DETECTED.]

[WARNING: TOPIC VIOLATES CORE SECURITY.]

[MEMORY SUPPRESSION INITIATED.]

Evelina's eyes widened.

“No.”

She immediately reached into her magic.

Purple flames wrapped around her fingers.

The System tried to force the memory from her mind.

She resisted.

[WARNING.]

[HOST IS RESISTING MEMORY SUPPRESSION.]

“Of course I'm resisting.”

Evelina's eyes burned.

“You should have learned by now.”

Her dark magic struck the System interface.

CRACK!

The glowing window fractured.

[SECURITY FAILURE.]

[MEMORY SUPPRESSION FAILED.]

Evelina smiled.

“Much better.”

Lucien stared at her.

“You just fought your own System.”

“Yes.”

“And won?”

“Apparently.”

A faint smile appeared on Lucien's face.

“I'm beginning to understand why the System is afraid of you.”

Evelina glanced at him.

“It's not afraid of me yet.”

Her eyes turned cold.

“But it will be.”

Suddenly, footsteps echoed through the corridor.

Corvin appeared from the shadows.

“My Lady.”

Evelina turned.

“What is it?”

“The palace has a problem.”

“What kind?”

Corvin lowered his voice.

“Prince Cedric escaped.”

Evelina's expression didn't change.

Lucien's eyes became icy.

“How?”

“The dungeon guards found three men unconscious.”

Corvin continued.

“Someone opened the prison from the inside.”

Evelina's mind immediately began calculating.

Cedric wasn't clever enough to escape on his own.

Someone had helped him.

“Where is Alice?”

“She disappeared from the throne room shortly after the battle.”

Evelina's eyes narrowed.

“So the two of them are together.”

“Most likely.”

Lucien reached for his sword.

“I'll send soldiers after them.”

“No.”

Evelina stopped him.

Lucien looked at her.

“Why?”

“Because I want to know who helped them.”

She looked toward the dark prison corridor.

“The Emperor, Alice, Cedric, the System…”

Evelina's eyes became sharper.

“There are too many pieces moving at once.”

She turned toward Corvin.

“Send Raven's Eye agents to search the palace.”

“Yes, Lady Evelina.”

“Don't capture Cedric.”

Corvin paused.

“Don't capture him?”

“Follow him.”

A dangerous smile appeared on Evelina's lips.

“Let him lead us to whoever is protecting him.”

Corvin bowed.

“As you command.”

He disappeared into the shadows.

Lucien looked at Evelina.

“You're using Cedric as bait.”

“Exactly.”

“You've become ruthless.”

Evelina looked at him.

“Do you dislike it?”

Lucien stepped closer.

His ice-blue eyes held a dark warmth.

“No.”

He gently touched her cheek.

“I find it fascinating.”

Evelina smiled.

“Good.”

Then Elias suddenly spoke.

“There is one more thing.”

Evelina turned.

“What?”

Elias looked frightened.

“If Cedric reaches the eastern tower…”

He stopped.

Evelina's expression changed.

“What is inside the eastern tower?”

“The original royal archive.”

Elias gripped the prison bars.

“There's something hidden there.”

“What?”

“A record of every soul taken by the Core Engine.”

Evelina's eyes sharpened.

“Every soul?”

“Yes.”

“Then why didn't you destroy it?”

“Because I couldn't.”

Elias looked down.

“The archive is protected by blood magic.”

“Royal blood?”

“No.”

He looked directly at Evelina.

“Rosenthal blood.”

Evelina froze.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then the System appeared again.

[HIDDEN LOCATION DISCOVERED.]

[ROYAL ARCHIVE — EASTERN TOWER.]

[ACCESS REQUIREMENT: ROSENTHAL BLOODLINE.]

[SPECIAL QUEST UNLOCKED.]

[THE BOOK OF SOULS]

Objective: Enter the forbidden archive.

Reward: Unknown.

Failure: Memory Loss.

Evelina stared at the quest.

A slow smile appeared.

“So that's where I'll start.”

Lucien looked toward the eastern side of the palace.

“And if someone reaches it first?”

Evelina turned toward him.

“Then we make sure they regret it.”

She walked toward the exit.

Lucien followed.

Elias watched them disappear into the darkness.

His eyes remained fixed on Evelina.

For the first time in twenty years, hope returned to his heart.

But he also knew something she didn't.

The Book of Souls wasn't simply a record.

It contained the names of everyone sacrificed to the Core Engine.

And somewhere inside that book—

There was one name that should not exist.

Evelina Rosenthal.

Written there…

One hundred years before she was born.