CHAPTER 203: _THE TRUTH YOU SEEK SHALL DESTROY YOU

Lucian’s POV

*****

"Well, this is an odd surprise, brother." Aurora’s voice came with sarcasm from the other end when Lucian called her and told her he might need her help.

Lucian stood in the middle of his chambers, tapping his fingers on his arm while his communication ring glowed slightly.

"What’s that supposed to mean, Aurora?" Lucian pouted his lips, hoping she wouldn’t turn this into some kind of confrontation.

Alas—

"You know exactly what it means, Lucian." Aurora sneered from the other end, causing Lucian to jolt slightly. "Before I left the palace I remember a certain someone being so eager to see me leave him alone."

Lucian brushed his free hand through his hair, turning around to face the balcony door.

"I’m sorry, okay?" He sighed lightly, almost struggling to let the words out. "I mean, I’ve just been so overwhelmed since—wait. What do you mean you left the palace?"

His instincts flared just then, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"I believe basic sentences shouldn’t be a hassle for you, brother," Aurora murmured with a harrumph. "I needed space and some air away from my family. Which recently got a new addition."

Lucian was just about to say something in rebuttal but Aurora wasn’t having it.

"Did you call me for meaningless banter?" She asked sarcastically. "Because we can do lots of that at the ball tonight."

Lucian grunted. "Alright, alright. I called because of Elian and my whole... Not being able to remember him thing."

After Elian took him to the palace’s main training hall and led him on a trip down memory lane with a video featuring both of them... Lucian felt something.

He couldn’t exactly remember Elian yet, but for some reason, he could barely see fragments of moments involving him.

"I’ve been getting flashes for the past couple hours," Lucian muttered at last, pacing across his chamber floor. "Just brief ones. Elian’s face. His voice. Sometimes... his touch."

Aurora hummed softly from the other end. "Sounds like progress."

"Progress?" Lucian barked out a dry laugh. "My head feels like it’s being ripped apart every time I try to remember more than a second of it. And it’s not just him, Aurora. I keep seeing things that don’t make sense—rooms, voices, even places I thought I never stepped foot in."

He stopped pacing, pressing his palm to his forehead. "I feel like I’m losing it."

The silence that followed was long enough to make him glance at his ring again. "Aurora?"

When her voice came, it was softer. "I... I don’t know if I should come there right now, Lucian."

That was strange.

Aurora never hesitated when he called... Kinda.

She was always the first to snap him out of a spiral—his anchor whenever his temper or emotions threatened to swallow him whole.

He frowned. "Why not? You’re not... in trouble, are you?"

A short, nervous laugh slipped through the line. "No. Nothing like that. I just—"

Her voice trailed off for a moment, and Lucian swore he heard someone faintly calling her name in the background before she quickly said, "Give me a few minutes. I’ll be there."

The connection cut before he could say another word.

Lucian stared at his ring, confusion tugging at his thoughts. Something about her tone felt off.

.

.

After waiting in his room for what felt like an eternity, a knock finally sounded on his door.

Aurora stepped in, her icy blue gown still dusted with faint specks of moonlight. "I’m here, brother. Happy?"

He exhaled, shoulders dropping. "You have no idea."

"Of course I do." Aurora’s lips twitched in the faintest smile as she leaned against the wall. "You’ve looked like hell since you returned from the Dark Lands. Even the palace AI can’t shut up about your ’unstable vitals’."

Lucian shot her a glare, but it softened when he saw the concern hidden behind her teasing tone. "I’m serious, Aurora. I think I’m close to unlocking everything. I can feel it. It’s like I just need... a few more triggers."

Aurora tilted her head, studying him. "Triggers?"

He nodded. "Memories don’t come back on their own. They need to be jolted awake. Emotions, scents, words—something that connects me to what I lost. And Elian seems to be the biggest key."

Aurora crossed her arms, her expression tightening ever so slightly. "You’re sure you’re not forcing it too fast? You could damage your neural sync."

Lucian gave a humourless chuckle. "It’s worth the risk. You’ve seen what happens to people with incomplete neural-memory wipes. I’d rather die remembering than live like a half-built machine."

Her eyes softened again, but this time there was something else in them—a trace of guilt.

"Aurora," he said after a moment, noticing it. "You’re hiding something."

She hesitated, then walked closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "You’re right. I didn’t just leave the palace to ’breathe’ like I told you."

Lucian raised a brow. "Then what?"

"I went out to investigate the Dark Hand."

Lucian’s blood ran cold. "You did what?"

Aurora straightened her shoulders. "Before you explode, let me explain—"

"Do you have any idea how dangerous they are?" His tone rose, echoing off the chamber walls. "You went alone? Without guards?"

"I’m not helpless, Lucian!" she snapped back, eyes flashing. "I had to do something while you were losing yourself. You think I’d sit around watching you fade piece by piece? Someone has to find out who did this to you!"

Lucian clenched his fists, but the fire in her words struck a chord deep in his chest.

Aurora inhaled, regaining her composure. "I didn’t find anything... But I think it’s time I show you something."

She reached into her cloak and pulled out a small metallic envelope. The seal glimmered with dark holographic ink, shaped like a black claw hand.

"What is that?" Lucian asked warily.

"A letter. From the Dark Hand."

He stiffened. "They contacted you?"

Aurora nodded. "Two letters were sent—one to me, one to you—during your mission in the Dark Lands. You saw yours but then... well, you went unconscious after the explosion."

She extended the envelope toward him. "Yours was probably destroyed. I thought keeping mine might one day matter."

Lucian hesitated before taking it. The metal was cold, almost unnaturally so.

He broke the seal, and a projection flickered up from the surface, forming eerie words written in burning silver script:

"Mask off. The truth you seek shall find you."

Lucian’s breath hitched.

The air seemed to thicken, every sound in the room muffling into static.

Aurora frowned. "Lucian?"

But he didn’t answer.

His hand flew to his temple as a sudden wave of pain ripped through his head. His knees buckled, and Aurora rushed forward to catch him.

Images flashed behind his eyelids—shadows twisting, a cloaked figure standing amid flames, whispering something he couldn’t hear.

Then Elian’s voice, faint and desperate, calling his name before everything went black again.

Lucian gasped, gripping Aurora’s arm like it was his lifeline.

"Lucian!" she shouted. "What did you see?"

He swallowed hard, struggling to breathe as his pupils contracted into slits.

"Someone... someone was there. A figure. Watching me. I think..." He looked up at her, voice trembling. "I think they were the ones who took my memories."

Aurora’s face paled. "Did you see their face?"

Lucian shook his head, sweat dripping down his jaw. "No. Just a mask. And—"

He froze.

The last thing he remembered before the headache faded was the faintest whisper in his mind, echoing like a glitch:

"The truth you seek shall destroy you first."

Aurora stared at him, horror dawning across her face.

Lucian exhaled shakily, voice low. "They know we’re getting close."

And somewhere in the far corners of his mind, the cloaked figure’s sickly yellow eyes gleamed.

As if in waiting.