CHAPTER 109: GIFTS

Kaedros finally woke up.

Kaedros glanced around at the hundreds of corpses strewn across the floor, some were high-ranking, and he knew it was worth a great deal.

And the three-headed beast he’d slain? Easily the most valuable here.

Suddenly, the room shuddered. A vast presence settled over them, locking on like a hawk. From above, a few of Chef’s prized fruits and several jugs of clear lake water drifted down to rest before them.

"What...?" Taria murmured as the items settled on the floor. "Is the Castle... thanking us?"

A deep rumble, half-grumble, half-laugh, rolled through the air like mountains speaking, then the presence vanished.

They didn’t question it further. They ignored the single paper-wrapped object among the offerings, focusing on the food and drink.

The fruit was Chef’s own creation, one bite restored their strength and mana began flowing back into them like fresh spring water.

Kaedros felt his damaged core knitting itself together, a deep groan of relief escaping him as the lake water finished the work.

"The only thing left is to wash off this grime and sleep for a week," Taria yawned. Meat and bread would have been nice, but nothing compared to Chef’s fruit.

Kaedros stretched, the ache in his muscles a reminder of how much more work awaited. "We should talk to the prisoners. But first... what’s that?"

The object the Castle had sent was about the size of a hand, wrapped in green paper with strange writing none of them recognized.

Gold frowned. Even he didn’t know the language. With no clue to its purpose, there was only one way to find out.

"Let me," Taria said, taking it from Kael before he could protest. He was still recovering, if it was dangerous, she’d be the one to take the risk.

Kaedros nodded.

The room fell silent as she tore into the wrapping, the sound harsh against the stillness.

For a moment, they all wondered if the Castle would punish them for tampering..after all, it was no mindless structure.

Beneath the paper was a small green chest, its surface blank and unmarked.

They exchanged glances.

"Should I open it?" Taria asked, excitement warring with caution. Her hand hovered near her spear, if something leapt out, she’d be ready.

"We’ve come this far," Rauk said grimly.

They crouched around the chest.

The moment Taria’s hand touched the lid, the air filled with the rhythm of breathing, slow, fast, deep, shallow. The Flow.

They all sank into the technique, stimulating their cores in case of an attack.

Then, without hesitation, Taria yanked the lid open. Aura flared, and their bodies tensed...

..but no monster sprang forth, no hiss of demon breath. Still, they stayed wary. The Castle loved its games.

Inside were four long black cards, etched in so many runes that the surface was barely visible.

"Well," Taria said flatly. "That’s... not what I was expecting."

They hadn’t known what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t this.

Papers.

Kaedros stared down at the four long sheets inside the chest. They were black as midnight, each one crowded so thickly with runes that barely any surface showed through.

He had thought it might be another silver stone, or some rare addition to their growing collection, or even a set of shadow blades. But paper? What was the Castle thinking?

"Should we... learn the runes?" Taria asked, uncertain.

"At least it’s not a monster," Gold said with genuine relief. "We’re still running on scraps. Even Chef’s fruit and the lake water barely helped with mana recovery. Fighting again now would be a cruel joke."

"Yes," Rauk agreed with a slow nod.

"Or maybe," Kaedros drawled, "these are summoning papers."

That got everyone flinching away from the chest.

Taria rolled her eyes. "Very funny, Kael."

Kaedros grinned. "Fine, fine. I’ll volunteer."

Before anyone could stop him, he reached in and touched one.

The reaction was instant. The runes blazed to life in a surge of white light, and the air filled with a low hum, like a thousand beating wings.

They all stepped back, even Kaedros, as the power rolled off the sheets, deep, layered power, both harsh and warm at once.

Then the papers floated upward, flaring so brightly they had to shield their eyes. And just as suddenly, the light cut off.

"So dramatic," Kaedros muttered, blinking through the afterimage. "What is the Castle’s aim—blind us?"

Then he froze. His wounds... were gone. Even his core felt cool and steady again.

"The Castle did this?" he murmured. It had to be.

"Are you healed too?" Kaedros asked.

They checked themselves, and the nods confirmed it. Kaedros smiled faintly. The Castle wasn’t angry they’d wandered into its prison wing, it was thanking them.

"I thought it was punishment at first," Taria admitted. "That light nearly burned my eyes." She rubbed them with her right handvand Kaedros caught it. "What’s that on your hand?"

She tensed, thinking he’d spotted a monster, but his gaze was locked on the back of her hand.

There, glowing softly, was a single rune. She stared at it, not comprehending, until the others checked their hands and found the same.

The meaning hit them all at once, as if the marks whispered directly into their minds: spatial magic.

Kaedros reached forward, his hand vanishing up to the elbow. He grinned. "Best gift yet."

The others tested theirs. When inactive, the rune vanished completely; when called, it flared white.

"Now I can store my weapon," Taria said, sliding hers into the hidden space, which was as large as the room they stood in.

"Too bad I don’t have anything worth storing yet," Gold said, admiring his mark.

"This sword’s too long to carry through half the places we go," Rauk muttered, tucking his blade away.

Kaedros looked at them, bemused. "You know what I’m thinking?"

They followed his gaze to the monster corpses on the floor and grinned in unison.

It took time to gather them by rank, but soon the peak rank one bodies were tucked into Taria’s space. Kaedros stored the peak rank two beast and several lower ranks. Rauk took the rest.

"Won’t they rot before you sell them?" Gold asked, his hands stained black from blood.

"No," Kaedros replied. "Time’s fixed inside. They’ll stay fresh."

Gold admired the gift all over again. It didn’t cost arcane or essence to use, just a thought. Kaedros suspected it drew from ambient mana.

Afterward, they settled into Flow positions, drawing back lost mana. Hours passed.

"I thought for sure the prisoners would have come out," Taria said, stretching.

"Maybe the prison’s locked," Rauk said, eyeing the flicker of shadows beyond the bars.

It must be, Kaedros thought. If the prisoners were free, they’d have attacked while the group was weak.

He knew he would have.